Pop Music Review : Little Feat Comes Back With a Boogie Beat

So much attention was focused on the late Lowell George’s central role as the chief singer-songwriter for Little Feat that the inimitable funky boogie style that lies at the cornerstone of the veteraA. group’s sound was often overlooked.

That element remained intact when the septet re-formed last year, and it drove the group’s triumphant two-hour performance Tuesday at the Greek Theatre right from the barrage of cowbells and drummer Richie Hayward’s crackling, second-line syncopations that started “Fat Man in the Bathtub.”

Little Feat’s set was fundamentally a rhythm trip, with the criminally under-recognized Hayward playing around the beat far more than on it. But he made sure the audience never lost track of where the beat was --or the other band members, who adroitly popped strategic instrumental accents and oddly timed vocal lines into the arrangements for added emphasis.

It wasn’t hit-you-over-the-head stuff, more an insinuating undertow that induced approximately 17 subtle physical reactions--shoulder hitch, hip twitch, toe tap, loosey-goosey stumble and roll, etc.--every 30 seconds or so.

Some of the newer songs fell on the too-smooth side of sophisticated, but “Long Time Till I Get Over You,” “Let It Roll” and others fit like a glove with the classic Little Feat selections and kept much of the near-capacity crowd on its feet throughout the performance.

There were a few slack moments toward the end, but the formidable musicianship and still-unique style ensured that Little Feat’s position as the world’s funkiest rock ‘n’ roll band doesn’t face a serious challenge yet.