Live Review: Calexico, Fall Electric, Lucy Peach

With a silver tongue and her finger-picked sunburst Gibson guitar, the lone figure of Lucy Peach monopolised the attention of a sizable early crowd. Beside her between-song adlibs, where she informed us how to perfectly boil an egg, among other things, she demonstrated how fewer distractions can yield heaps more interest. Her comparative stillness magnified the subtle vocal inflexions that brought her beautifully constructed narratives to life.

Fall Electric’s music belongs to that time just before nightfall when gloom and nocturnal excitement are evoked in equal measures. On tonight’s evidence, their songcraft appears to be developing nicely and, constructively speaking, if their singer could project a little more, perhaps from a less hunched stance, they might really hit home. But they certainly have a distinctive sound and a knack for creating dusky atmospherics, embellished by the aching tones of their electric cellist. 

From previous sightings, Calexico seem better suited to outdoor venues where there’s a little more space for the crowd to cavort wildly. In particular, the usually expressive guitarist Brian Lopez seemed a tad inhibited tonight. But the skill, artistry and adventurous spirit of the band was too voluminous to stay contained for long as they racked up a set full of highlights; from a mariachi-ed up version of Alone Again Or, to the violently passionate solo Scott Colberg produced from his beautiful double bass during a hushed Stray, and the tender trumpets that were never far away. Perhaps with an eye on how receptive the charts are these days to foreign language songs, there was a large batch of Spanish numbers, and as Raul Marques had remembered to pack his special teardrop-shaped Portuguese guitar, there was a traditional Portuguese number where Marques’ solo lit up the night, his agile fingers spidering over the fretboard with an easy fluency that veiled his blazing speed. It was a fine example of why it’s better for a band to play what they feel inspired by, rather than churning out the hits.

“Thank you for supporting live music,” the unfailingly polite Joey Burns declared. No, thank you guys for being Calexico. There’s literally no one else who can replicate what you do.