Calexico Kicks Off Tour in Austin
Tucson Band Wows Antone’s with Southwestern Indie Rock
After a scorcher of an opening set by Ottawa folk rockers The Acorn, Calexico principals Joey Burns (guitar, vocals) and John Convertino (drums) took to the stage, running through a blistering electric guitar jam before the rest of the band joined them. Its latest record, Carried to Dust, figured prominently throughout the night, offering a number of tracks sprinkled throughout the set.
If crowd response was any indication, Calexico’s newest songs stand among its best. “Two Silver Trees”, accented by its hushed verses and jangly electric guitars, spun its mythical spell, while “Inspiracion”, penned by trumpeter Jacob Valenzuela, brought the band’s trademark Southwestern rock to the fore. For two hours the packed room was transported to a musical dust-up, Tucson-style.
Dynamics, Multi-Instrumentalists Propel Calexico’s Live Show
As a live band, Calexico’s great strength lies in its use of dynamics, tastefully raising the volume only when necessary. Few bands are as effective at going from soft to thundering—often within the same measure—as this one. “Slowness”, a ballad from its latest album, was a sparkling highlight to the set, with Burns’ softly keening tenor singing, “The stars in their slowness took us by surprise.”
Older crowd favorites like “Crystal Frontier” and “Across the Wire” showcased the immense talents of Valenzuela and multi-instrumentalist Martin Wenk, both of whom traded solos with understated grace. Guitarist/pedal-steel player Paul Niehaus’ subtle lines and ghostly tones expertly complemented Burns’ ragged tales of loss and redemption, as on the harrowing “Bend to the Road.”
Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam Lends a Hand
It was Convertino’s solid drumming, however, that carried the night at Antone’s. Convertino’s playing trades technical flashiness for an unconventional expressiveness that makes the music ebb and flow. Seated on his drum stool, stoic and dressed in a white guayabera shirt, Convertino was all business as Calexico’s rhythmic anchor.
By the time the band came back on stage for its encore with Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam in tow, the audience was completely hooked. Beam and the band reprised two songs from their critically acclaimed 2006 collaboration, In the Reins, with “He Lays in the Reins” and “Burn that Broken Bed.” Beam’s husky tenor melded effectively with Burns’ more polished tone, easily producing the evening’s best harmonies.
Ending with cacophonous “Red Blooms” from Carried to Dust—which pretty much had every member of the band conjuring some form of feedback from their instruments—Calexico left little to prove that it among the best working American bands today.
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