Los Lonely Boys and Los Lobos
Minnesota Zoo
August 09, 2011
After a sweltering month with dew points in the tropical 60’s, it was nice to have a summer night with a faint cool breeze. On stage were two bands that know a little about heat: Los Lonely Boys from San Angelo, Texas and Los Lobos from Los Angeles, California. They came to play the outdoor Weesner Amphitheater at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. They were here a year before on the Brotherhood Tour. They had so much fun they decided to do it again.
I had seen Los Lobos many times over the years, but this was my first introduction to Los Lonely Boys. Young and old, to say there is a generational gap between the two bands would not be an exaggeration. The Garza brothers that make up Los Lonely Boys weren’t even born when Los Lobos first started playing Mexican restaurant happy hours. No matter, for both parties came to play as years of experience and exuberant youth were on full display Tuesday night. Whereas Los Lobos eased into their set with the patience of an aging prize fighter, Los Lonely Boys bounded onto the stage with the energy of a southern preacher.
“We tune ‘cause we care,” David Hidalgo of Los Lobos told the crowd while his band continued to tinker with their instruments through their first five songs. It seemed every song required a new set of instruments for the three guitarists (Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas and Louie Perez), the bassist, Conrad Lozano and utility musical man, Steve Berlin. There was a raft of guitars that a stage hand shuttled back and forth. Hidalgo even switched instruments in the middle of a song, setting aside his soulful electric guitar while a stage hand eased a concertina on his immense soldiers.
Whereas Los Lobos took their time to demonstrate a musical proficiency honed over thirty years, Los Lonely Boys got right down to business on their first song, “I’m a Man.” With only three players (Henry on electric guitar, Jo Jo on bass and Ringo on drums), they showed a nimble raw-powered tightness that only a band that has been playing together for many years can demonstrate. There was no place for a weaker musician to hide. No one could hang in the background as lead vocals bounced from Henry and Jo Jo and back to Ringo, solos came from any instrument while all three voices melded into three part harmony.
I noticed the members of Los Lobos liked to pick a spot on stage and stay there. Henry and Jo Jo bounced all over the stage and into each other while Ringo became a percussive tornado, his long hair blowing all over the stage as an industrial fan from behind futilely tried to cool him down.
My favorite part of the evening is when both bands invited each other onto the stage to close out their respective sets. Rosas called for Henry and Ringo to join the band as Los Lobos brought the crowd to its feet with “I Got Loaded” “Don’t Worry Baby” and “La Bomba.” Then Los Lonely Boys transitioned to a more subdued sound with a soulful ballad “Road to Nowhere" from their latest, Rockpango. Without fanfare and in the middle of Jo Jo’s singing, Hidalgo and Rosas drifted onto stage like buses from parts unknown pulling into some sleepy town in the middle of the night.
Dave
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