Last Saturday night at the Greek Theatre, Los Lobos hosted a show that brought together a lot of old friends. The evening started with a nod to youth, as Mariachi El Bronx opened the show. They're not from the Bronx, and they're not really mariachis. But they do play mariachi music--very well, in fact--sung in English. And their members include one of David Hidalgo's sons, Vincent. Up next was X--the band that, like Los Lobos, started their career on Slash Records. And then The Wolves took the stage, and soon began the parade of guest artists: Neko Case, who sang harmony on a couple of songs and took a nice solo turn on "One Time, One Night"; Alejandro Escovedo, whose friendship with Los Lobos goes back to his days with Rank and File, performed a lovely rendition of "Rosalie," from "By the Hand of the Father"; Flaco Jiménez (accompanied by Max Baca of Los Texmaniacs) came out and did "Margarita" and "Volver, Volver"--closing the distance between the West Side of San Antonio and the East Side of L.A.; then there was an unannounced guest: Dave Alvin of The Blasters--another band that goes way back with Los Lobos. Dave performed "Fourth of July," and then brought out his brother, Phil, who sang a rockin' Spanish version of "Marie, Marie." The Lobos' set was typically eclectic and wonderful. They paired their own "Dream in Blue" with "Forty Thousand Headmen" by Traffic. One of the highlights for me was a song David Hidalgo (above) and Louie Pérez wrote for "Canto"--the second album by Los Super Seven. I'm not sure how often they include this song at Lobos shows, but it sure was nice to hear. Here's the studio version:
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(photo by Ed Boswell)