Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra and Church on Monday
2015-01-10
Moody Theatre Austin, TX
Austin, TX

Audience->Schoeps MK4-Tinybox-Sony PCM-M10-cdwav->Traders Little Helper->mp3tag for tagging->dime 2015-01-18 by doodahmon
recorded by seedy 3rd row right side

Set I

01. cut
02. Sometimes
03. Five Hearts Breaking
04. Mountain Of Mud
05. Sweet Songs Of Love
06. Thirteen Years
07. Way It Goes
08. Sister Lost Soul
09. Amsterdam
10. She Doesn't Live Here Anymore
11. Band Intro
12. Slick
13. Band Intro Church on Monday

Set II

14. Intro
15. For Being There
16. Wave
17. By Eleven
18. Bury Me
19. The Storm
20. Inside This Dance
21. Can't Make Me Run
22. Rosalie
23. Band Intro
24. Tugboat
25. Never Stood A Chance
26. Sabor a Mi
27. Band Intro
28. With These Hands


Alejandro Escovedo - vocals
Brian Standefer - Cello
Susan Voelz - Violin
Karla Manzur - vocals
Emily Hello - vocals
Grace Park - vocals
Betty Soo - vocals

Elias Haslanger - Saxophone
Church on Monday,
Dr. James Polk - Piano
Scott Laningham - Drums
Jake Langley - Guitar
Daniel Durham - Bass

This is from Alejandro's facebook:
Alejandro Escovedo
January 12 at 3:21am � Edited �
Dear friends...Please excuse this late entry but Nancy and I have spent the day resting, sleeping and meditating on last nights performance. Last night stands out as not only the best birthday I have ever had but certainly one of the most transcendent and illuminating performances I have ever been a part of. When you have such a wonderful collection of musicians, singers and creative team it makes the experience even richer because of all of the love that is poured into the project. We went beyond what I thought was possible. Elias Haslanger was incredibly supportive and inspiring partner to work with. The event was a true collaboration. Church on Monday, Dr. James Polk, Scott Laningham, Jake Langley and Daniel Durham were not only top ranking musicians but some of the most likable and gracious people I have worked with. Karla Manzur wrote beautiful arrangements for singers Emily Hello, Grace Park and Betty Soo. Brian Standefer and Susan Voelz were stellar and amazing on strings. It's hard to describe just how important the show was for us to be able to express ourselves, our vulnerability and our fears with such a supportive cast of family and friends is a very special gift. We are grateful. I want to especially thank Dennis Moninger for creating such a beautiful set and working so hard to meet deadline. Glenn Kaplan for once again creating a lightscape that was not only beautiful but in rhythm with the message of the songs. Big Ben Richardson once again providing a sonic beauty to the music. Jamie Wellwerth and Wayne Nagel for there support and hard work. Tony Nobles for his beautiful guitars and assistance. Milo Gee for his wonderful work with visuals and projection. Lance Webb for lending his support and graciousness. Sharyl Holtzman for keeping everyone informed. Mike Thompson for your support. Todd V Wolfson for photographing the event. Brian Atherton and his crew for documenting the evening. Maria Corbalan for her soulful food and beautiful presence. Alissa Shores for her talented assistance in hair. As I said during the introduction to the performance I dedicated the show to my wife Nancy who never wavered during all that we have been through...I am a lucky man.
Much love to all of you...Alejandro

review from Joe Sanders:
This may have been Alejandro's most memorable performance yet, and he's put together some amazing shows. Teaming up with Elias and Church on Monday was a genius move - they came together into something new and wonderful. The first set was mostly songs about love, dedicated to Al's bride Nancy. The second set was dedicated to those who suffered the wrath of Hurricane Odile, and it opened with what I can only describe as a jazz-punk exorcism - Al and Nancy were on their honeymoon in Baja when the storm hit, and almost didn't make it home. I honestly don't think I've ever experienced such an intense, gut-wrenching explosion of emotion from a band.

Thoughtful, great review by Peter Blackstock

http://music.blog.austin360.com/2015/01/11/alejandro-escovedo-and-church-on-monday-make-magic-at-acl-live/
Alejandro Escovedo and Church on Monday make magic at ACL Live
January 11, 2015

Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra with Church on Monday at ACL Live. / Photo by Peter Blackstock
It was in the middle of Alejandro Escovedo�s second set Saturday at ACL Live that the hammer dropped. Segueing out of �Bury Me,� a well-chosen dramatic number from his first record, Escovedo began breathing into the microphone in a manner that simulated heavy gusts of wind. His bandmates answered with swirling swells of noise on strings, horns, keys and drums, their glorious cacophony made visual by crackles of lightning that flashed down from the theater�s overhead spots and strobes.

Escovedo had promised that his third annual concert at downtown�s showcase live music venue would address the harrowing hurricane experience he and his wife endured last September on their honeymoon in Mexico. Caught in the middle of Odile, a category 4 storm, they made it through a long night and spent several more days in and around the coastal town of El Pescadero before finally flying home to Austin.

Escovedo�s distillation of the event into a seven-minute musical maelstrom was the high point of a concert that found Austin�s most adventurous bandleader boldly reaching toward new visions for both the future and the past of his artistry. The hurricane piece may well be a work-in-progress � Escovedo has talked about making a full album or perhaps theater work about it � but he also found ways to make older material sound new again in this ambitious and memorable evening.

Much of that was thanks to Church on Monday, one of the most accomplished jazz ensembles Austin has ever had. Saxophonis Elias Haslanger, guitarist Jake Langley, organist James Polk, bassist Daniel Durham and drummer Scott Laningham infused tunues such as �Wave,� �Mountain of Mud� and �Sometimes� with new rhythms and fresh dynamics, even as they took care not to rechannel the heart of Escovedo�s works.

Best of all was the way they interacted with Escovedo�s expanded cast at stage right. His longtime violinist Susan Voelz and cellist Brian Standefer teamed with singers Karla Manzur, Emily Hello, Betty Soo and Grace Park � all four sporting platinum-blonde wigs that visualized their unified presence � on mesmerizing melodic flights that intertwined with the textures Church on Monday provided at stage left.

Often, Escovedo�s �Orchestra� (as they were dubbed for the evening, harkening back to his early solo career) and Haslanger�s Church on Monday artfully handed the reins back and forth, with magic blooming in the transitions on standouts such as �The Way It Goes,� perhaps the most successful reinvention of the night. At times, most prominently on �She Doesn�t Live Here Anymore� near the end of the first set, the connection between Voelz and Haslanger was transcendent, as violin and saxophone combined to create washes of sound that almost rendered the instruments indistinguishable from one another amid the harmonic beauty.

The risk of such progressive endeavors is that not everything will work. A sturdier rhythm to �Sister Lost Soul� couldn�t quite match the graceful fluidity of the original version, and Escovedo�s attempts to engage the audience in an extended �Can�t Make Me Run� didn�t quite jell partly because the music wasn�t anthemic enough for call-and-response. Still, the rare misses were well worth it for revelations such as the meditative Sterling Morrison tribute �Tugboat,� which floated on the currents of string sweetness and Haslanger�s eloquent saxophone solo into a mythic river of dreams.


Support the artists:

Alejandro Escovedo http://www.alejandroescovedo.com/

Elias Haslanger http://www.elijazz.com/



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