Normally, if you want to go hear rock 'n' roll, Americana, blues, Norteno, country and experimental music, that would mean six different bands and a lot of coin. Or, you can just go see Los Lobos. These five men have been effortlessly genre-hopping among such sounds since they appeared in the early '80s. Maybe this eclectic bunch was the prototype for the iPod.
Steve Berlin, longtime sax and keyboard player for the band, recently talked about the group, just before they descend as a pack (you know there's going to be some wolf imagery-right?) on Saturday at The Klein Auditorium, 910 Fairfield Ave., Bridgeport.
"You mentioned our consistency when we started talking," said Berlin. "Why is it that we're still making really good, eclectic albums after all this time? We're almost like a company that practices quality control. No song gets finished, no song makes the album, no album goes out, until we all agree it's as good as we can do."
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Would that every band was so assiduous.
Since their debut, with 1983's "Just Another Band From East L.A.," Los Lobos has evolved from a promising rootsy band into a truly great one. Not satisfied to be a superb, Tex-Mex-tinged outfit, in the last 25 years, The Wolves have made a series of albums that have incorporated folk, psychedelia, hard rock, complex narrative concepts and countless other thrilling ingredients. Other bands from their community (X, The Blasters, The Cruzados, The Plimsouls) have faded away or, maybe, get together for reunion tours: Los Lobos is still a viable, exciting group.
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Who also happened to have played at The White House.
"That was the most ecstatic, ridiculous experience I think the band has ever had," said Berlin. "Back in 2009, we were invited to play for President Obama, along with some other performers, on what they called 'Fiesta Latina.' It was a memorable night, in both the good and the bad sense."
Berlin goes on, to illuminate the hope and worry that attend the current President's tenure.
"Walking into the White House was terrifying, and not for the reasons you might think," he said. "There was a whole group of protestors out there, shouting racist sentiments, about the bands playing, about Obama. It was infuriating and heartbreaking and scary. Anyway, we were escorted in and then it was magic. We expected to see guys with, like, machine guns in there, but it was lovely and quiet."
Berlin goes on to talk about the feelings that came over the band and over their biggest fan: The President of the United States.
"You know, you're seeing all these rooms, Red, Blue, Green, where countless, amazing treaties were signed. Jefferson has walked through here, so has Lincoln. So, we're getting the tour and this is right around the time where the President was supposed to be signing the first part of his Health Care bill. Really important. Suddenly, he calls out, 'Is that Los Lobos? Is that my boys? I've got to see them!' And he stops the whole thing so he can say hello to us."
So, the night was a mixture of good and bad, of hope and fear?
"Exactly."
Another fan of the band's (and vice versa) is the man they will be sharing the bill with at The Klein: legendary World Music practitioner, Taj Mahal.
"We've known him a long time. Man, Taj is one of the reasons that all of us play the kind of music we play. With Taj, even though he started out as a bluesman, he has no musical borders now. We love playing with him and we value his friendship."
Los Lobos, Berlin, David Hidalgo, Conrad Lozano, Cesar Rosas and Louie Perez, observe no borders, either. So this night promises to be a good musical fit.
"One of the reasons we're still doing this," said Berlin, "is this sort of perfectionist streak in the band. We're very hard on ourselves. We've made some good albums, but we feel that the great one is just around the bend. Maybe it is. In any case? This way of thinking is a great way to stay motivated."
INFO: Los Lobos and Taj Mahal will be at The Klein Memorial Auditorium at 8 p.m. Saturday. Doors open at 7. Tickets are $35 to $70 in advance, $35 to $72 the day of the show. Members save $5 to $10 per ticket. For information, call 203-259-1036.
