Perks of seeing The Wallflowers
Graham Lee Brewer recaps the first concert at The Jones Assembly in downtown OKC.
As employees prepared last weekend for The Jones Assembly’s first concert, the stylish seating spread throughout the restaurant’s main room was pulled apart and then packed back together like “Tetris” pieces before fitting snugly under the stage at the back of the expansive room.
Large garage doors which normally separate the venue’s indoor seating from a well-manicured patio were opened, and soon Film Row’s newest addition was full of people eager to watch Better Than Ezra and The Wallflowers.
The show’s timing could not have been much better, with the oppressive July heat tapering off Saturday, allowing concert goers to comfortably pack together in front of the stage or mingle outdoors, where the view and sound was almost as good. I had visited Jones once the week beforeand was definitely impressed with its stunning architecture and attention to detail. Although-the venue is a decent size, selling all of the 1,600 available tickets for Saturday evening, I was curious to see how the Jones crew would pull off their first show.
As I mentioned earlier, one of the first things I noticed was the quality of the sound outdoors. Typically, getting close to a performer by making your way to the side of a stage means you have to settle for worse acoustics. You’re either right in front of the speakers, or they’re facing a direction that makes the sound less full. The speaker system sounded good from outside, and the venue is still small enough to have a decent view from pretty much anywhere you choose to stand.
I spent most of my evening outdoors, underneath one of a few small trees. Large overhead misters and subtle string lights made for a nice atmosphere, only complemented by the night sky above. The island bar in back stayed busy, as did the beer stands on the patio, and bar food was served from a large kitchen window near the back.
Better Than Ezra was popular with the crowd, although it sounded like a typical college rock cover band, playing several songs by other performers, like Sublime and The Gorillaz. Songs often were stopped midway through for a joke or extended into seemingly impromptu jam sessions. Not particularly my cup of tea, but their fans were clearly having a good time.
Quite opposite the quirky, off-the-cuff performance of the openers, The Wallflowers members simply walked on stage in darkness, picked up their instruments and began to play. They sounded sharp and disciplined, wasting no time for banter between songs. Even the crowd got noticeably more serious as Jakob Dylan and crew took over the room, as you would expect any band of industry veterans to do.
Venues the size of Jones are rare around here, a fact that alone is enough to make the place worth having around. Add the aesthetic appeal and location, and it’s sure to become a highly appreciated place to see live music. I can only imagine the upcoming sold-out Willie Nelson show there in November is going to be an experience you can’t really match anywhere else in the state.