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.
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.
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.
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