By Sam Gnerre
Taking in Sunday night's show, "American Perspectives with David
Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos," at the Armstrong Theatre of
the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, I couldn't help but be struck by
the power that music can have.
First, there's the immediate power that Hidalgo and Perez's songs
have to move the listener, both on an emotional level and on a
wailing-on-the-Stratocaster level. Both Hidalgo and Perez are
sensational musicians, a fact readily apparent even in this lowest of
low-key formats, an evening structured around bringing their songs to
listeners in as intimate a way as possible.
Hidalgo played acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, accordion,
violin, you name it, and played them all brilliantly, all the while
extracting from his large body one of the most beautiful voices in
rock music.
Perez was even less flashy, but equally skilled, doubling on guitars
both electric and acoustic, and playing bongos, drums and (also)
mandolin.
Taking in Sunday night's show, "American Perspectives with David
Hidalgo and Louie Perez of Los Lobos," at the Armstrong Theatre of
the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, I couldn't help but be struck by
the power that music can have.
First, there's the immediate power that Hidalgo and Perez's songs
have to move the listener, both on an emotional level and on a
wailing-on-the-Stratocaster level. Both Hidalgo and Perez are
sensational musicians, a fact readily apparent even in this lowest of
low-key formats, an evening structured around bringing their songs to
listeners in as intimate a way as possible.
Hidalgo played acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, accordion,
violin, you name it, and played them all brilliantly, all the while
extracting from his large body one of the most beautiful voices in
rock music.
Perez was even less flashy, but equally skilled, doubling on guitars
both electric and acoustic, and playing bongos, drums and (also)
mandolin.
After he sang "Saint Behind the Glass" from the band's 1992 classic
"Kiko" album, my daughter, who was only vaguely aware of the band
before being dragged to Sunday's show, immediately whispered
excitedly to me, "What a great song that is!"
As explained by Perez, it's about what a statue behind glass on the
mantel saw going on in the house where Perez grew up over the years.
Its skeletal, fragmented observations come together to make a rich
portrait of everyday family life, a feat far more difficult to pull
off than it sounds.
The evening was brimming with such brilliant moments: A brace of
rediscovered, previously unrecorded songs from early in the
Hidalgo/Perez songwriting partnership all were intriguing despite
their unfamiliarity, and at least one of them, "The Long Goodbye,"
sounded timeless in its elegance.
There's a second kind of power this music has which is maybe even
more enduring. During the Q&A session moderated by Culture Clash
member and comic actor Richard Montoya after the music ended, a woman
from the audience haltingly told a story about how much her mother
loved Los Lobos' music. So much, in fact, that she insisted it be
playing in her room the day she died. The woman presented the band
with a picture of her mother, tearfully saying, "When you play your
songs, remember her."
Hidalgo and Perez, both of whom grew up in East L.A., also shared
their memories of the South Bay during the Q&A. Hidalgo fondly
recalled going on outings with his family to the Redondo Beach pier,
and later checking out blues at local clubs like Redondo's Starboard
Attitude.
Perez recalled family trips to the long-gone Hermosa
Biltmore Hotel in the early 1960s, and he asked for, and got, some
updates from audience members as to the hotel's eventual fate.
All in all, it was a rare chance to see two gifted songwriters and
performers giving an inside look into the process of creating music,
and it was consistently fascinating.
Read Sam Gnerre's interview with Louis Perez
"Kiko" album, my daughter, who was only vaguely aware of the band
before being dragged to Sunday's show, immediately whispered
excitedly to me, "What a great song that is!"
As explained by Perez, it's about what a statue behind glass on the
mantel saw going on in the house where Perez grew up over the years.
Its skeletal, fragmented observations come together to make a rich
portrait of everyday family life, a feat far more difficult to pull
off than it sounds.
The evening was brimming with such brilliant moments: A brace of
rediscovered, previously unrecorded songs from early in the
Hidalgo/Perez songwriting partnership all were intriguing despite
their unfamiliarity, and at least one of them, "The Long Goodbye,"
sounded timeless in its elegance.
There's a second kind of power this music has which is maybe even
more enduring. During the Q&A session moderated by Culture Clash
member and comic actor Richard Montoya after the music ended, a woman
from the audience haltingly told a story about how much her mother
loved Los Lobos' music. So much, in fact, that she insisted it be
playing in her room the day she died. The woman presented the band
with a picture of her mother, tearfully saying, "When you play your
songs, remember her."
Hidalgo and Perez, both of whom grew up in East L.A., also shared
their memories of the South Bay during the Q&A. Hidalgo fondly
recalled going on outings with his family to the Redondo Beach pier,
and later checking out blues at local clubs like Redondo's Starboard
Attitude.
Perez recalled family trips to the long-gone Hermosa
Biltmore Hotel in the early 1960s, and he asked for, and got, some
updates from audience members as to the hotel's eventual fate.
All in all, it was a rare chance to see two gifted songwriters and
performers giving an inside look into the process of creating music,
and it was consistently fascinating.
Read Sam Gnerre's interview with Louis Perez
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