Alejandro Escovedo at Off Broadway, 5/15/12: Review and Setlist
Alejandro Escovedo
Todd Wolfson
Off Broadway
May 15, 2012
Storytelling is a craft that is formulated through years of experience and must be as finely tuned as a guitar. Spirited rock & roll is the backdrop to Alejandro Escovedo's heartfelt and sincere storytelling. Last night in St. Louis, he bared his soul, shared gritty details of writing and recording, and thanked his fans -- all while wearing a warm smile and strumming his guitar.
St. Louis guitar legend Jimmy Griffin pulled double duty as the opener and then as one of the stellar cast of St. Louis musicians acting as Escovedo's backing band.
Despite the crowd at Off Broadway both onstage and on the floor, Escovedo created an intimate atmosphere, one conducive to his prolific style of performance and telling of tales. Many musicians feel obligated to talk between songs and fill every quiet space with unnecessary banter or awkward retellings of nonsensical stories, but Escovedo's quips invited you in to his 30-plus years as a musician. Exuberance, in both the crowd and the band, was plentiful and intensified with each iteration of Alejandro Escovedo -- starting with a four-song "set" of acoustic tunes, roaring in to the full band version of songs (including new ones from the upcoming album Big Station) and ultimately ending after three encores.



























