I am a relatively new fan of Alejandro Escovedo; a couple of years ago, a friend suggested I might enjoy him so I got a ticket to the first show I could. That first show hooked me – I now try to see him every time he swings through the Boston area.

Alejandro Escovedo

Alejandro appeared with the Sensitive Boys at Tupelo Music Hall last week to a woefully undersold room; fewer than half the seats of the 250-seat venue were sold (and a fair number of seats that I believe were sold were empty).

Alejandro and The Sensitive Boys

If Alejandro was bothered by the small size of the audience, we never knew it. He played his heart out for us, and I believe he felt the love and appreciation we expressed.

Alejandro

The band took the stage and immediately launched into “Put You Down” from fairly early in his solo career. From there, the setlist spanned almost twenty years. He drew equally from his most recent release, “Big Station”, as well as from 2001’s “A Man Under the Influence”.

Jon, Matt and Alejandro

I recently read an interview with Alejandro in which he said (and I am paraphrasing) that his music is not alt-country, contrary to what some people think. His roots are from the punk movement and that is evident in much of his music.

Alejandro

The Sensitive Boys comprise Bobby Daniel on bass, Jon Sanchez on guitar, and Matt Strmiska on drums. They are all terrific musicians and complement Alejandro beautifully.

Jon is a fairly new addition to the Sensitive Boys (he was not with the band last year when I saw them); he was given a number of leads and had the crowd enthralled with him.

Jon Sanchez

Bobby is wonderful on bass and backing vocals; he and Alejandro have a chemistry that is subtle but works well with the music.

Bobby Daniel

Matt is a talented drummer who may also be a new addition to the band (he also was not with the band at the shows I saw last year).

Matt Strmiska (with Jon in the foreground)

After their stellar set, they played a few covers for the encore – Neil Young’s “Like a Hurricane”, The Rolling Stones’ “Beast of Burden” and The Clash’s “Straight to Hell”. It was the first time they performed “Straight to Hell” and Alejandro wasn’t sure they were ready; he had to use the printed lyrics, but they were absolutely ready to perform it.

Alejandro

Opening the show was Amy “Ames” Cook, a singer-songwriter also from Austin. She was not familiar to me even though she has performed opening sets in the Boston area for other musicians I know.

Amy ‘Ames’ Cook

Ames is a wonderful storyteller, which is obvious in both her songs and her stage banter. She performed solo, playing both electric and acoustic guitars, but has a full band on her albums. My only complaint is that I would have enjoyed a longer set from Ames!

Ames

One thing that impresses me about Alejandro is how he bares his soul. He talks about how sick he was and how his fans helped him recover. I may not have been one of those fans when he was sick (only because I did not know about him), but I like to think that I am one of those fans who continue to help.

Alejandro

If you have never seen him perform, do yourself a favor and catch him next time he is performing near you.