RECAP: Steve Wynn @ Ready Mix Design, 10/24/2024

Bring the Magic

by Tara Dee

I consider Troy a magical place on the planet. Although Troy has its critics, that statement probably doesn’t seem so easy to argue given our recent gorgeous weather – the other day as I strolled downtown the skies were blue, the weather crisp, and leaves were drifting gently all around me, soon to become a carpet of gold on the ground. Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of discovering many an amazing new band while sitting on the wall outside of the Beat Shop, gone to shows I can only describe as jaw-dropping at the Hangar, stumbled upon the most delightful mischief and mayhem at our short-lived but well-loved Steampunk festival – so many times I remember marveling at the fact that I was enjoying experiences one might expect to find in a more urban environment than in a small town in upstate NewYork, our very own Enchanted City.

Add another show to my list of magical experiences in Troy, and that would be seeing Steve Wynn at Ready Mix Design + Letterpress. As a longtime fan of Wynn, both his extensive solo material and work with the Dream Syndicate (during the show he noted he has recorded over 400 songs and written far more than that), I was thrilled to see he was performing a house concert a few blocks away from where I live at a print/lettering shop. The magic was apparent right away when we walked in, as the shop had designed and printed paper tickets to hand out even though the sales were online only. Nice touch!

Working machinery had been moved aside to make room for audience seating and a small stage with one guitar, a mic and a stool for the performer. Made for quite the intimate setting and we all noted you could smell the oil from the printing machines, a reminder that this wasn’t a typical venue or show.

Steve Wynn took the stage and started out with a reading from his new memoir, “I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True,” then promptly launched into a song he wrote when he was nine years old. I’d be curious to know how many artists can say they have a song they wrote when they were nine that they would still be willing to play in public. The current tour is to promote the new book and companion album, “Make It Right.” Over the next hour or so Wynn read from the book and then played songs that sonically illustrated/expanded upon what he had described in writing in his memoir.

Wynn, clearly a rabid music fan as many of us in attendance can identify with, talked about the music that captured his interest at a young age, from the Rolling Stones to the Velvet Underground to Big Star. He shared a story of deciding to take a Greyhound bus from Los Angeles to Memphis at the age of 21 to seek out Alex Chilton with nothing more to guide him than a love of Chilton’s music and an address he had from the back of an album cover. Did he find his hero? Yes, yes he did- go ahead and order the book for the full story. It’s worth it.

There were so many aha moments, such as when Wynn demonstrated “borrowing” an idea from the English Beat’s “Save It For Later,” not only describing what he had changed but playing the changes on his guitar until it had morphed into the Dream Syndicate song, “Tell Me When It’s Over.” This passage had struck me when I read the book, but I didn’t really get it until I heard him play it.

He also talked about the Dream Syndicate’s penchant for repetition, another light bulb moment for me. I’d been surprised to read he’d been inspired by the Fall, another of my all-time favorite bands and frankly I wasn’t seeing the connection until he said that. Ah!!!! To quote Mark E. Smith – the three Rs -repetition, repetition, repetition!

Hearing the history/backstory of the songs is one of the things I love most about live shows. The songs on the new album are strong, and the Dream Syndicate songs rocked as they always do whether they’re performed solo as they were this evening or with the full band. I had the pleasure of seeing Dream Syndicate at the beginning of the year and of course, while seeing Wynn solo is completely different than the psychedelic, barely-controlled chaos of the Dream Syndicate, both shows were outstanding. The book is largely about the history of the Dream Syndicate from their initial skyrocketing success until Wynn dissolved the band seven years later. Not exactly a spoiler alert since this is not part of the book, but the band reunited in 2017, and has put out four new albums. All of them are terrific so check them out!

Thanks to Jason of Ready Mix Design for letting Steve Wynn bring the magic to us right here in Troy, New York. Jason was pretty low-key about the shows they’ve been holding in his shop, but you might want to give them a follow @readymixdesign so you’re in the loop next time.

Happy Fall everyone and hope to see you at the next show!

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