calexico and iron & wine, live

Somewhere in the bowels of this web site lies a lengthy post, never completed, on why Calexico is The Greatest Band In the World.
It was a wordy dissertation on their particular blend of expert musicianship, ethereal, cinematic sound, and — most importantly for the broader and now-forgotten point I was trying to make — openness to collaboration. (They’re the backing band on the last Los Super Seven album, one of Neko Case’s best albums, a random Nancy Sinatra track, most of Giant Sand, and older Friends of Dean Martinez. There’s a real artistic generosity to them.)
Basically, I love this band and want to have its children.
Which is why I say, with the firmest possible conviction, that all right-thinking people in the Dallas area should go to the Ridglea Theater this Saturday and see Calexico‘s joint show with Iron & Wine — themselves one of this reporter’s favorite performers. It will be life-changing.
The plan is that Calexico plays a set, then Iron & Wine plays a set, then they all play the entirety of their recent collaboration together. With the promise of special guests — like Mike Watt and Victoria Williams in L.A. Just be there, okay?