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STEVE WYNN AND THE SILOS
CONSISTENCY
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Steve Wynn is so consistent, it’s ridiculous. He’s seldom strayed far from the territory he laid out with the Dream Syndicate two decades ago: a two-guitar sound with garage/psychedelic leanings and an affinity for shady and desperate characters. Yet he hasn’t run out of hooks and angles, and almost any of his albums in the past 20 years would be strong enough to build a career on. Last Thursday’s gig at T.T. the Bear’s Place followed the first extended break of Wynn’s career, being his first show in nearly two years. From the sound of things, he’s been using that time to recharge his rock batteries and reconnect with the kind of anti-heroes who’ve fueled his best songs. His band the Miracle Three sounded rejuvenated, with guitarist Jason Victor dashing off tensely lyrical solos left and right. (Wynn’s former guitar tech, Victor has eased into the lead spot formerly held by past and present Bostonians Rich Gilbert, Kirk Swan, and Chris Brokaw.) Wynn noted on stage that this line-up has outlasted any he’s worked with, and by now, the Miracle Three have carved out a characteristic sound, less psych and more garage than any of the Dream Syndicate’s incarnations. That doesn’t mean the songwriting doesn’t still get mighty intense. The T.T.’s show was the first public airing for a stack of as-yet-unrecorded numbers that largely upended the optimistic feel of Wynn’s previous few discs. "Wired," "Freak Star," and "Bruises" are nasty rockers whose heroes seem a long way from salvation. ("I really like this one," Wynn grinned before "Bruises," the darkest of the lot.) The new material left time for fewer Syndicate flashbacks than usual; for the first time in memory, he didn’t do their signature set closer, "The Days of Wine & Roses." But he did dig up the seldom played "Merritville," whose foreboding epic quality seemed a natural bridge to the new material. Unlike Wynn, Silos leader Walter Salas-Humara has hung onto his original band name after many changes of style and personnel. For the past few years, it’s been just him on acoustic guitar with a rhythm section, so both shows and albums have leaned toward a quieter singer-songwriter format. Opening for Wynn, he did rock hard with the stripped-down band, closing his set with the open-road anthem "Tennessee Fire." All the same, he seems more drawn than ever to the simple honesty of country music, as the new "When You Get Back" attested. It’s an Iraq War–related song that avoids being pro or con, dealing instead with the emotional crises faced by those left behind. That’s not a perspective that’s been heard in many other places lately.
— Brett Milano
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