Los Lobos brought their “Disconnected” tour to the Kitty Carlisle Hart Theatre at the Egg in Albany, New York on Wednesday March 5 2025.
For over 50 years, Los Lobos have been garnering much deserved attention for their incredible musicianship and impressive live performances. Los Lobos is (still): Louie Perez (Drums, Guitars, Percussion, Vocals), Steve Berlin (Saxophone, Percussion, Flute, Harmonica, Melodica), Cesar Rosas (Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin, Maracas), Conrad Lozano (Bass, Mexican Guitarron, Vocals), and David Hidalgo (Vocals, Guitar, Accordion, Percussion, Banjo). Touring drummer Alfredo Ortiz has been with the band since 2021. They are often billed as a Mexican-American rock band, but that categorization is limiting, as they are certainly grounded in traditional Mexican Chicano music, but one can also hear the influences of R&B, blues, Zydeco, Tex-Mex, Latin, jazz, folk, country, jam band, as well.
During their stop in Albany, the band played brilliantly, even while abounding technical issues plagued them, including difficulties with Hidalgo’s amp (Perez at one point quipped, “We’ll have a garage sale later on”), the band members frequently signaling adjustments needed to their monitors, and that fact that whoever was supposed to be running the venue’s PA sound did not pick up on the fact that Lozano’s bass was reverberating every time he hit a low frequency A note, creating a lingering and distracting “Whoosh” sound during the first third of the night’s performance. Two stage-hands in flannel and baseball caps continually appeared adjusting or resetting instrument microphones and attending to Hidalgo’s amp (so often they could have been part of the show). Throughout all this, the band stalwartly soldiered on, doing what they do best: providing a unique performance of multi-genre music, while the rapt audience showed them love and support, encouragingly cheering them on after each number.
Opening with a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “West L.A. Fadeaway,” conveyed it was going to be a special night, and the band continued to deliver a daring, dynamic, and diverse selection of music. The R&B tinged “Love Special Delivery” followed, and then the country/creole flavored “One Time One Night,” before Rosas announced coolly, “Welcome to our acoustic show we call ‘Disconnected,’” and then added, “I hope we are not too loud for you.”
As usual, their night’s performance spotlighted the band’s stellar musicianship, with Hidalgo playing some stunning guitar and accordion solos, Perez showing his strumming prowess on the jarana jarocha guitar during “La Pistola y el Corazón” and playing drums for a couple songs, the ever versatile Berlin getting spontaneous applause for his saxophone, flute, and keyboard solos, Conrad switching from bass to Mexican Guitarron, and Rosas adding maracas where needed when he wasn’t playing acoustic and electric guitars. Besides getting the crowd moving and grooving, tapping their knees and shaking their heads with the music throughout the night, their vocal harmonies were tight as ever, especially on the songs sung in Spanish: “Maricela,” “Chuco’s Cumbia,” “La Pistola y el Corazón,” “Borinquen Patria Mia,” “Mexico Americano.”
A poignant moment came just before the band played “Saint Behind the Glass,” with Perez explaining, “We all grew up together in the same neighborhood with hard-working immigrant parents. This song goes out to all those immigrants who are still working hard in this country,” which received empathetic applause from the audience. “Mas Y Mas,” with its intricate timing and modulation, was definitely one of the stand-out performances of the night, and as the band left the stage afterward, the standing crowd roared, clapped, and howled for more. When the band returned, Rosas announced, “We are so glad you had a good night. We appreciate it,” before they turned the lead vocals over to Conrad, who sang “Guantanamera,” while plucking at his large Mexican Guitarron. Hidalgo dedicated the next song “Marie, Marie” to someone named “Fast Freddy,” who he said was somewhere in the audience. Their ubiquitous hit song (a cover that pays proper homage to Ritchie Valens’ original) “La Bamba” – that they segued into The Rascals’ “Good Lovin’” – had the crowd energized, feeling the joy, clapping, dancing, and singing along (even if they didn’t know the actual Spanish words), leaving everyone in high spirits.
Los Lobos can do it all, and make it look easy, even with multiple technical issues rearing their ugly heads. I would sum up their performance with a quote I overheard from a patron on the way out, who stated emphatically: “I’ve seen them many times, and they never disappoint.”
For more tour information about Los Lobos visit: https://www.loslobos.org/site/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Show Review: Los Lobos at Antone’s 10/21 w/Nuevo
Setlist:
West L.A. Fadeaway (Grateful Dead cover)
Love Special Delivery
One Time One Night
Dream in Blue
Maricela
Emily
Chuco’s Cumbia
The Giving Tree
La Pistola y el Corazón
Saint Behind the Glass
Arizona Skies/ Borinquen Patria Mia
Teresa
Mexico Americano
Native Son
Don’t Worry Baby
Mas Y Mas
ENCORES:
Guantanamera
Marie, Marie
La Bamba / Good Lovin’
