Extreme returns with familiar look, fun-loving sound

Local band Extreme performs at the Bank of America Pavilion on July 31. (Christina Rizer/Globe Staff)

Extreme launched its first tour in more than a decade by hitting home turf and playing to an enthusiastic following last night at the Bank of America Pavilion.

What the house may have lacked in numbers it made up for in spirit, welcoming back Extreme (whose members did a test run in a Poughkeepsie, N.Y., nightclub earlier in the week) like returning heroes. The band did not disappoint, uncorking a show that seemed hermetically sealed, simply awaiting this sort of opening.

To its credit, Extreme disbanded in 1996 when the tidal wave of alt-rock swamped the hard-rock scene that the original quartet had championed.

Yet these acolytes of Queen and Led Zeppelin stayed true to their calling, which has made Extreme's comeback feel all the more authentic. The audience may not have grown for Extreme's brand of rock chiseled from the Rushmorian influences of Daltrey, Mercury, Page, Plant, Bonham, and so on, yet the respect and reverence Extreme brings to the music that it loves is part of the group's ongoing charm.

Extreme also sweetened the reunion by making a new album, "Saudades de Rock," due out next month, and kept last night's show fresh by incorporating many of the new songs into the set.

When they opened with the new "Comfortably Dumb" (did we mention the band's tendency to make overt winks at its influences?), the message was clear: Extreme was going to use familiar ingredients to make fresh servings of its hearty sound.

Singer Gary Cherone and master guitarist Nuno Bettencourt were in impeccable fighting shape and generated the sort of onstage spark that catapulted Extreme into the big leagues in the early 1990s. Bassist Pat Badger blended well with new drummer Kevin Figueiredo to create the band's signature muscled rhythm section.

Extreme hit all the high points of its glory years, with "Decadence Dance" being the first of many strolls down memory lane. The show's only bump came when megahit "More Than Words" was followed by "Ghost," a new stab at balladic glory that simply fell short.

Aside from that, Extreme was sharp and lithe, polishing up the likes of "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" and "Cupid's Dead" for interesting second looks.

King's X opened, making for a nice pairing of bands that blend hard-rock energy with pop sensibilities.

Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp, a recreational endeavor for those who want to rock with famous people, worked its way onto the bill by presenting a slew of its "students" playing (and sometimes abusing) classic rock tunes alongside "counselors" who once had careers in such bands as the Cars, Megadeth, and Guns N' Roses.