POP MUSIC REVIEW : Cajun Music Bursts Into New Vista

The group Beausoleil has distinguished itself by finding new vistas and fresh approaches for Cajun music while staying solidly anchored in the old Louisiana traditions.

But even after 10 years as a fixture on the folk music circuit, leader Michael Doucet and company probably weren’t fully prepared for the new vista that awaited them on Friday at the Irvine Barclay Theatre in Irvine.

When Beausoleil began bringing Cajun music’s infectious tunes and unshakable, buoyant rhythms out of the dance halls and barrooms of southwestern Louisiana, the band probably didn’t figure it would one day be playing this supreme party music in a place so formal that it more closely resembles a library than a place where waltzers and two-steppers might come to kick up some sawdust.

The sextet’s bemusement was evident as it started playing to a full house of more than 750 listeners who, with a few scattered exceptions, would stay anchored to their seats for the entire program of nearly two hours.

But part of the essence of Cajun culture is an easygoing attitude and adaptability. Doucet genially tweaked the audience with invitations to dance that he knew wouldn’t be accepted, and his occasional references to the un-Cajun circumstances turned into a running light gag that embraced the audience rather than berated it.

If this was the least sweaty Cajun occasion we’ll ever witness, it also was a completely enjoyable listening session, and the fans’ enthusiastic ovations showed that the band’s impact goes beyond its call to dance.