Review & Photos | Los Lobos & Los Lonely Boys | Austin

Words & Images by: John Croxton

Los Lobos & Los Lonely Boys :: 4.10.15 :: The Moody Theatre :: Austin, Texas

Check out John’s review following the gallery.

David Hidalgo and Louie Perez met in high school in East Los Angeles in 1973 and started a band with fellow schoolmates Cesar Rosas and Conrad Lozano. At that time, they weren’t even the only band called Los Lobos in L.A., now more than 40 years, 20 albums and multiple Grammy Awards later they are a longstanding, well-respected act continuing to play their eclectic style of Tex-Mex rock to live audiences.

In 1996, three brothers — Henry, Jojo and Ringo Garza from San Angelo, Texas –formed Los Lonely Boys and also achieved much success on the Billboard charts with multiple Top 40 hits and a Grammy Award of their own.

Friday night in Austin, Texas the two bands played together to a packed crowd at the Moody Theatre, the 2,750 seat home of the Austin City Limits TV show, which hosted Los Lobos last year. Their musical styles have many names, among them Chicano rock, Tex-Mex rock and Latin rock -soulful music rooted in blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll that spans across many diverse genres and audiences. The bands complemented each other well and together delivered a high-energy live music experience.

Curiously, Los Lobos opened the show, as it would be natural to expect them to headline based on seniority and longstanding success. Notions of opener and headliner were quickly dispelled, however, as the format revealed to be a set for Los Lobos, followed by a set of Los Lonely Boys with various members of Los Lobos and other guests joining them on stage.



Los Lobos set the tone as they grooved through over an hour of old-school numbers like  “My Baby’s Gone” and “How Much Can I Do.” Slowly but steadily they raised the energy, building to a crescendo as they kicked into “Volver, Volver,” which brought a rousing ovation from the crowd. Mid-set they invited local Austin 13-year-old blues guitar prodigy (sound familiar, Gary Clark Jr. fans?) Jack Montesinos to the stage to play and solo on the 1983 Los Lobos tune “Why Do You Do” and the Fats Domino classic “The Fat Man.” Montesinos, who first picked up the guitar at age 9, has already played locally at historic venues including Antone’s Blues Club and the Continental Club with Jimmie Vaughan. He can now add the Moody Theatre to his resume, and we’ll surely be hearing more about him in years to come. Little Jack ripped it up –in a show full of special moments, he was one of the evening’s highlights.

Los Lonely Boys, with strong Austin roots, took the stage next and kicked the energy up a few more notches. Henry and Jojo moved around the stage with flair and encouraged the audience to move with them. Los Lobos joined them on stage (including David Hidalgo on drums for a few numbers) and closed the set with their debut hit single “Heaven,” followed by a rockin’ “La Bamba”/”Good Lovin'” medley encore. 



The two bands fit together perfectly –Los Lobos the seasoned veterans, Los Lonely Boys full of youthful exuberance. Austin, Texas showed up in force to experience a great night of music.

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