The one thing I did leave out of last week’s entry was that fact that we went to see Alejandro Escovedo again last Tuesday night. This time he was performing at the Museum of Fine Arts as opposed to the Paradise Rock Club where we saw him last Summer. Befitting the more staid atmosphere of the museum, this performance was an acoustic trio contrasting the full tilt boogie 6-piece play so loud your eardrums bleed rock band that he had with him last time. The latter venue did allow us to take the boy this time, as the club was an 18 and over establishment. I also sprung for an extra $5 on each ticket to get seating in the ‘FOH’ that put us in the 2nd row just off center. Perfect!
I have to admit that before the concert I was concerned that the trio format would somehow be less than the performance that we saw / heard last summer. I need not have worried even with just Alejandro, guitarist David Pulkingham and violinist Susan Voelz, they were still a force to be reckoned with. No ear bleeding stuff, but in some ways reducing the ensemble to three actually brings out the subtly of his compositions. Both Voelz and Pulkingham are very accomplished musicians and their ability to improvise and weave musical lines thru his tunes I find amazing. At one point in the concert Alejandro referred to Voelz as Jimi Hendrix on Violin.
With seats the 2nd row seats we were in heaven. They played a variety of songs from his different records. One particular song Everybody Loves Me (But I Don’t Know Why) as he recorded it comes off as a short angry punk influenced number. The version in the concert took that idea and expanded into a 6 or 7-minute amazing interplay between instruments wit the guitar and violin trading passages back and forth with incredible intensity. It brought me to tears. The rest of the concert was no less exceptional. I kept glancing over at the boy to see what his reaction was, and it was obvious that he was enjoying it too. They played for nearly two hours, finishing off the night by unplugging and wandering through the house stopping at different locations to sing and tell stories. One of those songs was Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople ‘s I Wish I was Your Mother. I wish that we had been closer for that one.
We left the show exhausted, but I for one wanted more. I am not sure what it is that binds one to certain musicians. I find that after 15 years or more of listening to his music, he is still on heavy rotation in my music set. But a day doesn’t go by without me listening to something of his. There are too many elements involved to try to define what it is. So it surprises me to go to his shows and see only a few hundred people in attendance and empty seats in the house. Don’t people know what an artist and a treasure this guy is? Is his music so far off the mainstream that they just don’t get it? Maybe it is better this way, those of us who know his music are special and we have something unique to share among ourselves. And the rest of the unannointed and unwashed are just missing out.
Alejandro links:
Here is a review for a concert of his that took place a few days before the one we saw. (the Boston papers couldn’t be bothered to review it.) it catches much of the flavor and energy of the show and the writer is having a good time too.
Tulip Frenzy- A commentary on Music
There are a number of performance videos on you tube of Alejandro and company, but I couldn’t find any in the trio format. However I did find an audio link. This is a version of Everybody Loves Me from a concert recorded in April of 2007 at Concerts in Studio in Freehold, NJ as performed by the trio, it is very similar to what we heard and saw.
It may take a moment to load, please be patient.
If you want to hear the whole concert it is here.
On the other hand, I did find this video on you tube from the concert we saw last summer at the Paradise. I think the person must have stepped on my toes while taking this. The video quality is a little poor, but the audio is good, and it still captures the intensity and interplay of the musicians.
Put You Down
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