Calexico show

Linda and I rarely go to concerts together as our musical tastes differ too much. But back in July I spotted that Calexico were playing a show at the Carling Academy in Oxford - the old Zodiac and a tiny venue for a band like them. I thought I was somewhat lucky to have been able to get a couple of tickets for it. Towards the end of last week I discovered that this show might be a warm up for their performance at an outdoor festival the next day - "the end of the road" I think it was, not one I have heard of.

Calexico's new album came out last week and is widely seen as a return to form after the disappointing Garden Ruin. I have only managed to hear it a couple of times before the show but it does sound better to me. On the way to Oxford we listened to a bootleg of one of their shows from a few years ago with the full mariachi band. Excellent stuff!

We had dinner at the "Organic Burger Company" restaurant at the bottom of the Cowley Road. We were surrounded by a large group of US people who I thought were exactly the sort of people who would be going to see someone like Calexico. Later we discovered that it was actually the band having their pre show meal! I would only have recognised Joey Burns and he was apparently behind me where I wouldn't have been able to see him

Support were a band called "Wood Pigeon" who were ok but who had really poor sound throughout their set.

And so to Calexico's show. Basically they seemed to play about half the new cd, and the rest from Feast of Wire and before. I wasn't sure I heard anything from Garden Ruin at all! The sound was excellent, Joey was pretty excitable for the first few songs - no idea why - and they did some fine versions. Highlights for me included Minas de Cobre, Crystal Frontier and a stonkingly great version of Guero Canelo.

Very impressive indeed I thought.