This is the third January in a row that Alejandro Escovedo has produced a concert at the ACL Live-Moody Theater. Bill and I have attended all three shows. The first one in 2013 was a retrospective of his career and included local musicians Rosie Flores and Amy Cook. Last year’s show, The United Sounds of Austin: A guided journey through over 60 years of Austin’s history, was an ambitious undertaking with even more musicians joining him on stage. (Joe Ely and Lucinda Williams, to name a few).
This year’s concert was a musical autobiography. Although an excellent guitarist, Alejandro sang lead vocals and did not play this time. He was backed by local jazz quartet Church on Monday, plus four female singers and two members of his band. Not surprisingly, the evening’s songs were definitely jazzier than his typical rock arrangements.
The first half of the evening roughly followed the ups-and-downs of Alejandro’s life, leading up to his remarriage last year. The second half started with a storm…almost literally. During a September honeymoon on the Mexican Baja Peninsula, Alejandro and his bride were caught up in Category 4 Hurricane Odile. He told the audience that this was a life-changing experience. Thunder-and-wind sound effects with lightning-strike spotlights came pretty close to recreating the storm’s fury within the Moody Theater. That indoor storm was a memorable experience for the audience, too.
Bill and I enjoyed this year’s concert and hope that Alejandro continues this January tradition.
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