The BoDeans opened a three-night, sold-out stand at the Riviera on Friday with a sound big enough to fill any arena.
Although pegged initially as a ”roots-rock” combo, the Milwaukee quintet actually aspires to create big, passionate, just-slightly-left-of-mainstream rock that would put them in league with the Springsteens, Segers, Mellencamps and Pettys.
Which is why the group`s lead singers, Kurt Neumann and Sammy Llanas, examine serious, potentially anthemic, themes in their songwriting. Their 1986 debut wasn`t called ”Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams” for nothing.
All four of their albums contain heartfelt, well-sung tunes, with Neumann`s smooth voice complementing Llanas` grittier tenor. But though their songs often broach dark issues, they seldom penetrate them.
Together, they`ve written only one lightning bolt, ”She`s a Runaway,”
which tells the tale of an abused women.
Using Del Shannon`s ”Runaway” as an introduction, the song was a highlight of Friday`s set, beginning as an acoustic lament and finishing as a full-barrel rocker.
But Llanas, in an equally personal song, ”Going Home,” about his grandparents` migration from Texas to Wisconsin, might as well have been in the greeting-card business: ”They both never had much wealth/But each one knew how a flower grows.” Nicely framed by Neumann`s ”Paint It Black”
guitar riff and Michael Ramos` accordion, the song isn`t so much an outright failure as a wasted opportunity to develop a powerful story.
Poor execution of a decent idea also undercut ”True Devotion,” which compares a personal breakup to a drowning. The song`s nuances and Llanas`
vocal were washed away in a tidal wave of keyboards and drums, turning drama into melodrama.
Similarly, ”You Don`t Get Much” aspired to U2`s grandeur, with its predictable slow build to a big chorus, but wound up sounding like the Alarm, a second-rate U2 if there ever was one.
The BoDeans were much more impressive when they took modest ideas and rocked them playfully. Linking Billy Preston`s ”Will It Go Round in Circles” to the mindlessly catchy ”Do I Do” worked splendidly, and Neumann`s Chuck Berry guitar hot-wired ”Good Work.”
Just goes to show that sometimes the least ambition can go the longest way.
Opening the show were the Gear Daddies, an Austin, Minn., band that blends a bit of country twang with blue-collar rock.
Guitarist Randy Broughten doubled on pedal steel, while singer Martin Zellar demonstrated a sense of humor to go along with his gutsy breakup songs, especially on ”I Want to Drive a Zamboni.”
