It’s a rare treat to have the chance to not only have a chance to see a musical legend, but to see them in a living room — completely electric and with a full band — is on another level. And that’s just how it felt from the first song Austin-based artist Alejandro Escovedo and his band played at Baltimore’s Club 603.
For the uninitiated, Club 603 is Baltimore’s best-kept secret. The house of Scott and Jean Vieth have been host to 156 (as of Tuesday night) shows that have seen artists like Jesse Malin, Craig Finn, Mark Eitzel, and so many more play there and then return. In fact, Alejandro has played in their living room at least three times that I can remember.
Maybe it was the excitement of the release of Escovedo’s new album, Echo Dancing, or maybe it was some cosmic remnants of Monday’s solar eclipse, but from the first song, “John Conquest” with those distorted guitars like a swarm of bees seemed to come out of nowhere and set the tone for the rest of the night on April 9. Now, I’ve seen Alejandro Escovedo a number of times before, and I had my favorites (“Sally Was a Cop” still gives me chills) but this felt like something new.
Opening the evening was a set by James Mastro who pulled double duty in the Alejandro Escovedo band on guitar. In my experience with house shows there is often no opening performer, so this was something special.
In between fiery licks and thunderous percussion, Alejandro told stories of both how songs came to be but also of the times in which they were written. Songs like “Teenage Luggage” told of travels between Texas and California while, another of my favorites, “Sonica USA” was a loosely fictionalized story of identifying and belonging with the lines “I saw the Zeros and they looked like me / This is the America I wanna be” referencing The MC5 and even his old band, The Nuns, a San Francisco punk band that formed before punk rock was even a thing.
Watch Alejandro Escovedo perform “Sonica USA” for World Cafe on YouTube:
House shows give an artist room to connect with an audience that I feel hits differently than when you’re in a crowded bar or night club. Even with a full band and the roar of amp driven rock ‘n’ roll, that connection was strongly felt. There was a give and take that wasn’t masked by bright lights and raised stages.
Wrapping up their set with the brilliant “Chelsea Hotel ’78,” “Castanets,” and “Too Many Tears” which are all featured on Echo Dancing. You know it’s a great show when it’s so vivid in your memory days afterward, and this was one of those.
The setlist included:
John Conquest
Sacramento and Polk
Bury Me
Everybody Loves Me
Teenage Luggage
Sonica USA
Sensitive Boys / Outside Your Door
Dearhead on the Wall
Sally Was a Cop
Chelsea Hotel ’78
Castanets
Too Many Tears
Here are more photos of Alejandro Escovedo performing at Club 603 on April 9, 2024. All photos copyright and courtesy of David LaMason.
