Baby's Got New Plans

I know stuff like this changes for most everyone as they get older, but I used to go to a lot of concerts when I was younger. Spending my money and time on live music was a big part of my life at one point, but I've largely been in hibernation since my main concert-going tag-team partner, Mis Hooz, packed up for New York. I can't blame her entirely, of course. But I don't have as many people around that I can just call up and ask if they want to catch a show anymore, either.

Last night, however, thanks to my buddy Rob, I was reminded that I shouldn't let something I enjoy drift away so easily. He and his wife managed to drag me out of the house on a Sunday night to see Alejandro Escovedo perform at The Ark in downtown Ann Arbor. I wasn't familiar at all with Escovedo's music (nor what he's been through in recent years), but figured it would be fun to hang out with a friend I hadn't seen in over ten years.

Fortunately, the evening turned out to be a hell of a lot more than that. I really had no idea what to expect, as I figured I'd just go in "fresh," but was just blown away by Escovedo's trio of musicians. (Actually, I would've been happy with just the opening act, Chuck Prophet.) But from the very first song, it was clear they would put everything into their performance. Two acoustic guitars (Escovedo, with David Pulkingham) and a violin (Susan Voelz) were plenty to make me forget all about that lost hour of sleep I was lamenting earlier in the day. Those guys #@$%ing rocked.

By the time they'd finished their encore - for which they left the stage to play in the audience - I knew that was one of the best shows I'd ever seen. I wish I could come up with the words to do the music justice. The best I can do is give you links to follow, if you're interested. And watching such a performance in what's simply a frickin' treasure of a venue (which I inexplicably had never been to before) only added to the experience.

As soon as I got up this morning, I was on iTunes and Amazon, snatching up all the Alejandro Escovedo albums I could afford. (Good thing I just got paid.) It's all I can do to prolong what was an awesome evening. Thanks again, Rob.