Tucson, Arizona sextet Calexico have long eschewed the blandly homogenous label of “world music” in favour of their own eclectic style of “desert noir”. Combining elements of Portuguese Fado, 50s jazz, 60s surf rock, Americana, and mariachi, Calexico’s is a unique and intoxicating sound, that promises to take tonight’s sold-out crowd on a vivacious voyage across a diverse musical landscape.
The support acts, too, are primed to lend a worldly touch to this intercontinental evening. Though they hail from Melbourne, Quarry Mountain Dead Rats’ energetic bluegrass sounds bring the convivial Deep South to Richmond’s Corner Hotel band room.
With a thigh-slapping medley of banjo, double bass, guitar, mandolin, and washboard, the bearded five-piece kick off the evening in a jovial fashion, and have members of the crowd up and dancing by their set’s end.
From the porch-swings of America’s southern states, we’re transported to Madrid’s balmy evenings and lamp-lit laneways, as the denim-clad Spaniard Depedro takes the stage.
“Buenos noches, que tal, como estan?”, Depedro, aka singer/guitarist Jairo Zavala, greets the packed crowd. He delivers a pitch perfect first song in Spanish, and then states with a smile “I’m gonna play another song – it’s in Spanish as well”.
Tongue-in-cheek this may be, as the majority of his set is sung in Espanol, yet for one man with one guitar, singing in a language that few present can understand, Zavala has the room enchanted. His rich and heartfelt vocals are brought to life during the last two songs as the members of Calexico snake onto the stage and take up their instruments. As the last notes of “Fisherman” sound, the Spaniard bows and cedes his place to Calexico frontman Joey Burns – “see you next time, happy new year”, he quips, with a wave.
And away Calexico go, launching into the richly layered melody of “Epic”, the first track from their latest record Algiers. The group are on tour to promote this seventh album, and the set is laden with the songs from the record.
Calexico lead the buoyant crown on a merry dance across the landscape of Algiers (the neighbourhood in New Orleans where the album was recorded).The warm and exultant sounds of the record surface again on a cracking rendition of “Splitter”. Handclaps and Joey Burns’ smooth vocal harmonies are punctuated with trumpeting crescendos, and the group’s vibrancy is palpable.
“Maybe On Monday” ups the volume, and there is a sense of urgency in the toe-tapping drumbeat, frenetic guitars and impassioned chorus as the group sing “say goodbye/to your love”.
Long-term Calexico lovers are not forgotten either. The group deliver 1998’s “Minas de Cobre” to rapturous applause. The lonesome cry of the opening notes is soon roused by a singing guitar solo and the fiery spark of trumpets. The track conjures a vivid image of scorched desert plains of the wild frontier, the desert noir sound made tangible.
The infectious sounds of trumpets and horns run through the set, courtesy of accomplished musicians Martin Wenk and Jacob Valenzuela. Wenk also turns his hand to accordion, as on the effervescent “Sunken Waltz”, prompting Burns to comment ““One of the things I enjoy about playing live is watching these guys play gymnastics, swapping their instruments.”
Along with “Sunken Waltz”, a sizeable chunk of the set comes from 2003’s Feast of Wire, the group’s most commercially successful record.
The formidable “Black Heart” is a more restrained affair, with Wenk’s descending accordion notes adding a disconsolate mood. The song marks a well placed introspective moment, mid way through the set.
Vibrant flamenco notes energise “Dub Latina”. The flirtatious keys entwine themselves with a blistering guitar solo from Zavala, who has stayed on stage during Calexico’s set, lending his visceral playing to the proceedings.
The apex of the night comes in the form of a spectacular cover of “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, which morphs into the thundering drums and electrifying guitar of “Not Even Stevie Nicks”. Drummer John Convertino takes the lead, steering this mighty procession through a dark and heady desert oasis, beautifully fragmented by echoing trumpets.
The group even manage the briefly leave their Earthly journeying and take the crowd into the stratosphere, with a heart rending version of “Slowness”, the song dedicated by Gabrielle Giffords to her astronaut husband Mark Kelly during his final flight on the space shuttle Endeavour.
Rounding out a brilliant encore, the final song “Guero Caleno” positively heaves with the energy of Zavala’s guitar and perfectly encapsulates the exhilarated mood of the patrons.
Sure, it’s a just another dark night in Richmond when Calexico take the stage in The Corner’s crowded bandroom, but over the course of their phenomenally vivacious hour-and-a-half long set, the group transport an enraptured crowd across the four corners of the globe.
