Los Lonely Boys + Los Lobos 7-29-11
Greek Theatre · Los Angeles, CA
BY JOSE MARTINEZ
Friday night proved to be one of those special Southern California nights at the Greek Theatre. It was a beautiful, cool summer evening under the stars as Chicano-tinged rock filled the air.
Old school ‘veteranos' Los Lobos, hardly "just another band from East L.A." no matter if that was the title of their 30-year old debut release, got the party started right as its Spanish "Cumbia" music delighted the slightly older crowd. Los Lobos has managed to consistently evolve artistically while never losing sight of its humble beginnings. There is indeed more to the influential band than "La Bamba", which still manages to get the crowd off its feet. Its band's latest effort, Tin Can Trust continues to stay true to its roots even though "Yo Canto" sounds a lot like "Cumbia Raza", but that didn't seem to matter to the crowd.
With Los Lonely Boys' Henry and Ringo Garza joining on guitar and drums respectively on the band's final few numbers, the vibe really felt like a community effort, and segued seamlessly into the Los Lonely Boys fiery set.
The brothers Garza, including bassist JoJo, started their show with a long jam as concertgoers made their way back to their seats, with ‘cervezas' in hand. Los Lonely Boys first studio release in three years, Rockpango is a Spanglish word coined by the band that translates more or less to "rock party," and that's exactly what they delivered.
Not committed to playing the recorded versions of their songs, live, each selection seemed to meander a bit into longer, yet impressive, versions. The good-natured Texican jam fest came off as genuine and refreshing, and not the typical show played out on a nightly basis. With Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, and horn player Steve Berlin, joining for the encores, the circle seemed complete, as the Greek was transformed into the perfect outdoor stage for classic bar bands to play.
