The Dream Syndicate played Crystal Ballroom – 12/10
Legends of the Paisley Underground The Dream Syndicate returned to Somerville’s Crystal Ballroom this month supporting a reissue of 1984’s Medicine Show.
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Band reunions can spiral in any myriad of directions, from the volatile and short-lived to the nostalgic and time-boxed. What Steve Wynn and The Dream Syndicate have achieved since reconvening after a 23-year hiatus is perhaps the rarest of all potential outcomes: a creatively-fruitful endeavor outlasting even the band’s original run.
Eighties-tenured singer/guitarist Wynn, bassist Mark Walton and drummer Dennis Duck, plus new recruit guitarist Jason Victor, first reactivated the band for a series of European shows in 2012 before bringing the reunion stateside the following year. Their first U.S. date took place at that year’s Solid Sound Festival, a set I entered as a casual fan and emerged from as a convert. They were raw and electric that day, as they’ve been every time I’ve caught them since. And in the meantime, they’ve made four new records together that expand on the Velvets-indebted jangly alt-rock of their early records with a heavier dose of psychedelic jam energy.
All of which is to say, The Dream Syndicate are now a band with two sides, comprising a beloved back catalog and an adventurous collection of newer music that its membership feels real investment in. Thusly, this winter’s North American tour was announced as a play-through of Medicine Show, but also included a full set of post-millenium music in an evening-with format.
It was the new stuff up first, in a slick set centered on an exploratory “How Did I Find Myself Here?” that emphatically sold the appeal of the band’s reunion era. Following a short break, it was time to revisit Medicine Show – something the group has seemingly wanted to do for some time. Their sophomore record and major label debut was produced by Sandy Pearlman (best known for his work with Blue Öyster Cult) and took on an identity distinct from their other ’80s output. This year’s expansive, remastered reissue contextualizes the record’s creative process and grandly-produced vision with period demos and live tracks, and as Wynn recently told the Globe, the idea for the accompanying tour was to tackle the songs with “bold confidence and big, almost arena-rock sound that we were doing at the time.” With the help of Red Sox organist Josh Kantor sitting in, the material indeed sounded huge – a flip-side of the more chilled-out first set that vibrated with the same intensity as the original LP. Particularly fiery were the set-closing B-side cuts “Merritville” and “John Coltrane Stereo Blues” – a setlist staple that slayed even harder than usual here.
An encore of a few more fan-favorites closed out the evening and a two-hour-plus clinic put on by a band that remains compelling in past, present and future tenses. Photos from the show below.
