JACKSON BROWNE topped the bill at the Aquarius Theatre Friday night, but Bonnie Raitt got there first and stole the show.
The crowds turned out to welcome Bonnie back to Boston, and her loyal partisans filled the opulent old Aquarius. Gleefully displaying her purple knee-length crushed velvet boots, Bonnie came out backed by some excellent saxophone work by John Payne, who appeared last week at Passim’s. By the time she was up and doing “You’ve Been In Love Too Long,” an old Martha and the Vandellas song (“this is my James Brown imitation”), the burly, long-haired security guards were having their troubles clearing the aisles.
A little drunk, and very glad to be in Boston, Bonnie sang with clarity and power, although it wouldn’t have taken much to please the thoroughly stoned crowd. Some of her admirers rushed the stage to present her with kisses, a rose, and an empty Schlitz bottle. Testing the range of her voice, she mixed ballads like “Love Has No Pride” and Browne’s “Under the Falling Sky” with boogie tunes like “You’ve Got to Know How” and “Love Me Like A Man,” building to two encores.
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If Bonnie Raitt is earthy, then Jackson Browne is slick. He is tall and lean, his hair falls perfectly parted, he sports just a taste of hillbilly in his voice. Friday night Browne did a 40-minute set of his own songs. Plagued by technical difficulties–the worst of them an amp which turned his acoustic guitar into a tinny electric–and uneasy over his place on the bill, Browne seemed uncomfortable on stage and unsatisfied with his band’s performance.
He apologized to the crowd midway through the set. “Billing is one of those things that is decided in Hollywood,” he admitted. “I’d rather follow the atom bomb than Bonnie Raitt.”
Although small groups of Bonnie’s partisans left after each of Browne’s songs, his band played well, and he was brought back for two encores. But the careful orchestration of his hits like “Jamaica”–which was done beautifully–couldn’t compete with Bonnie’s performance.
Browne is one of the most accomplished young songwriters in the country, but his arrangements are too sweet and self-contained to generate enough excitement to follow a boogie band. Only on one or two of his numbers, like “Rock Me On the Water” did his band generate much more than polite applause.
The people who did the billing for Friday night made a classic mistake. They could have done everyone a favor by simply turning the tickets upside down.
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Bonnie will be a presenter at THE 64TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS® this Sunday, April 3rd! Catch the broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on the CBS Television Network or stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Tune in to Music's Biggest Night®! ... See MoreSee Less
The lineup includes a vast variety of performers and groups, including Bonnie Raitt, the Juilliard String Quartet, James Taylor, Chopin and Wagner concert, a Boston Pops Stephen Sondheim tribute, and music from famous films, as well as many other concerts and performances. ... See MoreSee Less
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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.
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Bonnie Raitt - Write Me a Few of Your Lines/Kokomo Blues
60 years anniversary celebration of Arhoolie
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Arhoolie Foundation celebrates it's 60th anniversary (1960-2020) with an online broadcast.
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Bonnie Raitt - Shadow of Doubt
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
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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.
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Sheryl Crow & Bonnie Raitt - Everything Is Broken
[Eric Clapton’s Crossroads 2019]
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'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