Collective Soul Connects with Fan, but Not With Originality

Collective Soul conjured an intimate ‘70s arena-rock vibe at the John Anson Ford Theatre on Thursday, connecting with fans and soldiering on despite technical difficulties but offering little evidence of originality.

The Georgia quintet’s 90-minute set featured material from its current album, “Disciplined Breakdown,” plus older favorites such as “Smashing Young Man.” The new songs, which address the band’s experience with personal and professional turmoil, were more stripped-down live than on record, but the emotional nuances largely were lost, and all that painful sincerity in singer Ed Roland’s voice soon became tedious.

The loss of emotional shading may have been due partly to equipment problems that put Roland’s guitar out of service, forcing the group to rely on the remaining two guitars. Although the music veered from aggressive thrash-pop to psychedelic hippie rock to anthemic balladry, it remained curiously generic. The players only underscored the debt to their influences by segueing from their “Crowded Head” into the Beatles’ “Revolution”--and their “surprise” cover of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” was not over-the-top enough to be amusing.

Opening act Abra Moore had a better sense of humor but suffered a similar lack of identity. While the Austin-based singer-guitarist’s 35-minute set was pleasantly rocking, and her lyrics displayed some engaging emotional honesty, the best of her bluesy folk-pop recalled early Rickie Lee Jones. Moore sang songs of romantic angst from her current album, “Strangest Places,” in an appealingly steel-reinforced girlish voice, but she wasn’t well served by her backing quartet’s half-hearted performance.