When you think of Thanksgiving break many things comes to mind: turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, college football, stringing up Christmas lights and Jakob Dylan. That’s right, the Wallflowers have worked there way into holiday Americana. Not really, but last Sunday night, The Pageant decided to offer its post-Thanksgiving guests a taste of a different Turkey Day dessert, the musical kind.
In a cozy little corner of the Loop on Delmar, sits a new concert venue, The Pageant. The coffee house feel of the large hall was an ideal set up for the night’s event, The Wallflowers with Everlast. The stuffing filled patrons digested their holiday feast’s leftovers as they listened to the former House of Pain member, Everlast, and his band open up at 8 p.m. with their fusion sound.
The post-meal naps would have over taken the crowd, but the energy created by Everlast was hypnotically head bobbing. Since the all ages show was obviously there to see Dylan and his boys, the opening act was refreshingly enjoyable and different, although crude at times. The hip-hop, rock and roll sound had lyrics of urban angst, lost love and the hardships of alienation.
Everlast was very mellow and laid back on stage. He was obviously feeling the vibes and the audience was getting into the rhythm, even though most were not familiar with the music. He played songs off his old album, Whitey Ford Sings the Blues, his new release, Eat at Whitey’s and his collaboration with Santana. “Black Jesus” was an interesting song off his new album. Everlast also played his Santana favorite “Put Your Lights On.”
Half way through the performance, the band played a guitar riff dedication to Joe C, Kid Rock’s short stature sidekick, who died the past week. The crowd really enjoyed it, and were rewarded with the radio hit “What it’s like.” The group had some great acoustic and electric guitar solos, mixed with some record play from their DJ. The bass was extremely powerful, and it made your chest pulsate. The ear-ringing set ran for about 50 minutes and left the audience excitedly awaiting the main act.
At 9:30, the Wallflowers strutted on-stage and without more then a word went straight to work, opening with “Sleepwalker.” The set started with energy and the intensity artfully remained throughout the show. It wasn’t until after the second song did Jakob Dylan start bantering with the crowd. Because of the friendly atmosphere he had no problem joking with the fans, shaking a little girl’s hand, and responding to posters people held up.
The band carefully mixed old hits with new songs, keeping their sound fresh. Their first two new songs then went to the crowd favorite “6th Avenue Heartache.” From their new album, Breach, they played “Letters from the Wasteland,” “Hand Me Down,” and “Witness,” to name a few. All of these songs were not merely just rehashed from the CD, but embellished with guitar riffs and energetic vocals. The crowd sang along with “3 Marlenas,” all the while waiting for their favorite tunes. The forgotten “Hero,” off the Godzilla soundtrack, was played to everyone’s delight. After a long wait and many teasers “One Headlight” was finally played. Dylan and Michael Ward, the lead guitarist, rewarded the crowd’s patience with gracious guitar solos. The band finished off their first set with a powerful rendition of “The Difference.” With the crowd in a frenzy, the band left the stage as casually as they had came on.
As Jakob Dylan, Mario Calire, the drummer and Rami Jeffee, the keyboardist, took a breather, Michael Ward and Greg Richling, the bassist, delighted the crowd with a cover of Blur’s “Song 2.” The rest of the band then returned to the stage and played some more. The much requested “Baby Bird” was dedicated to Ethan, a 5 year-old that couldn’t come to the show that night.
The last song was also dedicated to the absent child and to an obnoxious fan at the bar. They surprisingly played “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who. The Wallflowers had been opening for the bad boy British band for a while. An extra long guitar riff with a dramatic finish accompanied the song. The group thanked everyone, threw their guitar picks and drumsticks to the crowd and left the stage like rock stars. The style was a complete change from the opening act, a much more light-hearted style rock and roll took over for the `keepin’ it real” fusion.
However, the enjoyment permeated the entire show. The musical buffet lasted 3 hours and as long as the drinks kept flowing and the music was lively, people were receiving holiday cheer in abundance. So, as the show drew to a close, the audience left The Pageant feeling full once again.
