Whenever Ben Harper [ tickets ] and the Innocent Criminals play Portland--and elsewhere, for that matter--the vibes are always good. In the cavernous Rose Garden Arena last Friday, however, those vibes were difficult to feel at times.

Granted, the arena was partitioned off to about one-third its regular size--what they call Theater of the Clouds--but that still didn't make it very intimate. But then again, intimacy is the last thing one expects at such a venue. So why am I complaining? The last time I saw Harper was at La Luna, where the connection between the band and the audience was incredibly strong. At the Rose Garden, however, I felt that much of that same feeling--which Harper shows are known for--was lost as I viewed the concert from way up in the stands. Maybe if I had been on the floor, I'd have a different point of view. Nonetheless, it was still a great show, due to the fact that Harper, bassist Juan Nelson, drummer Dean Butterworth and percussionist David Leetch played with a ton of energy and soul for about two straight hours.

Opening with the percussive ''Oppression,'' Harper immediately lunged into jam mode as the song segued into a lively cover of Bob Marley and the Wailers' ''Get Up, Stand Up'' and then back out again. From there, the band gave the audience a taste of all four of Harper's albums. The crowd was up and shaking to such songs as the funky ''Mama's Trippin','' the straight-up rockin' ''Burn To Shine'' and the fuzzed-out ''Ground On Down.'' Nelson, as usual, blew the audience away with his trademark blistering bass solo; following the band's smooth transition from the upbeat and soulful ''Gold To Me'' into an electrifying ''Fight For Your Mind,'' Nelson took off into a poppin' bass solo that would have had Bootsie Collins grinning.

When the band broke into the opening conga rhythms of ''Burn One Down,'' the Theater of Clouds lived up to its name as billows of pungent smoke quickly filled the arena. It's amazing that musical guest Nick Rich could successfully pull off the huffing human beat box noises for ''Steal My Kisses'' without coughing up a lung.

The highlight of the night came when Harper returned for the encore alone with guitar in hand. Sitting in a chair perched upon a riser, he had the full attention of the audience for acoustic versions of ''Another Lonely Day,'' ''Beloved One'' and ''Forever,'' making it apparent that Harper is one of today's best singer-songwriters. But we can't forget that he is also an incredibly talented guitarist and he made that known by showcasing his chops in a second, and final, encore with the rest of the band as they tore through a cover of Jimi Hendrix's ''Manic Depression.''

The venue may have been somewhat larger than those Harper usually plays, and the intimacy level was pretty much nil, but that didn't stop him from performing with all his heart-which is something he manages to do every time he gets on stage.

Curtis Waterbury is music editor of portland.citysearch.com