MOG

Word of advice: if you want an idea of what heaven will be like, go see Alejandro Escovedo because his shows are heaven on earth. I've only been to two, but I promise you the man does not have off nights. As soon as he hits that stage he is on, he is in charge, he will kick your ass, and you will love every minute of it. He is one of the most gifted and exhilarating musicians I have ever had the privilege of seeing.

The first time I saw him was at a dank hole in the wall to which I would rather not return, but I always do when they've booked someone good. The room in which he played probably couldn't hold 100 people. This allowed me to get right in front of the two-foot-high "stage," practically right underneath Alejandro. I danced to every song, once pausing to look up at the same as Alejandro was looking at me, smiling and nodding approval.

He played a cover of some song I recognized as Oasis, but I don't like Oasis so I'd long forgot the name. He said they had just heard that song on the radio a couple hours earlier and decided to work it out quickly for the show. He had someone stand next to him and hold up a sheet with the lyrics on it. Afterward he apologized for the shittiness of the cover, but I thought it was great. I mean, he made me like an Oasis song. That's pretty effin' amazing.

He closed his set with "Beast of Burden," which was every bit as wonderful as the original, although it was all Alejandro and no Mick. The show left me breathless, in part because of the intimate setting, which allowed me to meet Alejandro and gush over how happy I am that he's well and to tell him to please take care of himself. He hugged me. My night was complete.

Wednesday night I saw Alejandro Escovedo for the second time at a decidedly larger venue. I got there early so I would only have to pay $5 to park. This also got me into the hall sooner than most other concert goers. So, there I was, right up front, once again, but this time with a several-feet-high stage looming. There would be no personal interaction with Alejandro during this show.

During the hour-and-a-half drive to the venue, I listened to his record "With These Hands." I particularly like the song "Put You Down," and I was hoping against hope that he would play it. Well, once he took the stage, he not only played it, he opened with it, which was a bit unfortunate because that sort of became the highlight of my evening. That's not to say the rest of the show wasn't smashing, but I got what I came for, you know?

Alejandro was in fine form. Lots of energy, seemed genuinely pleased to be up there, although I imagine he is genuinely pleased to be anywhere. He was backed by a terrific band, including a guitarist who looks so much like Philip Seymour Hoffman that I had to double check. No matter, though: he can tear apart a guitar, lending so much more strength to the songs.

Because this post is getting long, and I don't know when to quit, here's a rundown of the highlights aside from "Put You Down:"

1. A recently married couple gave Alejandro a note asking him to play "Rosalie" from "By the Hand of the Father." It was their wedding song, and he was sweet enough to deviate from the playlist and do this for them. It was a gorgeous rendition, and what a wonderful gift for those two.

2. "Real As An Animal," from his new record, written about Iggy Pop. Apparently, this new record, "Real Animal," is an autobiographical account of his days in the late '70s punk scene in New York. I haven't heard this song on record, but it is ferocious live.

3. "I Was Drunk." The first Alejandro Escovedo song I ever heard. Memories.

4. "Castanets." Not just a great song - there's a story with it. A few years ago, the NY Times or New Yorker or whatever reported the top ten songs on the president's iPod. One of them was "Castanets." In protest, Alejandro stopped playing that song live. He recently began playing it again, and he's playing it a lot to celebrate the fact that W is leaving office. But, that poses a problem, because that means W is heading back to Texas, and Alejandro's a Texas boy. So, he and his drummer Hector Munoz (?) are going to build a wall around Texas to keep him out. Well, I thought it was funny. (He said something similar when I saw him last time.)

5. "All the Young Dudes," dedicated to Joe Strummer. The whole crowd got involved, which is always fun. Prior to this they faked us out by playing the intro to a Zeppelin song, but then stopped. Alejandro said, "We're not a Zeppelin cover band, as you can tell." (I'm assuming it was a Zep cover based solely on that. Never been really into Zep.)

6. "Beast of Burden." Great song, but an uh-oh moment for me. I knew it meant the show was over. But it's not like everything before that wasn't great and I was still waiting for signs of life. I just didn't want it to be over. I was having too much fun. This was another one in which the crowd got involed. And again this was all Alejandro, no Mick. I love how he puts his own stamp on things. Not everyone can do that. And when he's not playing guitar, like on this, he has this very sensual way of standing at the mic, of singing, of strutting off stage while the band plays it out. Always sad, but never dull or regretful. God, I love this man.

I did not get to meet him and make an idiot of myself as I did last time. This venue is too large to allow for such awesomeness. But somewhere I think he knows.

¡VIVA ALEJANDRO!