Lucero, Stolen Rhodes - May 18, 2017 - World Cafe Live at the Queen, Wilmington, DE

On Thursday, May 18, Lucero and Stolen Rhodes arrived at World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, DE. Lucero took the stage with lead singer Ben Nichols sporting his usual plain white t-shirt and jeans. The opening riff to "Can't You Hear Them Howl" echoed through the crowd and up to the high ceiling. The set was broken in half, with the first half being acoustic and the second half electric. It is a unique way to set up the set, but I liked it. By the end of the acoustic set, you could feel the anticipation of the crowd ready to rock out.

Earlier in the day, Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell died of an 'apparent suicide.' Many rock musicians paid tribute to Cornell with performances, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Megadeath, Living Colour, and Ann Wilson of Heart. This show was no exception as the opening act Stolen Rhodes blasted Temple of the Dog's "Reach Down" to start the show. The local Philly band continued with their own material and covers of Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times" and Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street." Frontman Matt Pillion broke out the saxophone on a few occasions, leading the band with swagger. They had a great stage presence and engaged the crowd. There was a hint of country but mostly straight forward rock and roll. The band is scheduled to play the 2017 MMR*B*Q Festival on Saturday, May 20 at the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, NJ, hosted by the Philadelphia radio station 93.3 WMMR.


Unlike that last time I saw Lucero, opening for Social Distortion in 2015, the band didn't have a horn section with them. Because of this, they left out my favorite album 1372 Overton Park, which predominantly utilized horns. The horn section is something you don't get to see often and when you are expecting it and don't see it, it can be disappointing. In 2015, I was blown away with not only the horn section but the energy from the band and the crowd. This time the passion from the crowd was not there. Most of the audience was talking throughout and I think the band picked up on that. Energy always goes both ways. It is a constant push back and forth between the band and the crowd. If either side lacks enthusiasm, the other side is affected by it. In this case, it showed.

About halfway through the set, Nichols gave the band a break and remained on stage to perform "Loving," a song featured in the film by the same name. The film is the story of an interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia and was directed by Nichols brother, Jeff. Nichols has helped out in some of his brother's other movies, including writing the score for Shotgun Stories and Mud, which comprises songs by Lucero and Nichols. He also wrote the track "Midnight Special (Take Me With You)" for Midnight Special. 

The Memphis alt-country rockers know how to please a crowd. They played a lengthy 28 song set with a nice pace. With the exception of 1372 Overton Park, they played a least one song from every album. This included six songs from the 2002 album, Tennessee. Although the crowd was pleased, I was disappointed with the song selections. I may be in disagreement with the crowd on Lucero's best songs. I wanted to rock out a bit more and Lucero has those types of songs. However, they just did not play them. Although the performance was a bit of a letdown, there were still bright spots. The slow build up of "Downtown (Intro)" into the grooving "On My Way Downtown," the fantastic cover of Jawbreaker's "Kiss the Bottle," the energetic chorus of "Tears Don't Matter Much," and the slowed down closer "Drink 'Till We're Gone." I would like to see Lucero again, next time with a better crowd, a horn section, and more songs I want to hear.

It was the fourth last show of the venue being a World Cafe Live as Live Nation Entertainment will take over management of the Queen Theater at the end of May. The farewell show will be on May 25 with local acts playing on both the upstairs and downstairs stages. The event is free to the public.

Setlist:

Stolen Rhodes:
1.  Reach Down (Temple of the Dog cover)
2.  Good Times Bad Times (Led Zeppelin cover)
3.  Save Me
4.  Keeps Me Alive
(Other songs were played)

Lucero:
1.  Can't You Hear Them Howl

2.  Texas & Tennessee

3.  Chain Link Fence
4.  Nights Like These
5.  Downtown (Intro)
6.  On My Way Downtown
7.  Women & Work
8.  Tears Don't Matter Much
9.  Went Looking for Warren Zevon's Los Angeles
10. Last Night in Town
11. Throwback #2
12.  Loving (Ben Nichols song)
13. My Best Girl
14. Kiss the Bottle (Jawbreaker cover)
15. Outsiders
16. Bikeriders
17. The Man I Was
18. Union Pacific Line
19. Sweet Little Thing
20. Ain't So Lonely
21. The War
22. Slow Dancing
23. Here at the Starlite
24. I'll Just Fall
25. Nineteen Seventy Nine

Encore:
26. It Gets the Worst at Night
27. Last Pale Light in the West (Ben Nichols song)
28. Drink 'Till We're Gone