They flipped the lineup from Monday: Los Lonely Boys opened, Los Lobos closed. Still, the Lonelies dominated. Their set was longer, stronger and tighter — and much more focused.

Ironically, the highlights of the Lonelies’ nearly 90-minute set were when Lobos’ David Hildago sat in on drums for “Rip It Up” and Lobos’ Cesar Rosas sang “Sweet Home Chicago” (”baby, don’t you wanna go to sweet home, East L.A.” he ad libbed on the final chorus). That meant drummer Ringo Garza switched to guitar, which was a first onstage, according to bassist JoJo Garza. Fun, fun, fun.

There is no such thing as a bad Los Lobos show but I felt shortchanged after this one. Los Lonelies played too long for an opening act, then intermission and Los Lobos took the stage shortly before 9:30 in a venue that has a 10:30 curfew. It usually takes Los Lobos a few songs to hit their stride (heck, Hildago couldn’t remember hardly any of the lyrics to Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” but his guitar spoke volumes).

But, by the time they got revved up, it was about time to quit. Things got so tight that the encore of Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” lasted a mere 3 minutes and 19 seconds. “Cinnamon Girl” pared down to a Top 40 single? Something is wrong with this picture.

Anyway, as expected, it was a different set list from Monday’s. Highlights included the blues-funk “My Baby’s Gone,” “I Want To Be Like You” (originally from “The Jungle Book” and recorded by Los Lobos for a Disney project), the swingin’ jump blues “That Train Don’t Stop Here” (with an earthy, electrifying solo by Rosas) and “Not Fade Away/Bertha” with Henry Garza of the Lonelies taking over on lead guitar.

It was a good time but there just wasn’t enough time (about 75 minutes) for Los Lobos.

What did you think of Tuesday’s show? How did it compare to Monday’s? Please post your comments here:Â

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