While rock stars are good at raising money and public consciousness, star-studded lineups usually suffer. Few performers fare well when removed from their comfort zones and sharing sound engineers and equipment, a situation that usually results in hastily delivered second-rate music.
Leave it to Boston’s finest to break the pattern. Sunday’s Hot Stove Cool Music fund-raiser at the Paradise was about as good as it gets for a charity gig. Led by an array of local rock royalty, the music was hotter than the stove.
While ticket holders perused silent auction items in the Paradise Lounge (mostly baseball memorabilia), the vocal-less Elan Trotman Band kick-started the main room with “Play That Funky Music,” featuring Trotman’s fluid sax. He returned as music director/keyboardist for ex-Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo’s largely unplugged set. While Arroyo’s Eddie Vedder-inspired nasal bellow isn’t anything original, a string quartet added unexpected seriousness to his performance, which included a cover of Augustana’s “Boston” that practically brought the house down.
Stoughton folkie-turned-Nashville star Lori McKenna, former Letters to Cleo vocalist Kay Hanley, Dear Leader and Eli “Paperboy” Reed (who also played the so-called preview Hot Stove show the night before) all served up strong, inspired sets that transcended the charity lineup curse.
But none held a candle to ESPN commentator Peter Gammons and his All Star Band, which numbered up to 15 members at times. An inspired amateur guitarist and singer, Gammons churned out a lengthy selection of covers peppered with doo-wop-infused blues originals in a celebrity jam that delivered the musical goods without the pretense. Miraculously, the arrangements never grew overcrowded.
Joined by J. Geils Band keyboardist Seth Justman, Buffalo Tom’s Bill Janovitz (who sang lead on a smoking, E Street Band-inspired cover of Neil Young’s “Powderfinger”) and Little Feat guitarist Paul Barrere, Gammons’ own playing was surprisingly muscular. What’s more, his dizzyingly talented band proved the highlight of the five-hour-long musical marathon. Even David Ortiz [stats]’s daughter Tiffany got in on the fun, playing tambourine during the finale.
If the folks onstage had an even better time than the audience, don’t complain. They also raised quite a few bucks for local charities.