Engaging in occasional acts of “surprise the band,” to use Bonnie Raitt’s exact words, actually keeps everyone at a concert on their toes.
At the top of the list would have to be the more casual fans who attended her Aug. 13 show at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J. But in the end, Raitt’s musical journey on this unbearably hot night typified what she’s done throughout her career, before and after her hit-making, Grammy-winning heyday of 1989-94: taking a great song (sometimes from an unexpected source), putting it through her tasteful blues-rock-folk filter and emerging with a rendition that’s both palatable and personal.
Following an opening set by Richard Thompson (who saved his best for last, filling “Tear-Stained Letter” with long, sparkling lead guitar breaks), Raitt hit the stage promising “something from the female point of view.” And with that, she and her band began with her steady-rollin’ cover of INXS’ “Need You Tonight,” which Raitt recorded for her latest album, “Dig in Deep,” released in February. It was the first of many points in the show when Raitt’s instantly identifiable and sensual slide-guitar playing made its presence felt. Other “Dig in Deep” songs in the set included “Unintended Consequence of Love” (only the second time Raitt has performed it in concert) and “Gypsy in Me” (she called it out to the band on microphone in a way that suggested it was an in-the-moment addition to the set list or shuffled around from its original spot).
Raitt’s honesty and down-to-earth nature went over just as well as the music. She reached back to her third album, 1973’s “Takin My Time,” for “I Feel the Same,” and afterward prompted a few laughs from the crowd when she said, “Sorry, guys. I ended it too soon.” Before her version of John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery,” she put on some lipstick.
Other highlights included her highest-charting pop hit, “Something to Talk About,” the Talking Heads signature “Burning Down the House” as well as a stirring version of “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” one of her encores.
Raitt’s next show with Thompson is Aug. 15 in Westbury, N.Y., and their tour will conclude Sept. 23 in Paso Robles, Calif. She’ll continue touring the U.S. with other openers into early November.
Bonnie Raitt gazes toward the balconies early in her show at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on Aug. 13. (Photo by Chris M. Junior)
Chris M. Junior is a Contributing Editor at Goldmine who has written features and reviews for the magazine and website since 1999, in addition to shooting portraits and concert photos. He is a former Assistant Editor at Rolling Stone.
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
Jazz and blues fests are everywhere now, and Americana is going strong on college radio. What I'm hearing is an appreciation of real music.
Bonnie Raitt
I speak my mind and come from a place of conscience, as well as have fun as a musician.
Bonnie Raitt
I don't know if I'm a heroine; I'm just somebody that can cheer the troops by singing to folks, and have receptions after the show, and tithe a dollar of every ticket sale for all kinds of different great charities and social action groups.
Bonnie Raitt
Quakers are known for wanting to give back. Ban the bomb and the civil rights movement and the native American struggle for justice - those things were very, very front-burner in my childhood, as were the ideas of working for peace and if you have more than you need, then you share it with people who don't.
Bonnie Raitt
The consolidation of the music business has made it difficult to encourage styles like the blues, all of which deserve to be celebrated as part of our most treasured national resources.
Bonnie Raitt
I think my fans will follow me into our combined old age. Real musicians and real fans stay together for a long, long time.
Bonnie Raitt
I grew up in Los Angeles in a Quaker family, and for me being Quaker was a political calling rather than a religious one.
Bonnie Raitt
I just play the music that I love with musicians that I respect, and fortunately, I'm in a position where people are willing to play with me, and perhaps I can do something to help them.
Bonnie Raitt
I never saw music in terms of men and women or black and white. There was just cool and uncool.
Bonnie Raitt
Solar power is the last energy resource that isn't owned yet - nobody taxes the sun yet.
Bonnie Raitt
Religion is for those who are scared of hell, and spirituality is for those who have been there.
Bonnie Raitt
Life gets mighty precious when there's less of it to waste.
Bandana Blues is and will always be a labor of love. Please help Spinner deal with the costs of hosting & bandwidth. Visit www.bandanablues.com and hit the tipjar. Any amount is much appreciated, no matter how small. Thank you.
Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2, the anticipated new John Prine tribute record from Oh Boy Records, is out today. Stream/purchase HERE.
Created as a celebration of Prine’s life and career, the album features new renditions of some of Prine’s most beloved songs performed by Brandi Carlile (“I Remember Everything”), Tyler Childers (“Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You”), Iris DeMent (“One Red Rose”), Emmylou Harris (“Hello In There”), Jason Isbell (“Souvenirs”), Valerie June (“Summer’s End”), Margo Price (“Sweet Revenge”), Bonnie Raitt (“Angel From Montgomery”), Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (“Pretty Good”), Amanda Shires (“Saddle in the Rain”), Sturgill Simpson(“Paradise”) and John Paul White (“Sam Stone”). Proceeds from the album will benefit twelve different non-profit organizations, one selected by each of the featured artists.
{{svg_quality_icon}}
{{quality-options}}
1
http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/Z71L4JdrVBY/hqdefault.jpg
Bonnie Raitt - Write Me a Few of Your Lines/Kokomo Blues
60 years anniversary celebration of Arhoolie
December 10, 2020
Arhoolie Foundation celebrates it's 60th anniversary (1960-2020) with an online broadcast.
{{svg_quality_icon}}
{{quality-options}}
1
Bonnie Raitt - Shadow of Doubt
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
October 3, 2020
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass celebrates it's 20th anniversary with an online broadcast titled “Let The Music Play On”.
{{svg_quality_icon}}
{{quality-options}}
1
http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/hCJa0505jZk/hqdefault.jpg
Bonnie Raitt & Boz Scaggs - You Don't Know Like I Know
Farm Aid 2020 On the Road
Sam & Dave classic written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter.
{{svg_quality_icon}}
{{quality-options}}
1
http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/jXG6ULcK-qs/hqdefault.jpg
Sheryl Crow & Bonnie Raitt - Everything Is Broken
[Eric Clapton’s Crossroads 2019]
Eric Clapton, one of the world’s pre-eminent blues/rock guitarists, once again summoned an all-star team of six-string heroes for his fifth Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2019. Held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, the two-day concert event raised funds for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, the chemical dependency treatment and education facility that Clapton founded in 1998.
{{svg_quality_icon}}
{{quality-options}}
1
http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/yHeBLEo4TOM/hqdefault.jpg
'A Tribute To Mose Allison'
Celebrates The Music Of An Exciting Jazz Master
Raitt contributed to a new album, If You're Going To The City: A Tribute To Mose Allison, which celebrates the late singer and pianist, who famously blended the rough-edged blues of the Mississippi Delta with the 1950s jazz of New York City.
NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Bonnie Raitt about her friendship with the Mose Allison. They're also joined by Amy Allison — his daughter, who executive produced the album — about selecting an unexpected list of artists to contribute songs to the album.
Recorded on tour June 3, 2017 - Centennial Hall, London - Ontario Canada