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SXSW scene report: Jakob Dylan
Listening to Jakob Dylan sing “Everybody’s Hurting” at the Convention Center’s Day Stage Cafe on Friday, it suddenly occurred to me that if I didn’t know his name or back story, and somebody told me “That guy’s dad is a famous rock star,” I’d have guessed Bruce Springsteen.
Dylan the Younger sings with a warm, pleasing huskiness in his sturdy, mellifluous baritone, and the mid-tempo songs he debuted from “Women + Country,” due out April 6, have an open-hearted yet clear-eyed tenderness that recalls Springsteen in his non-anthemic mode. “Everybody’s Hurting” ruminates on the nation’s malaise, but the pretty melody made it sound more hopeful than bleak. Even in “Smile When You Call Me That,” singing “I’m drunk and you’re insane, I can’t quit and you won’t change,” Dylan came off as reflective rather than acerbic. (I wondered if there was accordion on the studio version, because it sounded almost as though it could go in a Hacienda Brothers direction.)
The new album is a solo project, but on this occasion, the billing was Jakob Dylan and Three Legs (featuring Neko Case and Kelly Hogan). The two singers had a background role, but their lovely country harmonies were an important ingredient in the rootsy sound. They also performed on the album, which was produced by T-Bone Burnett (who helmed the Wallflowers’ second album). It features guitarist Marc Ribot and other studio notables, but on the road Dylan is well-served by Case’s band, including pedal steel guitarist John Rauhouse and guitarist Paul Rigby, who both seemed to be channeling Ennio Morricone at one point Friday. Rigby played deft mandolin as well.
Dylan joked at the beginning of the set that it was the first time since he got there that he hadn’t heard the bar at the back of the room. The large crowd actually stayed quiet throughout, although some of the people with cameras apparently got a little over-bold. Toward the end, Dylan looked at someone in the front row, cocked his head back and asked drily “How’s that angle look?”
“RIght up the nose; that’s a good one,” Case observed.
It should be interesting to hear how Dylan continues to gel with the fine band on his upcoming tour, and with Case, he has a guaranteed comic foil as well as a terrific singer.
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