Review | The Wallflowers Pack a Wallop of a Show at the Santa Barbara Lobero
Jakob Dylan’s Distinctive Voice as a Songwriter and a Performer Rings Strong, Solid, and Sexy
With a rotating tribe of talented musicians backing lead singer-songwriter Jakob Dylan and about 30 years of musical exploration in the books, The Wallflowers remind me a bit of one of my favorite songs of theirs — “Three Marlenas,” from 1996 — which tells the tale of three women named Marlena, who take vastly different paths in their lives.
Like the Marlenas, The Wallflowers’ music today is first and foremost true to its 1990s alt-rock origin, but also folksy, rootsy, and thoroughly contemporary. The sound may be a bit hard to pin down, but Dylan’s sincerity and powerfully husky, distinctly sexy voice — both on the page as songwriter and on the stage as a performer — brought all the right stuff for a great show at the Lobero on Tuesday.
With a tight ensemble — including Stanton Edward on guitar, Aaron Embry on keyboards, Ben Peeler on slide guitar and other instruments, Mark Stepro on drums, and Whynot Jansveld on bass (and in a bit of serendipity, the piano from Pianos on State in front of the Lobero that night had the words “Lol Why Not Tho?” painted on it) — it was clear why Dylan described the current band as being “the most fun I’ve had with any bunch of people.”
With a set that included familiar favorites like “Move the River,” “6th Avenue Heartache,” and “Sleepwalker,” as well as thoughtful songs from the newest album, Exit Wounds, like “ I Hear The Ocean (When I Wanna Hear Trains)” and “Roots and Wings,” the audience in Santa Barbara lapped it up. We were on our feet and dancing in the aisles for most of the night, which was as much a surprise to me as it apparently was to Dylan.
At one point in the night he commented, “I’ve been here before, I thought you’d be sitting down all night.” But there was no sitting down for this show. We were having too much fun. From the sadly poignant “One Headlight,” with the beautiful lyrics “Hey-ey-ey / Come on try a little / Nothing is forever / Got to be something better than in the middle“ to the powerful piano heartbeat of “When You’re on Top,” it was great night of music all around.
Obviously appreciative of the audience’s enthusiasm, Dylan shook hands and bumped fists with the crowd and said, “I’m not a big talker, but you guys are fantastic.”
They ended the night on a high note with a fun string of Tom Petty covers for the encore, from “American Girl” to “The Waiting.” We’ll definitely be happily waiting for whatever Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers are ready to bring to us next.
Jakob Dylan and The Wallflowers at the Lobero Theatre on October 17, 2023 | Credit: Leslie Dinaberg
