sjl,

A month or so ago, didn't you offer to part with an appendage for Alejandro Escovedo? If Bruce and Al make it to South Africa, you'll look like that limbless knight in Holy Grail.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, the Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra arrived in southern New Hampshire. Al was accompanied by a terrific cellist and violinist, in addition to a crackerjack guitarist named David Polkingham. The show exceeded my high expectations and I was mightily impressed by Al's storytelling, and sweetness. The highlight was "Castanets", from A Man Under The Influence. He mentioned that he had mothballed it for a while when it was learned that Bush had it on his iPod. The evening concluded with the quartet exiting the stage for the middle of the floor. Tables were pushed aside and an intimate set of acoustic numbers were played. If David has any Alejandro tales, I'm all ears.

Peter T.