Lucero

Lucero and Flogging Molly at The Fillmore, Detroit last night. First, this theater, The Fillmore, after a recent renovation is spectacular. To be honest, I came to see Lucero, a band described as, "an American Alt Country Punk Rock band", which may help someone with a category, but hardly describes their brilliance. If you think Little Feat, Wilco, Drive by Truckers, Jason Isbell--you're in the right neighborhood. From Memphis and led by Ben Nichols, who looks like a guy who has been ridden hard and come up wet with a whiskey glass in his hard, a tortured soul who writes lyrics that fully explain failed love, life's desperate indifference to circumstance and the redemption of music. Oh yeah and rips on guitar. When I read about the bands that the band members had previously played with, I was impressed. Very tight growling alt country prowess, and Ben's voice is one of those, (Joe Cocker, Rod stewart), with a perpetual guttural growl that conveys heartbreak and wonder and joy. They have been around since '98, a hard touring road band and their latest album, "Among the Ghosts" is brilliant. So, I was happy, a little annoyed with the constant noise and chatter through Lucero's set, but, OK. I guess I'll stick around and see this "Flogging Molly" crew. I had noticed that 1) it was sold out, and 2) there were a lot of guys and gals in what only be succinctly described as Irish punk garb; kilts, safety pins, shaved heads, pony tails, lots of black t shirts and a fair share of irish-cap-soccer-hooligan-two-fisted-beer-drinkers, hanging out in the lobby. The Fillmore is designed to have standing only on the main floor, now with well placed railings, hard wood floors, and a large beautiful bar at the back for those who have main floor tickets. It was packed. Above are balcony boxes and two mezzanine levels, where I was. I'd seen the Pogues, The Dropkick Murphys---so no big deal, right? Wrong. First the level of amped up palpable anticipation rifling through this crowd was, intense. Then as the pre-show music shifted to The Clash, something was afoot when it became louder and louder and segued into The Who's "Teenage Wasteland", you remember, right? "Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven..."
Louder and louder, one of the greatest defiant anthems of rock and roll that ends with a violin driven Celtic jig. When that ends, Flogging Molly has assembled on stage, plugged in and ready, and LAUNCHES into their first punk irish tune, and the crowd is at full tilt frothing at the mouth mode. A bit about Flogging Molly first. Around since '97 and lead by the hyperkinetic Dublin born Dave King, a collection of players that are incredibly tight with an accordion and violin part of every song, they can play an irish lullaby or a bone crushing puk assault, all with Celtic charm and overtones, with a frenetic pace that is---exhilarating. Dave King's influences include The Clash and Johnny Cash, The Pogues and Green Day, and elements of all are on display at the heart of what is uniquely Molly's own. And about that name, in their early days they were the house band at an Irish joint called Molly Malone's in L.A., hence the name. Any performer who calls out to the crowd to "raise your hands in the air", would envy these guys. When Dave raised his arms with rhythmic sway over his head: every single f-ing hand was in the air, immediately in perfect sync. The balcony mezzanine was bouncing so much I wondered about structural integrity, or maybe an earthquake. And the songs are rock solid punked up jovial, wisecracking, lyrical echos of the Irish soul, (Yeats, Wilde, Joyce), and delivered with frollicking good natured fun and jigs all around. In the center of the standing room only floor is was a mosh pit of bouncing, pogoing, ruffians--not hurting anybody--but gleefully pounding into each other, like it was the only way they could listen. There last album is excellent, (just listened), "Life is Good", released last year. Look, I could have made this shorter, but then again I couldn't. Lucero is touring with them here and over to Europe. I know I always say this, but, seriously don't miss this show if they descend on your town.

Making small talk about the weather is something people do in uncomfortable situations where no other common ground can be found, but when you’re standing outside in subzero temperatures it’s the elephant that refuses to be ignored. As Gary Lee (of Gary Lee’s Motor Club and Grub) was educating Ben Nichols on the finer points of Denver/Carolina BBQ, the conversation kept coming back to the weather. “It’s brutal,” I agreed with Ben when he mentioned it again, “you know it’s brutal when even people from Colorado say it’s brutal.” We repeated the same thing a few times and then the conversation came to an end because the warmth of the crowd and the sounds of Drag The River were calling from inside. But that wasn’t the end of it. The weather would play a major role in Lucero’s set on the first of a three-night stretch at the Gothic Theatre. Ben used the stage as a pulpit to preach the word of winter. Before even a note of music was played we were thanked for coming out in the Arctic cold, but not before he threw a slight jab at those who assured him it would be in the 50’s in Denver in December. Everything he said was justified. He’s not just some spoiled Southern boy who can’t handle a little cold, it was brutal. Fucking brutal. But when life gives Lucero ice and snow, Lucero drinks whiskey and plays slow sad songs. And there is nothing better than whiskey, and slow sad songs, on a brutal night in Denver.

The set started out as your typical Lucero show circa-2014, minus the horn section. The boys kicked things off with the “Downtown Intro”, which led into “On My Way Downtown” and then over to meet the sweet girl by the “Chain Link Fence”. “Nights Like These” found the capacity(?) crowd giving Ben’s voice a run for its money, but he shut them up real quick by pulling “In Lonesome Times” out of the attic. It was after that oldie that Ben made his intentions clear. The weather had become his muse and he was going to follow that frigid bitch into the bottle…

“Ya’ll might as well go home now, it’s just gonna get slower and sadder. It’s a Monday night and it’s jackass shit weather outside, so I can get as slow or sad as I want.“

Those words were music to my ears. Having seen Lucero over a dozen times over the years, I was ready for a piano and whiskey-driven set. What followed was better than anything I could have hoped for. “Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble”, “Colorado Girl”, four tracks from Lucero, “The Last Pale Light in the West”, “Mom” and “The War” — all slow burners with an audience so attentive you could hear the ice clinking around in Ben’s glass.

It wasn’t all tears in your beer though. “Hate and Jealousy” turned the room inside out and “Tears Don’t Matter Much” flipped that shit sideways. Every Lucero show I have seen in Denver has felt like a family affair, but something about last night felt even more personal. It was literally one of the best Lucero shows I have ever seen….and that’s saying something!

There are still tickets available for the next two nights, as Ben made very clear, and the songs will differ from night to night. “I might get drunker, I might be more sober. It might be better, it might be worse.” Not exactly amazing salesmen, Ben and the band did make one thing perfectly clear last night…they can do no wrong. They can bring the house down with a rock show, or they can bring the house down with introspective, slow sad songs. It was said best when Jon Snodgrass was on stage with the band during “Tears Don’t Matter Much” — “We’ve been doing this for so long we can pretty much do whatever the fuck we want. We are never going to be rich or famous. We just love playing with our friends.“

The two hour set was capped with a heartfelt “Fistful of Tears”. And then Ben stepped off the stage, into the audience and straight to the bar for another bourbon with his friends.

Friday 12th February. The Garage. Lucero.

This is where it all started. Two years ago I saw this band on a balmy Sunday night. After going to gigs for more than thirty years these guys rocked like the proverbial and reignited my love of live music. I then decided to record my gig going for my own personal pleasure but to also share with my gig going mates documenting our life in music. There been 76 gigs and reviews since that time and in the main most have been at least good and some have been great.

It’s the obligatory early show tonight as its Friday in London so most venues have club nights. I’m running at about 60% struck down with a cold that won’t go away but this is not a gig to be missed.

Lucero hail from Memphis and started life as hard rocking country gents but their latter albums now have a more rounded sound with keys and horns. It’s a mellow start opening with the impressive ‘Went Looking for Warren Zevon’s Los Angeles’ from the fine new album. This mood continues for a couple more tracks and you can sense that both the band and the young crowd are just waiting for the burning fuse to get to the fireworks that is the hallmark of their live shows.

Well we needn’t have worried and we are soon cracking through a really impressive back catalogue of rockin good tunes. The balance of the set tonight is the perfect blend of light and shade and there’s a bunch of slower numbers for us all to get our breath back.

It’s a night of rarely if ever played in the UK tracks interspersed with old favourites like ‘Tears Don’t Matter much’, ‘Nights like these’ and new crowd favourite ’On my way Downtown’ .

There’s a nice segment at the end with just Ben Nichols accompanied by Rick Steff on keys and accordion before the band join for the ‘Drink ‘til we’re gone’.

A heart-warming set on a cold night in the capital. It also proves that us old un’s can still rock with the best. These guys are still a lap ahead of the new wave of Southern rock like The Cadillac Three.

Keep on rockin y’all

I saw Lucero at Newport Folk Festival playing some of their country-punk rock sound. I had previously heard the band’s songs ‘Loggia Split’ and ‘Smoke’ so was excited to catch the band live. With an alternative country vibe blending with punk rock and soul Lucero have a distinctive sound to their songs which has been honed by the striking amount of time they spend touring and performing. On stage the band compromise Ben Nichols (vocals and guitar), Roy Berry (drums), John C. Stubblefield (bass), Brian Venable (guitar) and Rick Steff (piano, organ and accordion) plus a brass section for some of their more recent songs. Lucero’s set included ‘Sounds of The City’, ‘Sweet Little Thing’, ‘Women and Work’, ‘Tears Don’t Matter Much’ and ‘Texas and Tennessee’ which was performed with soul and vigour. The crowd loved getting into the songs and shouting back lyrics to frontman Ben Nichols. It was a really dynamic set full of rocky riffs and drum beats. I particularly love the confessional urgency of songs like ‘Tears Don’t Matter Much’ and ‘Ain’t So Lonely’ so I enjoyed those live. I also loved the more laid back country tune ‘Texas and Tennessee’ with Ben’s rasping vocals and the rocky side to ‘Woman and Work’.

Ben Nichols and Lucero put on a fantastic unscripted set during their second night of a three night NYE run. Feeling "hungover" they broke out all the old slow songs with Nichols starting and the band following without missing a beat. Halfway through Nichols commented "Where Should we play a NYE show? How about the coldest F*ing place on earth" regarding the frigid Tuesday evening. John C. Stubblefield grabbed the mic uncharacteristically and yelled "Colorado Lucero loves you and there is nothing you can do about it" It was an rare glimpse into the deep catalog of a fantastic band and treat to be a part of.

Well it was on a boat for starters. Not good. Small space, gently swaying (barf) low ceilings too. When you head out onto the desk to get some fresh air (barf) the doors are soundproof so you can't hear the band and get air at the same time.
Lucero was wonderful and wicked and rough and beautiful.
The boat? Not so good for music.

Notables ? The skinny drunk guy they pinned to the ground because he was acting belligerent. One bouncer held his wrists very tightly to the ground and the other bouncer had his leg very tightly between the guy's legs. Very effective

100% FUCKING AMAZING!!! Sooooo WOW No Words can come close to summarizing this amazing show. The first part was acoustic second electric. They sound AS AMAZING if NOT BETTER then on the records BEN'S voice makes me MELT. The acoustic part was very intimate and the electric half SO fun! Played a great mix of old and New. My 2nd lucero show n by far NOT MY LAST....just wish i couldA gone to the after party.... Lucero is one of the greatest bands I've EVER seen..n ive seem my car share n more. Sounded so perfect so like EVERY RECORDING.

I have seen Lucero as an opening act a few times before and always enjoyed their sets but have always wanted to see them headline so I could really get a sense of what they can do. When the show at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, NJ was announced I bought tickets for myself and a buddy who I turned them on to. We both enjoyed the performance and especially the energy they brought to the stage. Looking forward to the next time I can get to see them, might even have to make a trip to Memphis for their annual Family Picnic.

Amazing is an understatement!! Once again, Ben and the boys have put on an incredible performance. They played for two hours straight, and it was two hours of soulful, passionate music. I was turned into this band by my boyfriend two years ago and I drove two hours to see them. They never disappoint that’s for sure, but something about this performance made it seem like the best one yet!! Thanks Lucero for making the night rock into the morning, and for your phenomenal talent! I’ll be at the next show!!

Lucero is always a worthwhile show to experience. Their southern charm is a smoky alcoholic breath of fresh air that we in SF so desperately need. Their sound is only getting better with age, their musical talent is as timeless as they are. They're hilarious, warm, and downright scoundrels and they are an amazing band to see live. I'd see all 3 nights if I could!