Without his brothers, Nick Jonas still a kid at heart

You can take Nick out of the Jonas Brothers, but you can’t take the Jonas Brothers out of Nick. And why would you want to, asked hundreds of gasping, giggling, gleeful girls at the Orpheum last night.

There are a lot reasons for Nick Jonas’ first solo tour. There’s keeping busy while Kevin’s on his honeymoon (goodbye purity ring!). Then there’s promoting his forthcoming album (“Who I Am,” out Feb. 2). And of course there’s proving his music isn’t kid’s stuff anymore.

Only it is kid’s stuff. Deeply beloved and fun kid’s stuff at that.

The 17-year-old opened the show jabbing ambitiously at Prince funk with new songs “Rose Garden” and “State of Emergency” - Nick’s backing band, the Administration, contains three Prince alums. He didn’t land the punches. The tunes had some funk to them, but Nick didn’t - he’s too pure to nail bump-and-grind grooves.

Later, Nick swung at John Mayer with “Olive and an Arrow” and “While the World Is Spinnin’.” He just missed. His breathy vocals were overdone and his guitar chops aren’t there yet.

It was when Nick didn’t try to stretch himself that the girls’ fever pitch reached a squeal only Disney stars and dogs can hear. Picking up an acoustic guitar, he ran through a massive medley of 2009 cover smashes, and the packed theater became a united chorus.

All these tweens and teens wanted was for Nick to lead them through a musical version of their middle school yearbook. Sure they’ll cheer his attempts to grow, but if he’d strummed a few chords while reading “Twilight,” they probably would have cheered just as loud.

The one bright spot for Nick is that his one soulful original, “Stay,” which he wrote days ago and recorded in Boston yesterday, created a serious tizzy. Of course, that might have been because during the ballad he stripped down to his T-shirt and jeans (and his purity ring on a chain).

Nick may yet become an adult artist - he can sing, write and play, and remember, the Beatles and Beach Boys started with similar puppy-love ditties. But it may be a while. As he tries to take two steps forward, his gaggle of girls stay planted in 2009.

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