Alejandro Escovedo/Lucette at the Ark, Ann Arbor

The following is an slightly edited version of an email I recently sent to a music podcast about an Alejandro Escovedo concert I attended on Wednesday, May 4:

I wanted to tell you about a recent "Dad Rock experience" I had, but first some back story. (Please bear with me--I'll try and not get too long winded):

About a year ago, I reconnected with one of my old college roommates, Paul. We hadn't talked to each other in well over 20 years, but it was as if we'd never lost contact--and one interest we continue to share all these years later is a love of music.

Paul now lives in Lubbock, Texas and is deeply into music from the Lone Star State. In the last few months, he's turned me on to Dallas, Texas-based Alejandro Escovedo. As you guys may already know, Escovedo has a music career dating all the way back to the punk scene of the 1970s when he was a member of the Nuns, then on to Rank and File in the '80s, finally starting his solo career in the early '90s. I'm almost embarrassed to say that I was completely unfamiliar with Escovedo's body of work until just the last few months. To say I have some catching up to do is an understatement, but it's always fun to discover great music you didn't know existed.

Okay, on to the main reason I'm writing to you. This past Wednesday (May 4), Paul was up in Michigan from Texas and invited me to see Alejandro Escovedo (and opening act Lucette) at a small venue in Ann Arbor called the Ark.

Lucette is a young female singer/songwriter from Edmonton, Alberta. Accompanying her lovely singing with only a portable piano (the electric kind that actually sounds like a real piano) she impressed me a great deal. She has one album called "Black is the Color" and if you haven't already heard it, you should check it out. I don't know who to compare her to, but her music has a high lonesome dark quality. It conjures images of a windswept cold day on the Canadian prairie. 

After her opening set, Lucette hung out at the merch table and I was able to get a signed copy of her CD (yes, I still buy CDs!). She's a friendly and gracious young woman, and a talent to watch.

If you guys are already familiar with Alejandro Escovedo, I don't want to bore you with excessive details, but to be succinct about the matter, he is a terrific live performer. He entertained the audience with touching and often hilarious stories, delivered beautiflul tributes to David Bowie, Lou Reed, and Prince. (His niece, Sheila E., was once engaged to Prince, in addition to being a musical collaborator with the Purple One). Escovedo's music is unclassifiable, running the gamut from gentle folk to fiery electric guitar freakouts. It's as if one took Elvis Costello, David Hidalgo/Cesar Rosas, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Mott the Hoople, Ronnie Lane, Neil Young, added a pinch of the Stooges and the MC5 and make a musical soup--you'd come up with Alejandro Escovedo. And the guy is just a hell of a songwriter. His songs are loving and detailed stories of the human experience. In short,  Alejandro Escovedo is a musical polymath.

To top it off, Mr. Escovedo had a meet-and-greet after the show and couldn't have been a sweeter guy.

I see that he will be in your neck of the woods (Alexandria, VA, the Birchmere) on May 27. I highly recommend you two gentlemen go check him out. Maybe bring Mary with you, too. If you're lucky, Lucette will be opening. And if I may be so bold, have Alejandro and/or Lucette on the podcast (if possible). Alejandro Escovedo is one of America's best kept musical secrets, and Lucette is a talent that deserves more exposure.

If you've made it this far into the email, thanks for reading.

Take care and keep up the good work!

Mark Neese