My friend Nick and I went to the Lucero show the other night at the new Bottom Lounge in Chicago. I say new because the first time I saw Lucero was at the old Bottom Lounge years ago. The new digs are way better (read: you don’t have to wipe your feet off before you go outside). The acoustics are surprising given the high ceiling and the stage is rather large for a venue of its size, which is a good thing because these days Lucero weigh in at roughly ten people counting horns, keys and the obligatory roadie who fetches beer and shots for the band.
I have seen Lucero several times in Chicago, as well as a few shows in Austin and a set in LA, and they’ve really been all over the map: from scintillating to shitty…depending on their sobriety (or lack thereof). I’ve seen John pass-out mid song, Ben forget lyrics, Brian nearly fall over and Roy get so pissed at his drum set he kicked it over, but I’ve never seen anything like this show.
On Saturday night, Lucero was tight. Their music was noticeably different. And it wasn’t just the horn section. During the first song I thought to myself, wow this is really good; and when the song ended I turned to Nick and asked what he thought. He said, “It seems like they’re actually trying.” So many times in the past it’s felt like they were just up there to have fun, but on this night they came to play music (granted, by the end of the show they were all ass-hammered but so was everyone).
The band was energized. The set list ping-ponged between tracks from their infectious new album and old staples. Highlights included “That Much Further West,” “Smoke,” and “Hey Darling Do You Gamble.” Ben even threw in “The Last Pale Light in the West” off his solo EP of the same name. The horn section really brought new songs to life in a whole new manner and—surprisingly—added a fullness to the old chestnuts. The one downside seemed to be the couple times the horns were searching for a sense of purpose and wound up aping a guitar riff note for note. Aside from that I have no complaints.
The boys didn’t take the stage ‘til 11:30 and didn’t relinquish it until nearly 2:00 on the AM dial. Needless to say everyone got what they came for. For those of you out there questioning the band’s new approach music, I say go check it out. You won’t be disappointed.
Video: Lucero – Darken My Door (fan created)
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That image perfectly encapsulates my vision at most Lucero shows.
Between the new album getting better with every spin and that review, I am kicking myself for missing that show.
I jut saw them in Boston, last time at Paradise and this time at Middle East. Middle East is smaller, but as you noted, the band is bigger. They put on a great show and the crowd was totally into it, including some up front crowd surfing and giving beer showers — well, maybe a little too into it… Ben couldn’t believe that many of them were singing along to the NEW songs and said how much it meant to him.
We were all pleasantly surprised by the opener Amy Lavere. She and her band were great. Sadly, I missed Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm. I was driving through snow(!) in a freak Oct storm.
Speaking of snow, they just got snowed out while in Wyoming (according to http://twitter.com/luceromusic). Picture that!
Great show. Nice to see the boys at least start a show, seemingly sober. Sounding great. Firing on all cylinders. Hope this album and tour bring them some much deserved attention.
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