Jesse Malin plays Bowery (11/17) - Redux
Sorry I’m a bit late to this, but I’m just following up to my previous post. This is the review I wrote for my university’s paper on Jesse Malin’s recent concert in New York City.
He is a prominent member of the New York City music community. Ryan Adams has produced his albums. Nearly every band that plays with him has cited him as a friend and an integral influence in their respective music careers.
Yet when Jesse Malin took the stage on Nov. 17 at the Bowery Ballroom, his first U.S. show since an extensive European tour, he exhibited no signs of a rock-star attitude. He had returned home and mentioned this fact numerous times throughout his nearly two-hour set.
He poured his heart into nearly every song. His energy was intense, his band tight and his crowd, a mix of both young and old, gazed on and sang along.Maybe it was because the former frontman of New York punk band D Generation takes every aspect of his music career so seriously. In some ways, he is the quintessential musician - a man who believes in the necessity of individualism and who is not afraid to express his political beliefs.
But he isn’t afraid to criticize his industry and the characteristics that define it. In between songs, Malin discussed a slate of topics from “the silliness of the iPod craze” to one of the reasons why he left D Generation - “because pants styles were becoming more important than the music.”
Yet in the end, the most important thing for Malin is obviously music. He is a historian of the New York music scene who loves telling of his life experiences. In doing so, he expresses his passion for both his influences and his fellow peers and often dedicates his songs to those who have shown him the way. As he tackled a set full of songs from his latest album, Glitter in the Gutter, and numerous covers in front of the nearly 500 people gathered to see him at the Bowery, it was easy to recognize that these influences have led to the development of a remarkable musical talent.
He sang emotion-laced lyrics reminiscent of Springsteen with Joe Strummer-like passion, backed by a sound mixing Ryan Adams-like alt-country and the punk styles of the Replacements and the Ramones.
The highlight of the night was Malin’s dedication to the Clash frontman, the late Joe Strummer. At the end of his tangent on iPods and media as a whole, Malin asked the crowd, “What would Joe Strummer think?” Before someone could answer, Malin and his band kicked into a version of The Clash’s “Death or Glory.” Nearing the end of the song’s first verse, Malin jumped offstage and entered the crowd, asking everyone to turn off their cell phones and, for a moment, just to relax, to enjoy the music and remember the past. What resulted was a 500-person sing-a-long of “Death or Glory,” a truly fitting tribute to the spirit of Strummer and an example of Malin’s respect and love for music.
The set also featured a solo acoustic cover of The Hold Steady’s “You Can Make Him Like You” and an energetic full-band performance of the Replacements’ “Bastards of Young.” Of Malin’s own music, particular highlights included “Aftermath,” “In the Modern World,” and “Don’t Let Them Take You Down (Beautiful Day!)” Malin’s enthusiasm carried on throughout his set; it felt like he didn’t want it to end. He was home in the city which he always believed to be unlike any other part of this country . He feels the city defines him as an individual.
“I’ve never felt like New York City is part of the United States. There is nowhere else like it,” he told the crowd. He was playing both music and a history lesson to a crowd that was all ears. He desired respect and appreciation not for himself, but for the bands that laid the path before him.
And this is what Malin loves to do. He will probably never earn the respect or reputation that someone of his talent deserves. Yet he doesn’t care.
He is doing what he wants, an attribute that sets him apart from many others and allows for hope in a world of music corrupted by greed and “what’s hot.” What would Joe Strummer think?
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