Most Popular
Most Popular sponsored by
Blogs
Mon Oct 6, 5:53 PM
Mon Oct 6, 5:38 PM
Mon Oct 6, 4:42 PM
Mon Oct 6, 2:47 PM
Sat Oct 4, 6:38 AM
Fri Oct 3, 2:09 PM
Mon Oct 6, 1:52 PM
Mon Oct 6, 11:28 AM
Recent Articles
Recent Articles by Rob Patterson
The Town and the City
Friday, March 24, Toyota Center, 1510 Polk, 713-758-7200
Tuesday, March 28, Verizon Wireless Theater, 520 Texas, 713-230-1666
Thursday, March 9, Meridian, 1503 Chartres, 713-629-3700.
Saturday, March 26, at the Toyota Center, 1510 Polk, 713-758-7200
Related Articles
Tom Waits may not come from around here, but a good chunk of his favorite music does
Native Houstonian creates Web site for boomer music fans
National Features >
Miami New Times
Big girls, little guys, lots of fun.
By Natalie O'Neill
SF Weekly
Gay porn star Michael Brandon goes from meth addict to anti-drug crusader--and back.
By Ashley Harrell
Dallas Observer
Andrew and Freddy Velez are the first brothers to die in America's War on Terror.
By Megan Feldman
Westword
Llewellyn Werner thinks a few half-pipes could get Baghdad's economy rolling.
By Jared Jacang Maher
Los Lobos
The Town and the City
Published on October 05, 2006
Will the wolves survive? And thrive? Their tenth studio album in a powerful 22-year run finds Los Lobos treading water, albeit with the artful grace of an aquatic ballet. Rather than charm and/or stun, as they've done in their most winning and/or ingenious past moments, they use The Town and the City to lay back into their by-now-organic grooves, eventually, after enough spins, seducing the listener into the desert-heat ambience of their mature MexiCali-roots-meets-prog-rock style. But such seemingly signature songs as "Road to Gila Bend" and "Two Dogs and a Bone" lack the zest and sparkle necessary to leave a mark, while "Free Up" needs to be a bit more wild and free to spark the irresistible sing-n-sway-along allure it strives for. Then again, the way "Little Things" approaches the stately grandeur of the Band -- complete with David Hidalgo channeling the crackling vocal emotionality of Rick Danko -- reminds you how both border-crossing groups remain peerless in the art of creating definitive American rock music.