Show Recap: Wallflowers, Bowery Ballroom, July 24
On July 24, 2012, I saw the full Wallflowers band live for the first time in more than seven years.
Some quick historical perspective: The last time I’d seen the whole band live, I was entering my senior year of college, I’d never sent a text message, iPhones and Twitter did not exist, and after my run of shows that month, I had my sweaty with-the-band-at-the-bus photos developed at the local CVS.
“Reviewing” the experience of seeing them once again on stage from the front row (of course), surrounded by the familiar faces of fellow longtime fans is a tough task. It’s easy enough to just melt into a little pool of nostalgia. Jaaaakey. Collllllege. Greg killed a dolphin! (Don’t ask.) And besides, 90s music is A Thing again, so maybe even some of the casual fans lurking by the bar got chills during the opening chords of “One Headlight.”
But the band is not reunited to simply ride the 90s-are-back wave and hope for a quick cash-in. They have a new album coming out (Glad All Over! October 5th!) and a revamped, revitalized sound that quite obviously (but respectfully) channels Jakob’s longtime heroes, The Clash. Took ya long enough.
The first single, “Reboot The Mission,” is nearly disco-like. Wallflowers. Disco. Words that don’t go together, unless you count that weird unauthorized “One Headlight” remix that made the rounds on fan-burned CD-Rs a while back. Also definitely has some reggae-via-Clash elements.
They’re pure-roots-rockin’ no more, and it’s a little disarming at first, but then you start to really like it. That about sums up my impression of the new sound, which was most confidently and comfortably on display at last month’s show. The attitude of “hey, we play like this now, and guess what, we’re having a blast up here” bursts through, and they’ve clearly got the performance mastery, band chemistry, and energy to back it up. Reboot the mission, indeed. I’ve never seen them have so much fun on stage.
A huge contributor to that sound and vibe, of course, is the one and only Rami Jaffee. Seeing our dazzlingly skilled, oh-so-charmingly weird master of all keyed instruments back on the stage just feels right. It wasn’t the Wallflowers without him.
My theory is that he and Jakob are the yin and yang of the band, perfectly balancing each other out. One jumps and spins and kicks around in his little den of organs and pianos on the side of the stage, and the other… is getting increasingly better at opening his eyes while singing and sometimes, when feeling wild, taps his toes during a particularly energetic song. This is why I love them both. And the rest of the band, obviously. Especially bassist Greg “Mega Greg-a” Richling, because he was wearing a wolf shirt.
More about the songs. The setlist was heavy on tracks from Glad All Over, most of which have a heavier, more driving beat than previous songs. Nothing veers as much toward disco as much as “Reboot The Mission,” and “First One In The Car” and “Love Is A Country” are almost vintage Wallflowers, but the overall evolution was emphasized every time they dipped into the back catalog. Tunes like “6th Avenue Heartache” sounded positively retro. Loved the accordion solo. Other oldies-but-goodies, like “Closer To You,” and a solo-sad-cowboy Jakob song (“Standing Eight Count”) got the (partial) Clash-ified treatment and sounded pretty rad.
I especially liked “Misfits and Lovers,” which, like “Reboot The Mission,” features The Clash’s Mick Jones. It’s super-catchy and… danceable, and not just in a “The Difference” music video sort of way, but then something about the chorus’ melody sounds just familiar enough to make it feel Wallflowers-y again. Perhaps “See You When I Get There”-like?
Another early favorite was “It’s A Dream.” No, it is not the same as the Neil Young song of the same name, but actually does seem to have a bit of a Neil Young (in his Angry!Neil Young mode) vibe to it. There was a slight Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (in less-rootsy mode) sound that popped up in a few of the new songs, too.
Lost in the new-song excitement, but perhaps more important than anything else, is “I’ve Been Delivered.” I first fell in love with this song in 2000, and it still just might be not only my favorite Wallflowers song, but my favorite song of all songs. Do I even listen to anything else I was listening to in 2000? I try not to even admit to what was in the CD player back then.
But they played “Delivered,” as it’s known on setlists and in the fan community (I dunno, “I’ve Been” is two really long syllables?), and it was as religious an experience as ever. I hereby nominate this song for most underrated song ever. The metaphors. The organ. The all-one-long-verse structure. If only the guy who wrote it could remember the words when he sings it. (Just kidding. It only adds to the moment.) Obviously, the song flanked by hearts on my handwritten setlist.
Full setlist:
Devil’s Waltz
Have Mercy On Him Now
Hospital For Sinners
Sleepwalker
Reboot The Mission
6th Avenue Heartache
It’s A Dream
Misfits And Lovers
Closer To You
I’ve Been Delivered
First One In The Car
Love Is A Country
Witness
Three Marlenas
Standing Eight Count
One Headlight
It Won’t Be Long (’Til We’re Not Wrong Anymore)
Peace, Love And Understanding
The Difference
Interesting note: No songs from their last studio album, 2005’s Rebel, Sweetheart.
