I managed to see Alejandro Escovedo and his band (and sometimes orchestra) three times in three days this trip to Austin. And he and his band certainly gave no reason for my fandom to waver, not letting up in energy once amid their round of shows. And the third show (that I saw), Sunday’s traditional close-out of SX at The Continental Club (which has got to be the best club in town) was a complete party of post-punk rock ‘n roll, complete with guest appearances by Lucinda Williams (they dueted on the song “Pyramid of Tears”) and Charlie Sexton. Wow.
And it had already been a full and extremely satisfying day of music, spent watching a bunch of hard-working and excellent troubadors including AJ Roach, John Elliot and Carrie Elkin at the GreenHouse House Concert. This was listening to songs at its best, in a living room with a bunch of friendly people who were all ears. Elliot’s music made me cry, his songs are that good and true. I was happy to meet and hear Elkin, who’s got a full, strong voice and a big open heart, as I’ve been coming across her glowing album reviews in the press for the past few weeks. She even finished off the afternoon by singing the national anthem.
Not content to leave it at that, the concert was followed by a sweet party of more song sharing in a warm, Austin front yard. By midnight, cellos and fiddles were arriving as well…but I knew what was going down at The Continental Club…we left and arrived at South Congress to procure tickets just as Alejandro was setting up.
Deborah Crooks (www.DeborahCrooks.com) is a writer, performing songwriter and recording artist based in San Francisco whose lyric driven and soul-wise music has drawn comparison to Lucinda Williams, Chrissie Hynde and Natalie Merchant.
Singing about faith, love and loss, her lyrics are honed by a lifetime of writing and world travel while her music draws on folk, rock, Americana and the blues. She released her first EP “5 Acres” in 2003 produced by Roberta Donnay, which caught the attention of Rocker Girl Magazine, selecting it for the RockerGirl Discoveries Cd. In 2007, she teamed up with local producer Ben Bernstein to complete “Turn It All Red” Ep, followed by 2008’s “Adding Water to the Ashes” CD, and a second full-length CD “2010. She’s currently working on a third CD to be released in 2013.
Deborah’s many performance credits include an appearance at the 2006 Millennium Music Conference, the RockerGirl Magazine Music Convention, IndieGrrl, at several of the Annual Invasion of the GoGirls at SXSW in Austin, TX, the Harmony Festival and 2009’s California Music Fest, MacWorld 2010, Far West Fest and many other venues and events. She toured the Northwest as part “Indie Abundance Music, Money & Mindfulness” (2009) with two other Bay Area artists, and followed up with “The Great Idea Tour of the Southwest in March 2010 with Jean Mazzei.
