Joe Ely & Alejandro Escovedo, on stage together. August 19, 2017, Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA.
Just the two of them with guitars. Escovedo acoustic, Ely acoustic and electric. They traded numbers, told some great stories in between, and pretty much sat there when it was the other's turn.
I've been an Ely fan for 40 years. He's probably 70 now and all gray, but that that soulful, resonant voice hasn't lost anything. He didn't do many of his big hits, but nobody cared.
I knew very little about Escovedo, but I'll be buying some of his music. His voice doesn't have the complexity of Ely's, but there is a real straightforward power to it.
The Ardmore Music Hall, just outside Philadelphia, is a small venue with good acoustics. The only downer all night was a herd of three or four loud-mouthed older couples who just would not shut up. I expect young people to be a little rude and self-absorbed in public. That's part of growing up, and I was sure guilty. And this room was basically a big bar, so some chatter and a little episodic hootin' and hollerin' is to be expected.
But by the time you hit your 50s, you ought to have mastered some basic manners and not spend the whole night bellowing at each other.
P.S. We had a great time at the local Tired Hands Brewery. They have a cozy pub at one end of the main street, a modern beer hall at the other, and some unusual brews.
