By Scott McLennan

Tedeschi Trucks Band demonstrated the difference between actively engaging in a musical tradition versus paying tribute to it.

Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi at the Boch Wang Theatre. Photo: Paul Robicheau

In the world of live music, “tribute band” has a bit of a negative connotation, suggesting that the musicians on stage are slavishly recreating others’ ideas.

Looking at the set lists from the four concerts the Tedeschi Trucks Band delivered last week in Boston and Providence, you’ll find an abundance of songs written by and made famous by others; some nights offered a near even split between original compositions and covers.

But watching these performances — and we caught the Oct. 3 concert at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence and the Oct. 4 and 5 shows at the Wang Theatre in Boston — Tedeschi Trucks Band demonstrated the difference between actively engaging in a musical tradition versus paying tribute to it.

For instance, take the staggering version of “Pasaquan” played during the first Wang concert. The performance began with guitar virtuoso Derek Trucks launching his original instrumental opus by quoting “My Favorite Things,” evoking the classic John Coltrane version of that song. Trucks resolved his first big solo in the “Pasaquan” by transforming the piece into a variation on the Allman Brothers Band’s “Mountain Jam,” itself a song inspired by a Donovan composition, but in a way that also suggested one of the ways a rock ’n’ roll band could mirror the musicality of Coltrane. Not only did we have songs within songs, but the approach tapped into a classic improvisation that had been used for pop hits of respective eras.

Derek Trucks of Tedeschi Trucks Band at Boch Wang Center. Photo: Paul Robicheau

You can peel these TTB onions all day and never get bored — and that’s the difference between TTB’s approach and the work of a tribute act.

It was especially affirming to see Trucks and his wife and band co-leader Susan Tedeschi back in theaters with their one-of-a-kind troupe. Last fall, TTB opted to play the TD Garden in Boston and Madison Square Garden in New York City rather than doing its traditional residencies at the Orpheum and Beacon theaters in those cities.

This year, in skipping the Orpheum, TTB played one night at the MGM Music Hall and the two Wang shows, plus making its long overdue return to Rhode Island. Likewise, the band is spreading its fall dates in the New York City area among different theaters.

As the group closes in on its 15th anniversary, it remains engaged in figuring out exactly what this Swiss Army Knife of a band can do, both artistically and commercially. TTB does not fit easily into any niche categories (and it’s a damn shame that “good music” is not an accepted niche category, but that’s another conversation).

Gabe Dixon of the Tedeschi Trucks Band at Boch Wang Center. Photo: Paul Robicheau

Last year’s big-room shows were a marvel, but the theater shows offered more rewarding experiences because detail and nuance were not dissipated in the cavernous spaces. It did not matter that the band repeated a handful of songs across the three concerts mentioned in this review because everything felt very much in the moment. The songs took distinctive forms on stage.

For the sake of PR sizzle, TTB is calling its roadwork this year the “Deuces Wild” tour, the premise being that by playing back-to-back nights in a city, the band will cover a certain artist’s songs on each of those nights. So, in Boston we got a Blind Faith “deuce,” consisting of “Presence of the Lord” on Friday and “Had to Cry Today” on Saturday. Both songs turned out to be highlights.

A cover of Prince’s “D.M.S.R” played at the Wang on Friday pretty much came off as a novelty. It is probably being prepped to eventually become “deuced” with “1999,” another Prince song introduced earlier this year, a tune that succeeds well in the bluesy arrangement sung by founding band member Mike Mattison.

The band is toying with that kind of creative tension: adding fresh, maybe oddball, cover tunes without making the choice soun. gimmicky. At the same time, TTB is looking for new ways into both its own songs and older members of its covers repertoire. The troupe makes this a ride well worth taking.

For example, consider “Idle Wind,” one of the band’s signature numbers from its 2013 album Made Up Mind. In Providence, Trucks steered this slow-burn, flute-accented anthem into an explosive version of the Allman Brothers Band’s psychedelic exploration “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.” As a member of the Allmans from 1999 to 2014, Trucks played “Elizabeth Reed” countless times, mostly opposite Warren Haynes. But in this case, with the TTB, Trucks took over all of the guitar work. Tedeschi hung back and let him channel the influences of both Duane Allman and Dickey Betts — ABB’s original guitar tandem — in a pair of solos that spotlit the current standard-bearer’s multifaceted talents. Fast forward to Saturday in Boston. “Idle Wind” appeared again. But this time Trucks developed the song’s solo into a version of the Sufi devotional song “Maki Madni,” which Trucks often played with his pre-TTB solo band.

The show’s moving musical parts included three backup singers, a horn section of sax and trombone, keyboards, bass, and two drummers; TTB needs a linchpin to hold it together, and this is where Tedeschi comes in.

Tedeschi’s magnetic stage presence, fiery blues-guitar chops, and vocal skills balance the earthy and elegant, the opposites serving as complement and counterpoint. If Trucks takes us way out in terms of improvisation, Tedeschi reels us back with the happy bounce of “Part of Me.” And, true to the band’s character, Tedeschi is as effective handling the tender turns of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” as she is morphing Bobby “Blue” Bland’s hit “I Pity the Fool” into a dramatic piece of howling political protest.

Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi at the Boch Wang Theatre. Photo: Paul Robicheau

In one of the run’s more joyous moments, Tedeschi’s former bandmate Adrienne Hayes joined on guitar Friday at the Wang for a strutting version of the Grateful Dead’s “Mr. Charlie.”

Still, even amid the swirl of classic songs, Tedeschi elevated the band’s original work — often with the aid of Mattison and keyboard player Gabe Dixon. “I Am the Moon,” “Take Me As I Am,” “I’m Gonna Be There,” and “Until You Remember” brought these concerts depth and texture alongside such longtime live staples as “Anyhow,” “Midnight in Harlem,” and “Made Up Mind.”

Each show adopted a shape and flavor of its own. By the time the final notes were played at the Wang on Saturday, TTB looked and sounded very much like a band that has what it takes to keep on growing.

Scott McLennan covered music for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette from 1993 to 2008. He then contributed music reviews and features to the Boston Globe, Providence Journal, Portland Press Herald, and WGBH, as well as to the Arts Fuse. He also operated the NE Metal blog to provide in-depth coverage of the region’s heavy metal scene.