The whiskey train made it’s stop in Denver and we sent C=T correspondent, Molly Müeller, to take in the booze induced glory known as Lucero.
(Lucero Concert Poster taken from Fuel Friends by Denver artist, Alan Peters.)
Photos and word by Molly Müeller
Tuesday’s nights show at the Ogden with Memphis-based Lucero didn’t look too promising; the news reports were predicting doomsday amounts of snow, the balcony at the Ogden Theatre was closed due short sales and to make matters worse, the backdrop for the band was already displayed during the opening band’s set…never a good sign.
As I watched the opener’s singer attempt to channel Lou Reed and then Bob Dylan, I tried to get a feel for the crowd gathered to see the “alt-country” Lucero comprised of Ben Nichols on vocals and guitar, John C. Stubblefield on bass, Brian Venable on guitar and Roy Berry on drums. While a lot of the people there were fairly normal looking twenty-year olds, there were also a few Dockers-sporting cubicle prisoners out on temporary parole, a lot of bikers there (snatching up the Lucero t-shirts at the merch stand…what’s up with that????) and -WOAH- a proud member of the Sons of Silence flying his colors accompanied by a prospect and his hot girlfriend. So I’m thinking, this Lucero has GOT to have some sort of street cred.
The band came on the stage to all red lighting and Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls” and the singer growled in a whiskey-rough southern drawl, “That was a good one, bro!” and then addressed the cheering crowd: “Well, well, well, thank you very much!” I’ll admit that I thought of Elvis and exclaimed “I like this guy already!” The first song was a typical alt-c offering but the second song, “That Much Further West” made me feel like I was watching Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band doing “Baby We Were Born to Run.” There was that gruff voice, a sax, keyboard, trumpet and slide guitar! The only difference was that the singer was playing an Epiphone hollow-body instead of a Fender Telecaster. This was definitely a working man’s song. “The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo” was a honky-tonk good time and “Goodbye to Home” had couples holding each other tightly and professing their love to each other. “Sixes and Sevens” brought a party to the venue and included a bar-style piano riff. The obvious crowd favorite was “Sixteen,” a true American rock-and roll song that soothes recession-weary souls. The band’s earnest performance of this song sucked me in like a $549 Dyson.
The thing that made this show so fun to be at was the incredible stage presence of singer Ben Nichols. Skinny, good looking and wearing a white t-shirt with a pack of cigarettes rolled up in his sleeve (I dated a boy from Memphis once, also skinny, good looking and kept his smokes rolled up in his sleeve) you can’t help but tap into the incredible energy he brings to the performance. How can you not love a musician who actually tunes his own guitar on stage while he’s playing? Most major-label guitar players have “people” who do this for them. In addition, he had the old school curly white guitar cord (think land-line telephones prior to cordless) and a 12” Fender tweed combo. He had a fun, humble demeanor (at one point when the crowd was whooping and hooting as loud as they could he said, “You guys are scaring me!”) I loved the red hanky he kept pulling out of his back pocket to wipe his face. For “The War” it was just Ben with his guitar and a pedal steel player…this proved that he can deliver the goods stripped down to a two piece act.
The fans clearly adore this band and given the foreboding signs before the band went on stage, I am surprised new fan of Lucero. I have to tell you, this is a band you need to see live. The recorded tracks don’t do them justice. Rock over London; rock on, Memphis!
