The Wallflowers may have been a successful band if Jakob Dylan had been born to different parents. Or maybe not. They craft tight, melodic songs that rock just enough to stay out of the folk realm. And their lyrics are thoughtful and artsy/cryptic -- neither transcendently abstract nor knee-jerk cliche.
The Wallflowers recently released "Collected: 1996-2005," a greatest-hits collection, and they dug into its 16 tracks, eventually.They opened with "Back to California," a Tom Petty-like roots-rocker (which gave their sound a slight Traveling Wilburys flavor). It was a nice beginning. For the next several songs, however, Dylan's voice -- his lyrics, rather -- were nearly indecipherable (sound familiar?). And it wasn't the sound guy's fault. That was compounded by the vibe coming off the stage, which was that of a band that really didn't want to be there: Stuck inside a casino in Kansas City on a stormy Monday in July night with some kind of blues again.
Things changed abruptly, however, about five songs in, when Dylan started talking to the crowd and he and the band started playing its better-known material. He would make light of that, pointedly, making a crack about the "introspective" material, and then, after "6th Avenue Heartache": "I saw couples embracing during that one. That's good, right? That's a good thing?"
From then on, the mood was warmer, his vocals got a little cleaner and the band started to sound and look like it had clocked in and was ready for work. And Dylan was more animated -- snarky, at times. When someone asked him to take off the hat, he responded: I didn't ask you to take anything off. (And he left it on all night, except when he tipped it towards the crowd). Later on, he engaged some fans in an odd discussion about someone's T-shirt having Simon & Garfunkel with a gun on it. Or something. He also jousted with the lighting guy, asking for more light and less shadow, then vice versa.
Dylan was backed by a four-piece band that included Greg Richling (bass), Fred Eltringham (drums), guitarist Stuart Mathis plus keyboardist Bill Appleberry, who produced the band's "Red Letter Days" album (no Rami Jaffee or other original Wallflowers). As with so many bands assembled for a tour, they sounded tight and servicable, but there was little sense of camaraderie coming off the stage.
However, the crowd got more involved as the show went on, and towards the end of the set the room got raucous, especially during the run of "God Don't Make Lonely Girls," "One Headlight," "Shy of the Moon" and "Three Marlenas" and then "The Difference," one of the encores.
The crowd was pretty evenly split among, it looked like, older adults who like the music and the Bob Dylan-connection, and younger adults, especially women, who still like the dreamboat looks and mid-1990s sounds of the lead singer. Give him some credit. This evening, once he got the ball rolling, he satisfied both constituencies.
Partial setlist: Back to California, Here He Comes (Confessions of a Drunken Marionette); Sleepwalker; Feels Like Summer Again; 6th Avenue Heartache; If You Never Got Sick; Closer to You; God Says Nothing Back; Up From Under; Hand Me Down; Empire Of My Mind; God Don't Make Lonely Girls; One Headlight; Shy of the Moon; Three Marlenas, The Difference.
Good review - I think you captured what the band does pretty well. I saw them a couple (few?) years ago in Lawrence and they are pretty good for what they are. I think it's incredible they've stayed together this long.
Posted by: neighbor | July 28, 2009 at 11:45 AM
who wrote this review?
there is no byline,
but it reads EXACTLY some online reviews
(which caused us NOT to go to this show), I mean, who wants to pay mellow for a money time, or something like that.
NOT to be snarky, or to be, the question is, WHO WROTE THIS REVIEW?
Posted by: Sankary | July 28, 2009 at 07:06 PM
I thought my $21 was well spent.
Posted by: sleepy | July 28, 2009 at 08:28 PM
just sayin....
http://soundcheck.freedomblogging.com/2009/06/17/mellow-wallflowers-take-time-to-bloom-at-the-mouse-house/7907/
"By the 10th tune, however, I wondered if Son of Bob even wanted to be there""
check this link,
http://soundcheck.freedomblogging.com/2009/06/17/mellow-wallflowers-take-time-to-bloom-at-the-mouse-house/7907/
Posted by: Sanka | July 28, 2009 at 08:35 PM
"That was compounded by the vibe coming off the stage, which was that of a band that really didn't want to be there"
WTF?....FK THAT!!
those are the types of statements, and band attitudes, now repeated, which caused us to skip Wallflower show, although at $21.00 per ticket, and a good venue, we WERE PLANNING ON GOING.
But if we want mellow.....
Mellow is easy, we close our eyes and go to sleep, but we like to ROCK!!! esp if that is the idea.
now again, tonight we skipped ROD THE BOD, this time becaause of $100++ tickets and a crappy venue,
BUUUT we need a good dose of RnR,
ROCK AND ROLL IS WHAT MY BODY NEEDS - John WAYNE; SingSing
and based on that, today WE BOUGHT LITA FORD TICKETS.
That is correct Lita is coming back, even if we have to go to Cleveland on Sept 5th to get the dosage...I GUARANTEE LITA WANTS TO BE THERE.....AND LITA WILL ROCK THE HOUSE!!!
FK THE MELLOW PUSSIES,
WE WANNA ROCK!!!
"LARGER THAN LIFE"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okqaV-f-IMA&feature=related
"KISS ME DEADLY"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36AmmAqATWY
Posted by: Snarky | July 28, 2009 at 08:49 PM
i LOVE it when he doesn't talk.
i come to be inside the songs, not to hear him make people comfortable. so it's weird to read a bunch of reviews complaining that he's not talking enough.
if we go out for a beer, i want to hear him talk. if i go to a show, i come to hear him sing songs he wrote.
he's a singer.
he comes to sing songs.
how is that not connecting?
Posted by: angel now | August 08, 2009 at 02:08 PM