WORLD DRIFTS IN – CALEXICO

Calexico, as well as being the name of a town somewhere near the American/Mexican border, is a musical act comprising Joey Burns and John Convertino, former members of Howe Gelb-led, legendary act Giant Sand.

Their unique musical blend is best described as a cross between Mariachi, TexMex and rock. When listening to their music on my iPod I half expect to see tumbleweed blowing across my train carriage or wherever I happen to be at the time.

As is alluded to above, the mix of musical influences shows that in the name Calexico, they were not so much picking an identifying label, as they were making a statement about their music crossing borders. The genre is best described as alt.country or Americana.

There appearance as SPIRITUAL WEIGHTLIFTER is merited by several instances, not least of which are some of their barn-stroming tracks like “Crystal Frontier” and “Across the Border”. However, the specific citation in this case comes as a result of their live concert held at the Barbican Theatre in London in November 2002.

Now having seen them perform live at the Royal Festival Hall in 2004 with the Spanish band Amparanoia, I can vouch that they are one of the most amazing bands I have ever seen playing live. They know how to put on a show. Indeed it was one gig that had us fans well and truly ‘rocking in the aisles’.

A previous gig in London in 2000 had won them great acclaim and the accolade of Time out’s ‘Gig of the Year’ – an accolade indeed. So they had something to live up to when they went on stage in November 2002.
The DVD that is a record of that show is called ‘World Drifts In’ and is a brilliantly simple concept. No frills – the band are filmed with few cameras trained on them. Yet this simple style works, it doesn’t becme tiresome or boring. Instead one is drawn into their performance as, like Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense" the band builds before your eyes.

Francois Breut, a French singer joins the group on a couple of songs, including the important track ‘The Ballad of Cable Hogue’. But it is about halfway through the event that the night becomes something very, very special. The appearance of the 8 members of Mariachi Luz De Luna ensures that the sober environment of the Brabican is rocked like it never had been before or will be thereafter.

The performance of all on stage is a marvel and wonder that will be looked back on many years from now as a benchmark for world music and for that reason it is a worthy member of the SPIRITUAL WEIGHTLIFTING hall of fame.