Review | Los Lobos at Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre
50 Years Into an Amazing Run, These Wolves Can Still Howl with the Best of Them
The impressively expansive and eclectic musical offerings of Los Lobos were on grand display at last weekend’s two-night takeover of the Lobero to kick off the theater’s 150th anniversary ovation celebration into high gear. The band may be entering their golden years on this 50th anniversary tour, but these wolves can still howl, that’s for sure!
While I heard great things from my superfan friend Joni about the completely different “acoustic” night number two, I only saw the “amplified” version of Los Lobos (night one), starting with special guests Rasquache Liberation Front, who warmed up the happy crowd with a terrific set. Los Lobos sax player Steve Berlin jumped in on a few songs as well.
After just enough time to freshen our drinks, Los Lobos commanded the stage in full force, quickly working their way to their 1984 single “Will the Wolf Survive,” an iconic tune that’s survived just fine, at least for anyone alive during the ’80s, which covered the bulk of this crowd.
