I cannot mince words – I believe The Mavericks is one of the best bands touring and releasing new music today, so I was thrilled to see them at Parker Playhouse last night. As always, I was not disappointed!

Jerry Dale McFadden

Their combination of country, Latin, and rockabilly styles is unique and I (as well as many others) simply MUST dance at their live shows.

The Mavericks formed almost thirty years ago, took a hiatus for several years while Raul Malo (the lead singer with the velvet/cashmere/silken voice) pursued a successful solo career, and reunited in 2012 for a second coming that seems more powerful than the first part of their existence.

Raul Malo

I enjoy the way their recent shows flow. They start with newer material from Brand New Day which was released earlier this year, then go into older beloved tunes, then repeat! The encores they are doing are quite lengthy. Last night’s encore began with Raul playing a couple of solo acoustic songs, including a spine-tingling version of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin'” which was simply gorgeous.

Raul Malo, Eddie Perez and friend

After playing their biggest hits, “All You Ever Do is Bring Me Down” and “Dance the Night Away” to name a couple, a few friends from a band called Nuclear Valdez joined them on stage for the last song of the more than half hour encore! Raul said that The Mavericks were the second band of the genre to appear in the late 80s and Nuclear Valdez was the first. There was much joy on the stage!

The Mavericks

One of the things that The Mavericks always bring to the stage is joy. They are tight in the sense that they never make mistakes and know one another’s moves extremely well, yet they are also loose in the sense that the audience knows how much they are having performing for them.

Raul Malo, Eddie Perez, Paul Deakin

Even when the audience is not on its feet for the entire show (I for one do not understand how it is possible to sit during one of their shows – there were maybe 20-25 of us who stood on the sides and danced the night away during the entire show), they give the audience the same energy as they give a festival crowd that is up against the stage. The audience last night was quite enthusiastic and did stand when Jerry Dale encouraged it.

Ed Friedland (half of him), Jerry Dale McFadden (the only photo where you can see his socks), Michael Guerra, Max Abrams

I always pay special attention to Jerry Dale. He is colorful in every sense of the word! His clothing, his playing style, his enthusiasm…

Jerry Dale McFadden

The band currently consists of Raul Malo on guitar and lead vocals, Eddie Perez on lead guitar and vocals, Jerry Dale McFadden on keyboards, Paul Deakin on drums, Michael Guerra on accordion and hand percussion, Ed Friedland on bass, Max Abrams on saxophone, and two trumpet players whose names I do not recall. I did not get shots of the trumpet players unfortunately…

Raul Malo and Eddie Perez

Eddie Perez

Jerry Dale McFadden

Paul Deakin

Ed Friedland, Michael Guerra, Max Abrams

I have seen The Mavericks three times this year (I almost said ‘so far’ but I won’t be seeing them again before the end of the year) and I always leave their shows feeling just a little bit – or maybe a lot – happier than when I walked into the show. Last night was no exception.

Eddie Perez

Raul Malo and Eddie Perez

If you have never seen The Mavericks, you owe it to yourself to see them whenever and wherever you can! And if you have seen them, keep on seeing them! They deserve your attention.

Thanks to The Mavericks for the ticket; all opinions are my own.