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More fallout from failed fest
And now come the criminal charges. Lorito Management of New York has filed theft of services charges with the San Marcos police department against Jerry Payne of the World United Music Fest. On behalf of clients Frank Carillo and the Bandoleros, Phil Lorito charged Payne with writing a bad check for $3,000 in lieu of a cash payment required by contract.
The band performed with keyboardist Augie Meyers on Saturday Nov. 15 right before the fest was cancelled at around 6:30 p.m.
Payne could not be reached for comment and his phone mailbox was full.
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Another day, another Austin album in a year-end best-of
Paste magazine, which might as well be known as the Magazine of the Austin Music Demographic, has released its year-end best-of in the Dec 08/Jan 09 issue. Okkervil River’s “The Stand Ins” comes in at no. 5, higher than Lucinda Williams’ “Little Honey,” which is at no. 9.
The bad news? The magazine names Denton as the Best Music Scene of 2008. Ouch.
Check out the full list here.
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Review: Q-Tip, Cool Kids and the Knux at Stubb’s
About 40 minutes into an across-the-board smash of a live show Thursday at Stubb’s, veteran emcee Q-Tip took his first moment to address the crowd.
“Hello, I’m Q-Tip. You might remember me from my old group, A Tribe Called Quest.”
Yeah, Tip, we remember. And after an honestly spectacular performance the natural question to ask is: Why you been gone so long?
Sure, the Queens native has been kicking around in the decade since Tribe called it quits, first with the excellent 1999 solo joint “Amplified,” selected guest spots and a brief Tribe reunion last year for the Rock The Bells package tour.
But he hasn’t been a Kanye- or even Common-level presence on the cultural landscape, and for 75 minutes Thursday he made a pretty air-tight case that that’s where he belongs.
Following promising newcomers the Knux and brainy party rappers the Cool Kids (who earned the rare supporting act encore calls), Q-Tip took the stage in front of a full band — guitar, bass, keys, drummer, DJ — and embarked on a set that was always grounded in hip-hop but took diversions into hard funk, soft soul and touches of jazz, which was often Tribe’s foundation sound.
Not surprising but still pleasant to see was how the rapper’s solo material (“Let’s Ride” or the almost ballad “You” from the new album “The Renaissance”) fit so seamlessly next to classics Tribe cuts like “Date Rape,” “Bonita Applebaum” or “Scenario” even though those songs were mostly limited to one or two verses because of the absence of original members Phife Dawg and Jarobi.
Balancing confidence with sincerity and studied showmanship with enthusiasm, Q-Tip was a singing, rapping, dancing phenom — even with that pinched nasal delivery — from the moment he took the stage to the sounds of a Barack Obama “hope”-heavy campaign speech and asked the crowd to point their index fingers toward the sky in remembrance of legendary producer J Dilla.
Those fingers, hands and arms didn’t get much rest all night, whether they were waving, bouncing or clapping as the man born Kamaal Fareed explored the journey from hip-hop’s roots (with slices of Funkadelic songs), its early ‘90s Golden Age (“time for some old ((expletive)) from ‘92”) to its present day.
And how about the monstrous home stretch of “Check The Rhyme,” “Vibrant Thing” and “Award Tour,” which found him crouched atop the tin-roofed shed at far stage left, looking down on the half-full venue (there is no justice) and furiously rapping like he’d never play to another crowd ever again.
After that it was time to unfold the landing gear, winding the night down with the earthy soul-hop of “Wefight/Welove” that allowed Q-Tip and his band a chance to stretch out and revel in the feeling of a magnetic, still-on-it performer meeting an adoring crowd on a night no one involved will soon forget.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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Review: Mike Kinsella of Owen at Emo’s
After two and a half years, his fourth full-length and a slew of international dates, Chicago’s Mike Kinsella of Owen returned to Austin to play Thursday at Emo’s, much to the excitement of a group of dedicated fans.
As Kinsella took the stage after fellow indie-icon Caithlin De Marrais, formerly of Rainer Maria, the crowd began clamoring before the stage in hopes of seeing some of Kinsella’s intricate acoustic riffs in action.
And even though live the songs were stripped of the many instrumental layers that make his albums so engaging, Kinsella’s unconventional tunings and complex guitar lines made the music sound full. “Bad News” created the illusion of two guitars, while during “Playing Possum for a Peek” the rapid classical fingerpicking brought the crowd to a hush.
“How do you do that?” one listener called out during the latter.
Between songs, Kinsella was laid back and conversational. He talked to the crowd about everything from the recent election to their drinks of choice for the night. During songs, he seemed enthused by the audience’s response. He belted out an energetic rendition of “Nobody’s Nothing,” and sang just above a whisper to the tongue-in-cheek “Good Deeds.”
He even had some listeners singing along to “Good Friends, Bad Habits,” despite telling them beforehand that they probably wouldn’t be familiar with the hard to find track.
Near the end of the show, Marrais and openers El Mays joined Kinsella onstage for a playful blues-rock version of Huey Lewis’s “If This Is It” to close out the night.
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Suddenly, everyone wants a live music task force
Seattle would like to promote itself as a home for music.
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‘FNL’ stars Britton and Kitsch host benefit concert
Connie Britton and Taylor Kitsch of “Friday Night Lights” will host a benefit Sunday at the Parish for the African Children’s Choir. Besides a performance by the choir, the show will feature Band of Heathens, Bob Schneider, Guy Forsyth, Carolyn Wonderland and Kacy Crowley. Looks like Riggins and the coach’s wife have been hanging out at the Saxon Pub.
Britton and Kitsch will share stories from their recent trip to Africa. “Taylor and I got to see first hand the war-torn villages and AIDS-affected homes where these children come from,” Britton said in a press release. “To see the way these kids are transformed through the unbelievable schools and resources provided by the Choir, and how it shapes them into citizens who then give back powerfully to Africa is a profoundly uplifting experience. I am excited for people here in Austin to have the opportunity to share in that experience, and to meet these amazing kids!”
Tickets are $25 at the door. Music starts at 5 p.m. All proceeds will go to Music for Life, home of the African Children’s Choir, and will be used to help fund the building of the choir’s new school in Uganda.
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Weekend Picks: An Indian master, a rising songwriter and Mexico City superstars
FRIDAY
Suzanna Choffel, Drew Smith’s Lonely Choir at Lambert’s. The fast-rising Miss Zanna and her crack band should be especially sharp after touring the West Coast the past month, plus as a special bonus there’s Smith’s Lonely Choir, whose indescribable self-titled CD is one of the year’s most satisfying. - Michael Corcoran
Also recommended
- Alejandro Escovedo at Antone’s
- Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band at Stubb’s
- Dave Alvin at the Cactus
- The Lemurs, Deathray Davies at Emo’s
- Black Panda at Beerland
- Supersuckers, Chapparal for Handsome Joel Foundation at Scoot Inn
- Pong at the Continental Club
- Broken Teeth at Red Eyed Fly
SATURDAY
Aashish Khan at the Monarch Events Center. The master of the sarode stringed instrument, who co-founded India group Shanti in 1969 and played on George Harrison’s ‘Wonderwall Music’ album (the first Beatles solo LP), celebrates his 70th birthday with a special show. Opening will be Austin’s Sangeet Millennium Ensemble, 8 p.m. $25 - M.C.
Xalapeno Charlie Tribute at the Contiental Club. This early show runs from 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday, with such acts as the Leroi Brothers, Larry Lange and His Lonely Knights, Mystic Knights of the Sea, Erik Hokkanen and Texana Dames doin’ like they did at the Austex Lounge. $20. - M.C.
Also recommended
- Nada Surf, Delta Spirit at Emo’s
- Heartless Bastards, Golden Boys at Stubb’s (inside)
- Ian Moore, Seth Walker at the Continental
- Wade Bowen at Cheatham Street Warehouse
- Black Crowes at Austin Music Hall
- Alejandro Escovedo at Antone’s
SUNDAY
Cafe Tacuba at Stubb’s. A surprise highlight at ACL Fest a few years back, this quirky Mexico City band is early Elvis Costello mixed with indigenous folk and embellished with conjunto touches. Although the vocally acrobatic Ruben Abarran sings in Spanish, the Grammy-winning band has been adding to its Anglo audiences. 8 p.m. $30. - M.C.
Also recommended
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White Denim (already!) makes an appearance on a year-end top 10 list.
The folks at the influential British record store Rough Trade Shop have put Austin buzz band White Denim’s album “Workout Holiday” in at no. 4 on their (really kind of early) year end top 10 list.
“Workout Holiday” is a Europe-only album, an expanded version of the “Workout Holiday” EP, also known as the “Tour” EP.
The LP version of “Workout” has rerecorded versions of some “Workout” EP tracks. Many of these songs also show up on “Exposions,” the band’s U.S. full-length debut.
Got all that?
Above it are Bon Iver’s “For Emma, Forever Ago” at no. 1, Fleet Foxes’ self-titled album at no. 2, and Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut at no. 3.
It should be noted that all four are debut full-lengths albums.
Check out the whole list here
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Texas Music Group, Inc. files for bankruptcy on eve of Walser trial
Embroiled in a lawsuit with the estate of Don Walser, which asks that master recordings, as well as money owed from royalties, be given to Walser’s heirs, Antone’s Records (the record label, not the store or club), Texas Music Group, Inc. and Texas Clef Entertainment filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday. The case, which charges those three corporations and individuals Randy Clendenen, Heinz Geissler and James Heldt with fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract, was to go to trial in state court Dec. 1. The bankruptcy filing puts an automatic stay on the proceedings.
“The Walser heirs are saddened by this turn of events where the individuals behind the corporate shells continue to exploit their father’s work for financial gain,” reads a press release from Walser family attorney Craig Barker.
Neither Clendenen, Geissler, nor Heldt have filed for bankruptcy, just the corporations. Geissler Wednesday confirmed the Chapter 11 filings, but said he hasn’t seen Barker’s press release. He didn’t want to talk on the record.
This lawsuit was filed in March 2005 while Walser and wife Pat were still alive. Don Walser died on Sept. 20, 2006. Pat Walser passed away on July 30, 2008. Their four children are now plantiffs in the case.
The past Walser recordings in question were originally released on Geissler’s Watermelon Records, which declared bankruptcy in Dec. 1998. Texas Music Group has reissued many of those tracks on “best of” compilations.
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CD review: Guns n’ Roses, ‘Chinese Democracy’
Guns N’ Roses
“Chinese Democracy” (Geffen)
So, let’s review: The United States elected an African-American president. The Phillies won a World Series. And “Chinese Democracy” is in stores.
Let’s not kid ourselves: The first two were going to happen sooner or later. The latter… well, this is an album that has been discussed, debated, anticipated and consigned to the realm of myth for 15 years.
Bill Clinton was in the middle of his first term the last time G n’R put out a studio album (the 1993 covers album “The Spaghetti Incident”).
George H.W. Bush was president the last time the last time the band released a studio album of original material (1991’s “Use Your Illusion” I and II).
Tens of millions of dollars have been spent in the past decade and a half. Eleven musicians are credited. Fourteen studios were used. The album’s been promised and delayed more than, well, the Second Coming.
So how is it?
Um … not bad.
Seriously, how good could it possibly be? It is the most anticipated album of all time. Unless it does your taxes, comes with stock options and cures cancer, folks are going to be a little disappointed.
As for the music (which does seem weirdly secondary at this late date), you can’t say ol’ Axl has been sitting on his hands the past 15 years.
Every song here seems to have about 900 tracks of sound on it. Jumbles of guitars, weird voices, drums, mechanical rhythms, piano fills and ballad butter run all over the place. Every song feels worked over and refined and added to and subtracted from. Riffs and parts collide like a freeway pile up. More often than not, the song is the victim, any sense of true forward motion is stuck in the stacks o’ tracks.
Remember the opening moments of “Welcome to the Jungle,” the wrecking ball swing that turned that song from solid hard rock to a freight train that changed the world?
There’s nothing like that here. Even the fairly solid rockers (“Shackler’s Revenge,” “I.R.S.,” the title track) can’t approach that astonishing groove.
Axl Rose seems to have spent even more time on the ballads, virtually all of which can be tagged with the prefix “power” or “epic” or “overblown.” “Street of Dreams” is Axl at his most power ballad emo (“All the love in the world couldn’t save yoooooooo”), “This I Love” is his most straightforward, “Catcher in the Rye” is, well, called “Catcher in the Rye.” And the man still seems to be able to sing just fine.
Speaking of crazy, there’s also plenty that’s just plain weird (other than Axl’s cornrows, it-must-be-Botox looks and, well, taking 15 years to finish this thing). “Madagascar” samples Martin Luther King’s “Free at last….!” and the world may never quite know why. “Sorry” sounds beamed in from Pluto. The opening 28 seconds of “Better” sound for all the world like the avant-pop of underground faves Deerhoof.
Every song has at least three or four parts fighting for attention. And Axl probably lavished his love and time on all of them, saying what he must have said to countless hot tub companions: “Girls, you’re all pretty.”
Even being sold exclusively at Best Buy, “Chinese Democracy” is going to sell through the roof; curiosity alone will drive plenty of purchases.
Which isn’t all that surprising. Rose and company have delivered a monster — misshapen, strange and sometimes very, very powerful.
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Live Chat With Statesman pop critic Joe Gross at 2 p.m. today!
Join Statesman pop critic Joe Gross and Austin Live Music Task Force chairman Paul Oveisi for one final live chat before Oveisi brings the task force’s recommendations before City Council at 2 p.m. Thursday.
If you have any last minute questions, now is the time to ask.
In related news, SaveAustinMusic.org and the Austin Music Foundation are organizing a “March to City Hall” that starts at 1 p.m. Thursday at Antone’s.
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Interview with Mike Kinsella of Owen (Thursday night at Emo’s)
As an integral member of bands like Joan of Arc and the now-defunct American Football, Chicago’s Mike Kinsella has long been part of an innovative and influential music community, but he makes some of his best music on his own. Behind the soft vocals and cutting lyrics of Kinsella’s solo project Owen lie lush instrumental arrangements, including acoustic guitar lines that would leave the fingers of most players in a tangle. In preparation for Thursday night’s show at Emo’s, Kinsella sat down to talk about his occasional heavy metal outbursts, as well as his creative process.
American-Statesman: How often do you play Metallica during a set?
Kinsella: It comes up more and more. The first time it came up, it was just like, “I’m bored. This show sucks. I admit it. I concede. I’ll play some songs that maybe you guys like.” Now it’s just a joke. People are like, “Play Metallica!” I sort of taught myself to play guitar by learning Metallica songs, so whenever I get into standard tuning, the first thing I go to is “Fade to Black.”
For the singer/songwriter music you play, your songs are much more intricate and layered than most in the genre. What kinds of influences do you draw on?
I list my influences as Red House Painters, which is acoustic with open tunings. Then My Bloody Valentine brings in the layers. Then the Sundays, who were a band that sounded just like the Smiths but with a girl singer, are sort of my all-time favorite. It’s just gorgeous. It’s acoustic, but there’s this 90’s, dreamy reverb electric guitar going on. I don’t listen to singer/songwriters for the most part, so I guess that’s why, hopefully, it’s different.
Being the sole driving force of this project, how do you write all the different instrumental parts?
Lots of sitting around at home alone. My wife goes to work early every morning, God bless her. She teaches high school history. She wakes me up, takes the dog out and I go back to bed for a few hours. I wake up and sit around, and I’ll pick up the guitar every day, but sometimes I just play Metallica songs, or sometimes if I finally find a part I’m working on, I’ll play it over and over. Then when I finally put it to a click track, it’s like, “How do I make this sound like the Sundays or My Bloody Valentine?” But when you hear it as a whole, when you put all the parts together, hopefully it sounds unique.
There are some bootleg videos on YouTube of you playing new songs. Are you releasing anything in the near future?
There’s a whole full-length started. I would say it’s two-thirds done. It’s over the hump, but I still have to go back and put strings on some and piano on some to make them stand out from each other.
(Image courtesy of polyvinylrecords.com.)
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A Coldplay concert upgrade: “It’s good karma”
(Editor’s note: The following post is from American-Statesman business reporter Claudia Grisales).
Houston — My two sisters, mother and I were headed to the nosebleed seats for the Coldplay concert at the Toyota Center in Houston Tuesday evening.
After several wrong turns and a lengthy escalator ride we finally made it to the top and our $49 seats in section 410. Suddenly, a man grabbed a hold of my youngest sister’s arm, and began quizzing her.
“Name three Coldplay albums, not including the current Viva la Vida,” asked the English-accented man wearing a black polo shirt and a two-way radio.
“A Rush of Blood to the Head, Parachutes and XYZ,” she excitedly said.
No, not quite, he responded.
“X&Y,” she corrected.
“Okay, now name a song on A Rush of Blood to the Head,” he asked, leaving me wondering — is this guy trying to pick her up or is this how they get fans amped up for the show?
“Politic,” said Susan, an encyclopedia of various albums.
“Name a top single,” he followed, while the rest of us stared in confusion.
“Yellow,” Susan said.
Next thing we knew, he was pulling out four fifth-row tickets on the floor.
“These are for you. We hold back a certain number of tickets to give to fans when they arrive to the show,” he said. “You just have to rock out down there.”
“Really? No, really? Why? Really?” we all asked as we all jumped up and down, and showered him with hugs. It turns out his name was Richard, and he would operate the camera just a few feet away from our fifth-row seats.
“Did you get an upgrade,” an excited fan asked in front of us. “We did, too!”
The fan next to us told a similar story, pointing to her original seats at the top of the stadium (my sister overheard another couple nearby say they paid $750 for their premium seats).
The upgrade fans later pointed out their Coldplay good samaritan, a man with black-rimmed glasses at the front of the stage who only identified himself to me as “Mr. Lo.”
The Coldplay crew helped give away 96 such upgrades at the Houston show. It’s something the band apparently does “in the states,” Mr. Lo said.
They look for fans wearing a lot of color and ready to show some serious energy.
“It’s good karma,” he said.
Richard, who we approached later, declined a photo or to give his full name. He said otherwise he would be stalked by Coldplay fans for free passes.
Shortly before Chris Martin and gang hit the stage, San Antonio Spurs and Eva Longoria hubby Tony Parker set off a scene when he walked to his seats. Further away than ours.
And the show was no disappointment. It was an adrenaline-rushed evening of songs off their new and past albums, a confetti drop of colorful butterflies and an acoustic version of “Mad Scientist” at the top of the first level at Toyota.
We were close enough to see Chris Martin sweat, the little blemish on the left side of his Adam’s apple and the elastic band of his white underwear.
He and his bandmates ran up and down the side runways, crooned into a mike on his famous piano and jumped around with their famous energy.
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New T-shirt idea: ‘I Survived WUMF’
The World United Music Fest, which called in Jack Kevorkian as a roadie at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, is quite possibly the biggest musical festival disaster of all time where nobody was killed. If the WUMF hired Hell’s Angels for security… well, at least the bands would have lathered up bikers to play for.
What if they put on a festival and nobody came? The nightmare of every promoter, every entertainment gambler came true on 500 fenced-in acres behind the San Marcos outlet malls on Friday and Saturday. Sunday’s show, featuring that huge draw Asleep At the Wheel, was mercifully cancelled.
Warning signs for festival disaster.
- High ticket price
- Weak lineup
- A lack of promotion
- Behind the San Marcos outlet malls? Are you kidding me?
The World United Music Fest was a little shy of its goal of 100,000 fans over the three days. Yeah, just 99,800 short. The Wishful Thinking Fest looked so hopeless from the start. You looked at that lineup and saw the ticket price ($35 a day, $70 for the weekend) and you sensed delusions in play, and not just from Jerry Payne of United States Entertainment Force. A Vietnam veteran with a background in the USO and other morale-boosting ventures, novice promoter Payne was way out of his league putting on a music festival. I know, you meet Charles Attal or Roland Swenson or Graham Williams and you figure “how hard could it be?” But it’s really hard. It takes a lot of experience and music industry knowledge to put on a SXSW or ACL or Fun Fun Fun Fest.
The WUMF came with a Sharpie so “disaster” could be written all over it.
Which is something the vendors and the musicians should’ve known as well. Do your research, especially if the organizer has a name like United States Entertainment Force. “World United Music Fest” doesn’t exactly sound like something legit. That’s a festival Batman shows up at to save the day.
I heard one story of a band who flew in, at their own expense, from New York City and Paris, so I asked why they decided to play the fest. Here’s the answer from Irish fiddler Cady Finlayson, whose quartet ended up playing an impromptu set at Fado on Sunday, after their set was cancelled.
“I initially heard about the Radio Conference Event from Sonicbids… At the time it wasn’t called the WUMF and my impression was that it was a radio conference with showcases for industry people. It was supposed to be in June. Then it was cancelled due to trouble securing a venue and after that they renamed it, it became the WUMF, etc. I would initially never have agreed to come play a festival for free, however at the time I thought it would be a networking conference and I planned to set up some other gigs along the way to help with our costs, which I did. By that time it seemed to have turned into a disorganized festival, but I had already set-up other work, so we thought we’d attend…”
The Wimberley-based Roots Music Association booked many of the bands and held the radio conference Ms. Finlayson references. This was not that group’s shining moment either.
What a drag. Like Will Matthews’ Exit Fest bomb on the Fifth of July, the WUMF relied on local talent to fill the fields and failed epically. Both fests (like the Urban Music Fest in April) charged too much for tickets. It’s like if there’s a new fast food burger joint out there and they’re charging $7 for a quarter pounder with cheese, they’re not going to make it.
I think the time is right for the city of Austin to get into the festival business, to save the good name of our local artists. I propose an all-Austin event at Auditorium Shores, with the best of local talent- Spoon, Okkervil River, Bob Schneider, the Gourds, the Sword, Patty Griffin, Roky Erickson, Sarah Jarosz, Eliza Gilkyson, Grupo Fantasma, Ruthie Foster, Erik Hokkanen, Alejandro Escovedo, Lou Ann Barton, Warren Hood, Shearwater, Golden Boys, Charanga Cakewalk, Black Joe Lewis and so on. Charge $10 for the whole day and watch beer sales set new records. Now, that’s a festival we could really get behind.
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Live Chat With Live Music Task force chairman Paul Oveisi 2 p.m. Wednesday
Join Statesman pop critic Joe Gross and Austin Live Music Task Force chairman Paul Oveisi for one final live chat before Oveisi brings the task force’s recommendations before City Council at 2 p.m. Thursday.
If you have any last minute questions, now is the time to ask.
In related news, SaveAustinMusic.org and the Austin Music Foundation are organizing a “March to City Hall” that starts at 1 p.m. Thursday at Antone’s.
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SXSW showcases Christian (a.k.a. gospel) rap
The gig takes place Mar. 14 at the Carver Museum and Cultural Center.
Check out the full article here.
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Record Store Day slated for April 18, 2009; many acronyms involved
National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) has will sponsor Record Store Day on April 18, 2009 .
Event organizers include the Music Monitor Network, the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) and Alliance of Independent Music Stores (AIMS).
More than 300 stores participated in the first one in April of this year, including Waterloo, End of an Ear, Encore, Sound on Sound and more.
It was a lot of fun, even for those of us who haunt such places regularly.
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Future Clouds and Radar upcoming CD release shows
The band will be live in the KUT studio (and on the radio) with Jay Trachtenberg at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Thursday, they’ll play a 5 p.m. in-store at Waterloo before heading over to Mohawk for a show that kicks off at 8 p.m. (tickets are $6, $8 for those under 21). Then Friday, they’ll play with Alejandro Escovedo and Grady at Antone’s starting at 9 p.m. Tickets are $20.
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Hear “Soul President”
David Boyle of East Austin’s Church House studio produced this ode to Obama during the summer and it’s starting to get some play.
Recorded in Dallas, the track features Greg Smith. Lucky Peterson and others
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Ely to play Inaugural ball
Joe Ely has confirmed that he’ll join a bunch of other Austin acts- including Kelly Willis, Bruce & Charlie Robison, Sunny Sweeney, Kevin Fowler and Cross Canadian Ragweed- at the Black Tie & Boots Ball, hosted by the Texas State Society, on Jan. 19 in the D.C. area. The event takes place the night before Barack Obama is to be sworn in.
What Ely might have that the others don’t is a secret weapon in Bruce Springsteen. An Ely insider says Joe and the Boss, longtime buddies, have talked about a little guest action.
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Escovedo wraps national tour in D.C., plays Austin Friday and Saturday
Austin music legend Alejandro Escovedo made history of a sort on Sunday, winding down his eight-month breakout tour with a special acoustic show for a hundred spellbound fans in the intimate confines of the O Street Mansion in Washington, D.C.
The result was a studio-quality live session in the kind of living room setting fans dream of stumbling into.
At one point, Escovedo nearly stumbled into his following: wandering out mariachi-style into the audience to perform without microphones, accompanied by Austin singer/songwriter Amy Cook, who performed the opening act.
Fortunately, the moment wasn’t lost to posterity: Austin’s Top Hat Recording company, working with a video production team, taped the show for a forthcoming documentary.
On the strength of his June release, “Real Animal,” Escovedo completed a national tour that included performances on Conan O’Brian, The Today Show, The Tonight Show and the Democratic National Convention. (He’s back in Austin for Friday and Saturday shows at Antone’s. $20.)
He tied off the tour with a final show at the Mansion, a non-profit museum/inn/art house in Washington’s Dupont Circle, a few blocks from the White House. It’s safe to use the word unique: the Mansion enjoys a cult-like status in the nation’s capital - not exactly a place known for cult - stemming from the eclectic collection of art and books jammed into the former Victorian mansion. Corcoran Gallery meets the Munsters’ House.
Escovedo trimmed his rock band for the acoustic finale. He was backed by longtime sidemen David Pulkingham on acoustic guitar and Susan Voelz on violin.
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