Cinematic is a word that oft describes the music that Tucson based band Calexico deliver. With the horns and guitars and the amazing south of the border rhythms and vocals, it is hard not to make that connection to the scores Enrico Morricone did with spaghetti westerns in the past.
That is one link to the cinematic nature of this outfit. The other take is how rich and engaging and totally watchable a Calexico performance is. Many bands have one or two stellar musicians, but they seem to be holding a handful of aces with some extras up their sleeves just to make sure they put on a winner of a show. Tonight they certainly were on fire.
Tonight Joey Burns and John Convertino’s ensemble cherry picked the majority of their songs from their latest release Algiers, Carried To Dust from 2008 and Feast OF Wire from 2003. Starting with a moving version of “Para”, the interplay of Jairo ‘Depedro’ Zaval on slide and the trumpets of Jacob Valenzuela and Martin Wenk, displayed quickly that the gathering was in for a treat.
Jumping straight into the Mexicali flavoured “Across The Wire” had Valenzuela and Wenk duelling on trumpets and Burns whooping and screaming and inciting the audience to do the same. The Sydney Opera House may not be the best setting for a band that would love to have a beer and tequila swilling crowd swaying and dancing to their eclectic sounds. This alt-country was gracious and proud to be on our Opera House stage. The level of joy was measured by the grins and smiles that they wore.
“Splitter” may be about as pop like as Calexico will get. Once again the slide and trumpets were in the forefront and the vocals of Burns and bassist Ryan Alfred made this song come out more like The Jayhawks with horns. This heady mix of energetic rock and roll seemed to draw even more rapturous applause and shouting from the crowd and the room was glowing with that electricity.
Throughout the close to two hour performance Wenk switched from trumpet to guitar to keyboards. Valenzuela played a thrilling trumpet but his vocals really came to the forefront when he sang in Spanish on “ Inspiración” and “Guero Canelo”. Burns switching guitars from acoustic to electric and Valenzuela picking up a guitar at some points , along with his amazing keyboard soloing , proved that this travelling band are multi-talented.
Towards the end of the regular set Calexico blended their guitar driven song “Not Even Stevie Nicks” with a cover of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. This was blistering and you could sense that people wanted to be out of their seats. With only a smattering of people taking to the aisles, they followed that up with their startling cover of Love’s classic track from 1967 “Alone Again Or”. They own this song from now on.
A mention of a Calexico show cannot go without noting the stellar playing of John Convertino on drums. Based behind his kit, which was located near the front of the stage to showcase his astonishing skills, he certainly proved that his foundation keeps this band wound tight. Whether drumming intricate beats or playing maracas as he drummed and kept the beat with his feet, it was a full time job keeping an eye on him. As a matter of fact, it was hard to know whom to watch, they were all so talented and obviously enjoying the gig.
Ending the night with more yelling and whooping, Calexico left the stage to a standing ovation after their 3 song encore. Tonight, they not only played to the height of their skills, but their presence on the iconic stage of the Sydney Opera House was truly warranted. Ariba!
Calexico Setlist
Para
Across The Wire
Splitter
Roka
Dead Moon-about as darkest as we get
Yours And Mine
Minas De Cobre (For Better Metal)
Inspiración
Pepita/Epic
Maybe On Monday
Two Silver Trees
Victor Jara’s Hands
Slowness (With Tiny Ruins)
Not Even Stevie Nicks/Love Will Tear Us Apart
Alone Again Or (Love cover)
Puerto
Encore
Fortune Teller
Güero Canelo
The Vanishing Mind
