I
didn’t get the license number of the vehicle that plowed me over
Saturday at the Hole In the Wall, but I got a make and model: Buick
MacKane. Have these guys, who have played only a couple shows in the
past five years, been secretly practicing for months? That was one of
the best rock n’ roll club shows I’ve seen in a long time, as the
four-piece turned the Drag into the Bowery.
Although Alejandro Escovedo is the frontman of this marrow-massaging
‘90s garage/ glam rock band, drummer Glenn Benavides (ex- Doctors Mob)
is the driver, thundering in such relentless manner that Escovedo
called him “the Mexican John Bonham” and nobody laughed.
It was Benavides’ birthday and he blew out, no, moved enough air, to
extinguish the candles on a set that mixed revved-up Escovedo oldies
(“The End,” “Gravity,” “She Got”), with glittery classics (“All the
Young Dudes”) and Buick originals (“Queen Anne”). Just like the old
days, bassist Dave Fairchild stepped up to deliver “Supersonic” by
Oasis, an unlikely cover for these louts.
There are at least two Alejandros. One is the socially-conscious
rock poet in touch with his inner self. Another one is the
guy from Buick, who asked “Wasn’t that (expletive) great?” after
opening number “The End” and talked trash between the nuggets that
didn’t rub together. (Band of Heathens has replaced Poi Dog Pondering
as this year’s whipping boys). A Buick show is like Halloween without
the costumes: you get to be what you really want to be for a night. In
Escovedo’s case, that’s the midpoint between Johnny Thunders and Don
Rickles.
With the extremely underrated Joe Eddy Hines trading guitar licks
with Escovedo, Thin Lizzy style, this was the kind of show that made
you feel 20 years younger. The packed audience of about 200 was
definitely reliving glory years, especially on a version of “Loose”
that, here comes the blasphemy, at least equaled the Stooges original.
And that’s Iggy’s best song!
The cover was $3. The music was as loud and loose and full of
swagger as in the band’s heyday, when they rocked the Hole as hard as
it’s ever been rocked.
Anyone who still questions that Austin is the live music capital of the world wasn’t at the Hole Saturday night.
By Michael Corcoran - austin360.com