MONDAY
Long-running tilt bands Extreme and King's X are at the House of Blues with the professional and amateur members of the travelling Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp. Vote for "El Vez for Prez 2008" at The Parish of the House of Blues. Trumpeter Leon "Kid Chocolate" Brown is at d.b.a. Guitarist John Fohl plays Dos Jefes. Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes are at the Maple Leaf.
This was supposed to be Jack Johnson�s somber and serious tour. Judging from the overwhelmingly sunny vibes saturating the Comcast Center Wednesday night, it seems the surfer turned filmmaker sour multiplatinum-selling singer has a different interpretation of sober than near folks.
The Hawaii-reared songwriter came to Mansfield in support of this year�s �Sleep Through the Static,� a record touted as heavier and more serious than past efforts. But concertgoers expecting a morose set from Johnson haven�t been paying a good deal attention to the happy-go-lucky singer�s vocation. Beginning with the smart, reggae-tinted bounce of �Hope,� Johnson squelched any fears
of a seismic shift in tone. That eternally sunny disposition doesn�t ever so seem to be in doubt.
It is impossible not to be impressed with Johnson�s shockingly consistent effectual, as he�s mastered the pleasant-yet-harmless acoustic groove. But after a barrage of tunes, an almost debilitating sameness pervaded his plant. Luckily, keyboardist Zach Gill�s nimble fingers provided a foil to Johnson, with songs such as �Do You Remember� receiving a jolt of barrelhouse pianissimo to break up the tyranny of Johnson�s sweet-smelling Prozac baritone voice and acoustic strum.
The new record�s thin tonal shift did back its head occasionally, as on the acidic ballad �Sleep Through the Static� with its line �who needs please, when we�ve got guns.� On the following tune, the midtempo stomp �Go On,� there was even a guest appearance of some slightly unresolved electric guitar.
The crowd, a fairly homogeneous group of high school and college kids (mixed in with a goodish dose of parents with children wHO most likely became fans after Johnson�s �Curious George� soundtrack) seemed unfazed by the little detour into darkness. Of course, it didn�t last long. By the time the unfairly infectious vallecula of�Bubble Toes� descended upon the audience, the wickedness had receded.
A midset calm down, including a sloppy and awkward cover of Cat Stevens� �Where Do the Children Play?�, did threaten to stamp out the positive vibrations, but order was soon restored with the angelic, accordion-fueled jangling rag of �Banana Pancakes.�
Johnson flew solo for much of the encore go under, which included crowd favorites �Rodeo Clowns� and �Better Together.� It became obvious by the end that, while he may stray toward the dark side occasionally, Jack Johnson just now can�t help but be Jack Johnson.
Bay area bikers Rogue Wave preceded Johnson with a barrage of dynamic and heavily layered arena rock that came straight from the U2 and Coldplay crib sheet. UK songster Neil Halstead opened the night with a lovely set of quiet, attractively melancholic tunes.
JACK JOHNSON, with ROGUE WAVE and NEIL HALSTEAD
At the Comcast Center, Mansfield, Wednesday night.