Me too ! seen them 16 times since 1999 - what a ride that was so far . Saw them with also the whole mariachi Band In belgium ( Pukkel POP 2000 ) - it was a fabulous wave of freshness . In 2000 back in Mei , on The " Hot Rails " tour , after an amazing Show in Brussels , they played one more hour back at the Drink counter , playing on the desk some mexican wild tunes from the 60's . I was in trance literally - The most mindblowing Gig i have ever seen from them to date . Let's wait for the one held in this same hall of the " Ancienne Belgique " in the heart of Brussels . They are the most favored and adored band in the whole calendar . It says a lot . Amparo Sanchez should bring the whole show to another level . Aloha Calexico .
it's like weird that Calexico scores so little hits. Being a world famous act. let's enjoy the midamerican sounds and rhythms and the very fine guests! Amparo is like a subtropic surprice - sensual and gifted with a beautiful voice. Oh man - being an old man and a lifetime fan of americana like The Byrds. Gene Clark, Gram Parsons, Flying burrito bros ao - i declare Calexico the best americana rockband since 1996 ( the year they started )
Partial setlist : Bisbee blues : 0:54 Roka : 9:36 (some songs I don't know) Black heart : 30:46 El Gatillo (Trigger Revisited) : 44:35 Two silver trees : 50:15 Inspiracion : 55:20 Minas de Cobre : 01:00:57 Man made lake : 01:04:29 Alone again or : 01:11:10 Fractured air : 01:14:34 Red blooms : 01:19:26 Victor Jara's Hands : 01:28:12 Françoiz Breut - Les Jeunes Pousses : 01:34:06 Guero canelo (with a little cover from Manu chao - Desaparecido) : 01:38:25 Crystal Frontier : 01:48:38
Filling in the gap: Across The Wire : 5:31 Bend To The Road : 14:47 The News About William : 21:42 Writer's Minor Holiday : 25:39 Slowness (with Françoiz Breut) : 35:21 Ballad Of Cable Hogue (with Fraçoiz Breut) : 41:01
...and a cherry on top. I been to Calexico / Mexicali, a small and often quiet double wide, as small cities go- this is one of pure Americana, being half in California, the outlaw, uh- law of chaos in order here, state of the USA, and right there, a bridge across, a tiny trickle as the Rio goes, we have the balancing half of it all. Two cultures mixed in and not even the Tex-Mex, no. Unique, as it is not at all like going on the commute across from Washington state or Vancouver Island, where it is faster to cross in and out the border line to get to work and back, where as in Calexico / Mexicali, there is no clear lines for me, just a blur- I was there to assess an ecological acquisition mess, being a used gas station, closed, yet with the tanks still in the ground, needed airiation just some fresh air to clear the mounds of possibly effected soil around the leaky tanks. Forget all that. I enjoyed my client, and not so much the yuppie broker fool who had to get us there fast, saving time enough to try and talk his way out of the speeding ticket, the Trooper asked him with his being local and all, why didn't he expect a "speed trap". He answered that he had a mirror and a rolled up 100 dollar bill, flaring hungry nostrils for all that. The officer smiled and said he'd forget he heard that, and they agreed to not tell anyone at next week's family brunch. I offered to clear all the mirrors and disappear, like a d'jin with a magic lamp, like the wind after the dust devil is done... so we continued on. The client was a good natured sort, long hair, great boots, we smiled and knew right away we were going to enjoy the company. He showed me around and somewhere lost his cousin the "family success story" and I thought wow, look at all these dry streets, and the sun seems determined to burn the ruins down, yet we had us a real good time, everyone so gracious, we had us, California and Mexico at the table and a few half breeds like myself to chip in our own weird ways to celebrate the daze we live in. I have been going down Texas to Mexico for many years, and only a few times from Cali on down, yet never ever seen such a town. I am used to crossing over by McAllen / Brownsville, or to fly in, usually with no customs attention at all. I have been speaking my awful english and my worse espanol, yet always everyone is so cool. The town is at first appearance, just another place, so many other places I can say about, once you dig in, you don't see it the same, each town and country, culture and family -every one in it -all of us, all a fuss, we have identity, and I find this place truly trippy. The music has the right feel. Gone wandering into the future primitive, and found myself well, truly trippy. Love this band and love their jams, in many ways a throwback and yet still ahead of their time. A snort for law, and a mirror for order, who draws the short straw, who is shown no quarter, that Cable Hogue should have seen it coming, and the air is a double pain window, the Crystal Frontier, what you may not see, yet we all feel it here. Thank you and be well!
