Who's Your Audience

Forward by Who's:
Music used to define my free time. On any given day, I might just notice that Neil Young was playing in Cincinnati, call a friend, and head up there right after work to buy the best seats available. Life, however, has taken me down a different path and music is no longer a priority...and I'm fine with that! I do, however, still enjoy hearing about shows and occasionally attending a concert here and there. The passion is still there...it just sits latent, waiting for the next opportunity to blossom and thrive. A friend of mine who shares that passion for music starting forwarding me reviews. His friend, Angelo, still flies the freedom rock flag. Through Angelo, I get to feed the beast that is my musical muse. Following is a recent review.

Los Lobos 7:30PM-9:00PM
Los Lonely Boys 9:20PM-11:00PM
The Egyptian Room at The Murat, Indianapolis

Experienced (Are You?) and Written by Angelo of Lexington, Kentucky

I decided to go on a spur of the moment without tickets, taking my son. We left the house at 3:15PM and were in line for tickets at 6:15PM.......doors opened at 6:30PM.

We got in early and headed for the front rail, as the show was General Admission. Nice mix-aged crowd of music lovers, but the HUGE room was nowhere near full capacity. I'd been to The Murat Theater twice before (The Pretenders and Jethro Tull), but never to The Egyptian Room. I've always wondered what he Egyptian Room was like. It was a really cool room that is great for concerts. It was long and wide, with high ceilings, nicely elevated stage and a great sound system.

It was a GREAT SHOW all night long! It was mostly an up-tempo ROCKIN' show, but David Hidalgo did play two (2) on the accordion. Every musician in each band is excellent. Musicians from each band sat in on tunes with the other......most times, it appeared to be spontaneous and unrehearsed.....but the music was seamless and tight.

Los Lonely Boys made it very clear that Los Lobos were one of their idols when they first started playing at an early age. The respect for each other was evident throughout the show..........two generations were rocking the house!

Los Lobos included the following parts inside some of their tunes.....”Not Fade Away,” “One Way Out,” and a song that I think may have been a Grateful Dead song (which may have been “Bertha). All three members of LLB came out to play on a Los Lobos tune (can't remember it, but was one with Spanish lyrics).....and the song was KILLER!

The last song was La Bamba and included both drummers, with David calling for Ringo to do a little solo that was very cool. Henry and Cesar traded some guitar licks during it too, which was very cool.

Lonely Boys ended their show with a two-song encore of: “I'm A Man,” “Heaven,” with David Hidalgo and Henry Garcia kicking it on the guitar (trading licks) and Steve Berlin blowing the hell out of his BIG saxophone.

I've seen Los Lobos four times and Los Lonely Boys six times.....and I never tire of either of them. I thought both together on a double-bill made for a great evening of music. Both bands were all smiles throughout the entire evening. I'm always impressed by how tight Los Lobos is and I love the way the spotlight is shared between all of them, especially the three guitarists. Of course, without question, David Hidalgo is the man and the leader of the band. He does so without a pretense of hogging anything though.......seemingly just the first amount equals, if you will.

Los Lonely Boys energy level was particularly high during the evening and they were animated, but they did not include their usual jaw-dropping end to the show. Henry and JoJo strutted together some (Bo Diddley style), particularly in an extended “Onda".......with JoJo pogo-ing and twirling feverishly at the end of the song!

Best song of the night, agreed to on the ride home, without question......"Man To Beat" by Los Lonely Boys.....when Henry pulls that harmonica out of pocket and wails into the solo......the house always ERUPTS!

The drive up and back was really pretty easy, especially getting through Louisville and Southern Indiana. Getting to The Murat from the Interstate is a piece of cake. The Colts' new football stadium (Lucas Stadium) was extremely impressive and clearly looked state-of-the-art. Indianapolis is a pretty cool town, we both thought. We may go back up for The Rib Fest on 08/31/08......FREE MUSIC.......Blind Melon, Jonny Lang and then the Motor City Madman (Ted Nugent)........should be a ROCKING SHOW!

The only negative on the trip..........coming back, we stopped at the Greenwood exit to get gas, drinks and visit White Castle.

They did not have FISH NIBBLERS!