Alejandro Escovedo
Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland
13 January 2010
Alejandro Escovedo is one of those recording artists I have always heard great things about from friends whose musical tastes I respect. He's one of those singer/songwriters who has been around forever crossing over into several genres, but has never reached what the general public would call superstar status. Often compared to everyone from Santana to Springsteen to the Rolling Stones, he brought a four-piece band to the Beachland last Wednesday. It was my first chance to see him, and I will probably never miss him when he comes through town again.
He and his band performed a twelve-song set followed by an encore of four songs. Most of the songs were autobiographical upbeat rockers, and featured some terrific guitar work. Songs with titles like "Wasn't I Always a Friend to You," "The Bed is Getting Crowded," "Sister of Lost Soul," touched on the themes of romance, family, and traveling the road. He wears his emotions on his shirtsleeve and in the songs that he writes and performs. It was wonderful stuff. One of the new songs "After the Meteor Shower" opened with this line, "She was pretty as a star/take a photo please." He is a very good songwriter.
The show's closer "Castanets" had more than a little Chuck Berry beat and guitar to it. His final two encores where the only covers of the evening, rowdy versions of "All the Young Dudes" and "Beast of Burden." The Beachland was almost filled to capacity with both Escovedo and serious music fans, most seemed to enjoy the show tremendously.
For more about Alejandro Escovedo and his music, including his new release "Real Animal," which is available on CD and vinyl, go to www.alejandroescovedo.com. As always, there are a lot of great shows coming up at the Beachland including Ronnie Spector on June 22; local rockers Cats on holiday doing a benefit on January 23; the Deanna Bogart Band on February 4; the subdudes on March 19; and the Paul Thorn Band on March 25. Fore information on these shows and more visit www.beachlandballroom.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment