photos by Lori Baily, words by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Alejandro Escovedo - Silver Cloud (MP3)

Alejandro Escovedo & Tony Visconti @ Bowery Electric

Alejandro Escovedo played two NYC-area shows this past week. The gigs followed his appearance on David Letterman Wednesday night (video below), and both featured their own special guests.

At the Wednesday night (7/21) Bowery Electric show, the guests were appropriate considering the venue: the East Village bar attracted a host of neighborhood regulars - some better prepared than others (crib sheets littered the stage). The on-stage friends included Ivan Julian (of Richard Hell & the Voidoids), Garland Jeffreys, "Handsome" Dick Manitoba, Bowery Electric owner Jesse Malin, Amy Cook, Kristeen Young, Tony Visconti (who also turned up at Alejandro's City Winery shows), James Mastro, Nicholas Tremulis and Fiona McBain. Alejandro Escovedo's new record, Street Songs of Love, stood up through the diverse interpretations: from Kristeen Young's octave-jumping belting to Ivan Julian's snarling drawl. Though the show's tightest moment caught Alejandro locked in with his band, the Sensitive Boys, like on the show-opening "Always A Friend," from his previous album, Real Animal. For the encore, a swamped stage worked through the Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden" and Mott the Hopple's "All the Young Dudes."

After the set, the band and friends hung around upstairs to catch themselves on Letterman. Our photographer Lori Baily hung around too, and her pictures from the entire show are below.

Two nights later (7/23), Alejandro invited a different guest up on stage for his show at New Jersey's Stone Pony. Bruce Springsteen joined for their Street Songs duet ("Faith"), an Alejandro song covered by the Boss in the past ("Always A Friend") and (like at Bowery Electric) "Beast of Burden."

Check out "Silver Cloud" from the new album, posted above. Videos from NJ & Letterman, and more pictures from NYC, below...

Continue reading "Alejandro Escovedo & special guests played Bowery Electric, Stone Pony (w/ the Boss) & Letterman (pics & video) "

DOWNLOAD: Alejandro Escovedo - Silver Cloud (MP3)

photos by Chris La Putt, words by Andrew Frisicano

Alejandro Escovedo just played two nights at City Winery with Bobby Bare Jr. opening. Special guests on the first night (6/29) included Mott the Hoople's Ian Hunter, who joined Alejandro for a verse-trading encore of Mott's "I Wish I Was Your Mother." The second night (6/30) Alejandro's producer Tony Visconti sat in with the band for songs that included a cover of the Bowie-penned Mott the Hoople song "All the Young Dudes." Singer Tift Merritt was there too; videos of those songs are below.

Alejandro Escovedo plays again at City Winery on Friday (tickets still available), and he's at Vintage Vinyl tonight (7/1) in Jersey. More info and all tour dates are here.

Grab "Silver Cloud," the hard-rocking second track from his new record, Street Songs of Love, posted above. More pictures and videos are below...

Continue reading "Alejandro Escovedo & guests played City Winery - pics, videos and a new MP3"

photos by Lori Baily

DOWNLOAD: Martin Bisi - Mile High- Apple Of My Eye (w/ Bill Laswell on bass) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Martin Bisi - Drink Your Wine, (w/ Bob D'Amico drummer Fiery Furnaces)

Martin Bisi @ Knitting Factory

Martin Bisi played the first half-hour of his set as a suite, segueing from one part to another by frantically laying down one searing loop of guitar feedback on top of another. This time Bisi's band had lead guitar, bass, drums and a caped crusader wailing frantically on what sounded like a little Casio running through a million noisy effects, sharing the stage with a woman whose graceful miming quickly became the show's focal point. In a strange twist of fate, Bisi, like Visconti, is best known for producing great albums for famous bands (Sonic Youth, Herbie Hancock, the Dresden Dolls, ad infinitum), but ultimately it's his songwriting which is his strongest suit. This evening's numbers had a distinctly early 80s, East Village feel, sort of Nick Cave as covered by Blue Oyster Cult, ornate and haunting but also with a sense of humor that ran from cynicism to unaffected amusement. About halfway into his suite he ran through the mythology-based Sirens of the Apocalypse (title track of his excellent 2008 album), barrelling through the lyrics without a pause to take a breath. A more recent track, Drink Your Wine came off with an irresistible sarcasm, a word of warning to a lightweight; a dedication to his daughter, far from being mawkish, was a dark garage rocker evocative of the Libertines but tighter. They finally closed their set with a big riff-rock anthem that threatened to burst into flame after it had finally gone out, but it didn't. The audience wanted more but didn't get it. [Lucid Culture]

That review comes from the December 27th show at Knitting Factory where Martin shared the bill with Larkin Grimm who had Tony Visconti on bass. Extra Life and HUMANWINE also played the show

Larkin and Martin again share a bill this Sunday (1/24) at Mercury Lounge. Susu and Snowbaby are both also on the bill. Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls will be playing drums for Martin at the show. Bob D'Amico plays drums for Martin on one of the two free tracks above. More pictures from Knitting Factory below...

Continue reading "Martin Bisi & Larkin Grimm played Knitting Factory w/ Extra Life & HUMANWINE (pics), playing Merc w/ Brian Viglione"

photos by Lori Baily

backstage shenanigans at the Bell House

On Thursday [June 11th] I saw Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3 - R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, Bill Rieflin and Scott McCaughey - at the Bell House in Brooklyn. Ken Stringfellow of the Posies opened in a solo capacity; he was preceded by Takka Takka.

Despite owning at least eight of his albums, and enjoying them always, I'm not the world's biggest Robyn Hitchcock expert. But I was surrounded by people who were, and they rated it one of his better shows... [Tony Fletcher]

Robyn Hitchcock opened for the Decemberists at Radio City a day before that. Two days after the Bell House show, he performed at this year's Bonnaroo...

"This is the first festival I've really been to since seeing Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wright in 1970," [Hitchcock] tells Spinner. With his typical self-deprecating sense of humor -- we think that's what it is, anyway -- he recalls that after the massive Isle of Wright festival, as a performer he "decided to take a different tact and wherever there were going to be lots of people I'd be naught," says Hitchcock. "And, 40 years later, I'm beginning to reconsider my game. Should I do more public appearances where there are people? A lot of my colleagues in show business have answered with a vigorous nod -- 'Yes, Robin, play in front of an audience.'"

So Robin Hitchcock and the Venus 3 did indeed take the stage, to massive applause and in front of thousands...

That trend continues. His next show is at Glastonbury later this month. His next scheduled stateside gig will be at the Austin City Limits Festival in October. More Bell House pictures below...

Continue reading "Robyn Hitchcock (now playing festivals) played Bonnaroo & the Bell House w/ Ken Stringfellow & Takka Takka (pics) "