Calexico - Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, 28/4/2015
by Jamie Rowland
published: 22 / 7 / 2015

intro
With a mix of songs both old and new spread over two joyful hours, Jamie Rowland finds that Calexico’s phenomenal set at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London still feels way too short
Being fairly lazy and extremely welcoming of any chance to park my bum in a cushion, I felt like I’d really lucked out when I received my seated ticket to see Calexico at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Not only could I spend the entire gig sitting down and relaxed, I had a great view of the stage with easy access to both the toilets and a less-busy bar than the one downstairs. What I had failed to remember – despite having seen Calexico live on a couple of earlier occasions – is that they are one of the most enjoyable live acts you could ever hope to see, getting the crowd happily dancing and clapping along within seconds of arriving onstage. This left me, sitting in my seat, feeling a bit disappointed in myself for not having gone for the more mobile, boogie-friendly option of standing in the stalls. It's hard, however, to feel too down when Joey Burns, John Convertino et al. are blasting their way through ‘Across the Wire’, and I soon found myself bopping along in my chair. The band played a range of songs from across their career, taking in most if not all of their albums, with an obvious focus on tracks from their latest record, 'Edge of the Sun'. Every song got a tremendous reaction, but without doubt it was the numbers from 2003’s 'Feast of Wire 'that were greeted with the biggest whoops and cheers. From the afore-mentioned ‘Across the Wire’, to ‘Sunken Waltz’ and the phenomenal ‘Güero Canelo’, with which they closed the first of their two encores in spectacular style. There were also a healthy dose of fantastic covers, from fan-favourite ‘Alone Again Or’, Minutemen’s ‘Corona’ and ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, which featured in the middle of an extended version of ‘Not Even Stevie Nicks’ (again from 'Feast of Wire'). Despite 'Edge of the Sun' having only come out the day before, which meant most of us had heard very few of the songs from it, all the new tracks went down a storm. It’s no surprise – the joy and sheer enjoyment of playing projected by the band is wonderfully infectious. Everyone was having a good time, and the room was filled to the ceiling with positivity. There’s something about mariachi horns that get me smiling more than any other instrument. The band were on top form, as well as seeming extremely pleased to be here. Convertino is an exceptional drummer; any opportunity to see him play is worth every penny. There’s a subtly to his playing; if you watch him, he’s doing so much and making it look and sound so easy. It was also a pleasure to see Joey Burns fronting the band of course, who – along with Jacob Valenzuela (trumpet, keyboards, vibes and backing vocals) – was whipping the crowd up in excitement at every possible opportunity. The band was rounded out by Martin Wenk (trumpet, guitar, keyboard… it was hard to keep up with everything he was playing), Ryan Alfred (bass, vocals) and Sergio Mendoza (keyboards), with snake-hipped lead guitarist Jairo Zavala doubling-up as the coolest man on stage, in the room and probably the whole world. As noted above, the band played two encores, filling up all the time they had, right up to the eleven o’clock curfew. “We feel like we’re just getting started,” said Burns as he introduced their last song, ‘Follow the River’, the closing track on Edge of the Sun' The crowd felt exactly the same way. When you can play for over two hours and still leave them wanting more, you know you’re doing something right.
Also at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London
Band Links:-
http://www.casadecalexico.com/https://www.facebook.com/calexico
https://twitter.com/calexiconyc
Picture Gallery:-


profiles |
Live from Austin, Texas, 13/9/2006 (2009) |
![]() |
The ‘Live From Austin, Texas’ series of DVDs features previously unreleased performances from selected Americana bands. Malcolm Carter is impresseed by the latest in the series, which is a recording of a Calexico show from 2006 |
live reviews |
Forum, London, 11/10/2008 |
![]() |
At a superb show at the Forum in London, Chris O' Toole discovers eclectic and erratic form of charming south-western Americana to be impossible to classify on record or stage |
digital downloads
soundcloud
reviews |
Hot Rail (2001) |
Desert-trance with a great twang! Calexico manage to innovate styles that until now had largely been given up. Listening to 'Hot Rail' is a mind-wandering experience. The duo alternate storytellin |
most viewed articles
current edition
Robby Krieger - Set The Night on Fire, Living, Dying, And Playing Guitar with The DoorsBoomtown Rats - Ten Songs That Made Me Love....
Lida Husik - Interview
Cathal Coughlan - Interview
Rick Wakeman - Interview
Peter Doherty and Frederic Lo - Cavern Club, Liverpool, 27/3/2022
Cliff Richard - Not Fade Away
Simon Bromide - Interview
Candlelight Tribute to Coldplay - Manchester Cathedral, Manchester, 1/4/2022
Wolfgang Flur - Interview
previous editions
World Party - InterviewSam Brown - Interview 2008
Cliff Richard - Vs Elvis Presley
Eric Chappell - Interview 1
Trudie Myerscough-Harris - Interview
Pete Brown - Interview
Ruskin Arms - The Image That Made Me Weep
Half Man Half Biscuit - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Melanie Blake - Interview
Joy Division - The Image That Made Me Weep
most viewed reviews
current edition
Rupert Wates - For The PeopleBanjo Jen - Fine Line
Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri - The Long Ride Home
Bonham-Bullick - Bonham-Bullick
Dead South - Easy Listening for Jerks Parts 1 and 2
Family - A Song for Me
Loop - Sonancy
Stereophonics - Oochya!
John Mayall - The Sun is Shining Down
Weather Station - How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Adrian P
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Carl Bookstein
Chris O'Toole
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dixie Ernill
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank