Review: The Wallflowers

He has assiduously tried to escape the long, prominent shadow of Bob Dylan, yet the older he gets, the more Jakob Dylan looks and sounds like his father.

Thursday night, he joined his reunited band, the Wallflowers, on stage at the Midland, drawing a modest-size crowd (well under 1,000). For 90 minutes he entertained them with songs from all over his and his band’s catalog, especially “Glad It’s Over,” the latest Wallflowers album, its first in seven years. If the time away from the band invigorated Dylan in the slightest, he didn’t show it much on stage.

The current version of the band includes long-time members Rami Jaffe, who excelled on piano, Hammond B3 and accordion and bassist Greg Richling; with guitarist Stuart Mathis and former Pearly Jam/Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons. They issued an appealing vibe, whether playing something warm and acoustic, like their early hit “One Headlight,” or something electric, grimy and bluesy, like “Devil’s Waltz,” a track from the new album and the show’s opening number.

They would perform eight of its 11 tracks, including the two co-written with Mick Jones of the Clash: the jaunty “Reboot the Mission” and “Misfits and Lovers,” a straightforward, well-crafted rock song. Like much of the band’s previous material, the songs on “Over” bear plenty of engaging traits, either a sweet melody or a catchy groove. Lyrically, they tend to be smart and evocative. From “Love is a Country,” a wistful rock ballad: “In the desert that borders between me and you / Where more than a few good men have failed to come back or get through.”

The audience this night was as laid back as the band on stage. Calling a show “pleasant” may be damning it with faint praise, but there’s nothing more flattering to say about this one. Dylan, who wore a brimmed-hat (much like his father on the cover of “Desire”), straddled the line between cool and aloof. Jaffe was the most animated person on stage, and his contributions musically, especially on the B3, were the most conspicuous. 

The crowd gave each song a warm response but some more than others, especially the hits or best-known early tunes: “Three Marlenas,” “6th Avenue Heartache,” “One Headlight” and the cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes.”

There’s no doubt many fans were drawn to this band because of his progeny. He has managed to craft a career of his own and a sound of his own, one that hasn’t catered to those fans, although these days, especially vocally, Dylan, 42, is giving them a little something to hang their own hats on.

Setlist: The Devil’s Waltz; It’s a Dream; Three Marlenas; Sleepwalker; First One in the Car; Reboot the Mission; 6th Avenue Heartache; Misfits and Lovers; Hospital for Sinners; Closer to You; Witness; Heroes; Love is a Country; One Set of Wings; One Headlight; The Difference. Encore: Babybird; Shy of the Moon; (What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.

| Timothy Finn, The Star

Comments

[Geordan]

Really good show and a great crowd last night. I threw my write up over in the "Canceled: Paul Banks" thread. I ran into Wallflowers keyboardist Rami Jaffee out in the hallway, when I went out during intermission. Although he looks like a Rock Star, he was standing by himself near the Merch booth, so I went up and said hello and told him I enjoyed the show I saw on PBS this past weekend, "Austin City Limits Presents: Americana Music Festival 2012" in which Rami was part of the house band. The show included, to name a few, Richard Thompson, Alabama Shakes, The Mavericks, Jason Isbell, Bonnie Raitt, and a cool group I knew little about called Carolina Chocolate Drops. Also in that house band were Don Was, Buddy Miller, Larry Campbell, and Brady Blade. Booker T. Jones even played for much of the show.

Rami eyes lit up and shared his excitement about playing alongside Booker T. It went along the lines of, "Come on, man! Booker f*cking T! Are you kidding me?? That was a dream." He also mentioned playing in the house band at the Neil Young tribute concert a couple of years back, which I believe is now on DVD. I also mentioned that when I saw the band in KC, opening for The Counting Crows back in the mid-90's, I was disappointed that he had missed that gig and the band had a replacement on keys that night. He said that he had to miss a few shows because his wife went into labor unexpectedly and his daughter was born that week. He also expressed how much the band is enjoying this tour. I finished our brief chat by expressing how I was really enjoying the new record. Rami was animated, funny, and really cool to chat with and as last night proved, one of the best Rock Keyboardists in the Biz.

[onthemark]

Once again Geordan comes through with his man on the street perspective. Cool story!

[kcmom]

Geordan=coolest music fan in KC.

I looked for that Americana show on the schedule and couldn't find it! Grrrrr... Two weeks ago I saw The Mavericks in Texas and really wanted to see their (and the rest of the artists) Americana performance.

[BT]

KCMOM
You can find and watch episodes of Austin City Limits (including the Americana Festival episode) at acltv.com

I caught the show when it aired and it was quite enjoyable although each artist only got one song apiece. Nice finale with everyone taking part in The Weight (tribute to Levon Helm).

[Naturelle]

Agree with Geordan's comment about Rami Jaffee being one of the best in the biz. A great review of the show, which was an excellent primer for Bruce two nights later.

[kcmom]

Thanks, BT...I will look for it.

[KC Jones]

I do like that new song Reboot the Mission, but man oh man, The Wallflowers were the last headliner at the final Spiritfest (? not sure if it was that or the Blues and Jazz festival, it was quite awhile ago.) that KC had. That was one of the most boring and uninspired sets of music I have ever seen. Also, his cover of "Heroes" nearly killed me on hearing that song ever again. Thankfully, the Bowie version is quite a bit different, so I am still able to stomach the original version, although most times I skip it. Thanks Jacob!

PS- Even the Moulin Rouge version of "Heroes" was better IMO.

Okay, negativity over.

[KC Jones]

I looked it up and it was 2003. I mostly attended with the weekend pass to see Buddy Guy, Jay McShann and Los Lobos. Quiet Riot, Tech N9ne and Dennis DeYoung with the KC Civic Orchestra were among some of the other bands there too.

[pellboy]

I miss the Spirit Festival and actually way more so, the KC Blues & Jazz Festival. Not sure I even attended that last one, but did catch Dylan there a couple of times (one time he was pretty weak, the other time stellar) so there's that.

The Wallflowers were really good the other night. Never a huge fan although I always thought they were likeable enough and for the cheap price of $20 for a GA Midland show I thought there was little risk in seeing them and I was actually pleasantly surprised by their performance. One of those bands that I probably just catch the one time though unless another value or free performance comes along.

[Geordan]

I liked The Wallflowers best with guitarist Michael Ward in the band. He came in during "Bringing Down The Horse" and stayed for one additional album. He gave The Wallflowers more of a Rock sound, as he's an aggressive, loud player. I first noticed him in the underrated 90's band, School Of Fish, who put out two good, yet overlooked albums. He then played with John Hiatt on the "Perfectly Good Guitar" album and more recently has been in Ben Harper's band. If The Wallflowers hadn't released such a strong album this year, I would have also probably ignored this show. A guy at work was there last Thursday and said he left halfway through, as they were playing too much new stuff. As for their cover of "Heroes," I just love the song and was glad to hear it. It isn't Bowie's fine version, but it was OK live.

[KC Jones]

I meant to say that it was Spiritfest in 2003. I would never begrudge someone for seeing a show, it just wasn't my cup of tea. However, I do really like the new Wallflowers single. If taking several years off is what it takes to develop this new direction, kudos to them.