All-for-One Concert Without Egos

Fred Durst, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie and Kid Rock shared the stage for more than three hours at the Greek Theatre on Tuesday, trading off songs and backing one another up in a remarkably ego-free display.

Can’t imagine that, can you? Not in the image-driven, commerce-centric world of today’s pop scene.

Well, put Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Bruce Hornsby and Shawn Colvin in the picture instead.

That works. From the moment Browne unceremoniously walked onto the Greek stage Tuesday at the end of the opening set by ace sideman David Lindley and percussionist Wally Ingram, it was clear that this would not be concert business as usual. (Though Browne is part of the grouping’s national tour, he was not advertised for this show because of prohibitions connected with his slot on the Eagles’ New Year’s Eve show at Staples Center.)

The casual atmosphere was further affirmed when Colvin came out carrying her year-old daughter, as Hornsby and Raitt lurked visibly in the wings.

Throughout the evening, the foursome connected their dots for a show that was truly more than the sum of its parts, paying off for artists and fans alike. It was at once loose--full of joking and chiding between the partners and their solid support crew, led by multi-instrumentalist and longtime Browne partner Lindley--and professionally constructed in a way that emphasized pacing and consistency.

The four principals all got to play their own hits, but there was never a sense that anything was shoe-horned in or that songs were selected with regards to selling records. None of them, for that matter, even has a new record on the shelves at the moment. And most of the night was a team effort. Raitt’s “Thing Called Love” and “Something to Talk About” were all the spunkier for the verses taken by Browne and Colvin, as well as for the slide-guitar sparring between Raitt and Lindley.

The yearning of Browne’s “The Pretender” was ratcheted up by the participation of the other stars, but so was the joy of making the music itself.

And even the between-song love feasts of praise between the performers never seemed forced or showy.

Of course, that tone is nothing new for anyone who’s seen any of the countless benefit concerts Raitt and Browne have done for years around California, in which they and others routinely lend support not only to causes but also to their fellow musicians on stage.

“I can’t think how many times I’ve looked over on stage and seen Jackson Browne in the last 30 years,” Raitt said at one point Tuesday.

But it wasn’t just a matter of experience and maturity that made it work. It’s their sensibility.

It’s one that didn’t always boost the dynamics Tuesday. Hornsby has jokingly dubbed the ensemble “the Sensitive Ones” and, at times, things got a bit too mellow. And though the encores included a high-octane, Lindley-led “Mercury Blues,” the rest of the closing segments seemed a lost opportunity. Rather than just continuing the format of the concert, it would have been terrific for the stars to team on spontaneous group-sings of, say, Beatles songs or old doo-wop numbers or other inspirations.

But there was never any sense that they were having anything less than a lot of fun, which is what it should be about at this point in their careers.

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* Raitt, Browne, Colvin, Hornsby and Lindley play Friday at Santa Barbara Bowl, 1122 N. Milpas St., Santa Barbara, 6 p.m. $32-$62. (805) 962-7411.