‘70s Echoes From Five for Fighting

Eras of pop music never really go away. There’s always a band like Oasis aping the Beatles, or one like the Strokes obsessing over a period from the New York underground that ended before its members were born. Somewhere in all that now is an echo of sensitive male balladeers, with such new hit-makers as Train and Five for Fighting reaching for the feel-good ‘70s touch of Elton John.

At its concert Wednesday at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, Five for Fighting ended its current tour with a hometown show that was soothing and unassuming. This past year the quartet enjoyed a hit with “Superman,� which during its 90-minute show peaked with vocals of warmth and vulnerability from leader John Ondrasik.

“Thank you for taking this song to heart,� he told the crowd. But little else of the band’s material reached that same emotional level. So most of the night was pleasant enough but uninvolving beyond the good-natured vibe of the band.

With his sideburns and black muscle T-shirt, Ondrasik showed a certain ‘70s flamboyance as a frontman, his swagger sometimes coming off like Burt Reynolds with a guitar.

He pulled two fans onstage to dance through “Out of Love� and sat at his electric piano for the bloodless longing of “Jainy.�

Five for Fighting was mostly like a no-frills Dave Matthews Band. In his favor, Ondrasik kept things direct, finding appropriate material in the Elton John-Bernie Taupin hit “Rocket Man.� Less convincing was a set-closing “Let It Be,� a fine choice that nevertheless failed to capture the grandeur of the Beatles original. Not everything is so easily recyclable.