Pop Music Blog

BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer

FOXBORO - U2 doesn't work small.

The Irish rock legends brought their U2 360 Tour to Gillette Stadium for the first of two shows Sunday night, and it's tempting to simply review the stage.

Since it was impossible to ignore, it's as good a place as any to start.

The gargantuan structure, which took four days to build, resembled nothing so much as a four-legged spider with light-green skin and orange polka dots. Its legs contained dozens of speakers; smoke billowed from various portals. Above the band was a huge cylindrical screen that could project or be projected upon, and which expanded to nearly reach the stage later in the show.

A 360-degree catwalk surrounded the round stage, with movable ramps connecting the two, allowing band members to stroll pretty much wherever they wanted (guitarist The Edge was further freed up by a headset microphone and a technician adjusting his guitar sounds, rather than using footpedals). Larry Mullen's drum riser also revolved.

They displayed ambition in their set list as well, starting off with four songs from this year's No Line On The Horizon disc and returning to it several more times in the two-hour show.

Mullen came out first to kick off the rolling, tumbling "Breathe," a triplet rhythm with vocalist Bono spitting out rapid-fire verses alternating with slow, lazy choruses. After the midtempo title track, they finally charged out of the gate with "Get On Your Boots" and moved on to the stately "Magnificent," with its slide-guitar solo from The Edge.

They finally dipped into the back catalog with "Mysterious Ways" (showcasing bassist Adam Clayton's Memphis-soul chops) and the straight-up shout of "Beautiful Day" (with a quote from "Blackbird" by Bono over the coda, one of several of his trademark nods to other songs during the night).

The set mellowed out about midway through, with an affecting, acoustic, Bono-and-Edge-only "Stuck In a Moment (You Can't Get Out Of)," with sweet falsetto vocal in the coda from The Edge; the keyboard-driven "The Unforgettable Fire" and the uplifting "City of Blinding Lights."

Even with all the technical whiz-bangery, several moments, such as the full-on rock of "Vertigo" and the gorgeous ballad "One," as well as the encores, saw virtually no visual trickery.

New or old material, high-tech production or no, the template has remained the same over the decades - slow-moving chord changes with a rock-solid beat from Mullen, fast-strumming guitar from The Edge that alternates between chiming and jagged, and of course to-the-back-row vocal dramatics from the leather-lunged Bono.

They also don't think small when it comes to statements, and there was no shortage of those, mostly from Bono, whether shouting out to Marvin Minsky, author of the artificial-intelligence book Conscious Machines or encouraging "freedom in the streets of Iran" before "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (with visual backdrops recalling that conflict, including a wash of green light) and freedom for Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi before "Walk On," complete with fans marching onto the catwalk while holding masks of her face.

They even threw in an inspirational video from Archbishop Desmond Tutu before "One" and a snippet of Maya Angelou's "A Brave and Startling Truth" before the encores, which started with "Ultraviolet," going back to the Achtung Baby album, and "With Or Without You," both performed with Bono swinging from a hanging mike wearing a suit festooned with tiny red lights and with a lit-up disco ball luminescing from the top of the 150-foot stage during the latter.

The mournful, organ-led "Moment of Surrender," again from No Line, closed it out - seemingly incongruous for a stadium rock concert, but in keeping with the big-hearted humanitarian theme of the show.

"You're gonna have fun tonight - but first, us," Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody said early on in their set. He was being a little too self-denigrating. Opening acts are opening acts. But while the Northern Irish group's stadium-rock anthemry can wear thin on record, in an actual stadium they filled the space well, particularly Lightbody's powerful voice.

They were allowed to use a lot of the space on the stage, and a fair amount of the technology, they took it up, such as when Lightbody prowled the stage, guitarless, during "Hands Open." They opened with "If There's a Rocket Tie Me To It," with space-age keyboard squiggles opening up to an anthemic chorus, and went into "Chocolate," with its heroic-sounding guitar.

The lean syncopation of "Shut Your Eyes" grooved as well, and Lightbody so inspired the crowd to sing along that they took the chorus up again after the song was over, prompting a salaam from the singer.

The hit single "Chasing Cars" showed the band's debt to the chiming guitars of The Edge and the hesitant romanticism of Coldplay, and by the time of "Open Your Eyes" it was again beginning to wear thin - virtually any of these songs could have been the opener or closer. But then there was "You're All That I Have" and that was it - another virtue of opening acts.

Both bands play again Monday night.

rmassimo@projo.com / (401) 277-7206

BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer

LEDYARD, Conn. - It would be really easy for Donna Summer to trot out on stage, say "Here's one you might remember," sleepwalk through "On the Radio," "She Works Hard For the Money," "Last Dance" and a few more of her seemingly endless trove of disco and post-disco dance hits and call it a night, a tour, a career.

And sure, those songs were on display Friday night at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, as was a lot of nostalgia for Summer's '70s heyday. But promoting Crayons, her first studio record in 17 years, Summer had more to offer and, it seemed, a bit to prove.

Summer put six songs from Crayons, all of which she co-wrote, in Friday night's show, and while a few, such as the self-celebratory opener "The Queen Is Back," were rather robotic and didn't show off Summer's vocal strengths, the funk-rock throwdown "Mr. Music" and, especially, the double-time dancehall of the title track were effortless updatings of the Summer dance ouevre. And "Sand On My Feet" was a lovely acoustic changeup, far in spirit from the rest of the set.

And of course, the hits were there, Summer's strong voice in the lead throughout. Her high notes as strong and high (if not quite as long) at age 60 as in her classic period.

Her band easily replicated the crack musicianship that even made ridiculous songs such as "MacArthur Park" and "Could This Be Magic?" credible and evocative, as well as the crunch of the disco-rock mini-set of "Bad Girls" and "Hot Stuff." The only misstep from that standpoint was "I Feel Love," which didn't - couldn't, really - pack the same impact in a full-band celebration that it did as a stark, futuristic throb in the '70s.

The less expected highlights came in an unadorned piano-and-vocal version of "Smile," done as a tribute to Michael Jackson, and her duet on "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)," with sister Mary Gaines Bernard taking Barbra Streisand's part on a pedal-to-the-metal rendition of the already-fast dance-floor banger.

And of course Summer finished with the pure aural champagne of "Last Dance," possibly disco's high-water mark.

rmassimo@projo.com / (401) 277-7206

BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer

MANSFIELD, Mass. -- The Creed reunion tour that started earlier this month hit the Comcast Center Tuesday night, and the platinum-selling Florida-based post-grunge band showed that little had changed in the five years since they first took off.

The elements of the Creed sound are still there -- the metallic guitar riffs and occasional spooky minor-key openings of Mark Tremonti (augmented last night by guitarist Eric Friedman) with the solid mid-tempo pounding of bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips (the latter three members formed the band Alter Bridge during Creed's breakup and have said that it will continue).

All topped off, of course, by singer Scott Stapp delivering from-the-mountaintop lyrics that tackle The Big Subjects, laden with religious imagery and delivered in his distinctive muscular yawn of a voice. There wasn't a lot of variation; touches such as the acoustic guitar on much of "Faceless Man" and the triple-unison bent riff of "Never Die" were extremely welcome.

The set was mostly a greatest-hits affair, with staples such as "With Arms Wide Open," "One," "Higher" and "Torn" drawing the greatest noise. The band has a new record, entitled Full Circle, coming out in October and a new single, "Overcome," due later this month, and Tuesday night they played the title track and the single (the latter twice, as they were shooting the video). There's not a lot to differentiate the new stuff from the old, although "Overcome" did throw in some rapid-fire vocals in the middle and "Full Circle" included some of the metal-funk feel of, say, Aerosmith.

While the rest of the band wasn't exactly faceless Tuesday night, Stapp provided the visual focus. Like Disturbed frontman David Draiman, Stapp is utterly convinced of the importance of what he's doing, saying and singing, prowling the stage in dead earnest, not so much enjoying the shouts and fist-pumps of the audience as feeding on them and returning them. Twice, he spoke of "responsibility." Woo!

"Let's keep pressing," Stapp told the audience as he left the stage at the end of the show. Towards what, he didn't say -- but he didn't need to. That feeling -- that playing a rock show is a way of pressing toward a higher goal -- was what Stapp and Creed were all about.

Fall River's own Resin opened the show, playing muscular post-grunge led by leather-lunged singer Ron Dallaire. Highlights included the metallic pop of "Breathe" and the radio-ready single "Soul to Soul," while Creedence's "Fortunate Son" also got a good working over. It's far from the first recent high-profile opening gig for Resin, and they looked comfortable enough on the big stage that it's easy to predict they'll be back.

The New Zealand band Like a Storm preceded Creed with a similar mix of hard rock and melody, with a bit more brash to their twin guitars and more high drama to their lyrics. The harmony spots on "What It's Like" and the double-time ending of "Just Save Me" were nice touches.

rmassimo@projo.com / (401) 277-7206

BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer

FOXBORO - "It wouldn't be summer without you," Kenny Chesney told the crowd of 55,869 early on in his show Sunday night at Gillette Stadium, and evidently the feeling was mutual: Even though this was Chesney's fifth straight year headlining the new England Country Music Festival, it was his fifth straight sellout - this time in eight minutes back in December, stadium officials said.

How does that kind of appeal happen? And continue?

Well, for one, Chesney's been putting out a new record every year for the past five, so repeat fans always have new songs to look forward to. He's also a genial Everyguy with a flair for the big stage - this year opening the show by singing "Live Those Songs Again" while riding in a crane above the audience to the stage.

And with his odes to beer in Mexico, guitars and tiki bars and kegs in the closet, Chesney has not only added to the country-music lexicon; he's become a full-on Jimmy Buffett-in-waiting. Songs such as "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" and "Keg in the Closet" pretty much explain themselves.

His sound has more to do with thick-sounding Les Paul guitars than fiddles and slide guitars (although those made appearances too). But there were plenty of change-ups from Chesney and his 12-piece band (including horn section). "Guitars and Tiki Bars" hopped from snappy, horn-driven ska-lite to a one-drop reggae beat; "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" included glockenspiel-like vibes.

Things got a little slow in the middle, with the Nashville power ballads "I Go Back" and "Anything But Mine," both from 2004's When the Sun Goes Down album, and then the piano ballads "Me and You" and "There Goes My Life" (with sax on the former).

It picked up from there temporarily, with the rock-star celebration "Living in Fast Forward," and after a pause for "Boston" (naturally), thigs pretty much stayed up-tempo from there.

The white reggae of "Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven" was the only song from last year's Lucky Old Sun to make it in, and from there the party anthem "When the Sun Goes Down" and the earnest rocker "Don't Happen Twice" finished the regular set.

And the encores included the self-deprecating swagger of "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" and Steve Miller's "The Joker," including cameo appearances by Patriots players Tedy Bruschi ("don't tell Coach he was out here tonight") and Wes Welker.

It's seriously tempting - and would not be completely inaccurate - to simply describe the opening acts by the '70s and '80s rock and pop songs they covered: Sugarland, led by the big-voiced Jennifer Nettles, tackled Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine." Montgomery Gentry took on KISS's "Rock n Roll All Nite," while Miranda Lambert hit Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and Rod Stewart's "Stay With Me" and opener Lady Antebellum went for "Long train Runnin'."

OK, that's not all you need to know: Sugarland spun on the axis Nettles and guitarist and singer Kristian Bush, who were respectively a little bit country and - well, a lot of rock 'n' roll.

The opener, "Love," was a grand rock anthem starting with wah-wah guitar and organ washes; 'Settlin'" was pure '80s rock, and "Want To" was also an arena statement. "It Happens" had a Dolly Parton-esque bounce, but the real country elements were the detailed, common-touch storytelling and, again, Nettles's powerful voice. They even threw a bit of Madonna's "Holiday," Nelly's "Hot in Herre"(cq) and The Emotions' "Best of My Love" into "Everyday America."

It began to get a little refined, a little adult-contemporary, until they brought the noise - and the speed - to the honky-tonk rock of "Down in Mississippi (Up to No Good)." And of course they covered Bon Jovi's "Who Says You Can't Go Home," the single on which Nettles did a guest vocal.

Montgomery Gentry balanced loud and proud Southern rock such as "Hell Yeah," a tribute to the therapeutic effects of volume, as well as the swaggering "What Do Ya Think About That?" with sentimental stuff such as "Back When I Knew It All," a mid-tempo pop-rocker about growing up, the Everyman anthem "Something to Be Proud Of" and ballads of satisfaction such as "Lucky Man" and "My Town."

The result was that at time they weren't rocking as hard as frontman Eddie Montgomery (or singer-guitarist Troy Gentry) were shouting that they were, but they made up for it by the end with the sway-and-sing-along "Long Line of Losers," the genial barroom anthem "One In Every Crowd" ("and it's usually me") and, probably most impressively, "Hillbilly Shoes," which mixed and old-time stomp with metallic guitar riffs and a bit of "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" on top.

Miranda Lambert came out in full rocker mode with "Kerosene" and finished that way with the redneck shotgun anthem "Gunpowder and Lead." In between, she threw in covers of Rod Stewart's "Stay With Me" and Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," and changed up with the honky-tonk story-song "Dry Town" and the piano-led ballad "More Like Her."

With a new record coming out next month, Lambert went through the new single "White Liar" at a gallop, with a keening slide guitar leading the way, as well as the nondescript ballad "Dead Flowers" and the guitar rocker "Maintain the Pain."

Lady Antebellum kicked off their opening set with the crashing power chords of "Lookin' For a Good Time," congruously quoted AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" about halfway through that, and launched into a cover of The Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Runnin'" in midset. It was an accurate microcosm of their mix of country music and heartland rock, with the earnest semi-twang of Charles Kelly and Hilary Scott leading the way.

"Home Is Where the Heart Is" and "Love Looks Good On You" pretty much covered their lyrical bases, but it was all tuneful enough, especially the breakthrough hit "Love Don't Live Here." As if to drive home Kelly's John Mellencamp-like husk, they closed with a cover of "Hurts So Good."

rmassimo@projo.com / (401) 277-7206

BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer

NEWPORT, R.I. -- So we know Chaka Khan is one of the great funk/R&B voices of all time, but the question before the opening concert of George Wein's CareFusion Jazz Festival 55 was, how well can she sing jazz?

Well, after hearing her for an hour and a half along with an announced crowd of 2,300 people, the answer is yes, no and maybe.

Khan, backed by an impeccable quartet led by pianist George Duke (with James Genus, bass; Ron Brunner Jr., drums; Jeff Lee Johnson, guitar), came out swinging (after an instrumental by the quartet) with a quick version of "Them There Eyes," singing near the top of her range with a trumpet-like quality but at the same time a nice warmth. Her deep notes on the following ballad, "I Loves You Porgy," were a little breathy and not as powerful, however.

That pattern continued for the rest of the set, with "Take the A train" punctuated by glistening high notes (and a nice bit with Genus singing along to his own solo), but with "End of A Love Affair" losing a lot of emotional punch with all the ornamentation that Khan put on, particularly compared to the Billie Holiday version she referenced before starting up.

"High Wire - The Aerialist," by Chick Corea, was a refracted standard from Khan's Echoes of an Era album of standards, and the ballad "Round Midnight" was more effective for a lack of coloration.

The crowd was calling for Khan to do her better-known funk and soul material, such as "Ain't Nobody" and "I Feel For You," all night, and after Khan returned from another instrumental break, funk and pop seeped into the jazz. The ease with which Khan delivered a knockout rendition of "To Sir With Love" (with Duke on Fender Rhodes and Genus on electric bass) was telling, And "My Funny Valentine" and "A Night in Tunisia" were as close to funk as those chestnuts are likely to get. A fusion-like version of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" closed it out.

A quartet led by the young clarinetist Anat Cohen and guitarist Howard Alden opened the show with sweet and straight-ahead standards, all in tribute to this year's centenary of Benny Goodman. Starting with the gentle Swing of "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Poor Butterfly," the quartet took flight on a lickety-split "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise," with Cohen displaying dazzling speed.

Alden's solo during "Memories of You" was laced with gorgeous harmonics, and the way Cohen picked up on Alden's descending line during "After You've Gone" inspired festival impresario George Wein, no mean piano player himself, to join in, and stay for "All of Me."

"I had to get in there; it sounded so good," he told the crowd afterward, and as the man who started bringing jazz to Newport 55 years ago, who would stop him?

rmassimo@projo.com / (401) 277-7206

BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer

BOSTON - How much is Paul McCartney allowed to mix it up? Wednesday night at Fenway Park, in the first of two shows, he did his best to find out.

McCartney opened with a suite of pounding rockers from his Beatles, Wings and solo careers, including "Drive My Car," "Jet" (a little slow) and "Mama Only Knows" (from 2007's Memory Almost Full). And by seven songs into the show, he'd done more songs from the past 12 years than from the '60s.

As well he should. He may not make records like he did 40 or 45 years ago, but he is making better records than he did 20 or 25 years ago, and Wednesday night's two songs from Electric Arguments, his record from last year under the pseudonym The Fireman, made that clear.

While most of the McCartney evergreens were there ("Maybe I'm Amazed" was the only glaring omission), after the solo acoustic "Blackbird" McCartney went into the rarities vault. The John Lennon tribute "Here Today" was heartfelt, and it set up the slight but happy stomp of "Dance Tonight" well. Then came the acoustic-plus-accordion sway of "Calico Skies" (from 1997's Flaming Pie), followed by "Mrs. Vanderbilt," an album track from 1973's Band on the Run. And after a tip of the hat to the classics with a solo "Eleanor Rigby" (with taped strings) came the clanging, joyous rocker "Sing the Changes," from Electric Arguments.

From there, McCartney went back to giving the crowd what they wanted with "Band on the Run," and then kicked out the proverbial jams with "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "I'm Down."

Still boyish-looking at age 67, McCartney couldn't help cheap theatrics even as he chided himself for them: "We couldn't hear anything we did because of the all the girls screaming," he said of The Beatles at one point, of course provoking the women in the audience to scream. "But we liked it!" he added, and as if to prove his point about a half-hour later he said it all again. He can even make a plug for the Beatles Rock Band video game (after "Got to Get You Into My Life") seem charming.

Even for Beatles tunes, McCartney dipped a little deeper into the well later in the show, pulling out "I'm Down" and "I've Got a Feeling" (with a new, extended double-time coda) later in the set. A pedal-to-the-metal "Paperback Writer" was even extended.

There was one more divergence from the greatest-hits routine later, when McCartney picked up the ukulele given to him by George Harrison for a tribute to his late Beatle bandmate for a take on Harrison's "Something" that started off with characteristic ukulele jaunt, transmogrifying halfway through into a more traditional rendition. Shortly thereafter, he dipped into Lennon's catalog for "A Day In the Life," which melded halfway through into "Give Peace a Chance."

And he closed with a medley of the reprise of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" folding into "The End," including the extended three-way guitar solos.

While McCartney's whole band is more than competent, most of them only took as much slack as McCartney gave them. Drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., however, was the true secret weapon, pounding away with a vengeance, particularly on the rockers. He plays the hallowed material so strongly in the present tense that he threatens to take them over and avoiding the "here's one you might remember" syndrome that seems to envelop the band (even McCartney) when a Beatles classic comes up in the set list.

Did McCartney do "Let It Be"? "The Long and Winding Road"? "Hey Jude"? "Yesterday"? Well, yeah; he's Paul Freaking McCartney, and even Paul Freaking McCartney has to give people what they came for. But just when you could begin to wonder what, at age 67, McCartney's got left to prove, he showed something, and with great energy during a two-and-a-half-hour show.

"Everything I do has a simple explanation," McCartney sang during "Flaming Pie," and in nearly 50 years he's never given anyone any reason to think that's not the case. So maybe he's just an old vet mixing things up to have some fun. That sure is what it sounded like.

The Brooklyn band MGMT opened the show, and while their melodic mid-tempo rockers and ballads were basically tuneful, and the icy '80s synthesizers helped put them over, they seemed at a loss on the big stage (maybe anyone would). The neo-disco "Electric Feel" was probably the highlight.

(Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated MGMT's origins.)

rmassimo@projo.com / (401) 277-7206

BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer

MANSFIELD, Mass. - So it seems Coldplay sweats after all.

If you hadn't seen the kazillion-selling British band before Monday night at the Comcast Center (raises hand), it seemed worth wondering about. Their hooks are as big as the sheds and arenas they play in, and the choruses beg for sing-alongs, but on record they seem more suited for a chilly British winter or a crisp New England fall than a sweaty outdoor rock 'n' roll party.

Well, there's still a bit of that quality, but for most of the nearly two-hour show Monday night, the band (plus, it sounded like, a backstage musician or two) brought the poundage to their clean, crisp anthems.

While singer and pianist Chris Martin did his manic-marionette routine, he peppered his patter with relatively clever pandering to the Massachusetts crowd. And guitarist Jon Buckland was a secret weapon, grinding away on sing-along ballads such as the breakthrough single "Yellow" and "Glass of Water," while bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion brought real muscle to even the clinical single "Clocks."

Even so, and with such stagy touches as a giant yellow balloon drop during "Yellow" there's a limit to how many straight-ahead anthems and wordless chant-along hooks you can listen to in one sitting, and by the time "Fix You" came around, it was time for something else. While "Strawberry Swing" hinted at a change of rhythmic direction, the real change-up came when the band strode to a tiny second stage halfway up the stage-left aisle for a technophied version of "Talk," complete with electronic percussion and guitar squiggles, before Martin went into "The Hardest Part" alone at the piano.

That cleansed the palate for the hit "Viva La Vida," complete with an outsized percussion kit for Champion, and "Lost."

Then they really went for it, heading all the way up to the lawn for an acoustic trio of "Green Eyes," the new "Death Will Not Conquer" (sung by Champion) and a full, respectable version of "Billie Jean" before returning to the main stage to tear into "Politik," and a U2-like "Lovers in Japan" (while butterfly-shaped confetti was shot at the audience). A hushed "The Scientist" and a joyful "Life in Technicolor" were the encores.

There's an uncertainty at the core of a lot of Coldplay's material, and a lot of it starts in the middle, emotionally speaking -- so while it's anthemic stuff, you're not going to see a lot of Coldplay lyrics spray-painted on a lot of walls. But in a live setting, with the kind of volume that Martin and the band generated Monday night, it can still be affecting.

The British band Elbow preceded Coldplay, and the initial effect, intended or not, was to make Coldplay seem like The Ramones. Though the opening horn blasts of "Starlings" were impressive, the keening voice of singer Guy Garvey was full of pomp, which worked better on anthemic rock stomps such as "Station Approach" and the closing "One Day Like This" than non-events such as "The Seldom Seen Kid."

The young British roots-rock trio Kitty, Daisy & Lewis opened the show with an impressive display of switching instruments (guitar, piano, snare drum, ukulele, glockenspiel and harmonica all made an appearance) and keeping faithful to rockabilly and swing and jump blues. And with the help of guest trumpeter Tan Tan, they even managed a decent run through some first-wave ska.) With their parents accompanying them on upright bass and guitar, the highlights were Lewis Durham's Elvis-like take on "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and several long Kitty Lewis harmonica solos.

rmassimo @ projo.com / (401) 277-7206