Thursday 01/05/03 Calexico @ Academy, Manchester

But for the instruments lined up neatly on stage, I could've sworn I'd just walked into the debut show of Marks and Spencer's Spring/ Summer collection. The Calexico posters I'd seen dotted about town, bearing the image of a Sk8r girl were indeed a far cry from the sensible-tucked-in-shirt-with-comb-over ensemble of chaps before us. Looking more in danger of putting on a Michael Bolton record than playing some decent music, front man Joey Burns managed to shock me twice in as many minutes with what was to come next.

With a trumpet flourish, a mandolin twang, two shakes of rattlesnake's tail and a yee-haa! Calexico kicked off a set of red-hot Mexican madness.

They performed an enchanting acoustic folk number from the debut offering 'Spoke' but the bulk was made up of new album 'Feast of Wire'. Times saw Burns in simmering desperado mode, accompanied by an almost lonely drumbeat. But there was no keeping a good man down and this soon gave way to some thigh-slapping, toe tapping magic played on a million and one kinds of weird instruments and gadgets. While there is no denying the energy and enthusiasm, very few of the tracks stood out, 'Not Even Stevie Nicks' being an exception. Towards the end of the set, Burns brought out brilliant warm up act Marsha Qrella. The several duets saw their vastly different sounds collide to a strangely beautiful effect.

All in all, it was a bit too bloody jolly for the likes of me. However, I am under no doubt that if this is your sort of thing, it doesn't get much better than this. An army of devoted fans were out to see Calexico in action. I didn't know every word, every move or come dressed like a Mexican mademoiselle (the lengths some people go to..) but have to admit, it's own "Yay! A LEGO brick…let's see if we can get a tune out of it!" sort of way, it is genius.