Guitarist Alejandro Escovedo has been through a lot over the course of
a career that's lasted nearly 30 years. He started in the seminal San
Francisco punk act the Nuns, who had the distinction of opening for the
Sex Pistols on their single, disastrous U.S. tour; he went on to become
one of the founding fathers of alt-country with Austin-based bands Rank
and File and the True Believers in the 80's.
After
nearly succumbing to hepatitis C in the late 90's, Escovedo bounced
back, and at nearly 60 years old, he took the stage at Voodoo looking
fit, if battle-scarred. With his face half obscured by dark shades,
fronting a band clad all in black, he tore through a razor-sharp,
take-no-prisoners set of buzzy, blistering country-tinged punk rock
n'roll.
The band left the stage a good
half-hour before they were scheduled to, but returned for a two-song
encore. Up till then, they day had been blustery, but sunny, hot and
humid. But as he unleashed the stomping, honky-tonk rhythm of
"Castanets," the sky began to darken. When he dedicated the closer,
David Bowie's "All The Young Dudes," to Iggy Pop, a cold wind suddenly
snaked through the crowd. And as he left the stage, the first chilly
raindrops began to fall.
The man in black and his vicious guitar were gone. The storm howled in, soaking City Park. Night fell.
Can you control the weather with rock n' roll?