South By Southwest (Austin, TX) Sunday, March 21, 2010

The final night of South By Southwest is usually pretty light on shows. But there’s a big one that happens every year: ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO & Friends at the Continental Club, a show that neither requires nor accepts the ubiquitous badges or wristbands. You pay your money just like everyone else, music industry slug.

I confess I haven’t attended an Escovedo SXSW closer in several years. But the lineup for this year was too good to pass up. First of up was local singer/songwriter CARRIE RODRIGUEZ, wrapping up some shows in anticipation of her forthcoming covers album Love & Circumstance. To that end, the folk/roots rocker opened her set with TOWNES VAN ZANDT‘s “Colorado Girl” and closed it with “La Punalada Trapera,” the Spanish ballad that also finishes her new record. In between, though, she played her own material – “50s French Movie,” “Absence” and “Seven Angels On a Bicycle” are good reminders of why she usually records her own songs. Stripped down to just herself on electric mandolin, tenor guitar and her trademark violin and guitarist/steel player LUKE JACOBS, her performance kept her dramatic melodies intact. Plus, I don’t know if it’s vocal lessons or constant roadwork, but her always fine singing has reached new heights.

The next act couldn’t have been anymore different unless it had beamed down from Saturn and playing the music of the spheres on a calliope. San Francisco’s TRIPLE COBRA play loud, catchy glam/hard rock, not dissimilar to peers SEMI PRECIOUS WEAPONS (thought more consistent in their songwriting) and PRIMA DONNA (though heavier). The singer has that perfect pouting catch in his voice for this kind of rock & roll, and tunes like “It’s Not Too Late” (“we can still die young”) indicate a strong melodic backbone. And how many combos of any kind come with their own burlesque dancers? The two women in their corsets and feathered headdresses provided not only eye candy, but also synchronized dancing and creamy background vocals. Triple Cobra was quite fun and well received by a Continental crowd used to more rootsy fare.

Next up was Austin favorite GRADY. Formed by guitarist GORDIE JOHNSON, late of Canada’s BIG SUGAR, the high volume power trio plays a blues/metal hybrid that can be impressive if you don’t think too much about it. Because if you do, you’ll realize that (a) the songs sound like parodies of FOGHAT and ZZ TOP and (b) the band doesn’t seem to realize it’s funny. That slide guitar sure sounds amazing cranked up to 15, though.

Following Grady was IVAN JULIAN. Still best known for his work with RICHARD HELL & THE VOIDOIDS over 30 years ago, and a session cat ever since, Julian’s own music was an unknown quantity to just about everyone in the room. Backed by the Spanish trio CAPSULA, Julian bashed out an inspired set of bluesy postpunk rockers, taken from both The Naked Flame, an album available only in Europe at present, and the repertoire of his early 80s band the OUTSETS. Songs like “Young Man’s Money,” “Hardwired” and “The Funky Beat in Siamese” aren’t terribly far removed from Julian’s work with the Voidoids, which only makes sense, as he was one of the creators of that sound. He underscored that fact by playing “Blank Generation” mid-set and “Love Comes in Spurts” to close it out. He also covered “The Beat,” from host Escovedo’s 70s band the NUNS. Interestingly, for a guy known for his guitar slinging, Julian kept the hot licks in check, with the performances concentrating instead on getting the songs across as quickly and intensely as possible. Julian isn’t much of a singer, frankly, but he gets by on attitude and enthusiasm.

Another New York scene vet came after Julian – namely LENNY KAYE. The writer/musician had no product to promote, nor was he seeking a record deal; he was simply there at Escovedo’s invitation to play a few numbers and hang out. The casualness of his presence – exemplified by his imperfedt but personable vocals – belied the very fine songs he performed. The catchy melodies and insightful lyrics of “The Things We Leave Behind,” “Going Local” and the song using HANK WILLIAMS‘s alter ego LUKE THE DRIFTER to sing about the yin/yang of sin and salvation made the case that Kaye should be known for far more than compiling Nuggets and accompanying PATTI SMITH. He also covered a song by his former production clients the WEATHER PROPHETS, performed “The Letter” (dedicating it to its original singer ALEX CHILTON), and was witty and endearing throughout. “All week I’ve been dancing to ‘White Wedding’,” he noted, before claiming that the BILLY IDOL hit is his favorite song of the 80s. No one knew if he was kidding.

CHUCK PROPHET & THE MISSION EXPRESS are no strangers to the Continental, where they regularly play when they hit town, nor to Escovedo, with whom Prophet wrote the former’s excellent album Real Animal. (For that matter, I saw Prophet jam with Escovedo onstage at SXSW back in 1993.) The raucous singer/songwriter/guitarist drew tunes from across the length and breadth of his career, from “Queen Bee” from his solo debut Brother Aldo to songs from his most recent album Let Freedom Ring to crowd favorites like “I Bow Down and Pray to Every Woman I See,” “Storm Across the Sea” and “You Did.” In addition, Prophet tipped his hat twice to the fallen Chilton, covering both “Hey! Little Child” and “Bangkok” over the course of the set. Prophet’s become an excellent bandleader/frontman and a surefire concert draw since his days in GREEN ON RED, and tonight was another great Mission Express gig.

A Prophet set at the Continental would be hard to top, but Finland’s national treasure MICHAEL MONROE may have done it. Leading a stellar band featuring GINGER from the WILDHEARTS, STEVE CONTE from the NEW YORK DOLLS and his old bandmate (and current Doll) SAMI YAFFA, the former HANOI ROCKS singer threw his skinny, snakehipped self all over the stage, like a glammed-up combination of MICK JAGGER, STEVEN TYLER and IGGY POP. He stuck mostly to his solo material, most of which is unknown to Americans, but he noted new tunes like the fiery “You’re Next” and played a handful of Rocks classics (“Back to Mystery City,” “Malibu Beach Nightmare,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”). the energy level with which Monroe slashed through his glam punk & roll (note: he does NOT play hair metal, no matter how he dresses or who he influenced) practically set the stage on fire, winning over the crowd, despite the fact that most of them likely had no idea who he was. (Escovedo knew, noting in his introduction that he was a Hanoi fan.) “Dead, Jail or Rock ‘n’ Roll” blazed across the firmament with a true sense of purpose – when Monroe sings it, you believe every word.

After that, there was only one way to end the evening, and that was with a set from the show’s host. Escovedo’s career is on an upswing, with management from Bruce Springsteen’s team, larger tours and two excellent records (The Boxing Mirror, Real Animal) in a row. The eclectic singer/songwriter introduced a bunch of new tunes from his forthcoming record Street Songs of Love, co-written once again with Chuck Prophet. He’s expanded his band again as well, augmenting the SENSITIVE BOYS with a keyboardist, a horn section (including Austin jazz greats EPHRAIM OWENS, ALEX COKE and MARK WILSON, the latter two of whom played with him in the early 90s) and a trio of backing singers. (Strings were noticeably absent.) Escovedo’s music is ever-evolving, never sitting in one place for two long, and tonight’s show made that clear. Most of the new material is in the same vein as Real Animal, with a rock-oriented sound built around electric guitars and the songwriter’s love of 70s proto punk. But the horns and gospel backing gave tunes like “Southern Cloud,” “Tender Heart” and “Street Songs” a different feel from your typical rock & roll, keeping the power but adding grace notes you wouldn’t normally expect. The new band also helped transform older songs; “Chelsea Hotel ’78” and “Everybody Loves Me” became extended workouts with freak-out jazz solos from the horns (and skronk guitar from Escovedo himself). As ever, the ballads provided the emotional high points, including “Down in the Bowery,” a new piece dedicated to his 17-year-old son who believes his father makes “old music for old people” but shares a love of the RAMONES, and a stunning “Sister Lost Soul,” slowed way down and turned into a gospel weeper dedicated to Alex Chilton and the equally late STEPHEN BRUTON. The set crashed to a close with “Real As An Animal” before encoring with Carrie Rodriguez guesting on another ethereal ballad and Grady’s Gordy Johnson adding tasteful slide to the ROLLING STONES‘s “Sway.”

That could have been a perfect note on which to end. Instead, Escovedo had a surprise up his sleeve. As both his brother JAVIER (in town SXSWing with the ZEROS) and singer/songwriter/guitarist JON DEE GRAHAM were in attendance, the time was ripe for a reunion of the TRUE BELIEVERS, the 80s Austin rock & roll band that first alerted the world to the Escovedo talent. Though discussed before the show, the reunion did not include any rehearsal time; thus the crowd was treated to the trio (plus Sensitive Boys rhythm section) trying to remember the chords to their old songs. But a certain looseness has always been to this band’s advantage, and takes of “She’s Got,” “The Rain Won’t Help You When It’s Over” and “Lucky Moon” made up in spirit what they lacked in polish. The Believers tightened up for a raging cover of the VELVET UNDERGROUND‘s “Foggy Notion,” with a triple-guitar maelstrom that brought the night to a final meltdown. It was a perfect way to end both the show and South By Southwest 2010. See you next year.

SXSW 2010: Wednesday
SXSW 2010: Thursday
SXSW 2010: Friday
SXSW 2010: Saturday