Jackson Browne brings full band, ageless voice, engaging tales, familiar hits to Meijer Gardens

On a sumptuous, sunny evening, the rock legend performed songs spanning his five-decade career backed for the first time at the outdoor amphitheater by a six-piece band. (Review, photo gallery)

 

This time around, Jackson Browne brought fewer guitars and more musicians.

As a result, classic rock’s iconic singer-songwriter on Monday night gave a sold-out crowd at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park a more dynamic retrospective of his five-decade career, leaning on a six-piece band to give his music a pleasant sort of rock ‘n’ roll punch that was missing from the solo shows he delivered in recent Grand Rapids appearances.

The predominantly baby boomer crowd certainly appreciated the full-band approach — even if some fans seemed a bit reserved early on — especially when it came to churning out the 67-year-old star’s biggest, most familiar hits such as “Doctor My Eyes,” “Somebody’s Baby,” “Boulevard” and “Running on Empty,” songs that brought most of the 1,900 in attendance to their feet.

One thing didn’t change from the more laid-back solo show Browne unfurled the last time he played the amphitheater: He still revels in telling the back stories behind the compelling songs he sings, not to mention getting sidetracked by things like “a really beautiful spider crawling around in front of me here.” (He eventually rescued the critter while sitting at his piano and deposited the arthropod safely aside, but not before telling another tale about the time red ants crawled up his pants in New Mexico.)

DOWN-TO-EARTH AND MOVING

He also talked about paying $35 a month for a California apartment he once shared with the late Glenn Frey and John David Souther, and taking a trip to Cuba where he met songwriter Carlos Varela, just before playing Varela’s insightful “Walls and Doors.”

Alternating between guitars and a grand piano, Browne’s gregarious chattiness — that down-to-earth, next-door-neighbor personality — made his stories and songs that much more moving, from the song “For a Dancer” that he dedicated to the victims of the recent Orlando shooting to the band’s truly powerful rendition of “The Barricades of Heaven” from his 1996 album, “Looking East.” During the latter, one older fan spent much of the poignant song with one arm raised and his eyes closed, taken by the moment and the nostalgic sentiment.

Through it all, it seemed Browne’s voice hadn’t aged a bit — resonating with the same recognizable force that it always has.

“You’re like a teenager again,” a female fan shouted out at one point.

Well, maybe not quite, but Monday’s show definitely made a lot of folks at Meijer Gardens feel that way.

Jackson Browne also plays Interlochen Center for the Arts’ Kresge Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Interlochen. Tickets are still available. Details online here.

PHOTO GALLERY: Jackson Browne at Meijer Gardens
Photos by Chris Clark

Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC