Ben Harper, Charlie Musselwhite explore the roots of American blues in soaring fashion

The duo retraces Grammy-winning “Get Up!” in bracing show Thursday at a sold-out Meijer Gardens. The guest Local Spins review by The Crane Wives’ Ben Zito.

 

By Ben Zito
LocalSpins.com

The album “Get Up!” by Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite is the latest in a seemingly never-ending series of Ben Harper reinventions.

Upon setting out to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park on a particularly hot and sunny Thursday evening, I found myself wondering if I was going to hear the Harper staples of yesteryear. Would “Burn One Down” or “Steal My Kisses” be making an appearance tonight? The swampy Delta blues tones of “Get Up!” had left me with the impression that Harper had traded in his jingle-worthy pop licks for some good old-fashioned harmonica-driven 12-bar.

As the crowd filtered in, I noticed a much wider age demographic than I had anticipated: 20-somethings rubbed elbows with retirees as the sun’s glaring presence drove one and all to the beer lines.

Perhaps the older crowd was hoping to hear the blues harp sounds of the ’60s and ’70s, while the younger crowd wished to relive dorm days — burning one down. In a lot of ways, this was the prevailing theme of the evening: looking back.

The opening act Tom Freund, for example, is an old friend of Harper’s. The duo released an album called Pleasure and Pain in 1992. Tom played a solo set primarily on guitar, thoroughly engaging an attentive audience. He showed his prowess on the upright bass a couple of times, and ended the set with a ukulele rendition of “Let My Love Open the Door” with the audience clapping along.

The Harper/Musselwhite set opened with the title track off of “Get Up!” I was struck immediately by Harper’s guitar tones. They blend the dirty slide licks so necessary to Delta blues with the grungy fuzz drive you might hear from The Black Keys. The combination was powerful, pulling this brand of blues right into the 21st century.

PAYING HOMAGE WITH A LEGEND AT HIS SIDE

By exploring the roots of his instrument of choice, Harper finds the inspiration necessary to innovate. Feeling the nostalgic mood, Harper took a moment on stage to reminisce about the history of the lap steel. He talked about going to the guitar shop in his boyhood town and watching people play for hours. No doubt these experiences provided ample fodder for this album and tour, which so clearly pay homage to the past.

Speaking of paying homage, Harper wasn’t the only star on stage tonight and his adoration for this cohort was obvious. Charlie Musselwhite performed alongside him for every song and sang lead on a handful of them. His harp playing is phenomenal: clearly something he’s been doing for most of his 70 years.

Though Harper led most of the night, Musselwhite took the reins from time to time. In doing so, a harmonica solo would likely ensue, which was in my opinion, disappointingly rare.

The duo performed all of the tracks off of their Grammy-winning “Get Up!” but didn’t spend much time elaborating on them with solos or prolonged jams. I expected a 10-minute rendition of “I Don’t Believe a Word You Say,” but the performance was almost note-for-note from the album. But the pair’s rendition of “When the Levee Breaks” more than made up for these slight disappointments, especially when Musselwhite played Plant’s harmonica part to soaring perfection and then some.

All in all, this album and the tour it spawned represent a clear example of looking to the past for inspiration. Musselwhite has helped Harper find that inspiration, with the timeless combination of harmonica and slide guitar.

The sold-out crowd of 1,900 didn’t hear “Steal My Kisses” or “Burn One Down” tonight. I’d be surprised if fans ever hear them again. Harper is recalling the past in order to progress as a musician, and it’s working.

He mentioned working on another album with Musselwhite during the set. I for one can hardly wait.

Ben Zito is bassist for folk-rock’s The Crane Wives and an occasional contributor to Local Spins. He last reviewed Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis at Meijer Gardens.

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
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