Jackson Browne at the Beacon Theatre

Jackson Browne w. Lucius

Jackson Browne was born in Heidelberg, Germany, where his father, an American serviceman, was stationed. At age three, Browne and his family moved to his grandfather's house in Los Angeles, California. In his teens, Browne began singing folk songs in local venues. After graduating high school in 1966, Browne joined the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for a few months before moving to New York City, where he became a staff writer for a publishing company before his 18th birthday and backed Tim Buckley and Nico of the Velvet Underground. In 1967, Browne and Nico were romantically linked as she recorded her debut solo album, Chelsea Girl; Browne wrote and played guitar on several songs (including "These Days"). In 1968, following his breakup with Nico, Browne returned to Los Angeles, where he formed a folk band. Coming to prominence as a solo artist in the 1970s, Browne transitioned from folkie to rocker with the album Running on Empty (1977). Browne was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007. He has sold more than 18 million albums in the United States. Browne's 14th and most recent studio album is 2014's Standing in the Breach.

In recent decades, Browne has been celebrated more for his political activism than for new music, but at the Beacon Theatre tonight, he demonstrated that he is still all about the rocking. Even before he and his band took the stage, the audience could see about 30 guitars lining the back of the stage. Backed by guitarist/lap steel player Greg Leisz, guitarist Val McCallum, keyboardist Jeff Young, bassist Bob Glaub, drummer Mauricio Lewak, and vocalists Alethea Mills and Chavonne Stewart, Browne made his statement by immediately launching into "I'm Alive," followed by the hit song he co-wrote for the Eagles, "Take It Easy." While touching on all his hit songs, the set largely was a retrospective covering several decades of music, including a new single, "A Human Touch," a song from the documentary 5B about the first AIDS ward in San Francisco, on which Browne shared vocals with local singer/songwriter Leslie Mendelson. Browne also sang about contemporary issues in his own "The Dreamer" and in a cover of Steve Earle's "City of Immigrants," both of which described the plight of immigrants facing deportation, and concluded his set with a cover of Little Steven's "I Am a Patriot." Browne sang well and gave the band room to groove throughout the set. Towards the end of the set, he enlarged the band by inviting Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius, the support act, to join him on vocals on the last few songs. The concert was more than a classic dad-rock event; it was a wake-up call to make the world a better place to live and love.

Setlist:

1. I'm Alive
2. Take It Easy (Eagles song)
3. The Pretender
4. Enough of the Night
5. The Long Way Around
6. Tender Is the Night
7. A Human Touch (with Leslie Mendelson)
8. These Days
9. Mohammed's Radio (Warren Zevon cover, with Lucius)
10. The Dreamer
11. Lives in the Balance
12. Walls and Doors (Carlos Varela cover)
13. Doctor My Eyes
14. Somebody's Baby
15. I'll Do Anything
16. In the Shape of a Heart
17. Running on Empty (with Lucius)
18. Dusty Trails (Lucius cover, with Lucius)
19. City of Immigrants (Steve Earle cover, with Lucius)
20. I Am a Patriot (Little Steven cover, with Lucius)