Etheridge Loses Her Luster by Cranking Up the Volume

Melissa Etheridge once had possibilities. She emerged at the end of the ‘80s like a kind of high-octane heartland rocker, shouting hoarsely about bad love and worse lovers. It was often ham-fisted stuff, but the occasional forceful melody suggested that Etheridge had both room and ability to grow.

At the Long Beach Terrace Theatre on Friday, Etheridge demonstrated that while she has become a polished entertainer, she’s wasted most of the last decade by settling into predictable arena rock.

There were some welcome moments of restraint during the songs from her new “Breakdown” album that revealed a certain moodiness beneath all the shouting, and the two-hour concert’s best moments came when Etheridge sat alone on stage with an acoustic guitar. She was almost subdued at these moments, with no histrionics--or at least not many.

The rest of Friday’s performance was the usual blend of loud guitars, loud singing and loud hero worship. Some of her fans were so worked up that they couldn’t let a teasing line or dramatic guitar chord pass without some screaming response. As it was, the show was hobbled by too much chitchat between songs.

Backed by a tight four-man band, Etheridge stretched out such early hits as “Like I Do” and “Similar Features” to good effect. But most of the material was more tantrum than revelation, putting her legacy a lot closer to Bryan Adams than Bruce Springsteen.

* Melissa Etheridge plays Tuesday and Wednesday at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1685 Main St., Santa Monica, 7:30 p.m. $55 to $75. (310) 458-8551.