Los Lobos and The Mavericks at Atlanta Botanical Gardens Aug. 28
Oh.The Mavericks!
Don’t get me wrong..Los Lobos opened the show at Atlanta Botanical Gardens with a very strong set that mixed Southern rock with their iconic Mexican-flavored rock. They did an excellent version of “No Way Out,” for instance, that had the crowd singing along enthusiastically. You can’t go wrong with ah Allman Brothers song in Georgia. But they were best when David Hidalgo brought out the accodion and they offered songs like {Chuco’a Combia”and a lovely dance number that I did not recognize but which got a good portion of the audience up and dancing, and when they ventured into classic rock -n roll like “Let’s Go” and their encore of “Good Lovin’,” which they absolutely killed, and, naturally, “La Bamba.” They were really excellent.
But from the moment The Mavericks hit the stage the crowd was on its feet and I watched that mostly well-dressed and more mature audience transform into screaming,dancing free spirits, that is, while also screaming and dancing myself. The band mostly played songs from the new CD, Mono, which is a treasure. Those songs were perfect for that night and that venue. Numbers like “Summertime (When I’m With You),” “All Night Long,” and “The Only Question Is” were fully embraced by the crowd, but one really magical moment occurred when Raul Malo announced that it was such a beautiful night and beautiful moon that they were going to do a song that was not on the set list, one they saved only for nights like that one, and they did a gogeous, heartrending version o “Harvest Moon.”
Aside from that mellow and unforgettable event, the evening was all party all the time, with Malo and the band sounding fantastic and keyboard genius Jerry Dale McFadden adding visual excitement as he danced at the keyboards,then broke away to dance acrosst the stage and back in his brillian white suit. It was un to watch and pure joy to hear!
Everyone, from the twenty-somethings next to me to the teenagers we heard excitedly discuiins the show afterward to the midlde-aged and older crowd, had a fabulous time. Los Lobos and The Mavericks proved that good music can transcend all barriers and turn us all into one big happy family,at least for a couple of hours, and that’s a start. With their tour theme of “Mono Mundo,” (One World) The Mavericks may just ne on to someting.
