POP MUSIC REVIEW : SPEEDWAGON KEEPS ON KEEPIN’ ON

That most quintessential of ‘70s pop-rock bands, REO Speedwagon, parked its antediluvian road show at the Universal Amphitheatre Tuesday night and proved that, despite nearly 20 years of yeoman service, the group’s most productive days are behind it.

A passing glance at the veteran musicians’ carefully sculpted bods and a listen to a few of the songs’ titles--”Keep Pushing,” “Keep On Loving You,” “Keep On Rolling”--reveal that longevity was built into REO’s chassis. But such exhortations ring hollow to a generation raised in the can-do ‘80s, and the outfit’s best-known tunes (written mostly by lead singer Kevin Cronin and guitarist Gary Richrath) seem leaden arcana from some previous civilization.

These rites of passage are ironic, because once the band’s fires are stoked, REO (which also plays Irvine Meadows on Friday) is a punchy live act. Though it’s not put to any original use, REO’s instrumental prowess remains on a high level, and the two-hour-plus set was paced imaginatively. Top-notch lighting and sound, of course, and a carefully choreographed series of bounces and twitches around the standard multilevel set completed the standard packaging.

Had the cheering REO fans gotten to the amphitheatre on time, they might have received very warmly the brisk and excoriatingly bluesy opening set from local faves the James Harman Band. Forty-five minutes of Grade-A blues and boogie, courtesy of the harmonica-tooting Harman (looking like some improbable character from “Krazy Kat”) and his airtight comrades, would have provided an object lesson in what passion in pop music is all about.