IN CONCERT

The John Butler Trio is a musical powerhouse-first paying homage to and then transcending the rules of what a traditional “power trio” should be. Though this hard-rocking outfit obviously admires the great power trios of yore (Cream, Mountain, Band of Gypsies), it is also one of the most innovative, original and exciting bands currently coming into focus.

For this reporter, who is bored to death with pretentious, sleight bands that call themselves the “saviors of rock and roll” John Butler’s outfit is refreshingly up in the air. That is to say, they don’t fall comfortably into any musical genre, having proven they can handle everything from country rambling to hard rock, to poignant balladry. The boys headlined for the first time ever in Boston, this past Wednesday, at the Paradise Rock Club in West Campus. It was an out-and-out showcase of talent that reaffirmed JBT’s status as one of the most popular groups on the jam-band scene.

The band is from Australia, and only began to tour the United States heavily within the past year. John Butler himself is the group’s moral center: a crisp, affecting voice that falls somewhere between the depressive roar of Eddie Vedder and the playfulness of the Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis; a lively and amusing stage presence that includes plenty of banter with the audience as well as with his band mates; and a sharp political edge (mostly dealing with current socioeconomic problems in the band’s homeland) that adds extra fuel to his fiery, impassioned music.

But Butler’s main weapon is his guitar, a 12-string with the high G-string removed. A broad range, combined with fast fingers and an interesting, often riveting soloing technique, no doubt rank Butler as one of the most dynamite guitarists of his generation. He is a guitar virtuoso, simply put.

Rounding out the trio is Andrew Fry, who grounds the band’s expressive and experimental style into an accessible unit with his thumping bass, and Jason McGann, who fully delivers the demanding drums and percussion required of him.

Together, the trio led the audience through a masterful two-hour set of almost completely original material (though the one cover, a country-funk reading of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Don’t Call Me Nigger, Whitey” ranked among the show’s many highlights). Other mainstays included a hopping “Pickapart,” the trio’s best-known tune, as well as “Attitude” and “Money”–two powerful, political slow-burns. The final song of the evening, “Take,” was an all-out exercise in rhythm, as the trio moved across melodies, phrases and time signature changes with a perfect mix of technical grace and reckless musical abandon.

John Butler Trio released its debut album, Three, this summer on Jarrah Records, and it is one of the year’s best albums. Unlike many of the “groundbreakers” currently polluting the airwaves today, this is a band to watch.