It's been roughly 30 years since I caught a Jackson Browne concert. Tuesday night he did not disappoint. With such an extensive catalog of music to choose from it is easy to be disappointed to not hear what you want. What JB did perform was outstanding and a terrific compilation of his music career. His voice was still as resonate as ever. Yes there were some minor cracks (the man did just come off three consecutive nights of singing) but they were negligible. "I Am A Child" was my highlight of the night and quite a surprise. To hear something from his debut album that never got much air play over his career was a real treat! This was also one of those shows where the band backing him up was solid and really drove the spirit of his music at any tempo. Who needs 'The Section'? I didn't miss them at all last night. Another deep cut, "Shaky Town" from the Running On Empty album posed another surprise. Not exactly on my wish list, but it did bring back memories of how good that era was musically - reflecting the times it was written. I could go on. Please read the setlist from Tuesday night, July 9th. It is stocked with more recent material that balanced out the 'must haves'. If you have not heard JB live in many years such as I, you owe it to yourself to go see him in the next year or so when he tours again in your town. You won't be disappointed. This was a very good show!! * * * * (four out of five stars)
It's been roughly 30 years since I caught a Jackson Browne concert. Tuesday night he did not disappoint. With such an extensive catalog of music to choose from it is easy to be disappointed to not hear what you want. What JB did perform was outstanding and a terrific compilation of his music career. His voice was still as resonate as ever. Yes there were some minor cracks (the man did just come off three consecutive nights of singing) but they were negligible. "I Am A Child" was my highlight of the night and quite a surprise. To hear something from his debut album that never got much air play over his career was a real treat! This was also one of those shows where the band backing him up was solid and really drove the spirit of his music at any tempo. Who needs 'The Section'? I didn't miss them at all last night. Another deep cut, "Shaky Town" from the Running On Empty album posed another surprise. Not exactly on my wish list, but it did bring back memories of how good that era was musically - reflecting the times it was written. I could go on. Please read the setlist from Tuesday night, July 9th. It is stocked with more recent material that balanced out the 'must haves'. If you have not heard JB live in many years such as I, you owe it to yourself to go see him in the next year or so when he tours again in your town. You won't be disappointed. This was a very good show!! * * * * (four out of five stars)