I’m not sure what he’s under the influence of, but whatever it is, remind me never to try any of it.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we were checking out Austin, Texas, last week, and what a great city it is. There’s a claim I read somewhere that Austin has more live music on its weekday nights than most cities have on their weekends, and from what I can tell, that’s pretty close to being true. I made a point of getting out to check some of it out and get a taste of Austin’s famed music spots. Although I didn’t get to Antone’s, probably the best known of them, I did get to the Continental Club last Tuesday. It was to see Alejandro Escovedo — formerly of Rank & File, and True Believers, but for quite some time now a solo performer with a very avid following. He plays a Tuesday night residency there, and is considered by many to be the king of the Austin music scene; whatever you call him, he’s one of the best singer/songwriters going.

Escovedo (who, by the way, is Sheila E’s uncle) has, over the past decade-plus, put out a string of great albums filled with energetic roots rock, frequently influenced by the punk of his early years, and he shows no signs of age getting the better of him. Although now 62 years old, he can certainly rock with the best of them — he still has plenty of fire left, given the way he played at the Continental Club. He and his band, the Sensitive Boys, led off the show with a powerhouse version of “Castanets,” from his 2001 album, A Man Under the Influence, and it left most other bands in the dust. Played live in a small club the song takes on new power that even the excellent original recording can’t completely capture — but it totally rocks anyway, as you can hear above…