Pop Music Review : Parker Tempers Anger With Ardor at the Roxy

The way people have been writing about Graham Parker lately, you’d think the one-time Angry Young Man of British rock had mellowed with age. Not a chance.

In the course of an 80-minute show Tuesday at the Roxy, Parker took pointed swipes at critics, rap music (he termed it “mindless” while introducing the song “Success”) and the record industry (“Mercury Poisoning,” the incredibly vitriolic knock on his first American label).

But Parker established early Tuesday that there is a lot more to his art than pure vitriol. Tempered by an unabashed romantic streak, his eloquent expressions of rage ranged from the new perseverance anthem “Don’t Let It Break You Down” (the best emotional offense is a good defense) to a similarly titled 1985 rail against the treatment of a Venezuelan Indian tribe, “Break Them Down” (the best political defense is a good offense). His four-piece band (which includes guitarist Brinsley Schwarz and bassist Andrew Bodnar on bass, both linchpins of Parker’s dynamic former band, the Rumour) accented the full range of these songs dramatically.

By sticking largely to material from the new “Mona Lisa’s Sister” LP, with a few pre-1980 highlights thrown in, Parker didn’t exactly challenge the common notion that he’s currently in a comeback stage after a lengthy off period. But he did underscore the fact that he was a vital rock force long before punk became established and continues long after it has withered. (Word was that Parker would focus on older material in a Wednesday show at the Roxy. He and his band will also be at the Palace on Friday.)

In its local debut, opening act Aslan, a young Irish quintet, came off at times as an unlikely hybrid of U2, Motley Crue and Crowded House, but lacked the vision and originality to really pull it off.