That was something Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos said repeatedly last weekend at Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley, Massachusetts!

Cesar Rosas

Admittedly, Bull Run is a bit off the beaten path… The venue, though, is first-class and is able to attract such musicians as Los Lobos because of that.

David Hidalgo

Los Lobos is touring to celebrate their 40th anniversary, and we were glad they made a stop at Bull Run.

As soon as the band took the stage, they owned the room. They seemed relaxed yet they were definitely on fire. All one had to do was watch the drummer, Bugs Gonzalez, to know how much they were enjoying the evening.

Enrique ‘Bugs’ Gonzalez

I’ve seen Los Lobos perform a number of time over the past thirty years, and I never get tired of them. I was pleasantly surprised that they did not play ‘La Bamba’ at this show; it may be an iconic song for them, but they have a large enough body of excellent songs that they do not need to play their biggest hit at every show.

Cesar

The band comprises David Hidalgo on guitar, accordion and vocals; Cesar Rosas on guitar and vocals; Bugs Gonzalez on drums; Steve Berlin on saxophones and flute; Conrad Lozano on bass and vocals; and Louis Perez on guitar, drums and vocals.

Conrad Lozano

Steve Berlin

Louis Perez (Bugs in the background)

The set list contained both covers and original songs. The covers included a fabulous version of ‘Not Fade Away’ leading into ‘Bertha’, as well as Jimi Hendrix’ ‘Little Wing’ and The Temptations’ ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone.’  My favorite song of the show might have been ‘Kiko and the Lavender Moon.’

Bugs

One of my friends brings Elliot the squirrel (a toy, not a live animal) to some shows; he caught the attention of the tour manager and Conrad, who had seen Elliot at some shows when Los Lobos opened for Neil Young last year, and they shared a laugh on stage.

There wasn’t much banter at the show other than Cesar wondering where they were. I hope they enjoyed their brief sojourn to Bull Run enough to give us a repeat visit. The venue gave us an intimate performance by a band that typically plays in much larger spaces. If they enjoyed playing for us as much as we enjoyed listening to them, I’d say we might be in luck next time they tour.