Reviews: Stevie Wonder, Mark Knopfler, Chris Cornell, AC/DC, Grace Jones, Kansas

Offered for your consideration are reviews from across the web, including impressions of Stevie Wonder’s Montreal concert, Mark Knoplfer’s performance in Milwaukee, AC/DC rockin’ Los Angeles, Chris Cornell in Seattle and Kansas in Massachusetts.

Photo: Matt Rourke/AP

Appearing in a free pop-up concert outside City Hall in Philadelphia.

Stevie Wonder @ the Bell Centre in Montreal – “He came out swinging after a 20-minute intermission to the infectious melody of Isn’t She Lovely, his voice in dazzling form, as it was throughout the evening, and his harmonica skills ever-sharp.” – T’Cha Dunlevy / Montreal Gazette

Mark Knopfler @ Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee – “The band may have brought enough instruments to fill a music store, including organ, flute, accordion, mandolin, even uilleann pipes. But the music – spanning across styles, from Celtic folk to smooth jazz to Appalachia-indebted ballads to bluesy soft rock – was never bombastic.” – Piet Levy / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Chris Cornell @ Benaroya Hall in Seattle – “Cornell’s voice was spot-on all night, including his take on ‘Ave Maria,’ and he used the room well. He sang into a mic on a harmonica brace so he could roam the stage.” – Charles R. Cross / The Seattle Times

AC/DC @ Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles – “Like tortoises (without much hair), Johnson and his bandmates stand proudly apart from their peers seeking an entry point into modern pop culture. They look at a world in which old-fashioned rock ’n’ roll has become an endangered species and say, ‘Oh yeah? Watch this.’” – Mikael Wood / Los Angeles Times

Photo: Winslow Townson / Invision / AP

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.

Grace Jones @ the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles – “Jones has long been a beloved cult performer; her songs speak to the fringes, and it’s no surprise the bowl was full of true believers. When she repeats, over and over (and over and over) ‘I’m strange/so strange’ to close ‘I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libtertango)’ (from 1981’s definitive Nightclubbing), it seemed that every person in the audience could relate to Jones, whose beautiful, near-alien presence is both riveting and purposefully shocking.” – Jeff Miller / OC Register

Kansas @ Xfinity Arena, Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Mass. – “The band seemed to effortlessly move from ethereal strings and brushed percussion to progressive metal runs. The music grew incrementally heavier through songs like the ‘Closet Chronicles’ and ‘Belexes’ as the band moved more towards improvisation and quickened the pace.” – Donnie Moorhouse / The Republican / MassLive.com