With the demise of Richards on Richards, the awkwardly named Venue on Granville Street took over as one of Vancouver’s mid-size concert destinations last summer. Alejandro Escovedo played last August, and it was the first show I saw.

Alejandro and his backing band—the Sensitive Boys—gave it their all, along with opening act Amy Cook and the musicianship on display was astonishing. The room was sparsely populated, probably not helped by the mid-summer date and the relatively unknown Venue. The show ended with Alejandro’s putting down his guitar to cover Beast of Burden, and a happy crowd filing out into a warm Vancouver night.