Bonnie Raitt At SPAC
by Mike Kane, The Post-Star, July 19, 1977
As she introduced her father, musical comedy star John Raitt, at the conclusion of her Sunday night concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Bonnie Raitt told the crowd of 3,981 that “he’s the one with the tubes in the family.
She may be right, since her father has long been known for his vocal abilities, but Bonnie Raitt certainly proved to that SPAC crowd that she can belt out a song herself.
Ms. Raitt, in her first appearance at Saratoga, churned out a fast-paced, tight set that displayed her wide vocal range and virtuosity on the guitar. Although the performance was the initial stop on her summer tour that includes five days in Europe, Ms. Raitt and her band moved through their performance with a minimum of difficulty.
The Kenny Rankin Quintet opened the evening with 60 minutes of Latin jazz-influenced tunes.
For the past six years, Ms. Raitt has recorded for Warner Brothers, and although she has never gone after the top 40 market, she has gained a wide following. With an act that includes blues, ballads, and rockers, she has shown she is not limited to a particular musical genre. That aspect was particularly evident Sunday as Ms. Raitt opened with a rocking tune, “Higher and Higher,” and continued on with songs like “Good Enough” by John and Johanna Hall of Orleans and “Opening Farewell” by Jackson Browne. Midway through the show, she switched guitars and wowed the audience with classy bottleneck slide guitar renditions of works by veteran bluesmen Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and Fred McDowell.
The show closed with Ms. Raitt wailing out “Three Time Loser” off her latest album, “Sweet Inspiration.”
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