Los Lobos bring East L.A. sounds to City Winery in New York City

NEW YORK — Los Lobos, the great band from East L.A., has been celebrating its 40th anniversary this past year, and the musicians who make up this powerful group are sounding better than ever. Their recent gigs at the City Winery in New York City were jam-packed with classic tunes, sung in English and Spanish, and some choice covers.

At any Los Lobos concert, it’s hard not to focus on the instrument playing of David Hildago. The man has a seemingly endless number of musical proficiencies. Sometimes he’s playing accordion, while other times he’s more content with a guitar or violin. A few times he pulls out smaller instruments that are tough to even identify. When he couples this playing with his enjoyable singing skills, the musical results can be wondrous.

Steve Berlin on saxophone, flute and keyboards provided the night with a full-bodied sound, and his solos, most of them happening toward the end of the second set, were inspired fun. He dips that microphone right into the saxophone and blares a sound that’s part rock, part soul, part blues, part Berlin goodness. At one point, during the final City Winery concert, he took up the saxophone and gladly relinquished his keys to guest musician Jimmy Vivino.

Louie Perez stands next to Hildago, and the two can find a jamming rhythm together, somehow coalescing two styles and still respecting autonomy. His small guitar strummed the entire night long, providing a backbone to the varied setlist.

Cesar Rosas, on the guitar and vocals, gets the audience into the pulsating performance. He’s often the one who starts the tune, and its his singing that sustains the song until the final beats. Conrad Lozano stands next to him thump-thump-thumping brilliantly on the bass (he also took to the microphone for a well-received version of “Guantanamera”). Enrique “Bugs” Gonzalez offered his percussive skills throughout the nearly three-hour show.

The final City Winery tour stop — Monday, Dec. 22 — didn’t rely too much on the tunes the band is most famous for — noticeably absent were songs from the “La Bamba” soundtrack. But, for diehards, this allowed a finer focus on the back catalogue of this excellent, excellent band.

Los Lobos also decided to change things up by playing a 50-minute acoustic set to start the concert, and then after a break, they plugged in for almost one hour and 20 minutes. Two great sounds, one ticket price.

Personal highlights had to be “Sabor a Mí” and “La Pistola ye el Corazón.”

For those in the Big Apple area who missed these holiday shows, the band will return in March for a concert at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., and the State Theatre in New Brunswick, N.J.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

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