Live Review: Calexico

The gorgeous interior of The Spiegeltent is crammed as Arizona's finest Calexico squeeze onto the packed stage and kick off proceedings with the gorgeous Epic, the slow build subtle and allowing the various band members room to breathe amongst the gorgeous arrangement – as usual they're completely in sync like a Swiss watch, seeming to know what each other are going to do well in advance. The trumpets then introduce Across The Wire with great flair, eternally suave frontman Joey Burns firing up the crowd to get involved and holler along, the tight-knit unit conjuring disparate – albeit always exotic – moods with effortless ease. The driving Splitter eases into the gorgeous Roka, Sergio Mendoza throwing a mad piano interlude into a song which is incredibly uplifting, soothing as it salves. This is a versatile bunch, swapping instruments at regular intervals but never seeming out of their depth, and the multicultural aspects of their music such as the foreign language interludes give a worldly appeal while remaining completely accessible. The sombre Dead Moon leads into the reflective and languid Para, easing the celebratory mood slightly, before they burst into mariachi-tinged instrumental Minas De Cobre and the tent goes wild once more. Jacob Valenzuela sings Insparacion in Spanish, still providing amazing trumpet stabs throughout as well as a piercing solo, before they band move onto the beautiful Maybe On Monday. Over on stage right drummer John Convertino is showing why he's one of the most revered percussionists in the indie realm, but it's really a band effort, although when Burns offers the stripped-back Yours & Mine you realise that he'd be pretty amazing in solo mode without all of the embellishment that his bandmates provide. The restrained three guitar attack of Not Even Stevie Nicks is captivating, but the song rises to another level again when they bleed it into a stylised version of Joy Division's eternal Love Will Tear Us Apart and back again, and they finish a powerful set with the joyous Alone Again Or – which has the throng clapping along in delight – and a rousing version of Puerto, which has the tent in raptures.

An encore seems a given when the crowd responds so positively, but everyone is taken slightly aback when Calexico return with local hero Bernard Fanning in tow and they power into one of his obscure solo tracks, For You And I, before finishing a fine set with a ravishing rendition of Guero Canelo. A wonderfully exotic band and world-class outfit playing in a delightfully unusual pop-up venue – gotta love the Brisbane Festival!