Pop Music Reviews : Spin Doctors Run Down at the Fonda

If you came in late to the Spin Doctors’ show on Thursday at the Henry Fonda Theatre, you’d figure that the scruffy guy doing the ungainly dancing was a fan who’d jumped onto the stage from the audience. But it was Christopher Barron, the singer for the New York hippie-funk band and apparently something of a Pied Piper to the Doctors’ rabid little following.

Backed by a resourceful guitarist and a rhythm section that was both taut and thunderous, Barron sang in a steely, Sting-like croon. After the initial kick wore off, the set settled into a faceless series of jams.

Between songs, Barron considered such questions as our place in the universe and whether to dance in the aisles or obey the fire laws. His most lucid comments concerned the media’s idealized images of sexuality, and he assured his funky-looking fans that it’s OK to look funky.

A noble sentiment, but the Spin Doctors’ approach is ultimately soft-headed and self-satisfied, a fatal flaw in something that should be fun and friendly.

The second-billed Wallflowers come from L.A.’s neo-folk-rock scene, and their half-hour set was the kind of thing you might have seen a few years ago from a new band opening at the Lingerie for, say, Green on Red: a solid if generic sound, intense vocals, vivid, energetic imagery.

Based on that, it’s a group to keep an eye on as it develops. But it’s not likely to be that simple for the Wallflowers, because their singer is Bob Dylan’s son Jakob. Looking more Brandoesque than Dylanesque on the Fonda stage, he was serious and reserved as he sang in a gruff, scratchy voice, and you had to hope that he’s really a serious and reserved guy and not already burdened by his legacy. He and the group deserve a little room to grow.