The Dream Syndicate
The Troubadour
January 27, 2024
By DAN MACINTOSH
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – The Dream Syndicate is lead singer Steve Wynn’s vehicle to stretch out and play loud electric guitar music, and that’s just what he did on a Troubadour Saturday night.
One might note how Wynn is the only original Dream Syndicate member left, but his three current colleagues are so accomplished and engaged, this grouping truly does the band’s music justice. Tonight, it was oh so easy to just get lost in the music.
Although the band released 2022’s Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions relatively recently, the group only performed a few tracks from that release. Instead, the setlist tonight was drawn from most all phases of the act’s career.
A few inclusions, like “Forest for the Trees” and “Out of My Head,” were propelled by fast beats, but most were slower and much more jam-y. The old “Tell Me When it’s Over” was performed perfectly unhurriedly, for instance, filling The Troubadour with beautiful loud noise.
Many of Wynn’s lyrics focus on sad, tragic circumstances, such the guy that lost his love in “Now I Ride Alone.” This then made the relatively hopeful “Glide,” which closed the pre-encore set, come off as a happy contrast to what came before it.
“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” one encore, was an excellent cover of that Blue Oyster Cult classic, which fits right into The Dream Syndicate’s artistic wheelhouse. The group ended with the extended jam, “John Coltrane Stereo Blues,” which brought back opener Vicki Peterson to create a three-lead guitar assault.
Wynn may live on the east coast now, but with such a fantastic band behind him, he’s always welcomed home here in Los Angeles.
Vicki Peterson and her husband John Cowsill opened the night with a set of acoustic songs, primarily drawn from pieces written by two of John’s Cowsill late brothers. The pair shared about how many of these songs will appear on an upcoming tribute to these much-missed siblings. It was a sweet contrast to take in these soft (mostly) love songs, just before the volume increased significantly with The Dream Syndicate.
Listen to The Dream Syndicate here:
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