Through some careful last minute wheeling and dealing on Craigslist (thank you Tanya, thank you Tom!) I was able to get two tickets to Los Lobos at Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz last night. Los Lobos is one of the most under-rated of bands. They've toured with U2, The Grateful Dead and played at the white house. To see them play in such a small club was fantastic. In fact, a sweaty hot cramped blues club is probably the best venue you could ever see Los Lobos.
Los Lobos has an extensive and varied repertoire including traditional Mexican folk music, roots rock, blues, Latin rock and jamband groove music. The show at Moe's Alley ran the full gamut with songs like "Chuco's Cumbia", "Little Things", "Rosa Lee", covers of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and the Grateful Dead's "Bertha" (which was epic) and more.
One of the remarkable things about Los Lobos is that it has been the same five guys playing together for 30 years. This is no one-founding member reunion act, this is the real deal. The band is a bit greyer (and wider) than when they started, but they remain incredibly tight musically. The vocals from David Hidalgo and Cesar Romas are as strong as they've ever been and the guitar playing is incredible. It was also notable how much the rhythm section added to the groove. Conrad Lozano's bass playing truly drives the sound on many songs.
I've posted photos from my Sony RX100 onto PicasaWeb. (These may or may not show up at the top of this post, depending on your browser.) Some of photos are cropped, but otherwise, untreated. I also shot some video on my iPhone 5. The quality of the sound on the iPhone is a bit muffled, but it'll give you a feel for the show. I've posted a few songs on YouTube. (Note the videos should show up in 720p HD resolution by default.)
If you're not familiar with Los Lobos, I recommend checking out their latest compilation album "Wolf Tracks
- Amazon: The Town and the City, Wolf Tracks
- Los Lobos: Official Site, Tour, Bios, Wikipedia
From this musician, educator,author,I love Los Lobos, they are fantastic musicians. I love the fact they are from LA and have been together 30 years. The energy and good feeling you get from this band is untouchable. May they keep playing together for a long time.
Posted by: Les Wise | March 27, 2013 at 01:48 PM
It's great that got together again. I hope I get a chance to see them live now.
Posted by: Eb Tuner | May 04, 2013 at 03:33 PM