‘70s Echoes From Five for Fighting

Eras of pop music never really go away. There’s always a band like Oasis aping the Beatles, or one like the Strokes obsessing over a period from the New York underground that ended before its members were born. Somewhere in all that now is an echo of sensitive male balladeers, with such new hit-makers as Train and Five for Fighting reaching for the feel-good ‘70s touch of Elton John.

At its concert Wednesday at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, Five for Fighting ended its current tour with a hometown show that was soothing and unassuming. This past year the quartet enjoyed a hit with “Superman,” which during its 90-minute show peaked with vocals of warmth and vulnerability from leader John Ondrasik.

“Thank you for taking this song to heart,” he told the crowd. But little else of the band’s material reached that same emotional level. So most of the night was pleasant enough but uninvolving beyond the good-natured vibe of the band.

With his sideburns and black muscle T-shirt, Ondrasik showed a certain ‘70s flamboyance as a frontman, his swagger sometimes coming off like Burt Reynolds with a guitar.

He pulled two fans onstage to dance through “Out of Love” and sat at his electric piano for the bloodless longing of “Jainy.”

Five for Fighting was mostly like a no-frills Dave Matthews Band. In his favor, Ondrasik kept things direct, finding appropriate material in the Elton John-Bernie Taupin hit “Rocket Man.” Less convincing was a set-closing “Let It Be,” a fine choice that nevertheless failed to capture the grandeur of the Beatles original. Not everything is so easily recyclable.