Show Review

Xavier Rudd brought his environmentally spiritual and aboriginal influenced one-man show to a small but captivated Boston crowd to launch his summer tour of the U.S. Rudd had the honor of kicking off the rich musical night on the waters of Boston Harbor by taking his solo act to the Bank of America Pavilion for a warm and sunny 45-minute set. Robert Randolph &The Family Band had the following slot while Gov’t Mule took on the headlining role to begin their own summer tour.

Rudd began his performance with “Shelter,” an entrancing slide-guitar ballad bidding good fortune to a traveler on a dreamy quest. His lyrics frequently invoke images of trees, the sea, the wind, and other soothing symbols of nature to convey his appreciation for our precious planet. Late in his set, the Aussie sang “This is all that I need / Music and you and the gift of the tree,” employing a vocal softness reminiscent of a youthful Paul Simon.

While his musical talents are not unlike the jack-of-all-trades approach of Keller Williams, Rudd’s lack of digital sampling and loopy lyrics portray his authentic passion for preserving the environment, which undoubtedly goes far beyond his fondness for surfing.

Despite performing without accompaniment, Rudd is able to layer sounds by utilizing four limbs and a mouth to create seemingly orchestral tapestries of sonic complexity. He demonstrated his circular breathing talent by playing three separate didgeridoos, which he occasionally augmented with a percussion kit and an amplified stomping technique enhanced with an ankle shaker. During an instrumental song, Rudd embarked on an aggressive adventure of jungle-techno beats that brought much of the growing crowd to its feet for an earthy dance groove.

Although many of the Family Band and Mule fans had yet to show up while Rudd performed under the massive tent of the Pavilion, he still drew some enthusiastic cheers from an attentive audience, accented by a particularly energetic group of fans to his left, whom Rudd even acknowledged from the stage midway through his set. Before his final number, Rudd took some time to explain the characteristics of his “yirdaki,” or didgeridoo, and how termites had been naturally creating the instruments for over fifty thousand years.

While his American popularity is just beginning an exponential growth, Rudd is taking a positive direction for his tour by joining up with a variety of established acts in the improvisational music scene, such as moe., Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon, and the Benevento/Russo Duo, as well as some additional nights with the Mule. He will also be performing at a number of festivals including Wakarusa, Floyd Fest and Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, so most summertime music lovers should have an opportunity to enjoy Xavier Rudd serenading the natural world.