Amor Apasionado

Los Lobo charmed Albuquerque on a drizzly Saturday night at the outdoor Summerfest with a perfect mix of hits, Tex-Mex rhythms, blues workouts, cumbias and heritage songs. The triple-guitar assault from Louie Perez and the lead singers, David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, provide truly an all-ages show to the crowd savoring the free show on Route 66 at the start of monsoon season.

There was some tube-snake boogie from Rosas, which kicked off the East L.A. band's breakthrough album of 1984. Here's a clip of "Don't Worry Baby" from Farm Aid back in the day:



A little before 10 o'clock, after the rain had passed, a cool breeze kicked in about midway through a highlight of the night, the Hidalgo heartbreaker "A Matter of Time," also from "How Will the Wolf Survive?":



Hidalgo took up the bandoneon for a stretch of songs in the middle of the set. The band knows its way around the region's traditional music. Rosas crooned what is essentially the New Mexico state anthem, "Volver, Volver":



The band did not forget its Ritchie Valens covers, including "La Bamba" (a medley with the '60s nugget "Good Lovin'"), and "Come On Let's Go":



The boys burned up the end of their set with one of their best songs, the psych-blues romp "Mas y Mas" from 1996's under-appreciated "Colossal Head," as the drizzle doubled back for an encore:



One time, one night in America ...