POP MUSIC REVIEW : Hornsby & Range: Energy at Pacific Amphitheatre

Through two albums, Bruce Hornsby & the Range have established a sound that’s attractive, distinctive but ultimately thin-blooded. There is no denying the craftsmanship in the playing and the intelligence in the lyrics, but the band is held back by its politesse.

Hornsby’s graceful pianistics and wistful singing made for pleasant listening on his 1986 No. 1 hit, “The Way It Is,” and on the current single, “Look Out Any Window.” So pleasant, in fact, that the seamless music on the two undermines potentially effective lyrics about racism (“The Way It Is”) and pollution (“Window”).

Those songs didn’t suddenly become soul-searing in Hornsby’s concert Thursday at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa, but they and just about every song in the two-hour show took on dimensions of adventure, playfulness and rocking energy that don’t emerge on the band’s recordings.

Hornsby didn’t completely staunch the flow of liquid, crystalline piano lines that smack of New Age music or tedious light jazz. But he more than compensated for them with extended passages of rhythmically inventive rock ‘n’ roll piano.

At his best, Hornsby was able to set up a rock rhythm of building intensity, to let out some slack with a turn toward jazz and classical licks, then to return to build up the rock foundation some more. It made sense when the group broke into a sharp version of “I Know You Rider” by the Grateful Dead, noted practitioners of such ebb-and-flow rock instrumentals.

For much of the show (which relocates to the Greek Theatre tonight and Sunday), Joe Puerta’s bass was annoyingly over-amplified. But his oomph came in handy toward the end as Hornsby & the Range turned from mid-tempo material to effective rockers, starting with a version of “Every Little Kiss” that got the crowd on its feet to stay. Aside from Hornsby, hard-driving drummer John Molo was the Ranger who made the most of the opportunity to stretch out.

Hornsby, in his jeans and blue shirt, could never qualify for the Jerry Lee Lewis/Little Richard/Elton John school of flamboyant piano players. But he was a good-natured, smiling band leader who had his share of fun bounding around the stage on numbers where he played accordion. Hornsby finished the show by pulling off a playful gospel-blues version of Bob Dylan’s “Mighty Quinn,” delivered as a mimicking tribute to Leon Russell. He should save a bit of that raw edge for his next album.

Opening act Pat McLaughlin played 35 minutes of classily rendered R&B; and chunky rockers sung in a style that was relaxed and easy-drawling without being laid back. A good deal of his set recalled the lighter side of John Hiatt.

There wasn’t time for McLaughlin to establish any rapport with the audience. But with his lanky body contorted most of the time into a sideways question mark as he stood at the microphone, McLaughlin looked like an interesting fellow to get to know better.