Tucson, AZ's eclectic duet Calexico hit the stage on Friday night with a fury. Joined by a four other musicians they played to a fairly full house. Most of the crowd was the crowd was there on buzz alone. They were not disappointed.

Joey Burns and John Convertino opened the set with an acoustic rendition of "Convict Pool" off of their latest EP "Alone Again Or". ("Alone Again Or" was originally written and recorded by Love.) After the finished their jazzed up first tune they were joined by the rest of the road band, they played trumpet, bass, pedal steel, and vibes/keys. This brought a whole new sound to the mix. The sound was like nothing I had ever heard.

A swirling mix of jazz and country-rock set like a spaghetti western score was definitely unique. Everything that Burns and Co. did was new and fresh. Bringing together many scenes and styles they are blurring the lines between jam and indie rock. Equally appealing to both they are a definite crowd pleaser. In fact you have to pretty much not like music not to get into them at least a little bit.

The set mix was very good. Calexico played new, old songs, a couple of cover teases, and a cool improvised tribute to Bloomington, where, according to Joey Burns, the true hustlers are. By the time of the two song encore those who were not already believers were converted. Burns stuck around after the set and spoke with people by the merchandise table, proving him to be an all around a nice guy.

Calexico put on a great set in a great venue. Proving not only that Bloomington is coming into it's own as a stop for national acts but there is an active scene that is hungry for new music and willing to experiment. This time the experiment paid off big. I know I am not the only one who is eagerly their next stop in Indiana.

Byron Schaller is a freelance writer who covers Midwest concert events, films, and books. You can find him on his blog In The Congo