Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians at North Oak Cliff Music Festival, 10/25/14
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| Mike Brooks |
For those who had been there back in the glory days, seeing the New Bohos together again must have been a real treat. For those who missed them the first time around, though, it made for an interesting cross section. Here, after all, is a band that often gets held up as one of the marquee acts of Dallas's late-'80s-early-'90s heyday. They even made it to the cover of Spin magazine, which not a lot of people can say.
So it's surprising to think of just how much their music leans toward adult contemporary. Listening to Brickell sing those old tunes, even the hits like "Circle" and "What Am I," it somehow felt as though she and the band had grown into them and now, in middle age, could properly inhabit them. Of course, in Brickell's case specifically that wistful old-soul aura has always been part of the charm. Lyrically speaking, she mixes in seemingly mundane details -- the grass growing or the wind blowing through the curtains -- with a wide-eyed curiosity that imbues them with a sense of marvel.
It was clear, too, that Brickell enjoyed being back home and being back onstage with the boys. (They even played an improvised jam at the end about that very thing.) She smiled and laughed throughout the set, accentuating various points with a playful leg kick or shook hands with some old friend in the front row. Prior to the show, she related, she took a stroll around the lake to do her vocal warm-ups (can you imagine any other setting for her to warm up her voice?) and was pleased to see the cross on Methodist Hospital -- the same hospital where she was born.
With that said, there was something a little disjointed about the band dynamic. The New Bohos' spirit revolves around Brickell, but they also love to jam out on the songs. That meant a lot of contemplative verses punctuated by some extended noodling. It was a mixed bag; often those jams mirrored the vocals' languid tone without necessarily adding much to it, but then when the music got some real fire under it -- in particular with Kenny Withrow's gnarly riff on "Forgiven" -- the contrast was unexpected. (Can we hear it though for Brandon Aly's turn on vocals during the reggae cut "Simmer Down?")
But then so be it. The New Bohos weren't here to set the world on fire, they were here to get back together and do what they love. It's hard to think that many of those old fans came away disappointed. They probably even came away with new family memories to share in.
New Bohemians' Setlist:
Intro
Daylike
Beat The Time
The Wheel
No Dinero
Early Morning Wakeup
Spanish Style Guitar
Buffalo Ghost
Drums > Jam
Love Like We Do
Air Of December
Lover Take Me
Oak Cliff Bra
Nothin'
Simmer Down
Strings Of Love
Forgiven
Circle
What I Am
Encore:
Little Miss S
Now
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