Review: Los Lobos at the Mesa Arts Center
Eleven years had passed since I last saw Los Lobos (1996 at the Electric Ballroom in Tempe). But like fine wine, time only makes them better and intensifies the experience. A gray bearded David Hidalgo and his band mates of thirty plus years took the stage Saturday night at the beautiful, 2-year old Ikeda Theater at the Mesa Arts Center. For the next two hours, the band took us on a journey that clearly showed why they remain one of the tightest, most eclectic bands out there today. It also reminded me how grossly underrated these living legends are. A freakin’ travesty, to be honest.
Upcoming Shows – Los Lobos
Seeing Los Lobos live should be on the Lifetime To-Do List of every music lover out there. Well into their fourth decade of making music together, with the same core lineup of friends / musicians since their start in East L.A. – David Hidalgo, Cesar Rojas, Louie Perez, Steve Berlin, and Conrad Lozano – these guys are as talented, tight, and dynamic as ever. They dip into several genres: blues, roots, latin, folk, traditional Mexican, and others. And if you haven’t heard their take on the Dead’s “Bertha”, you’re cheating only yourself, my friend.
Los Lobos – Bertha (mp3)
Los Lobos is kicking off a tour on Friday night at Royce Hall at UCLA. Saturday night, they’ll be at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, CA. I’ll be catching them in a couple of weeks at the Mesa Arts Center in my neck of the woods (I’ll have a review up soon after).
Check out the tour dates, and go check out these legends when they come to your area. That’s an order. You’ll thank me.
Another Los Lobos classic…
Los Lobos – I Got Loaded (mp3)
Links: Los Lobos Official Site | Los Lobos on LastFM | Hear their version of Bob Dylan’s “Billy 1” from the I’m Not There soundtrack (LastFM)
Buy: Amazon MP3 Store
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Tour Dates
02.01.08 – Friday – Royce Hall, UCLA – Los Angeles, CA
02.02.08 – Saturday – Belly Up Tavern – Solana Beach, CA
02.15.08 – Friday – Abraham Chavez Theater – El Paso, TX
02.16.08 – Saturday – Ikeda Theater – Mesa, AZ
03.05.08 – Wednesday – Ithaca State Theatre – Ithaca, NY
03.06.08 – Thursday – McCarter Theater – Princeton, NJ
03.07.08 – Friday – William Patterson University – Wayne, NJ
03.08.08 – Saturday – Shubert Theater – New Haven, CT (Michael, represent!)
03.09.08 – Sunday – Strom Auditorium – Rockport, ME
03.11.08 – Tuesday – The Ridgefield Playhouse – Ridgefield, CT
03.12.08 – Wednesday – Birchmere – Alexandria, VA
03.13.08 – Thursday – The Grand Opera House – Wilmington, DE
03.14.08 – Friday – Lehigh University / Zoellner Arts Ctr Bethlehem, PA
03.15.08 – Saturday – Bardavon 1869 Opera House – Poughkeepsie, NY
03.16.08 – Sunday – Calvin Theatre – Northampton, MA
03.21.08 – Friday – Columbus Palace Theatre – Columbus, OH
03.25.08 – Tuesday – Burton Cummings Theatre – Winnipeg, Manitoba CANADA
03.27.08 – Thursday – Jack Singer Concert Hall – Calgary, Alberta CANADA
03.28.08 – Friday – Northern Alberta Jubilee Aud. – Edmonton, Alberta CANADA
03.29.08 – Saturday – Bowness Hall – Calgary, Alberta CANADA
03.30.08 – Sunday – Eric Harvie Theatre – Banff, Alberta CANADA
04.01.08 – Tuesday – Vancouver Centre For The Arts – Vancouver, B.C. CANADA
04.02.08 – Wednesday – Royal Theatre – Victoria, B.C. CANADACheck out their tour page for more dates extending into the summer.
A Local Joe Strummer Tribute with Glass Heroes
I had December 27th marked on my calendar since early November. A Joe Strummer Tribute & Benefit in my own hometown? Yes please! I headed down to my favorite small club in Phoenix, the Rhythm Room, and caught the last two bands, the Jeff Dahl Band and headliner Glass Heroes. Keith Jackson is the lead singer and guitarist in Glass Heroes (that’s him with Joe Strummer above), and this is the fourth year in a row he has organized a local Strummer tribute to benefit Strummerville.
I was impressed by both bands. They’re both veterans of the Arizona punk scene, which is alive and well. Dahl’s four piece power combo tore through their set, the rhythm section of Jason Smith (bass) and particularly Russ Covner on drums laying down some ferocious punk beats. Really impressive. They kicked off the set with “Janie Jones”, then concentrated on their own material for the next 35 minutes or so.
Keith Jackson and his Glass Heroes were next. They offered up great versions of “What’s My Name”, “Tommy Gun”, another “Janie Jones”, and “Police on my Back”. Their originals definitely showed the Clash influence. One of my faves was “Kick Down the Doors”, which I grabbed off their MySpace page. Check it out below.
Kudos to Keith for keeping Joe’s spirit alive, and gathering the local Strummer faithful for a great evening.
Glass Heroes – Kick Down the Doors (mp3)
Links: Glass Heroes Official Site | MySpace | Jeff Dahl Band’s MySpace
Have you guys and gals checked out imeem yet? It’s a social music site where you can stream music & videos. The extra bonus is that they have licensing agreements with 2 out of the 3 major labels, so you can find and listen to full songs, make your own playlists, and basically waste several additional hours of your life on another music site. Here’s a lil’ Strummer / Clash mix I put together.
Ickmusic Local: Stone Devil Hill
The local music scene in New York’s Hudson Valley, by in large, consists of a myriad of cover bands, the occasional singer-songwriter, a smattering of bluesmen, a punk trio or two and a plethora of de-tuned metal-core bands. While Poughkeepsie’s Stone Devil Hill doesn’t squarely fit into any of those genres they certainly contain the sensibilities of them all combined into a very cohesive package that ranges from melodic and soaring to heavy and grooving. Their debut record …for the fallen captures the essence of the bands energy and highlights the groups strength in songwriting. Heavier tunes like the lead-off track “Down with the Captain”, “A.F.O.C”, and “Neverchange” take notes from the forefathers of heavy metal and groove with an urgency that is relentless. Lyrics ranging from political to deeply personal are delivered with the utmost passion and the slow burn of “Child Inside” and “Lost Denial” feature dual vocals reminiscent of Alice in Chains at their best. And putting the power back in the ballad the track “This Lie” is nothing short of majestic. As a teaser here is the band at their most honest and passionate…
Stone Devil Hill – 20 Years (MP3)
Buy: …for the fallen
Link: Official Site | MySpace
Local IckMusic: What Laura Says Thinks and Feels
As a married pops of two living in the sticks outside of Phoenix, my days of spending five out of every seven nights bar-hopping and band-watching have come to an end. So my knowledge of the local music scene is pretty much limited to the local press and the occasional night out.
Today, a columnist for the Phoenix New Times posted about a cool local band on his blog. The title of his piece is ‘Annals of Bad Band Names’, and he has a valid point in this case: the band’s name is What Laura Says Thinks and Feels. They may have a good story behind the name, so I won’t judge. And after hearing these tunes, I was willing to overlook the silly name, because this stuff is infectious… a retro feel but completely unique at the same time. Folky, trippy, Brit-poppy, Brian Wilson-y.
Add your -y’s in the comments.
What Laura Says Thinks and Feels – Couldn’t Lose Myself If I Tried (mp3)
The New Times post has another tune you can listen to.
Their MySpace has three other tunes, including a nice soft one called “Dot Dot Dot” (reminds me of Kings of Convenience). And of course it’s excellent karma to support an unsigned band, so go to their CD Baby page and pick up their album. Or get it on iTunes. After listening to these songs, I think a lot of you will.