Reviews: Fitz And The Tantrums, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, Dierks Bentley, Maxwell, Ben Folds

Fitz And The Tantrums @ Stage AE in Pittsburgh, Pa., July 14 – “Among the most lively moments of .’L.O.V.’ was James King’s transformative saxophone solo that morphed into Jason Derulo’s ‘Talk Dirty to Me.’” – Alexis Book / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Weird Al” Yankovic @ Wortham Center in Houston, Texas, July 14 – “He is, at all times, in character for whatever role a given song needs him to be, and he doesn’t crack. A great example is ‘Wanna B Ur Lovr’ where he straight-up ignores the dudes in the audience going for high-fives or trying to get his attention because the character singing that song would also ignore the dudes in the audience; that character is that sort of creep.” – Cory Garcia / Houston Press

Dierks Bentley @ PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, N.C., July 14 – “In the two years since Bentley’s bow as a big-venue headliner (and yes, indeed, his 2014 Riser Tour kicked off at this same amphitheater), he has developed a rapport with his fans as a live performer that artists possessing 10 times as much headlining experience can’t boast.” – Théoden Janes / Charlotte Observer

Maxwell @ Palace Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, July 11 – “His inclusion of Brit chanteuse Kate Bush’s ‘This Woman’s Work’ displayed a restless hunger for tunes. His introduction for ‘Lifetime’ showed his passion for the community as well as the music.” – Curtis Schieber / The Columbus Dispatch

Ben Folds @ Levitt Pavilion Steelstacks in Bethlehem, Pa., July 14 – “The encore was excellent, opening with Folds alone on stage for a lovely version of his 2005 solo song ‘Landed’ – a seminal song of piano rock – then the Ben Folds Five favorites ‘‘Kate.’” – John J. Moser / The Morning Call