Franti brings sound of sunshine to Tent
Were your arms tired Saturday morning? Probably so, if you were at Friday night’s Melody Tent show by Michael Franti and Spearhead.
Some performers lead sing-alongs. Franti does that, but he also likes to lead wave-alongs, and for much of the night he had audience members swaying their arms to his mix of reggae, rap, R&B, and rock.
Franti didn’t leave all the work to the crowd. He was dashing up and down aisles and zipping along the edge of the rotating stage. He invited fans to join him on stage to sing and dance (one big dude got belly-down on the stage and did the Worm quite impressively). In short, this is a guy who knows how to engage the crowd.
Franti’s music is upbeat, both in its tempo and in its lyrics. The visuals back up that spirit. “Love out loud” was printed in big letters on Manas Itiene’s bass drum and the guitar strap on Franti’s battered acoustic guitar has block letters saying “stay human.”
Early in his career, Franti was blatant with his politics, in his work with the rap duo The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and on the early Spearhead CD “Stay Human,” which focused on the death penalty.
Lately he’s more focused on a Marley-esque “one world” message with a feel-good vibe. As he said in introducing “Good to Be Alive Today,” “Every person on this planet deserves to be happy, healthy and equal.” He also mixed in plenty of love songs, the best of them being “Crazy for You” and “Life Is Better With You.”
Another highlight was “I Got Love for Ya,” one of seven songs Franti played from last year’s “Soulrocker” CD. The song was inspired by his son’s graduation from high school, and Franti worked in a bit of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” before finishing the song by smashing the bottom of his guitar against one of Itiene’s cymbals.
Got to give a nod to the rest of Franti’s tight band: guitarist J Bowman, bass player Carl Young and keyboardist Michael Blankenship.
Near the end of the 100-minute show, Franti talked about his Do It for the Love charity which provides concert experiences for people who are seriously ill or have a disability. Beyonce, Kenny Chesney, the Red Hot Chili Peppers – whatever performer they’ve dreamed of seeing. (“I never thought I’d buy so many Taylor Swift tickets,” Franti joked.)
The charity, which has sent 900 families to shows so far, lists its mission as “hope and healing through live music” – which pretty much sums up Friday’s show and Franti’s career.