Music Banter - Calexico/Iron&wine

as i've said earlier, this gig was one of the best i've ever attended. it started off with Iron&Wine doing an acoustic song...his whispering-type singing and nothing but a guitar failed to impress the audience and the rumour made him almost inaudiable ( i was very embaressed...it showed poor manners and that's not how i wanted him to remember Croatia ). it was a nice song, but nothing special ( i never though someone could whisper-sing softer than Sufjan Stevens...apparently, it's possible ). i think he got the drift so right after the first song he plugged the guitar in and sang a bit louder. that shut up the crowd and turned up the atmosphere a notch or two.

and then calexico came to give him a hand and man, it made all the difference. the drums, the base, and that wierd instrument which i cannot name....incredible music....the crowd went crazy as soon as Calexico's drummer hit those base drumms...( the man is the king of funky rythms ). so from quiet almost gospel like music, the gig went to rythm and blues...i could almost envision myself in the swamps of the south.

the second part started with Salvador Duran doing a solo ( to which the crowd went a bit "what the hell is this??" but after he was finished, they cheered like crazy. then he did a flamenco song, and suddenly this incredibly beautiful trumpet started playing in the back of the room ( it wasn't a big concert hall, a small club, but packed with about 300 people )...i got the chills and the crowd was very much pleasantly surprised.

and then calexico came on, and the first song they did ( with Salvador ) just blew me away. i wish i could tell you what song it was, but it took the gig to a whole new level. a massive explosion of bass, drums and incredible trumpet solos...i was mezmerized. i never knew trumpets could rock so hard. they play very eclectic music, at times they reminded me of Manu Chao, Ryan Adams and The shins. the blend of americana and mexican music is quite incredible ( it's all about the trumpets man )...they transported me into mexico and arizona....and the videos they showed on the back wall were perfect....the whole death culture of mexico, the sceletons, the cactuses...wow....

when they finished the set, the crowd refused to move, they cheered until they went back and did 4 more songs with Iron & Wine, finishing the gig with a beautiful rendition of Wild Horses...and Burn that broken bed ( dear god in heaven, what a song....i think it lasted about 15 minutes....endless trumpet solos and mezmerizing singing....it almost put the crowd and myself into a trans like state..and i couldn't get it out of my head for a couple fo hours after the show )
all in all, one of the best nights of my life...

p.s. before the gig started i saw this weird fella strolling around carelessly with a huge beard and i thought to myslef, this has to be one of the performers, no doubt, and it turned out it was Iron & Wine ( or what ever his real name is ). isn't it wonderful that he could just walk arround without being hassled by the crowd? is that like a european thing? don't bother the artist?
when i left the gig ( which lasted about 3 hours all thogether and ended at 1 o'clock after midnight ) i was walking past the back entrance and saw calexico chilling and drinking beers with Iron & Wine...i could have easily walked up to the and said hello, or asked for an autograph, but i'm not that kind of person....heh....and i always wondered how people got to the performers and talked to them...this was the first time i had easy acces to them....only in Croatia can this sort of thing happen....

and yes, they just got a new fan, i'm getting all their albums, plus the collaboration with Iron & Wine ( i'm not so sure i'll be getting his solo stuff...a bit too quiet for me ) although i'm a bit worried they wont live up to the gig...:-/

for any fan of Sufjan Stevens, Calexico/Iron & Wine's "In the reins" is a must...it's one of the most beautiful records i've ever heard....