High Energy Powers Grand Funk Reunion

Concert season at the Greek Theatre kicked off Friday with a bill that seemed like something sprung from a fever dream: a reunited Grand Funk Railroad--augmented with guest turns from Slash, Billy Preston and Bob Seger saxman Alto Reed--shared the stage with members of the Sarajevo Symphony in a benefit show for Bosnian orphans.

Improbable, yes, but original Funksters Mark Farner, Don Brewer and Mel Schacher, together for the first time in 20 years, put in a yeoman effort to crank up their bloozy stomp-rock and the results, if not enlightening, were highly entertaining.

Grand Funk is something close to America’s Spinal Tap, but at this show the band was in on its own joke, having a blast as it powered through the chunky, Neanderthal riffs of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Soul,” “Heartbreaker” and the Railroad-ed version of “Locomotion,” all to flickering laser lights and belching smoke machines. The barely audible orchestra joined the band for a second set that featured marginally subtler works such as “Shinin’ On” and “Closer to Home.”

The songs aren’t classic gems, and the playing was sometimes clumsy, but the spirit was infectious. During the high-energy charge at the band’s biggest hit, “We’re an American Band,” drummer Brewer belted out the group’s long-standing statement of purpose: “We’re coming to your town, we’ll help you party down.” Not much of a credo in the grand scheme of things, but this night the band lived up to it fully.