My girlfriend really likes Jakob Dylan so, being the good boyfriend that I am, I bought two tickets for us to see him at Cafe du Nord. Most of us recognize that name as either: (1) that guy from the Wallflowers or (2) Bob Dylan's son. Everyone in attendance, for the most part, was there because of his Wallflowers connection. I didn't realize that there were still many devoted Wallflowers fans out there. But there are, and they were all in the front row of this show.
The junior Dylan was playing in support of his new solo album. I think this is his first show of the tour, but he sounded really good and his band was tight for the most part. He started off with a new song called "Something Good This Way Comes." This sounded like vintage Wallflowers with that twangy guitar and all that. I thought it was an old song, but apparently it was a new one. It wasn't bad at all. He then proceeded with more new songs "All Day and All Night" and "Everybody Pays as They Go."
Throughout the night, I couldn't help but compare father to son. The mannerisms were all there. The slight touch of facial hair was there too. It was quite eerie. Even the swagger and the way Jakob held the guitar reminded me of Bob Dylan when I saw footage of his Newport Jazz Festival highlights.
It was after this third song that things got a bit hairy. There's this crazy tall lady stirring amock in the front of the crowd. She earlier talked to me and asked if the carpets in Japanese concert venues was as bad as du Nords. I've never been in Japan, nor am I Japanese, but because I'm Asian she immediately thought I was Japanese. Whatever. So, she asked Jakob, "Why are you here, Dylan?" To which Jakob responded, "I know why I'm here, why are you here?" More playful, though annoying, exchanges continued and Jakob immediately spotted her eyes. "Oh, you're one of those ... I can see it in your eyes." He immediately ignored her for the rest of the evening, thank goodness.
The fans went crazy when he played his Wallflowers stuff. Like "Beautiful Side of Somewhere." A really devoted fan cried when he played "The Empire in My Mind." It's a hidden track in some album apparently, and he doesn't play it that often. The song is pretty good, and I don't understand why it would be a hidden track rather than a single.
Despite this old guy in a sling wanting to hear "One Headlight," Jakob did not play his big hit. Nor did he play "Sixth Avenue Heartache" or that famous cover of David Bowie's "Heroes." Those are the only songs I knew from Jakob Dylan in his Wallflowers days. He did cover Merle Haggard song called "Branded Man," but nobody in the audience seems to know that song.
Overall, it was a good show and the man does have some great songwriting skills. Don't knock it til you try it.
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