Arts & Entertainment writers offer capsule comments on this, that and the other thing ...

Michael Franti and Spearhead

In the immortal words of David Lee Roth, "you might as well jump."

Arriving on stage at Mr. Small's Sunday night, Michael Franti implored the packed house to pogo, even as he was singing about the sacrifice of war with the mantra, "Don't take our boys away, no/don't take our girls away, no."

Franti, a left-wing provocateur from way back, realizes that to get into people's minds, you might need to move their bodies. Franti and Spearhead grooved a crowd, which seemed pre-pumped from a Steelers win, with lively set of rock-reggae that sounded a call of can't-we-all-just-get-along?

Franti, a presence at 6-foot-6 with swinging dreads, played about half of "Yell Fire!," a vibrant new CD recorded after he toured the war zones in Baghdad and Gaza. He came back with songs that, rather than point fingers, speak to our common humanity, like "East to the West," on which he emphasized the line, "God is too big for just one religion."

The sound ranged from the delicate acoustics of "Sweet Little Lies" to "Yell Fire," with its stabbing electric guitar, to the hip-hop-funk of "We Don't Stop," which rips the beat right off The Clash's "The Magnificent Seven." Spearhead was supple and playful, along the way breaking into Sublime's "What I Got," Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up" and even a reggae take on the theme from "Sesame Street."

Whether he's playing to folks in Palestine or a packed club in Millvale, Franti has a magic touch for making people dance and smile. Should the government ever need a goodwill ambassador, he might be their man. Till then, it's power to the peaceful.

-- Scott Mervis, Post-Gazette pop music critic

Acoustic Africa

A tour billed as "Acoustic Africa," with "three of the most gifted singer-songwriters from the African continent," might have conjured up images of a more subdued evening than what actually transpired at the Byham Theater Friday night.

Yes, there was poetry sung in English, French and several African languages, and quietly beautiful acoustic guitar work.

But when all three stars and eight backup musicians were on stage at the same time, with the intricate thump of percussion, the bottomless bottom of funky African-style electric bass, and an acoustic guitar processed to ring and chime just like an electric, the groove was the thing.

As for the three stars, Vusi Mahlasela is a South African singer and finger-picking guitarist well-known in that country since before apartheid ended for his songs that confront political and social issues. Mahlasela dedicated the concert to Bishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, and to 13 years of South Africa's "fragile" democracy. His tunes ranged from township jive to a piece that mixed a scat/bebop interlude with folk-like verses.

Mali's Habib Koite, also a star in his country, plays his acoustic guitar more as a lead instrument, combining the influence of kora (an African harp) and American blues. With a long, lean frame, he stalked the stage as he played and sang, not unlike Buddy Guy or Jimi Hendrix or the Brazilian singer Djavan. Between songs, he made a pitch for Oxfam America.

Both these veterans may have felt the heat from the youngest performer, the statuesque 24-year-old Dobet Gnahore, born in the Ivory Coast and now living in France.

Dressed in a colorful sheath-dress and headwrap, she sang in a soaring voice, played thumb piano or kalimba, and broke into insouciant, gravity-bending shimmies, crawls and backflips.

The band, a mix of sidemen from different countries and cultures, produced fabulous vocal harmonies and tight backup. To mention only one, the balophone player Keletigui Diabate, with an innovative mix of African and jazz styles, was unforgettable.

Toward the end of the show, all three of the stars danced together, with the backup members joining in for good measure. Mahlasela came prowling in from the wings to wiggle his considerable build while standing on a chair, which brought the house down.

After the show, the line in the lobby for autographed CDs was a long one.

-- Peter B. King, Post-Gazette staff writer

Witchcraft

Watching Witchcraft's amazing show at the Lawrenceville Moose Sunday night, I kept thinking about how Ozzy Osbourne's favorite band is The Beatles. Witchcraft -- a Swedish band on its first U.S. tour -- plays throwback doom metal in the 1970s mold of Black Sabbath (and the lesser known Pentagram) but does it with the melody, precision and wit you get from Ozzy's beloved Liverpudlians.

Highlights included "Chylde of Fire" and "Queen of Bees" from Witchcraft's 2005 LP "Firewood" and the slow, bluesy "What I Am" from the band's self-titled 2004 debut. Through it all, it was clear these four young Swedes really knew what they were doing: The guitar sounds were big and dynamic, the rhythms changed on a dime, and the appreciative, metal-savvy crowd was eating out of their hands.

Portland's Danava opened with an energetic but rather muddy-sounding set from their fine self-titled debut, which hit stores last week.

-- Tim McNulty,Post-Gazette pop culture writer

Like father, like son

For a man who, a dozen years ago, "was one of those guys who advertised in the newspaper that he bought gold," Jeff Shaara has made an impressive rise as one of America's most successful historical novelists.

And he credits his late father, Michael Shaara for his rise.

The younger writer delivered an engaging and disarmingly modest presentation on his burgeoning career last night before an approving crowd at the Drue Heinz Lecture in Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland.

Like his father, his stock-in-trade is men at war. Jeff Shaara's half-dozen novels, starting with "Gods and Generals" in 1995, are drawn from America's wars -- Revolutionary to World War II. "The Rising Tide," his newest, chronicles the nation's first bout with Nazi Germany in North Africa.

"If it were not for Michael Shaara, I would not be here tonight," the writer said in opening his talk.

His father, a writing instructor at Florida State University, flashed like a meteor on the literary scene when he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1975 for his Battle of Gettysburg classic, "The Killer Angels." He was unable to benefit from the honor and died at 59 before renewed interest in the Civil War, spurred by Ken Burns' popular PBS documentary, led to a rediscovery of his novel and a Hollywood film.

"Nineteen years after my father's book was published, it made No. 1 on the best-seller list," Jeff Shaara said, and it launched his writing career when more material drawn from "Killer Angels" seemed marketable.

"Why 'Killer Angels' was so successful was because it used real places with real people," said the younger Shaara.

He said he used the same approach as his father -- drawing on the diaries, letters and accounts by contemporaries of real wartime heroes -- to rewrite the prequel and sequel to "Killer Angels," and expand his scope to other wars.

Shaara said last night's talk was the beginning of a 25-city tour to promote "The Rising Tide" and "thank God you're getting me while I'm still energetic."

--Bob Hoover,Post-Gazette book editor