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March 11, 2008
Los Lobos at Shubert
For years, I had wanted to see Los Lobos in concert, so I was pretty pumped up for the group’s appearance at last summer’s Gathering of the Vibes in Bridgeport.
I have to admit, I left Seaside Park just a little disappointed that night.
Don’t get me wrong, the band sounded great, but the members seemed to be a little laid back, almost feeding off the atmosphere of the festival. They didn’t appear to have a set list and would come together after each song to — and I’m guessing here — talk about what they were going to do next.
When they played, everything was fine, but it did have the appearance of a show that was just slapped together.
I had another shot to see Los Lobos when it performed Saturday night at the Shubert in New Haven and, I’m glad to say, I can’t think of anything negative to say about this concert.
The group was tight — as you would expect from a band that’s been together for more than three decades — and the song selection was superb. All the tunes worked well together, with singer-guitarists David Hidalgo and Cesar Rojas splitting the vocals.
Everything worked and the very receptive crowd was into it from the start. These were dedicated fans, calling out requests for songs that probably never received any airplay. In other words, nobody was shouting for “La Bamba.”
There were a few Los Lobos favorites that I wish they had played — “Will the Wolf Survive?,” “One Time One Night, ” “Shakin’ Shakin’ Shakes” and “Set Me Free (Rosa Lee),” to name a few — but that doesn’t detract one iota from the good feelings I had long after the two-hour show ended.
As for “La Bamba,” the band’s cover of the Ritchie Valens classic, it didn’t make the set list Saturday night and no one seemed to mind. A bit odd that a group could get away with omitting its biggest hit, but it happened.
Posted by Sean on March 11, 2008 4:59 PM
