0 4 min 11 yrs
Los Lobos
Los Lobos

A night of Texas blues emanated through The Filene Center at Wolf Trap as a pair of Chicano rock groups Los Lonely Boys and Los Lobos took the stage. Los Lonely Boys, the three Garza brothers from Texas, got things started and they were followed by Los Lobos from California, the legendary portrayers of both blues and cumbia.

If rock n’ roll were a tree I would say Los Lonely Boys influences stem from the roots, strong roots that go deep, to a trunk that is thick and includes thousands of musicians that branches off into their own unique cultural flare. The right way to play rock is through it’s roots which is the blues and that’s what Los Lonely Boys does best.
Henry Garza
Henry Garza

I would describe Henry Garza’s guitar playing as a mix between Stevie Ray Vaughn and Tom Morello. He actually opened a song with a Tom Morello scratch style guitar solo that was pretty cool, it was like he was playing turntables. I’d say Los Lonely Boys most popular songs are”Señorita” and “Heaven” off their self-titled debut album but they go a lot deeper than that. Their live performances are just that; LIVE! Instrumentally, they run the gamut and moments of brilliance are accentuated as blues solos bow through the air. They didn’t play more than a handful of songs and their set was over two hours long! Steve Berlin from Los Lobos even came out and added some baritone sax into the mix.

Jojo Garza
Jojo Garza

They played a Spencer Davis Group cover “I’m a Man” that brought everyone to their feet. Jojo Garza and I’m not even exaggerating slapped a 6-string bass solo that was one of the best I ever heard. It had twang! This must have been at least a 20 minute version of the song and just when you thought it was over, they picked it up and started playing again. They closed with “Señorita” as an encore, the perfect end to a brilliant performance. Los Lonely Boys far exceeded my expectations and so far was the best rock concert I’ve seen this year.

Cesar Rosa
Cesar Rosas
There are a handful of movies that have influenced me musically over the years. Two of the most influential has been “Amadeus” and the other “La Bamba,” the Ritchie Valens story. Los Lobos was responsible for the majority of the “La Bamba” soundtrack and that speaks volumes. They sound great live! Although they are great blues musicians, I love their cumbia and boleros style of play. It reminds me of “Buena Vista Social Club” except with an American rock element. David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas traded between vocals and harmonized fluently. I like when they sing in Spanish, it sounds more traditional. When they played “La Bamba” you couldn’t help but to dance and sing along.

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