...the only band that matters.

Yes, it is winter here in Mil-town. Cold as, snowy as, and I, like everyone else, am pining for sunny climes. But there is relief, even if it is merely in the form of another musical offering. Who is that you ask? The supremely talented, but highly under-rated group, Los Lobos. I've been meaning to blog on them for a while, not merely about their musical prowess, but about how they really are a talented group that might justify musical 'escapism'. I'm sad to report that not one of my peers is interested in this magical group. Maybe it's the Chicano roots (we're all prejudiced in one way or another) or maybe it is the link to La Bamba way back in 1987, or maybe they're all too swayed by this hipster/pitchfork/indie nonsense and can't see the light beaming from a group of 50 year old guys who have been at this game for 30+ years and seem to hardly loose any steam, in fact, they continue to grow. On top of that Los Lobos (the Wolves) are perhaps one of the finest live bands around. I hate to evoke the term "jam band" but they are the quintessential jam band, though lacking any of the annoying suburban trustafarian hippy elements. Point is they can groove with the best of them and do it with a maddeningly refreshing mix of R&B, rockabilly, blues, funk, reggae, norteno, cumbia, soul, rock, and anything else they feel like throwing in the mix. Their meshing of so many styles and evocation of the American Southwest, makes me want to proclaim that if they are not the best, they are at least the MOST American band ever; and I'm not using "American" as an insult as I normally would. I mean they celebrate the American experience for the beauty that it is (despite our flaws).

A reviewer somewhere called Los Lobos a 'living repository' for all forms of American music. I think that may be a true statement. If you want to know where the hell all of your music came from, you must listen. The best part about Los Lobos is that, despite this slew of musical styles, it is all filtered through backyard parties and bar-band roots making their music some of the most accessible stuff around. They have the power to keep you up at night thinking about your lover, crying, dancing with abandon, or simply nodding along to hypnotic grooves. Some folks out there say that David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas are better than Lennon and McCartney

But on to the substance of this blog. How it relates to me, and the mini sun that I am to myself? Living through what are increasingly long and dark and depressing winters I wonder how the hell I am going to stay afloat. This band is one way. Repeatedly they come back to my attention in the depths of the winter and have the ability, both musically and poetically, to take me from my dreary surroundings. Yes, I would probably negatively call this 'escapism' but it isn't just that. This is a band that is so positively engaging that it is easy enough to not dwell on your problems and to just listen. They evoke place and time in a way that few novels can even do, and their at-times heartbreaking lyrics can sooth you and move you in almost any situation you might be in. Again I hate escapism, to the point where my friend Anto and I dismissed world music because it became more about evoking some exotic island vibe than having anything to do with appreciating the music. But not with Los Lobos, they do help you escape, but not to a fantasy world, more towards reality.

Case(s) in point. Many years back in mid-February I was in a very down state for reasons I'll not go into. A friend had an extra Lobos ticket and I went just for fun having always heard they were that good. They did not disappoint! That 2 hour show blending every genre I mentioned, jamming at length, and getting all of us to dance the whole show and even back to car was something else-perhaps the best live show I've seen. It was then that I realized WHY I love music again, that joy it gives is like nothing else.

I went on during that dark time to find a copy of Kiko, unbenownced to me, their finest album to date, a heady, groovtastic and experimental record to which songs like "When the Circus Comes to Town" and "Two Trains" takes me back in time. In a sense that record, by both taking me away from my surroundings and making me embrace them (good and bad) got me through a dark time.

Later I found a copy of the prior lp, The Neighborhood, again it was January, in Wisconsin this time, but the grooves and lyrics of hope sustained a flame inside of me that few bands or forms of art ever do. This, I think, is why I need to preach about Los Lobos. They are so good, and even in their sad songs, they evoke the fragile depths of humanity and still keep you clinging to hope. Now, they aren't all the melodrama I'm talking about, like I said before, this is a party band, and you must see them live to understand what I'm saying.

All this came about because the new lp The Town and The City came out about 18 month ago but I didn't bother to find it till this winter, and again...yeah you know it, repeat: I'm down, this lp lifts me up. Yes! I won't review it for you, but I'll recommend it and anything they've done, it is all brilliant.