The Band Boston Fan Site - Boston still delivers more than a feeling at tour opening concert in Hollywood

Boston still delivers more than a feeling at tour opening concert in Hollywood

Boston guitarists, founder Tom Scholz (left) and Gary Pihl, deliver the distinctive Boston sound on Hitch a Ride in this recent shot. The band opened its current tour at Hard Rock Live near Hollywood Thursday night. Jon Viscott By Howard Cohen

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Calling a live album live is often a misnomer in popular music. Almost all of the popular live albums Frampton Comes Alive!, Eagles Live, Garth Brooks Double Live were heavily doctored in the studio with overdubs, re-recorded instrumental parts and re-sung vocals to sound painstakingly close to the recorded versions.

Three songs into Boston s ebony porn opening date of its 2012 tour at Hard Rock Live near Hollywood Thursday night, just after a flawless recreation of the 1978 classic rock staple Feelin Satisfied, the notion of having to resort to suchdeceptive trickery seemed unnecessary for musicians and sound engineers of this caliber. Boston s front-of-house sound was crystalline, full-bodied, warm and powerful, so close to perfect, one could suggest that all Boston has to do to craft its first killer live album right now is to get on stage and simply hit the record button.

Boston mastermind Tom Scholz, the group s founder, guitarist, keyboardist and primary songwriter, laughed backstage at that suggestion after the 105-minute concert. They d hear all my mistakes, he quipped.

If there were any faults in the opening night s performance they mostly were reflected in the concert s haphazard video presentation. The large screen behind the band only sporadically flashed images, none of them particularly interesting, save a few shots of the distinctive Boston guitar spaceship logo.

The concert s pace in the latter third also flagged a bit with a three-part Third Stage combo of My Destination/New World/To Be a Man. Ditto the surprising inclusion of the mid-tempo Used to Bad News as the penultimate encore. The more rousing Don t Be Afraid, from the same Don t Look Back album, would have maintained the peak Boston had built by that point.

But these are minor quibbles. Boston, working as a six-piece with vets Scholz and guitarist/keyboardist Gary Pihl, now includes new co-vocalist/rhythm guitarist David Victor swapping leads with lead singer Tommy DeCarlo on Peace of Mind and Amanda. Muscular drummer Curly Smith, who has a long r