CRIT TIPS
Detroit Cobras – at T.T. the Bear’s on Thursday, Oct. 25. These Detroit rockers have swung through town a lot lately, but they deliver a sometimes necessary jolt of garage-punk by digging out ‘60s underground classics that shouldn’t be forgotten.
Sarah Borges – at Johnny D’s on Friday, Oct. 26. The Somerville-based singer has worked hard to become a national touring act this year. She’s as likely to be in Vancouver as she is in Boston. Her vital country-rock is the reason why.
Jimmy Tingle’s Off Broadway Theatre – Tingle’s Davis Square venue has been creative in its bookings. This Friday and Saturday they’ve got Jeremy Lyons, a New Orleans bluesman who came her after Katrina, along with catered food from Redbones.
Buffalo Tom – at the Somerville Theatre on Friday, Oct. 26. Tom Janovitz and the lads aren’t resting on their ‘90s alt-rock laurels. They just released a new album and have been promoting it vigorously.
Angeline and Robin Lane & the Chartbusters – at the Lizard Lounge on Friday, Oct. 26. The female-fronted Angeline is up and coming, while the Chartbusters had their heyday in the ‘80s. But the constant between these two groups is Boston rocker Asa Brebner, who always lifts whatever act he’s playing with.
Paddy Saul – at the Lizard Lounge on Saturday, Oct. 27. The local Celtic rocker has been on the move. He has emerged from the Tir na Nog circuit to play some larger venues – and this is his first headlining stint at the Lizard. I believe.
Mary Gauthier – at Club Passim on Monday, Oct. 29. The former owner/chef of Boston’s Dixie Kitchen restaurant has become a startlingly emotional folk-country singer. Give her credit for trying a new career and making it.
Pink-Tie Rock ‘n’ Roll Ball -- at the Hard Rock Café on Monday, Oct. 29. The bands Gretel and Static of the Gods are among the acts playing this benefit event, which WBOS is helping sponsor.
Van Halen – at the TD Banknorth Garden on Tuesday, Oct. 30. Van Halen’s onetime clown prince, David Lee Roth, is back in the saddle, so this should stir some memories. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen is still aboard, while his son, Wolfgang, is on bass this time.
Australian Pink Floyd – at Agganis Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 30. My WBOS DJ partner John Laurenti loves these guys. Close your eyes and you’ll think the real Pink Floyd might be in the room. They deliver a spectacular light show as well.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Across the Universe, Smashing Pumpkins, Tips
Rarely has a movie gotten more mixed reviews than “Across the Universe,’’ the new musical comedy/drama based around songs by the Beatles. But forget the reviews. Go see it. It’s an attempt to do something imaginative – and more often not succeeds if you have an open mind. Plus, it’s great to see Beatles songs reinterpreted by everyone from lead actress Evan Rachel Wood (a great job on “Blackbird’’) to music vets like Bono (“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’’) and Joe Cocker (“Come Together’’), who are predictably excellent as well.
Directed by Julie Taymor (this movie definitely has a female touch), it revisits the ‘60s through scenes of squashed innocence (the urban riots in Detroit, the war in Vietnam), through psychedelic montages (Bono playing a Ken Kesey-like role of leading his Merry Pranksters on a magic bus trip while singing “I Am the Walrus’’), and through a warmly felt love story between Wood and male lead Jim Sturgess.
She plays an American suburban girl, while Sturgess is an illegal immigrant (and former dock worker) from overseas. Their trials and tribulations form the backdrop of the story, but there are all kinds of ‘60s-related scenes from the student takeover of Columbia University to cultural experimentation with LSD. There are even singers whose roles evoke Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. It’s a hodge-podge – and critics have had a field day knocking its occasional clunky editing – but eventually you’re pulled along by its momentum and not only do you root for the youthful lovers, but you are swept up by the hope and idealism that was once the ‘60s.
Parts of it are campy, parts of it are serious, but collectively it’s a vividly creative look at a youth culture that was all about alternative lifestyles, not about making money and being the next Yuppie on the block. Plus, it’s darned entertaining. I came in with low expectations because of the cynical reviews, but walked away a believer.
SMASHING PUMPKINS:
The Pumpkins have been off the road for a while, but you wouldn’t know it from their recent Boston appearance. I caught the first of their three shows at the Orpheum and was very impressed. They don’t have the extreme punk energy of their early days -- only singer Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin remain from that period – but the expansion into more progressive rock has been a sincere, and applauded, addition.
The early hits still blistered, including “Bullets & Butterfly Wings.’’ Newer band members Jeff Schroeder (guitar) and Ginger Reyes (bass) fit right in and were able to match Corgan’s dynamics and also his increased proclivity to jam. There were plenty of trippy moments, fostered by an over-the-top lighting production (an interlocking of high-wattage, geometric triangles) that made it feel like a stadium show at the Orpheum. A barrage of strobe lights also notched up the hallucinatory mood.
Corgan’s voice can still grate at times – he’s never been confused with a balladeer – but his acoustic performances of “1979’’ and “Perfect’’ were a nice counterpoint to his caterwauling on the hard-rock numbers. And his guitar playing was much more advanced than before. He and fellow axman Schroeder traded some gritty solos, while Corgan even did some Hendrix-like soloing on “The Star Spangled Banner.’’ Corgan & Co. might not be at the epicenter of modern rock anymore, but they’re far from the oldies circuit. A powerful night overall. (They’re also at the Providence Performing Arts Center on Oct. 18.)
CRITIC’S TIPS:
Tori Amos – at the Orpheum on Thursday-Friday, Oct. 18-19. Tori can get sidetracked into almost too much mythology in her songs, but the beauty of those songs can’t be denied.
Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers – at the Paradise on Thursday-Friday, Oct. 18-19. For years I’ve felt that this band could be the next Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers if they got the right breaks.
Chad Perrone – at Harpers Ferry on Friday, Oct. 19. The former lead singer with Boston band Averi has daringly gone on his own. Only time will tell if he made the right decision, but give him credit for taking the risk.
Toots & the Maytals – at Row-a-Palooza on Saturday, Oct. 20. The reggae stars perform by the Weeks Memorial Footbridge on Memorial Drive by the Charles River near Harvard Square at 3:30 p.m. to spice the Head of the Charles Regatta.
Jason Spooner – at Toad on Saturday, Oct. 20. While up in Portland, Me. about a year ago, I stumbled upon Spooner playing in a bar and discovered why he’s a rising light of the Portland scene. Great melodies, great spirit.
The Wallflowers – at Somerville Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 21. Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan mounted a solo tour in the past year, but it’s good to see that he’s giving the Wallflowers another chance. They deserve it.
Sinead O’Connor – at the Orpheum on Monday, Oct. 22. Sinead has been up and down for so long that you never know where she’s at. But the bottom line is that the lady can sing.
The Hold Steady – at the Roxy on Monday, Oct. 22. When I caught the Dropkick Murphys at the ICONS Festival in Canton this summer, their sound engineer warmed up the evening by playing a CD by this band. Its hard-driving, garage-influenced sound held steady, and then some.
Directed by Julie Taymor (this movie definitely has a female touch), it revisits the ‘60s through scenes of squashed innocence (the urban riots in Detroit, the war in Vietnam), through psychedelic montages (Bono playing a Ken Kesey-like role of leading his Merry Pranksters on a magic bus trip while singing “I Am the Walrus’’), and through a warmly felt love story between Wood and male lead Jim Sturgess.
She plays an American suburban girl, while Sturgess is an illegal immigrant (and former dock worker) from overseas. Their trials and tribulations form the backdrop of the story, but there are all kinds of ‘60s-related scenes from the student takeover of Columbia University to cultural experimentation with LSD. There are even singers whose roles evoke Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. It’s a hodge-podge – and critics have had a field day knocking its occasional clunky editing – but eventually you’re pulled along by its momentum and not only do you root for the youthful lovers, but you are swept up by the hope and idealism that was once the ‘60s.
Parts of it are campy, parts of it are serious, but collectively it’s a vividly creative look at a youth culture that was all about alternative lifestyles, not about making money and being the next Yuppie on the block. Plus, it’s darned entertaining. I came in with low expectations because of the cynical reviews, but walked away a believer.
SMASHING PUMPKINS:
The Pumpkins have been off the road for a while, but you wouldn’t know it from their recent Boston appearance. I caught the first of their three shows at the Orpheum and was very impressed. They don’t have the extreme punk energy of their early days -- only singer Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin remain from that period – but the expansion into more progressive rock has been a sincere, and applauded, addition.
The early hits still blistered, including “Bullets & Butterfly Wings.’’ Newer band members Jeff Schroeder (guitar) and Ginger Reyes (bass) fit right in and were able to match Corgan’s dynamics and also his increased proclivity to jam. There were plenty of trippy moments, fostered by an over-the-top lighting production (an interlocking of high-wattage, geometric triangles) that made it feel like a stadium show at the Orpheum. A barrage of strobe lights also notched up the hallucinatory mood.
Corgan’s voice can still grate at times – he’s never been confused with a balladeer – but his acoustic performances of “1979’’ and “Perfect’’ were a nice counterpoint to his caterwauling on the hard-rock numbers. And his guitar playing was much more advanced than before. He and fellow axman Schroeder traded some gritty solos, while Corgan even did some Hendrix-like soloing on “The Star Spangled Banner.’’ Corgan & Co. might not be at the epicenter of modern rock anymore, but they’re far from the oldies circuit. A powerful night overall. (They’re also at the Providence Performing Arts Center on Oct. 18.)
CRITIC’S TIPS:
Tori Amos – at the Orpheum on Thursday-Friday, Oct. 18-19. Tori can get sidetracked into almost too much mythology in her songs, but the beauty of those songs can’t be denied.
Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers – at the Paradise on Thursday-Friday, Oct. 18-19. For years I’ve felt that this band could be the next Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers if they got the right breaks.
Chad Perrone – at Harpers Ferry on Friday, Oct. 19. The former lead singer with Boston band Averi has daringly gone on his own. Only time will tell if he made the right decision, but give him credit for taking the risk.
Toots & the Maytals – at Row-a-Palooza on Saturday, Oct. 20. The reggae stars perform by the Weeks Memorial Footbridge on Memorial Drive by the Charles River near Harvard Square at 3:30 p.m. to spice the Head of the Charles Regatta.
Jason Spooner – at Toad on Saturday, Oct. 20. While up in Portland, Me. about a year ago, I stumbled upon Spooner playing in a bar and discovered why he’s a rising light of the Portland scene. Great melodies, great spirit.
The Wallflowers – at Somerville Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 21. Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan mounted a solo tour in the past year, but it’s good to see that he’s giving the Wallflowers another chance. They deserve it.
Sinead O’Connor – at the Orpheum on Monday, Oct. 22. Sinead has been up and down for so long that you never know where she’s at. But the bottom line is that the lady can sing.
The Hold Steady – at the Roxy on Monday, Oct. 22. When I caught the Dropkick Murphys at the ICONS Festival in Canton this summer, their sound engineer warmed up the evening by playing a CD by this band. Its hard-driving, garage-influenced sound held steady, and then some.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Hendrix, movie capsules, tips
With Red Sox mania on the rise, many people might put cultural events on the back burner for a while, but why not mix a little of both? Being a movie buff, I’m certainly not going to forget about that side of life, even if Jonathan Papelbon pitches another scoreless ninth inning.
Here’s a suggestion if you read this blog in time: “Jimi Hendrix Live at Monterey,’’ which enjoys its New England premier at Arlington’s Regent Theatre on Friday, Oct. 12. It features Hendrix’s entire set at Montery, complete with a new 5.1 soundtrack mix by Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer. Showtimes are 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30. It’s preceded by Martin Scorsese’s short film, “Hendrix and the Blues.’’ An irresistible take for any Hendrix fan.
I’ve been catching a bunch of movies lately and here are a few capsule reviews:
“The Heartbreak Kid.’’ Ah, skip this one. It’s a wasted role by Ben Stiller, who usually has much better taste than to be caught up in silly vulgarity like this. It’s a supposed comedy about a guy who gets married and honeymoons at Cabo in Mexico, but ditches his wife for another hotel guest, amid a series of dumb high-jinks. Some funny bits here and there, but not enough of them.
“The Darjeeling Limited.’’ A great film, destined to be a cult classic. A Wes Anderson film, it is seriously hilarious. It’s about three brothers who cross India on a train called the Darjeeling Limited, as they try to find their mother, who has entered a monastery. It’s a biting satire about the difficulty of being brothers (Owen Wilson tries to lord it over the other two) and the culture shock in India is by turns exhilarating and sobering.
“The Game Plan.’’ OK, my son wanted to see this. It stars Dwayne “the Rock’’ Johnson as a football-quarterback god who suddenly discovers he has an 8-year-old daughter and she comes to live with him. She manages to tame him and his gruff-talking teammates, though the humor isn’t exactly breathtaking. It’s your basic dumbed-down comedy, but it was shot locally and there’s great footage of Boston and Cambridge.
“Mr. Woodcock.’’ Catch this when it comes to video if you have to. It stars Billy Bob Thornton as a gym teacher who terrorizes his kids – and then starts dating one of the kids’ moms. The jokes are obvious, the script often makes you cringe, and it just might be better to stay home and watch the Red Sox in this case.
CRITIC’S TIPS:
* Smashing Pumpkins – at the Orpheum on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 13, 15 and 16. Singer Billy Corgan leads a new group of Pumpkins into battle. He released a solo album that bombed badly a couple of years ago, so it’s wise that he’s back with his mother ship.
* Loudon Wainwright III and Leon Redbone – at the Somerville Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 13. A quirkier night of folk music can not be imagined. If you haven’t yet seen these titans of eccentricity, here’s your chance.
* Robbie Krieger – at the Berklee Performance Center on Monday, Oct. 15. Doors guitarist Krieger will play a set with the Berklee College of Music Doors tribute band, Morrison Crossing, and discuss the Doors’ new triple CD, “Live in Boston.’’ Classic rock never dies.
* Rodrigo y Gabriela – at the Orpheum on Wednesday, Oct. 17. Our favorite new instrumental duo, which even adapts some heavy metal tunes, is rising quickly and is already at the Orpheum level.
* Erin McKeown – at Club Passim on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 17-18. An engaging singer-songwriter who never runs out of ideas.
.
Here’s a suggestion if you read this blog in time: “Jimi Hendrix Live at Monterey,’’ which enjoys its New England premier at Arlington’s Regent Theatre on Friday, Oct. 12. It features Hendrix’s entire set at Montery, complete with a new 5.1 soundtrack mix by Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer. Showtimes are 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30. It’s preceded by Martin Scorsese’s short film, “Hendrix and the Blues.’’ An irresistible take for any Hendrix fan.
I’ve been catching a bunch of movies lately and here are a few capsule reviews:
“The Heartbreak Kid.’’ Ah, skip this one. It’s a wasted role by Ben Stiller, who usually has much better taste than to be caught up in silly vulgarity like this. It’s a supposed comedy about a guy who gets married and honeymoons at Cabo in Mexico, but ditches his wife for another hotel guest, amid a series of dumb high-jinks. Some funny bits here and there, but not enough of them.
“The Darjeeling Limited.’’ A great film, destined to be a cult classic. A Wes Anderson film, it is seriously hilarious. It’s about three brothers who cross India on a train called the Darjeeling Limited, as they try to find their mother, who has entered a monastery. It’s a biting satire about the difficulty of being brothers (Owen Wilson tries to lord it over the other two) and the culture shock in India is by turns exhilarating and sobering.
“The Game Plan.’’ OK, my son wanted to see this. It stars Dwayne “the Rock’’ Johnson as a football-quarterback god who suddenly discovers he has an 8-year-old daughter and she comes to live with him. She manages to tame him and his gruff-talking teammates, though the humor isn’t exactly breathtaking. It’s your basic dumbed-down comedy, but it was shot locally and there’s great footage of Boston and Cambridge.
“Mr. Woodcock.’’ Catch this when it comes to video if you have to. It stars Billy Bob Thornton as a gym teacher who terrorizes his kids – and then starts dating one of the kids’ moms. The jokes are obvious, the script often makes you cringe, and it just might be better to stay home and watch the Red Sox in this case.
CRITIC’S TIPS:
* Smashing Pumpkins – at the Orpheum on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 13, 15 and 16. Singer Billy Corgan leads a new group of Pumpkins into battle. He released a solo album that bombed badly a couple of years ago, so it’s wise that he’s back with his mother ship.
* Loudon Wainwright III and Leon Redbone – at the Somerville Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 13. A quirkier night of folk music can not be imagined. If you haven’t yet seen these titans of eccentricity, here’s your chance.
* Robbie Krieger – at the Berklee Performance Center on Monday, Oct. 15. Doors guitarist Krieger will play a set with the Berklee College of Music Doors tribute band, Morrison Crossing, and discuss the Doors’ new triple CD, “Live in Boston.’’ Classic rock never dies.
* Rodrigo y Gabriela – at the Orpheum on Wednesday, Oct. 17. Our favorite new instrumental duo, which even adapts some heavy metal tunes, is rising quickly and is already at the Orpheum level.
* Erin McKeown – at Club Passim on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 17-18. An engaging singer-songwriter who never runs out of ideas.
.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Springsteen tour opener, crit tips
First off, the long-awaited new Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band album, “Magic,’’ is not a great record. It has great individual songs on it, but not enough overall magic for some Bruce diehards. It’s a return to rock, but Bruce recycles some riffs and ends up with an album that is more of a holding pattern than a breakthrough.
The real magic came in the opening night this week of the E Street tour in Hartford. Springsteen & Co. reached back for a comeback show that had the Bruce faithful in fist-waving ecstasy once again. The fans were thankful that he has gone beyond his last two, folk-flavored albums to revive the E Street Band and restore the thunder that’s been missing these last five years.
The E Streeters are getting older – Bruce just hit 58, while saxophonist Clarence Clemons is 65 and not the same ferocious force of yore, at least not consistently. But the chemistry was there when they needed it. The song selection was also a marvel, despite Bruce boldly tossing in eight songs from the new disc, which was too many for an audience that hadn’t yet digested it. But he packaged the new and old material beautifully, from the opening segue of fiery new single “Radio Nowhere’’ into the ever-communal “The Ties That Bind.’’ He’s still searching for faith.
“This is the first stop on our mystery train. Thanks for being with us,’’ Springsteen said to the sold-out crowd at the Hartford Civic Center.
Unlike past tours, he barely spoke, instead putting the focus on the music. There were no long stories or speeches. He threw out a few quick political shots – attacking the “illegal wiretapping’’ and “attacks on the Constitution’’ by the last administration (which he didn’t name) – but just as quickly he followed with his classic “Promised Land,’’ with its insistent refrain of “I believe in the promised land.’’
He also believes in shaking up the arrangements of some of his older tunes. The venerable “She’s the One’’ was given a more pronounced Bo Diddley beat, while “Darlington County’’ became his hardest-rocking tune of the night. The show’s highlight was a whomping transition from “Darkness on the Edge of Town’’ into “Darlington County.’’ It was the Bruce message in a nutshell: Confront the darkness, then break out of it.
The darkness was there in some of the new songs, including “Last to Die,’’ an apparent knock on the Iraq War (“Who’ll be the last to die for a mistake?’’ he sang) and “Gypsy Biker,’’ about a son finally coming home, but to a grave. Some new songs were less effective – the gushy “Girls In Their Summer Clothes’’ was a trifle that sounded like a Beach Boys outtake.
But the show built up with patented Springsteen energy, as he strung together the new “Devil’s Arcade,’’ his 9/11 song “The Rising,’’ and aforementioned “Last to Die,’’ then blew it all open with the set-closing “Badlands.’’ The band, notably guitarists Steve Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren, along with drummer Max Weinberg, followed his lead and cut loose.
Springsteen lost me on the first two encores (“Girls in Their Summer Clothes’’ and a flat version of “Thundercrack’’), but then pushed the right button with a tumultuous “Born to Run.’’ He then returned for another dual encore of the poppy “Waiting On A Sunny Day’’ and the high-octane folk of “American Land’’ from the re-released version of the “Seeger Sessions’’ album. E Street keyboardists Roy Bittan and Danny Federici both switched to accordions for this Celtic-grooved tune, which was played with the same incendiary passion as the earlier rock tracks. Night one of the tour was in the books – and the crowd went home as deliriously transported as ever.
CRITIC’S TIPS
* Josh Ritter – at the Somerville Theatre Thursday-Friday, Oct. 4-5. The Idaho singer-songwriter, who lived for a while in Somerville, returns to familiar terrain.
* Session Americana – at the Brattle Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 4. The wonderful, local, floating-cast, roots-music ensemble performs a benefit for the Brattle Film Foundation.
* Bob Dylan/ Elvis Costello – at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday, Oct. 5. The frog-voiced Dylan has become a crapshoot in concert, but adding luster to the bill is Elvis’s first solo acoustic tour in quite a while.
* Brandi Carlile – at the Orpheum Theatre on Friday, Oct. 5. The Seattle wunderkind, who opened the WBOS Copley Square series this summer, is back as part of VH1’s “You Oughta Know’’ tour.
* Paolo Nutini – at the Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 6. Meteoric star Nutini is due to open the Led Zeppelin reunion show in London, but not before conquering the Orpheum.
* Harvard Square Oktoberfest – on Sunday, Oct. 7. The annual Harvard Square outdoor festival still features multiple stages with something for everyone, from the rock of Teenage Prayers and the Steve Smith Band, to the Latin stylings of Mango Blue and the singer-songwriter talents of Meg Hutchinson and Rose Polenzani.
* Phil Lesh & Friends – at the Orpheum Theatre Tuesday-Thursday, Oct. 9-11. Lesh is still being accompanied by ex-Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell and ex-Bruce Hornsby drummer John Molo, but he’s also out this time with singer Jackie Greene and keyboardist Steve Molitz, who has played with Particle.
The real magic came in the opening night this week of the E Street tour in Hartford. Springsteen & Co. reached back for a comeback show that had the Bruce faithful in fist-waving ecstasy once again. The fans were thankful that he has gone beyond his last two, folk-flavored albums to revive the E Street Band and restore the thunder that’s been missing these last five years.
The E Streeters are getting older – Bruce just hit 58, while saxophonist Clarence Clemons is 65 and not the same ferocious force of yore, at least not consistently. But the chemistry was there when they needed it. The song selection was also a marvel, despite Bruce boldly tossing in eight songs from the new disc, which was too many for an audience that hadn’t yet digested it. But he packaged the new and old material beautifully, from the opening segue of fiery new single “Radio Nowhere’’ into the ever-communal “The Ties That Bind.’’ He’s still searching for faith.
“This is the first stop on our mystery train. Thanks for being with us,’’ Springsteen said to the sold-out crowd at the Hartford Civic Center.
Unlike past tours, he barely spoke, instead putting the focus on the music. There were no long stories or speeches. He threw out a few quick political shots – attacking the “illegal wiretapping’’ and “attacks on the Constitution’’ by the last administration (which he didn’t name) – but just as quickly he followed with his classic “Promised Land,’’ with its insistent refrain of “I believe in the promised land.’’
He also believes in shaking up the arrangements of some of his older tunes. The venerable “She’s the One’’ was given a more pronounced Bo Diddley beat, while “Darlington County’’ became his hardest-rocking tune of the night. The show’s highlight was a whomping transition from “Darkness on the Edge of Town’’ into “Darlington County.’’ It was the Bruce message in a nutshell: Confront the darkness, then break out of it.
The darkness was there in some of the new songs, including “Last to Die,’’ an apparent knock on the Iraq War (“Who’ll be the last to die for a mistake?’’ he sang) and “Gypsy Biker,’’ about a son finally coming home, but to a grave. Some new songs were less effective – the gushy “Girls In Their Summer Clothes’’ was a trifle that sounded like a Beach Boys outtake.
But the show built up with patented Springsteen energy, as he strung together the new “Devil’s Arcade,’’ his 9/11 song “The Rising,’’ and aforementioned “Last to Die,’’ then blew it all open with the set-closing “Badlands.’’ The band, notably guitarists Steve Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren, along with drummer Max Weinberg, followed his lead and cut loose.
Springsteen lost me on the first two encores (“Girls in Their Summer Clothes’’ and a flat version of “Thundercrack’’), but then pushed the right button with a tumultuous “Born to Run.’’ He then returned for another dual encore of the poppy “Waiting On A Sunny Day’’ and the high-octane folk of “American Land’’ from the re-released version of the “Seeger Sessions’’ album. E Street keyboardists Roy Bittan and Danny Federici both switched to accordions for this Celtic-grooved tune, which was played with the same incendiary passion as the earlier rock tracks. Night one of the tour was in the books – and the crowd went home as deliriously transported as ever.
CRITIC’S TIPS
* Josh Ritter – at the Somerville Theatre Thursday-Friday, Oct. 4-5. The Idaho singer-songwriter, who lived for a while in Somerville, returns to familiar terrain.
* Session Americana – at the Brattle Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 4. The wonderful, local, floating-cast, roots-music ensemble performs a benefit for the Brattle Film Foundation.
* Bob Dylan/ Elvis Costello – at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday, Oct. 5. The frog-voiced Dylan has become a crapshoot in concert, but adding luster to the bill is Elvis’s first solo acoustic tour in quite a while.
* Brandi Carlile – at the Orpheum Theatre on Friday, Oct. 5. The Seattle wunderkind, who opened the WBOS Copley Square series this summer, is back as part of VH1’s “You Oughta Know’’ tour.
* Paolo Nutini – at the Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 6. Meteoric star Nutini is due to open the Led Zeppelin reunion show in London, but not before conquering the Orpheum.
* Harvard Square Oktoberfest – on Sunday, Oct. 7. The annual Harvard Square outdoor festival still features multiple stages with something for everyone, from the rock of Teenage Prayers and the Steve Smith Band, to the Latin stylings of Mango Blue and the singer-songwriter talents of Meg Hutchinson and Rose Polenzani.
* Phil Lesh & Friends – at the Orpheum Theatre Tuesday-Thursday, Oct. 9-11. Lesh is still being accompanied by ex-Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell and ex-Bruce Hornsby drummer John Molo, but he’s also out this time with singer Jackie Greene and keyboardist Steve Molitz, who has played with Particle.
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