Jackson Browne has the staying power that few of the acts from the 1970’s have. He has well known songs still often played on radio stations which have and always will be hits plus also a new more subtle batch of songs that still take on the problems of the world, ecology and where the world is headed socially.
This night at The Shed in Tanglewood he chose to start off with some of his more recent thoughts of what we are doing to the planet and the changes and social problems that are taking place before our eyes. He led off with “Don’t Let Us Get Sick,” a Warren Zevon tune.
The next choice was “Downhill From Everywhere” from his latest album of the same name. It was inspired by a quote from Charles Moore, the man who discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Made up of microplastics, the size of the patch is vast but indeterminable. When asked how so much plastic found its way there, Moore observed the oceans are “downhill from everywhere.” This song was met with cheers from the audience glad to see Browne never holds back about singing of controversial topics.
He spent the evening shifting between eye opening topics and the more lighthearted hits he is also known for like “Doctor My Eyes” and “Somebody’s Baby.” No matter which route he took the audience hung on every note, sang along and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful idyllic evening under the stars at the open-air amphitheater of The Shed at Tanglewood. From the covered seats in front to the lawn seats in the back where patrons brought blankets and food and drinks and laid-back soaking it all in. It was a relaxing evening full of the refreshing sounds that Browne so easily rolls out.
Browne sings for everyman and the struggles of race, environment and social ills that seem to forever plague society along with love and lost love. All songs the everyone can identify with at some time in their life.
Browne split the evening into two sets with a small break in between so everyone could stretch their legs before resuming the music of the second set.
The evening ended with an encore of “The Load Out / Stay,” a tribute to the roadies who have kept him and the band going and moving through the decades long stretch of music Browne has delighted crowds with.
Review by Donna Erichsen
Photos by George Bekris
For more information on Jackson Browne including his tour schedule see Jackson Browne.
Setlist:
Set 1:
Don’t Let Us Get Sick
Downhill From Everywhere
Until Justice Is Real
For Everyman
My Opening Farewell
Time the Conqueror
The Long Way Around
Call It a Loan
Sky Blue and Black
The Indifference of Heaven
Doctor My Eyes
These Days
The Barricades of Heaven
Set 2:
Farther On
The Naked Ride Home
Too Many Angels
I’m Alive
Fountain of Sorrow
For a Dancer
Love Needs a Heart
Boulevard
Rock Me on the Water
Somebody’s Baby
Lawyers, Guns and Money
Your Bright Baby Blues
Sleep’s Dark and Silent Gate
The Pretender
Running on Empty
Encore:
The Load Out / Stay