Alejandro Escovedo at City Winery

Alejandro Escovedo was born in San Antonio, Texas, but his start in music was in San Francisco, California, playing guitar in the first-wave punk rock group the Nuns from 1975 until the band split in 1979. Escovedo co-founded cowpunk band Rank and File in New York City in 1980, then relocated with the band to Austin, Texas, where in 1983 Escovedo also formed the guitar-rocking True Believers with his brother Javier Escovedo, formerly of the Zeros. Both Rank and File and the True Believers split in 1987, leading Alejandro Escovedo to work in a record store while indulging his hard rock tastes with a side project called Buick MacKane and leading the Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra from 1987-90. He finally launched a solo career in 1992. Escovedo's 13th solo album, a concept album called The Crossing, was released on September 14, 2018.

Alejandro Escovedo is best known for playing roots rock and Americana, but his most recent album, a fictional rock opera about a pair of punk-loving youth in America, has brought out his punk rock, hard rock and alternative country sides. The plot follows two immigrant youth as they discover that their new life in Texas was not the America they envisioned. On this night, the first of three headlining nights at City Winery, Alejandro performed nine of the album's 17 tracks, and the styles of music shifted frequently to match the narrative of the story. His backup band, a combo from Italy called Don Antonio which had backed him on European tours two years ago, masterfully introduced a uniquely cinematic approach to the music. Don Antonio consisted of guitarist Antonio Gramentieri, keyboardist Nicola Peruch, bassist Denis Valentini, drummer Matteo Monti, and a brass duo of Franz Valtieri and Gianni Perinelli. Early in the set, while a stage crew was adjusting Gramentieri's amplifier, Escovedo detoured by playing unrehearsed renditions of "Rebel Kind" and "Sister Lost Soul." On this night, Jesse Malin, Derek Cruz and Richard Barone joined Escovedo and Don Antonio for the encores. Overall, this might not have been the Alejandro Escovedo concert that fans had come to expect, but it was not so foreign either. Escovedo's signature songwriting style and in-concert passion anchored the show with the familiar while embracing the new album's more ambitious excursion.

Setlist:

1. Andare
2. Footsteps in the Shadows
3. Texas Is My Mother
4. Teenage Luggage
5. Castanets
6. Outlaw for You
7. Rebel Kind (True Believers cover)
8. Sister Lost Soul
9. Waiting for Me
10. Something Blue
11. Flying (>) MC Overload
12. Sensitive Boys
13. Fury and Fire
14. Cherry Blossom Rain
15. Another Girl, Another Planet (The Only Ones cover)
16. Always a Friend [with snippets of "The Tracks of My Tears" (Smokey Robinson cover) & "Lively Up Yourself" (Bob Marley cover)]

Encore:

1. Sally Was a Cop
2. Happy Birthday to You (Mildred J. Hill & Patty Hill cover, sung in Italian for Derek Cruz)
3. Broken Radio (Jesse Malin cover, with Jesse Malin and Derek Cruz)
4. Rock & Roll (The Velvet Underground cover) (with Jesse Malin and Derek Cruz)
5. All the Young Dudes (David Bowie cover) (with Richard Barone)