Wynn Revisits Paisley Underground

Steve Wynn has always drawn inspiration from rock’s past, famously tapping the frayed guitar legacies of Crazy Horse and the Velvet Underground. At the Knitting Factory on Friday, however, Wynn revisited his own history as leader of the Dream Syndicate, dedicating half the set to that band’s influential 1982 album, “The Days of Wine and Roses.”

“Welcome to the Cathay de Grande!” Wynn joked from the stage, referring to the long-defunct Hollywood punk and new wave landmark. The singer-guitarist was dressed in a paisley shirt, once the official uniform of L.A.’s “paisley underground,” where the Dream Syndicate created a dependably raw blend of psychedelia and rock guitar fire.

The years and experience since that album have enabled Wynn to bring a new richness to the material, though “I Don’t Want to Know” still revealed a giddy Velvets fixation. Wynn is a wilder player now, and during the guitar epic “Halloween,” he grabbed a fan’s beer bottle to slash at his guitar strings.

The night began with an hour of solo work, mostly culled from Wynn’s ambitious new double album, “Here Come the Miracles.” The music shared much the same fire as the “Wine and Roses” set, from the gothic western blues of “Sunset to the Sea” to the noisy storm of “Smash Myself to Bits.”

Wynn continues to show his influences, lifting the roiling rhythms of the Stooges’ “1969” for the new “Strange New World.” The music was occasionally calmer elsewhere, as if Wynn is confident of influencing yet another generation of the underground.