CONCERT REVIEW
Despite the rain, ‘the show must go on’ for Los Lobos
If folks thought the past four weeks of bad weather at Thursday at the Square was anything to complain about, they were in for a whole new experience Thursday night. What began as the aftereffects of a sudden midday storm turned into a torrential downpour that gave way to flashes of lightning. Thursday at the Square, for only the second time in 12 years, was officially canceled.
But not for long. Disappointed fans who scattered from Lafayette Square at about 7:30, thinking that they wouldn’t get to see three-time Grammy Award winners Los Lobos play, were welcomed with whisperings of a possible change of venue to the Lafayette Tap Room at 391 Washington St.
REVIEW
WHO: Los Lobos
WHEN: Thursday night
WHERE: Lafayette Tap Room
Those whisperings gave way to a clear confirmation: Los Lobos, Spanish for “The Wolves,” would howl after all. And while local bluesman Todd Eberwine and company were finishing their set, the crowd only got larger. So much so that fans weren’t allowed to enter without someone exiting the bar.
That crowd was standing-room-only by the time the band was introduced to a hearty applause and what Labatt brand manager Dave Grohusko called a “Buffalo welcome.” And while the crowd gave the band its due — reaching full head-bobbing heights after “Chico’s Cumbia” — the band was the one complimenting the crowd between songs.
Grohusko and Steve Joseph, manager of marketing for Buffalo Place, weren’t surprised, though. Grohusko said he first met the band during a meet-and-greet session earlier in the day. What was supposed to be a simple hello turned into a two-hour event, mostly because of the friendly demeanor of band members David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano, Louie Perez and Steve Berlin.
Joseph said the band was down to earth and completely without airs, a welcome change from some of the bands organizers like himself so regularly see come and go.
“It’s refreshing to see, because of all the artists we see come in,” he said, “these guys didn’t have to do this. They could have gone back to the hotel and taken the early flight home.”
The band had to fly from Los Angeles to New York City and then to Buffalo, making for a long day. But Grohusko said one of the main reasons they didn’t pack their bags and go back to East L. A. was because of the people of Buffalo, those who stood in the rain and refused to go home.
“They wanted to give back,” he said. “They wanted to give back in any way they could.”
In a way, Los Lobos had taken on the character of the
city they came to enjoy so much.
Lozano, the band’s bassist, even slipped into the crowd to watch Eberwine’s band play. He is as much known for his down-to-earth style as he is his walking bass, and that showed when he jived with Eberwine’s blues mix for an hour while Los Lobos’ equipment was being carted from the Square to the Tap Room. He said that while the band has changed venues because of rain before, it’s not too common. Still, Lozano liked how the crowd was dealing with it.
“Everybody’s real mellow, it’s like nothing bothers you,” he said. Joseph said the Tap Room was the first choice when lightning threatened to end the band’s — and the fans’ — fun prematurely.
“They asked where the coolest place was to play, so we went and asked (The Tap Room). They’re like, sure.”
In the end, the band and the fans got what they wanted — a night of good bluesy, East L. A. folk in downtown Buffalo. All thanks to the night’s theme, best summed up by Grohusko.
He said, “The show must go on.”
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