In this day and age, growing old gracefully in a rock and roll world is a contradiction in terms - it just doesn't happen.
Well, if you were at the Symphony Hall on Monday evening, you'd know that this was a total lie - Bonnie Raitt (right) was in town and she made sure that the place rocked with her brand of country/jazz/blues.
The California-based lady treated the second city audience to a wonderful variety of music, ranging from out and out blues to acoustic based jazz and electric funk, made possible with her band of superb musicians.
Having first played the Symphony Hall some 12 years ago, it was good to pair the artist and the venue back together again as they complement each other so well.
Opening with a trio of tracks of her current album Souls Alike, she dedicated the songs to the people of New Orleans and their efforts to rebuild in the aftermath of Katrina.
By the time Bonnie and the band finished an extended I Believe I'm In Love With You, they had found the groove and it stayed firmly in place all night.
The set featured many of her well-known songs, some like Nick Of Time reworked with a lovely piano based coda from Jon Cleary. Others like Spit Of Love crackled with passion and fire.
Raitt's voice has always had a soulful quality but as she gets older, it becomes stronger and more expressive and, like the rest of her, is in great shape.
Bonnie has always been a wonderful interpreter of other writers, and so it wasn't surprising to hear her deliver songs by Paul Brady, Sippi Wallace and Richard Thompson. The final two ballads, The Bed I Made and I Can't Make You Love Me were delivered so expressively that you felt that your heart was breaking for her.
In keeping with the tradition of showcasing interesting support artists, Foy Vance from Belfast, has been given the honour of occupying the first 40 minutes of the show.
He has a great soulful quality to his voice as well as a great range, and anyone who has the guts to open his spot with an acoustic version of Jimi Hendrix's Crosstown Traffic deserves to be applauded. He deserves to succeed and hopefully will be a name to remember for the future.
Chris Field
