Jason LeVasseur gets up close and personal

MEGHAN SMITH STAFF WRITER MES733@CABRINI EDU

Mocha Mud Pie. Award-winning singer/songwriter, Jason LeVasseur slipped those three words into every song he played Wednesday, Sept. 19 in Jazzman’s Café. With just a guitar, a harmonica and his big drum, LeVasseur took command of the stage.

LeVasseur’s acoustic, pop-rock style and relatable, memorable lyrics made for a great night of entertainment. In between sets, LeVasseur shared meanings behind his songs and personal stories about his green van named Brittany.

“The captain of my football team failed out of college and now I’m a rock star!” LeVasseur said after he told the audience how his high school girlfriend dumped him for the football captain.

LeVasseur has opened for big names such as Maroon 5, John Mayer, Dave Matthews and Ben Folds. He also plays at colleges all over the country. Campus Activities Magazine has named him Best Small Venue Performer four years in a row including 2007.

“The energy of the students is awesome. The volunteers at colleges are great and much more fun to work with than professionals,” LeVasseur said after the show about playing at colleges. LeVasseur’s personality played a huge role in the energy of Wednesday night’s concert. He got to know the names of the students and dedicated a song to everyone in the crowd.

Toward the end of the show, LeVasseur broke into “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from the Lion King and he had the entire audience singing along with him. His interaction with the crowd made the concert very personal and enjoyable.

Throughout the night LeVasseur cracked jokes, made references to his dinner at Chili’s with the CAP Board, and sang a combination of songs from his new live CD and a wide variety of cleverly re-done covers.

“He was a great entertainer as well as a singer, junior English communications major, Kara Schneider said.