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Written by ALANA GRELYAK / Photos by BARRY BRECHEISEN
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Friday, 02 June 2006 |
You won’t believe just how good Jakob Dylan can get sans The Wallflowers. His deep velvet voice, an acoustic guitar, and a backup keyboard player were all Dylan needed to get the audience to sing along, cheer and yell, and most importantly, listen attentively. Dylan is the opener in a series of 15 concerts featuring T-Bone Burnett, and the Chicago performance was the first on the tour (Dylan will be performing on all the scheduled dates, except for the June 15 concert in San Francisco, where Peter Hayes & Robert Levon Been of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will take the opening spot.)
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T-Bone Burnett with Jakob Dylan
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 Entertainment
Art
The Vic Theatre
Chicago, Ill.
May 23, 2006
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Steering clear of any major Wallflowers hits, Dylan performed a set of eight songs, which included “Sleepwalker” and “How Good It Can Get.” His performance was introspective, to say the least, and shouts from the crowd brought a shy grin to his face as though he had occasionally forgotten that they were present. His performance was strong and inspiring. I came in to the concert merely curious and I left as a fan.
Following Dylan’s performance, headliner T-Bone Burnett and band, comprised of Jim Keltner on drums, Marc Ribot on guitar, Dennis Crouch on upright bass, and Keefus Ciancia on keyboards, lit up the stage with tracks from two newly released albums: “The True False Identity” and “Twenty Twenty-The Essential T-Bone Burnett.” T-Bone’s musical style is difficult to pin point. Reggae influences are clear in his tune “Zombieland,” while “Seven Times Hotter Than Fire” has more of a southern rock feel.
One will also notice Blues and Funk sprinkled liberally throughout Burnett’s works. All of his songs contain fascinating rhythms that Keltner played to perfection, and I spied several audience heads doing the pigeon bob at appropriate times during the show. Burnett’s vocals, however, are a taste to be acquired. They aren’t so much lyrical but lean more towards a sort of sing-song, rhythmical speech that may not be everybody’s cup of beer (I just can’t imagine T-Bone drinking tea).
As this is Burnett’s first concert tour in almost 20 years, one cannot say for sure when you’ll next be able to catch a live performance of the tall man with Jerry Lee Lewis hair. With only fifteen stops, the appearances are sparse, but try to find one if you can. Although the Dylan/Burnett pairing seems odd at first, they complement each other well, and, for both fans and new comers alike, the show is definitely worth it. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
