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I think the Cave Singers actually deserve their own post, so look for more about them later. They’re a band from Seattle featuring ex-Pretty Girls Make Graves members. I wasn’t sure what to expect, since that was all I knew about them before going to the show. They’re a three-piece, very folksy/rootsy indie type of band. They were really good.

Calexico is one of my favorite live bands. I was originally hoping to see this show with Colleen of Sisyphean Obscurity fame, who I’ve never met, but she had a test the next morning in her college class so she couldn’t make it. I asked a friend of mine, Anita, to go instead. She’s funny—she’s interested in music but not a huge fan of it like I am. But her husband plays the drums and she’s been trying to learn guitar so she enjoys checking out live performances. I took her to see Damien Rice a couple years ago.

Calexico are nearly impossible to describe if you’ve never heard them. They’re indie rock, but they have a definite desert flavor—like it’s really easy to picture tumbleweeds blowing by when you listen to some of their songs. And they have a definite Latin flavor—two trumpets, some songs sung in Spanish, etc. Everyone in the band is really talented. The two trumpet players also sing and play xylophone, accordian…But it’s the drummer and the singer/guitarist who are the main songwriters.

They did a lot of new material, which really came alive in a live setting, just like I knew it would. And they did some old faves, as well.

I took a whole ton of video. Right after the security guard yelled at everyone about how if you were caught taking video you’d get thrown out.

They started out with one of my favorite songs, “Quattro (Worlds Drift In).” The singer from the Cave Singers joined them on tambourine.

love the run but not the race
all alone in a silent way
world drifts in and the world’s a stranger

Sorry about my poor aim, but I was videotaping in stealth mode. They would kick me out if I got caught.

They did another one of my older favorites, “Sunken Waltz,” which I believe was the first song I really got into by them.

Washed my face in the rivers of empire
Made my bed from a cardboard crate
Down in the city of quartz
No news, no new regrets
Tossed a susan b. over my shoulder
And prayed it would rain and rain
Submerge the whole western states
Call it a last fair deal
With an American seal
And corporate hand shake
Take the story of carpenter Mike
Dropped his tools and his keys and left
And headed out as straight as he could
Past the cities and gated neighborhoods
He slept ‘neath the stars
Wrote down what he dreamt
And he built a machine
For no one to see
Then took flight, first light
A new morning

I really love some of the new songs live. Soooo good. Like this one, “Man Made Lake”:

And this one:

That’s called “Victor Jara’s Hands,” and it gets stuck in my head forever. The maintenance guy in our apts was laughing at me cuz I walked by singing, “Ole ole, ole ole…”

I took so much video and it’s hard not to post them all. You can check them all out here.

Here’s some pics…

Joey, the singer, was kind of talkative. He said something and a woman in the balcony laughed. He said, “That’s my mom laughing in the balcony.” I thought he was joking until I remembered that he grew up in Palos Verdes and went to college in Irvine (the band lives in Tucson now). Then I remembered how the seats in the front row of the center section of the balcony had been reserved. I looked over there and saw a bunch of grey heads. So I think Joey’s family were all there.

It was the last night of their tour. I’m sure he’s hanging out in LA for a few days with his family before heading back to AZ.

It was a great show. Something about Joey’s voice is so special. Their music can really sink into your bones.