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You heard it first, Calexico plays a fun and original show. Walker himself, that included a quick jam on Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” What?! Photo by Christian Spraungel They even closed with some interesting melodies, accompanied by Mr. Playing tunes off of their new album, like the poppy Beck sounding “Under the Wheels,” as well as their most well-known, hand-clappy/sing-along songs including “Alone Again Or,” they had a little something for everyone even if you weren’t familiar with the band. Soon enough they busted out the horns we were all waiting for. They started out playing a lot more of their indie folk sounding songs, which oddly reminded me a lot of Andrew Bird or Devendra Banhart, but their sound did change quite a bit throughout their set. With around eight live members on stage it’s not hard to get all those bases covered. Photo by Christian SpraungelĪfter a short break, Calexico took the stage with damn near every instrument other than a theremin. Although he may have wanted to rock harder than their material allowed, their bluesy folk stuff sounded great. Sometimes playing the regular stuff just gets old. Ryley Walker kicked off the night playing along with just one other electric guitarist, commenting that he wished Metallica was in town so he could “stop playing this folk shit.” As a musician who used to play in a punk band, I get it.
#CALEXICO RYLEY WALKER FULL#
The light crowd gave everyone enough room to get a good spot, but enough fans were present to make it feel full enough. On one of the first nice night Minneapolis has cataloged for the year, not every ticket holder showed up (presumably enjoying the much needed time outdoors). On tour in Support of their new album The Thread That Keeps Us, Calexico brings their fun Tex Mex indie sound to the Fine Line with opener singer/songwriter Ryley Walker.
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Never happened to you? Ask Walker what it’s like, he may have some insight! Photo by Christian Spraungel From the sounds of it your opener, Ryley Walker, would have been into it! That is, only if that white fluffy stuff means some fake speed that you bought off the street for $50 last time you were in town. Less than a week ago we were swimming in over 18” of that white fluffy stuff. The incredible feats of musicianship happening right before your eyes are almost surreal, and the sounds they create invite you into a whole different world – one that’s fully realized and filled with fiery magic.Just be thankful you didn’t roll through a week ago! That’s right, you guys got it lucky. The crowd clapped along to favorites off the newer records The Thread That Keeps Us and Edge of the Sun like the soaring pop gem “End of the World With You” and the slinky, swaggering title track off the latter. Their explosive set was just right for a Saturday night, and if you weren’t dancing, we weren’t in the same room.
#CALEXICO RYLEY WALKER PLUS#
You have multiple kinds of percussion – drums, bongos – plus keys, accordion, plenty of horns and guitars of all sorts. When Calexico takes any stage, it’s always a little alarming at first just how many bodies and instruments there are to take in. If not their butts shaking, Walker got the crowd’s minds working. Other tunes in his set, “The Halfwit in Me” and “The Roundabout” off 2016’s Golden Sings That Have Been Sung, were equally enchanting and pastoral. It’s a complex arrangement, as most of the songs on Deafman Glance are, proving Walker’s talents not only as a guitarist and songwriter, but as a composer. Its composition on the record is far more intricate and layered, with wind instruments laying softly under his breathy, deep register. Walker’s performance of the lead single “Telluride Speed” took us on a journey with plunges into dark quiet that suddenly morphed into elevated, floaty beams of light. Still, to see him live is to hear him jam and he was in his signature psych-folk-rock mashup prime on this particular evening. With his forthcoming new record Deafman Glance, Walker seems to be stepping away from his tendency to jam and moving toward a more polished, composed sound. Walker’s boggy sound had the crowd in a trance, as it tends to do, with his deep vocals and dreamy guitar melodies. Walker delivered a hypnotic set to warm things up for the seven-piece band, bringing his heady guitar shredding to the crowd before they started the grooving and shaking that was to come. In an interesting pairing, Ryley Walker and Calexico shared the stage at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg April 28th.