Los Lobos and Los Lonely Boys at Meijer Gardens (Aug 7):
My first surprise of the evening was the Los Lobos was opening the show. Considering their almost legendary status, I wasn't expecting them to start things off. But, these road veterans wasted no time getting their Tex-Mex sound going. Los Lobos has a nice combination of roots/blues rock with a decent amount of traditional Mexican flavor added to the sound. The 1hr 15 minute set went by quickly, and yet seemed just about the right amount for what the crowd wanted. Next up was the currently popular and Grammy nominated (didn't they win?) trio from Texas. Combining rock and blues, this group of brothers reminded me of both Stevie Ray Vaughn and ZZ Top, with the added bonus of some outstanding vocal harmonies. The guitarist was able to cover quite a bit of musical ground, showing influences from all the greats of the past, while still adding some of his own identity. Bassist for the group was amazingly subtle with the amount of foundation he provided in the music. The casual listener wouldn't have noticed that it frequently sounded like more than just one guy playing behind the guitar solos. The drummer was solid as could be, and frequently added a third vocal harmony. He was another understated performer, but the talent was unmistakable. Overall, both bands were outstanding and neither seemed to overshadow the other. In fact, towards the end of the Los Lonely Boys set, they brought out members of Los Lobos for a few songs of fun and jamming. Either band is worth catching, but both on a single night was something special.
"Legends" sets at Unity Fest in Muskegon:
On Saturday afternoon (Aug 9), Unity Fest brought together 3 of the legends of Christian "rock"/"contemporary" music. First up was Randy Stonehill. Having started back in the 70s, Randy still knows how to entertain a crowd with just his voice and a guitar. Randy brought no fancy gear or backing musicians, but gave the crowd a great sampling of his past and present. Including songs he wrote with Keith Green, and up to a new yet-to-be-released song, he shared for about 45 minutes. Next up was Phil Keaggy. Phil is amazing on guitar, and this was similar to Randy (just Phil and a guitar). Phil did make use of his "looping" pedals, and created many great soundscapes that need to be heard to be believed. Phil's voice was in fine form as well. He shared songs from all across his long career, including some new material (written as recently as a week before the show). Last was a reunion show from Resurrection Band. This was the last reunion show scheduled for the band, so there was quite a bit of interest in how this would go. The band concentrated mostly on their early material, rarely getting into anything beyond 1985. Wendi Kaiser sounded great on vocals, and Stu Heiss was doing some great lead guitar work. In general, the band wasn't as tight as I had hoped, but it could have been worse. Overall, I would say all 3 gave the crowd an education in the foundation of Christian "rock". It was a unique chance to see all 3 in a single afternoon.
That is all for now.
3 comments:
Nice review of Los Lonely Boys and Los Lobos. I just wanted to add, for those who are not familiar with LLB, that the 3 are the Garza brothers -Henry on guitar, JoJo on bass, and Ringo (his real name) on drums. They are one of the most talented bands on the planet, in my opinion! They hail from San Angelo TX where they still live and did indeed win a GRammy in 2005for their blockbuster hit, "Heaven". Don't miss them if they're anywhere within driving distance!
Los Lonely Boys did win a Grammy for their mega hit single, Heaven!
HAMMSTER!!! I wanted to make the Stonehill/Keaggy/Rez show, but was on a family vacation up in Manistee. What a great bill.... thatnks for taking the time to review it. I am sad that I missed it.
--joey
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