[San
Antonio/Austin, TX] I’m in no way a fan. I was there for a little
Texas-wallowing ... I heard of Alejandro Escovedo the whole time I’d lived in
Austin – his 80s punk band, Rank & File, so they say, used to play at Hole
in the Wall, a regular haunt and maybe the first bar I ever went to in Austin,
to play pool with the guy I rented on Craigslist to help me unload the moving
truck (2001). And although Alejandro was like generally famous, even beyond
Austin – I never would have bothered seeing him – but a chance for a little
Austin in Portland I wasn’t going to miss. Plus, I’d been hearing snippets of
him over the years and had come to appreciate his voice. I realized during this
show that it was partly because his voice is sort of a dead ringer for Jesus
Sixto Rodriguez, but harder. They even look a lot alike & I kept trying to
figure out it that was why I was lumping them but I think not. So it was
stirring to see him come out & I got genuinely engaged in the show from my
balcony seat. Early on, in one sweet sweet sentence, he name-dropped all of his
Texas influences/compatriots: Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Lucinda Williams,
The Dicks, Big Boys --- and went on about how Austin is at 99% occupancy and is
totally altered – I often compare the state of Portland to the state of Austin –
he recommended a wall around Portland – I cried a little for the heartbreak I could
hear in his voice for the Austin he’d lost and for the amount of love I have
for Townes & Lucinda, and because I apparently now cry at every show I go
to. Anyways, he’s a professional – the Minus 5, now his back-up band, had even
cleaned up their act with some classier outfits. And the music bore out his
promise - it was immediately such better music: rich, heartfelt. He also referenced
San Antonio (where he was born) and Galveston early on <3 Some nice lines: “I
got that Sunday morning feeling in the middle of Saturday night,” “I like her
better when she walks away” (although a rip off of The Doors), “And I wonder
why I don't even wanna play guitar anymore. If there's no stories left to say.”
“When I was a young man. I made a lot of noise.”. He was just calm and cool,
all long skinny legs and sunglasses – his voice is as lovely speaking as it is
singing, mellow deep resonant. He told a story about how the last time he was
at the Aladdin, he was trying too hard and broke a guitar, and a woman in the
crowd interrupted his story with a scream, “I was there!” and he incorporated
her into his story. He’s a natural rockstar – no cheesy posturing. I’ve often heard
him referenced as a “troubadour,” which the internet tells me is a poet – I can
see that. There wasn’t much of a Texas sound to him. I heard The Hold Steady
for a bit. if anything, he taps into the authenticity and melancholy of Texas
singer/songwriters. I liked him a lot.
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