CALEXICO + SACRI CUORI
Live at the Rocca Malestestiana, Cesena, Italy 18th August 2015
“How do you say ‘oomph’ in Italian?” asks Joey Burns; as in ‘You need to give it more oomph’!
Fellow Calexico-in-chief and drummer, John Convertino shrugs his shoulders in reply.
Burns poses the question because he wants the crowd to show more grit, spunk, blood, fire, energy, passion; AND he wants them to raise the volume level for the big ‘whoooaaaa’ at the beginning of their supercharged rendition of Minutemen’s Corona.
With this prompt, he succeeds although, it’s fair to say, the overall level of enthusiasm ebbs and flows during the course of this 90 minute open air concert.
An obstacle to more universal acclaim lies in the fact that much of the newer material lacks the drama (oomph?) of Calexico’s earlier, more familiar songs. With notable exceptions, World Undone for example, these are less spacious or ambient in feel than the kind of widescreen post-Giant Sand tunes that distinguished an album such as The Black Light (1998). Continue reading
