Marcus Scott and the Deep Soul Band Rocking The House at Curtis Given’s All New @InLOVEMemphis @curtis_givens

The building had once been a Pig N’ Whistle barbecue restaurant, and later a rough-around-the-edges club called Two For One, but Curtis Givens’ latest venture, In LOVE Memphis is possibly the hippest and most elegant new venue in the city. The building is unrecognizable compared to its former self, and the decor inside is upscale and cozy. But the reason I came was the reason I usually go anywhere, live music, which at LOVE takes place on Mondays and Thursdays. On this particular Thursday, the featured artists was a singer named Marcus Scott, with whom I wasn’t familiar, although I soon learned that I should have been. Scott is a consummate showman, with a fine voice, ably assisted by the Deep Soul Band, which contained some faces I recognized, including Marless Flowers on drums and the incomparable Jackie Clark on bass. The show consisted mostly of soul and R & B covers, but Scott performed one original, “Sow A Seed”, a clever prod to get the crowd feeding the tip bucket for the musicians. And amazingly, all of this great live music was available without a cover charge, at least on this particular night.