Calexico live review
Calexico have made a career out of being the muso’s Mariachi band of choice by sprinkling their trumpet flourishes with the dusty, sighing vocals of American indie and offering brooding post-rock soundscapes as counterpoint to all the accordions and maracas. The only problem was that while all this was tastefully evocative on record, in concert it could get rather dull.
Not tonight though: Calexico have shaken off the sleepy heat haze that once clouded their live performance, and opted instead for infectious rabble-rousing on the part of leader Joey Burns, build-it-up-tear-it-down arrangements that draw whoops after each solo, and even a suitably south-of-the-border version of Love’s “Alone Again Or”. It doesn’t all work, mind: in the more mealy-mouthed guitar solos it’s the cheese of Carlos Santana, rather than the intended cool of Ennio Morricone, that looms largest, and the Speedy Gonzales-style ad libs from the enthusiastic trumpeter feel plain hokey, regardless of his nationality.
But these are churlish quibbles in what is, in spirit, a terrific gig. As the elongated, throw-it-around-the-band version of Guero Canelo brings the main set to a close and the house lights illuminate a collective crowd grin, it’s hard to begrudge a group of musicians who’ve long been aware of their music’s subtlety finally relishing the downright joyous side too.
