Last Saturday, March 7th, the Stage at UCSD hosted a 4-hour evening of acoustic music that featured Tara MacLean, Todd Thibaud (pronounced Tee-Bo), and two local bands -- Crying Out Loud and the Yes-Tones.

Set in a grove of Eucalyptus trees, and behind Porter's Pub which serves comfort food and draft brews, the pine paneled 700-seat venue is a cozy place to hear outstanding musical talents perform, from rap to rock. Tucked away in the shadow of the much larger Mandeville recital hall, and down the hill from the 5,000-seat RIMAC facility, the Stage may well be the best kept musical secret in town.

Boston-based Thibaud himself, who appears on Doolittle Records, and used to front for the Courage Brothers, a rock band, is also something of a musical secret. He is just beginning to receive long overdue and much deserved public recognition for his talents as an acoustic performer and songwriter. Having seen him perform a month earlier in San Diego at Java Joe's, and blown away by that encounter, I looked forward to a similar experience. I was wrong. This time was even better.

After the sound check, he graciously made himself available to spend time talking with me, and answered some questions about himself and his craft.

Descended from French Canadian stock, Thibaud grew up in rural northern Vermont, in an idyllic setting of maple sugar trees and covered bridges, like scenes from a Currier and Ives lithograph. Nevertheless, his music is anything but placid or idealized. Bridging styles from folk, rock and country music, and influenced by such legends as Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, and John Hiatt, -- all people that have touched him lyrically -- his songs speak in forceful, primal emotions about love, redemption, self-doubts, and empowerment. And believe me, the audience listens.

When I asked him where his songs came from, he replied:

"For me, over time, they come more and more from my experience. I used to write less personally, than I have started to write over the past 3-years. And I've really enjoyed that change because for most of the songs, I'm a lot more involved now. It's an opportunity for me to deal with a situation that I'm going though, or that a friend is experiencing. It's a real privilege to work in almost a therapeutic or cathartic way in whatever is happening in my life.

They come from wherever I am at, now. Hopefully they're not too personal, so that other people don't relate to them -- because that's the line that I want to walk; I want to write something that means something to me, but I also want a majority of people to have it mean something to them. That's when I feel I've done my job."

This led to an almost rhetorical question, "Is it easier for you to write when you are experiencing pain, or grief, or anguish?"

"Adversity seems to generate more creative energy for me than contentment does. For me, it's harder when I'm comfortable. I think maybe you can become so absorbed with whatever the problem is that your brain goes into overdrive and opens some doors. At least, that's how it seems to work for me."

Pain may be the motivation, but positive action is the message. His current album, Favorite Waste of Time, on Doolittle Records is a treasure full of ironic insights, universal truths and longings.

Sweet Destiny gently suggests that waiting for something to happen is less fruitful than seizing the moment and creating a different outcome. Give Back My Heart, might be the last chapter of a love story just ended, or the first chapter of one about to begin. Both songs, and in fact the whole album, tell of hope.

And then there is Johanna's Dreams, a ballad of love and redemption, which seems to resonate so powerfully whenever it is performed. As Thibaud said, "I wrote it about a friend, but there's a big chuck of me in there, too." Aren't we all searching for someone like Johanna?

As to his future, "I just want to continue to do what I love, make a living doing it, have a great home life which I do have, and hopefully continue to write meaningful songs, even if they're just meaningful for me. That's a gift, to be able to spend your life doing something that you love. Anything beyond that would be icing and gravy."

The concert itself was magical, one of those rare evenings of being invited to share the performer's vision, and becoming transfixed by it. It was like double chocolate fudge icing, without the calories or guilt. And there was no fat, either.

Dressed in a brown, vertical striped sport shirt and blue trousers, Thibaud walked onto the stage at 10:00 p.m. and began with Nine Tree Falls, a song that he likes to perform because it didn't make it to the CD, like a father spending some quality time with all of his children. The crowd of 250 loved it.

Then came the now familiar favorites, Sweet Destiny, Give Back My Heart, Just What You Please -- a message of sibling rivalry with one's inner child, Your Little Pals -- from which the album's title can be found in the lyrics:

There followed a blues-based melody, 2 a.m., when those mean doubts lurk in the shadows, and push sleep aside. Then there was a special treat for their last show on the current tour. Tara MacLean and Bill Bell came on stage while Todd was performing and harmonized, first on Sacrifice, one that I had not heard before, and then on Johanna's Dreams, my favorite of all his songs. Ending with That Wasn't Me, Todd left the stage to a standing ovation. Those nearby reached out to press the flesh as he passed by. This was a genuine outpouring of affection, following such a superb set. It was very moving.

The audience also was superb, really a performer's crowd, which Todd must have appreciated. He had said that the relation with the audience was so crucial to the chemistry that happens at a concert. This was a chain reaction.

Earlier, he had observed, "Not every audience is there for the same reasons, when you go into certain venues. The show we did at Java Joe's was tremendous, because people were there for the right reasons. They were there to hear music, and they were very respectful and they listened. And that is like the biggest gift that an audience can give somebody. You go home and you dream about those nights."

Tara's set with Bill which followed was also dynamite. People were near tears when she told her stories, and connected them with her music. I thought she took a lot of risks, talking about her rebellious high school days, when such a sweet teenager got into some serious trouble.

Music can entertain. It can teach, and reach out to bring people together, drawing them into the experience. Todd Thibaud's music does this in a very special way. One leaves feeling good. Sort of like icing on the cake. Nobody should miss such a treat!