Lambchop, Alejandro Escovedo enchant Durham crowd

It was a big night at Duke University's Reynolds Theater on Friday where a double bill featured full sets by Lambchop and Alejandro Escovedo.

Only four months after their triumphant set at XX Merge, Lambchop returned to a Triangle stage. The band was a sextet this time instead of the rare 11-piece group, but they still brought their A-game and packed a punch.

The set started slow and built up to a grand climax, capped off once again with a great performance of the song "Give It." Other highlights of the set included "I Will Drive Slowly," "National Talk Like a Pirate Day," "Hey, Where's Your Girl?" and "Up With People."

The band was tight and the band seemed in their element in a nice size theater with a sold out crowd 570 strong. Guitarist William Tyler's playing always stands out. It's such a beautiful, sweeping clean tone treated kindly with reverb and other subtle effects to bring extra lushness to the Lambchop sound.

Tony Crow and Kurt Wagner's banter with the crowd kept things light between songs. Before the group's encore, Wagner started talking about Friday the 13th, leading to a story about hemorrhoid cream which then got him and Crow going back and forth about their mutually embarrassing experiences with the product. Not only is Lambchop and great band, but the two of them are as charming as they come. Hopefully, they'll swing back through the Triangle again during their "tour of South Carolina" next year.

After an orderly set change, seasoned singer-songwriter Alejandro Esovedo took the stage with his three-piece band. The band launched into "Always a Friend," playing at stadium volume. It was a catchy little pop song and the first few tunes from the set followed the same pattern.

The highlight of the set came during the encore when Escovedo and guitarist David Pulkingham played three songs acoustically at the edge of the stage for the crowd. The "Swallows of San Juan" from his latest album Real Animal was particularly nice.

Escovedo told great stories between songs, even if he was a bit of a name dropper. He told the crowd that he stopped playing the "Castanets" for a while after the song made George W. Bush's infamous list of favorite songs on his iPod published in the New York Times. He said the song is in the set again since there is a new administration in Washington.

Escovedo is a talented guy and a good songwriter, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that the set was a little disappointing. I've heard his name hyped for a number of years and most of the set didn't live up to said hype. Also, most of the songs could have been at least a minute or two shorter.

All in all though, Lambchop killed, Escovedo was good and it was a great night to be at Duke University.

[all photos by Kevin Norris]

Lambchop





Alejandro Escovedo