Raitt makes you love her, time and again
Boston Herald, 10/24/05
by Christopher Blagg
Rock stars don't usually age well. So how does Bonnie Raitt look and sound like someone half her age while Mick Jagger appears to be headed for the old folks' home? What's her secret? Last night's sold out performance at the Orpheum gave a clue. It's all in the voice.
Touring in support of her recently released record, "Souls Alike,'' Raitt and her stellar four-piece band opened the show with a slew of new tunes, setting a decidedly funky standard for the rest of the evening. The Crescent City strut of "Unnecessarily Mercenary'' kicked off the proceedings with Jon Cleary pounding out a wicked piano boogie to accent Raitt's syncopated slide guitar. Throughout the set, Cleary proved to be Raitt's ace in the hole, delivering soulful lead and back up vocals along with jaw-dropping piano rolls and Hammond organ fills.
After an acknowledgment of Cleary's devastated city and its musicians, Raitt launched into the chillingly prescient "God Was On the Water,'' a brooding and dark groove. Sticking with the theme of perseverance over struggle, Raitt then tore into her newest single, the defiant and hopeful hip shake of "I Will Not Be Broken.''
Of course, Raitt's impeccable slide guitar work sounded as natural and breezy as ever, but it was her voice that controlled the crowd. Raitt's husky alto continues to be a marvel, a thing of beauty that is unrivaled in pop music.
Raitt switched the mood to lighter fare with the bawdy, sexually-charged roadhouse rocker "Gnawin On It.'' Equally at home with the tear-jerking ballads, Raitt then slowed it down with the lovely acoustic tune "I Don't Want Anything To Change,'' with opening act Maia Sharp lending sweet harmonies.
Occasionally, Raitt would misstep, as on the awkward and busy winding melody of "Crooked Crown,'' and the clunky sing-speak of "Trinkets,'' but those were the only exceptions. Giving a shoutout to her old Radcliffe days, Raitt brought out her old Boston running partner, James Montgomery, to blow a spirited blues harp during the sassy blues moan of "Mighty Tight Woman.'' The crowd responded to her Beantown loyalty with an instant and unexpected midset standing ovation.
For an encore, Raitt brought the audience to its feet again with the vocal tour de force of the melancholic "I Can't Make You Love Me.''
Songwriter Maia Sharp gave a peasant if rather bland opening set. Raitt generously joined her on stage for a tune, but it only served to expose Sharp's mediocre vocals.
