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

Gathered from publications throughout the known universe, today’s critiques include Fitz And The Tantrums in Pittsburgh, “Weird Al” Yankovic in Houston, Dierks Bentley in Charlotte, Maxwell in Columbus and Ben Folds in Bethlehem, Pa.

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

Photo: Anna C. Jones
BJCC Concert Hall, Birmingham, Ala.

“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

Photo: Scott Legato / RockStarProPhotography.com
DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, Mich.

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