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Jakob Dylan's Redesigned Rock Outfit Is a Cut Above the Rest! A Kweevak.com Rock Report by Rich and Laura Lynch Jakob Dylan's Wallflowers have experienced some personnel changes as they embarked on their 2007 Fall Tour but the band really packed them in for a sold out show in New York's meat-packing district. The concert at the elegant and upscale Highline Ballroom on Monday, October 22, 2007 was a good site for the band to plant itself for an evening.
 Dylan was born in New York - the son of Bob - who put the nearby Chelsea and Greenwich Village sections of New York on the map over 40 years ago when he helped launch the folk rock movement and the radicalized 60's generation. Also, the elder Dylan is widely known as the most important and dissected songwriter in the history of recorded music. Despite all of that - and because of his own talent, charisma and striking looks - Jakob has managed to carve out a name for himself with his own growing catalogue of songs. In 1992, The Wallflowers self-titled debut was released to critical but not commercial acclaim but over time the record would sell steadily. Fronted by guitarist and vocalist Jakob Dylan - the band would go through a number of line-up changes. Their second album Bringing Down the Horse was a sizable success and featured the hits "One Headlight" and "6th Avenue Heartache" that led to two Grammy wins for the group. Since then, The Wallflowers have released a total of five albums, a number of singles and have appeared on various compilation albums. After a two year hiatus from touring, the band is back with live shows scheduled for the Fall of 2007. The Highline show was the fifth stop on the tour and the fifth night in a row of gigging for the L.A.-based Wallflowers who are warming up the machine in advance of Jakob's first proper solo album. As much as the younger Dylan might want to avoid comparisons with his father - it's nearly impossible to put that thought out of your mind when watching the performer on stage. A decade after breaking out with Bringing Down the Horse the younger Dylan's resemblance to his prolific progenitor seems to be only increasing with time. At one point, when watching Jakob's plugged in quartet, it would be easy to think you were seeing the former Robert Zimmerman's band when they first went electric. So far on this tour Jakob has been shying away from some of his monster radio hits like "One Headlight", "The Difference" and "Sleepwalker" and has been shining the light on some of the deeper cuts in his catalogue. Dylan stated, "well we worked really hard on our setlist tonight, and I just wanted you to know that I looked down, and saw a song I didn't want to play. Hope it wasn't your favorite." To the disappointment of many fans original Wallflower pianist/organist Rami Jaffee was not with the outfit on this tour as he is currently lending his considerable talents to Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters. His notable B3 fills were missing from the arrangements but his absence served to highlight the brooding tones and moody melodies of Dylan's bare bones song structure. Returning guitarist Stuart Mathis stood out throughout the night with capable and demonstrative leads that underpinned the four piece's brand of tight knit roots rock. Anticipation was high at the venue, as it had been a few years since The Wallflowers have performed live. The stage set up was straightforward, mainly lights, a mirror ball and the usual array of amps and instruments. Standout numbers were "Letters From the Wasteland" and "I've Been Delivered" which contain some of Dylan's most memorable melodies and hooks. The stark "God Says Nothing Back" kept the sold out New York crowd transfixed.
 The set opened with "Shy of the Moon", which had a Johnny B. Goode feel. A clean, classic that moved into a sultry groove circling back to the rocking tempo of the start of the tune. "6th Avenue Heartache" included expanded instrumentation with solid rhythms from Fred and Greg. Stuart was stellar mixing slide with leads layering with Jakob's smoky, soulful vocals. Dylan asked the crowd, "How are you guys doing tonight? Sounds like your doing great!". "Up From Under" was haunting emphasized by Jakob's husky vocals and more fine guitar and rhythm work with Eltringham using brushes. The tune featured lots of rich textures and tones. Contrasted by the slower, sort of silky "When You're On Top", which many in the crowd were swaying to. Solos during this song and throughout the evening were strong. "Mourning Train" was melodic and morose. "If You Never Got Sick", "Three Marlenas" and "God Don't Make Lonely Girls" was a good block of rockers that engaged the audience with Jakob commenting, "It's good to be back in New York, we missed you guys last time around and you've always been good to us, so thank you for coming." The set closed with a edgy version of "Everybody Out of the Water" and the impressive encore included "Babybird" and "Everything I Need". The Wallflowers packed a punch at the their sold out performance at the Highline Ballroom with a meaty mix of fan favorites and deep cuts. Dylan and the band were in good form - meeting the high expectations of the crowd with their top grade musicianship!
Band:
SETLIST:
Shy of the Moon
Encore
Babybird
 Originally Published: 10/31/2007 on Kweevak.com |
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