By Ross Raihala
August 27, 2009

Bonnie Raitt opened the Minnesota State Fair’s Grandstand series Thursday night with the help of an old friend, 67-year-old blues icon Taj Mahal. But it was another, even older, friend whose memory informed every moment of the show.

Raitt’s brother, Steve, died in April of brain cancer at age 61, after spending several decades living in the Twin Cities and working as a sound engineer and producer. Indeed, Raitt recorded her 1971 debut album in Minnesota with the help of her brother. His presence in the Cities gave Raitt numerous reasons to visit, and over the years, she has performed here on a regular basis, including five previous gigs at the Fair itself.

At the top of Thursday’s show, Raitt dedicated the evening to her brother, the first of numerous times she spoke of him from the stage. It wasn’t a wake, but a celebration of his life through music and stories — a celebration with more than a little lingering pain.

As such, Raitt turned in the sort of raw, let-all-the-seams-show performance that few in the crowd of 7,275 will ever forget. She devoted much of her first hour to slow, passionate blues numbers, delivered with hushed reverence and, often, closed eyes. She seemed to draw strength from the newest member of her band, the Twin Cities’ own Ricky Peterson, and spoke lovingly of him and his relationship with her brother.

During “Nick of Time,” she sidled up next to Peterson on the keyboards, and praised him for the “Minnesota magic” he’s spent the summer spreading to fans around the country. Later, she sang “Good Man Good Woman” with him as a duet, showcasing a chemistry that suggested they’d been bandmates for decades, not mere months.

But it was Raitt’s version of John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery” that gave the evening its strongest charge. She opened it singing nearly a cappella, with just a few spare strums on her acoustic guitar, and closed it with her band backing her at full force.

Raitt, who turns 60 in November, also proved endlessly generous, giving shout-outs to numerous friends in the crowd, her fellow musicians and even upcoming Fair performers like Kelly Clarkson and Jackson Browne.

Mahal, who co-produced her 1973 album “Takin’ My Time,” opened the evening with a brisk 45-minute set and later joined Raitt for several acoustic numbers. After she ran through a few of her biggest hits — “Something to Talk About,” “Love Sneakin’ Up on You” and a wrenching “I Can’t Make You Love Me” — Raitt invited Mahal and his entire band for an extended encore that included “Wah She Go Do,” one of the many songs they recorded together nearly four decades ago.

About The Author

Ross Raihala

Pop music critic

A Minnesota native, Ross Raihala joined the Pioneer Press as pop music critic in 2004, after stints at The Forum in Fargo, N.D., and The Olympian in Olympia, Wash. He covers local and national music as well as some theater and other arts and entertainment topics. His favorite part of his job is reviewing, and live tweeting, Twin Cities arena concerts. And, yes, he saw the same show you did.

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