Years of heated guitar playing took their toll on Irish folk-rock singer Luka Bloom. By the turn of the century, his hands had grown weak from tendonitis. Bloom adapted to the condition industriously, however, and though his records lost the raw, sometimes wild edge that made him a favorite of the early-’90s New York folk scene, they gained a newfound elegance and economy. Bloom’s latest is last year’s Eleven Songs, a collection of simple folk tunes shaded with subtle choral and orchestral touches where his songs of yore might have relied instead on Bloom’s furious, rock ’n’ roll intensity.
Luka Bloom
Tonight @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
