CALEXICO + NEKO CASE
Hackney Ocean 11th April 2001
I was never a huge fan of 'roots music' or whatever you want to call it, but Calexico seem to have injected a bit of life into it, with their blend of Tex/Mex, country and rock. Their first duty tonight is to back up Miss Neko Case, who is perhaps only really known in Britain due to the fact that she was number one in John Peel's Festive 50. Her import-only albums are credited to Neko Case and her Boyfriends, but this gig is very much Neko Case AND Calexico, as they appear as her (unannounced) backing band throughout. It's fair to say that this is 'proper' country music, much more traditional in style to a lot of the newer 'altcountry' acts. Although this is really her first large show in the UK she comes across as a very confident performer, with a really powerful voice too. Out of her own material the Peel favourite 'Twist the Knife' gets the warmest reception, and she does a decent version of the old folk song 'Wayfaring Stranger' too. It's fair that the percentage of this large crowd who bothered to listen (about 60% at a guess!) were won over. Maybe her records won't be as hard to get now.
However, it;s really Calexico that everyone has come to see, and it does surprise some people that exactly the same band we've just seen takes the stage after the break! They can do no wrong though, and they are a bit of a hot ticket in London as they won Time Out's gig of the year award last year for their City Slang anniversary show with Lambchop. Throughout their long set the quality of both the playing and the songs never falters, when they're just ticking along they're very good, when they step it up a gear they're fantastic. Highlights from all three albums are played , though the 'Hot Rail' tunes like 'Service and Repair' and 'the Ballad of Cable Hogue' (for which Neko returns to sing the French parts) stand out, and the trumpet parts on the extended 'Sonic Wind' are extraordinary.
The audience would have gone home happy anyway, but the crowning glory of 'Crystal Frontier' was as special as ever. Those of us who had seen them before knew it was coming, but it's still the perfect end to a great show. It's incredibly catchy trumpet refrain kept being whistled by various people on the 253 bus on the way home at any rate!
