The Wallflowers sounded so good last Thursday night, July 17, 1997, at the Jones Beach Theatre, and the ocean breeze was so cool amidst the mid-July heatwave, that I thought I had died and gone to suburban heaven.

Jakob Dylan looked splendid, dressed in customary black garb, alternating between a black and blond Telecaster guitar. The band sounded better than they do on record (which means pretty damn good), although the music did carry out to Zach’s Bay on occasion instead of heading in the rightful direction of the Jones Beach crowd.

Can’t tell you what song Jakob opened with since the traffic on the Long Island Expressway was doing its traditional weeknight crawl at that particular time. When I finally arrived on the south shore of Nassau County, Jakob and band were on what I was told was their second number. Fortunately, I made it in time to catch an excellent rendition of "One Headlight" followed by an infectiously sweet version of "Three Marlenas."

In concert, the Wallflowers deliver their music with the same taste and restraint as they do on record -- just add a few currents of crowd-inspired electricity to the mix and you have the live sound of the band. Jakob sings with more gravity and heart on-stage than he does on plastic; he growls a bit more and croons with sorrowful pangs, causing the resemblance between him and the elder Dylan to be slightly more apparent.

Speaking of which... it’s pretty much inevitable that any given article about Jakob will include references to his famous father, at least during the nascent stages of the Wallflowers’ career. It’s hard to duck out from under a shadow like the one cast by Bob Dylan, although Jakob has apparently given it his best shot. To his credit, the 27-year-old singer has been notoriously steadfast in his refusal to exploit the family name, which has served to make his voyage from obscurity to fame a seven year sojourn instead of an overnight launch to the stars. Says Jakob:

"When I came along people were like, ‘Great, this guy will sell no less than two million records just on his name alone.’ But I didn’t take the avenues people expected me to take... And that frustrated people... All the flak I got at Virgin [the Wallflowers’ original label] was that I wasn’t friendly enough. And I guess I wasn’t. I wanted to be left alone."

At this point, Jakob’s decision not to sell a quick couple of million records by prostituting his surname seems to have paid off in the long run. He now has the respect of the public and the record sales to boot: Bringing Down the Horse is currently double-platinum. In addition to an impressive take at the cash register, the CD has garnered a healthy dose of critical praise, including a few Grammy nominations for "6th Avenue Heartache," which was expertly served later in the Jones Beach set with the help of some rousing background vocals from Adam Duritz of the Counting Crows.

The duet between Dylan and Duritz (who also performs the backing vocals on the studio version of "6th Avenue") was easily one of the high points of the evening. The two singers traded counterpoint harmonies, looping in and out of each other's lines and landing on that last spectacular note like a couple of trapeze artists finding each other at that one crucial place in midair.

The Wallflowers included one cover song in their set: Robbie Robertson’s "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," which was a pleasant if not slightly predictable addition to the night’s servings.

Jakob, in obvious good spirits, was talkative and gracious throughout the evening. He closed the night by simply saying, "Thank you for letting us play." Thank us? Hey, no problem, Jake. But next time, don’t be so damn punctual. This is New York, after all – the trains don’t run on time here and the traffic is always a bitch.