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| Los Pacaminos. Photo not taken at gig |
For those unaware of this band, it’s a collaboration of very talented musicians who frequently take a break from their day jobs to indulge in a passion for general American music and, in particular, that originating in the south western states with all the flavour of sounds from across the border. Eighties pop star Paul Young is often portrayed as the face of the band, mainly for promotion purposes, but it’s a fairly egalitarian combination of musicians who list Sir Tom Jones, Queen, Squeeze and Jools Holland as the major acts they are associated with. Fine rock guitarist Jamie Moses generally shares top billing with Young in fronting the band, with acoustic guitarist Drew Barfield providing much of the serious creative input alongside vocals that often outperform his more popular colleagues. The sound of the west is enhanced by Matt Irving’s accordion and keyboard while pedal steel guitar player Melvin Duffy is one of the UK’s most sought after talents. Together with bassist, Steve Greetham and drummer, Mark Pinder, you have a complete band who expertly gives an entertaining and accomplished performance of Tex-Mex music.
Over the course of nearly two and a half hours, the band
played a couple of sets that saw them mix a few of their original tracks with a
barrage of tunes from not just the Tex-Mex genre, but sounds that represent blues, soul, rock n’
roll, western swing and general Americana. The opening performance contained ‘Poor Boys’, with Irving on lead, and ‘Shadows on the Rise’ with Barfield
delivering the vocals, representing the LOS PACAMINOS album. Jamie Moses
excelled with a version of ‘Little Sister’,
made famous by Elvis and a highly entertaining cover of the Texas Tornadoes
number ‘Better than Nada’. Paul Young,
with his vocals unfortunately a shadow of their eighties peak, opened the show
with the popular ‘Highway Patrol’ and
fronted the Los Pacaminos take on the Merle Travis classic ‘Smoke That Cigarette’.
After the break, more classic songs came fast and furious.
The sound headed north to Chicago with a rendition of Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson’s
blues number ‘Gangster of Love’ while
1960’s rock ‘n roll smash ‘Come A Little
Bit Closer’ encouraged the audience to upgrade from just tapping their
toes. Country rock artist Sarah Warren, from the support band, joined the guys
on stage to lead the vocals on, what is perhaps the Los Pacaminos signature
tune, ‘Raised on Margaritas’. This
left just enough time for the usual finale that ensures the fans, both old and
new, depart the venue buzzing. The regular closing songs are both true to the
heart of the band’s passion for Tex- Mex music, with a cover of Sam the Sham
and the Pharaohs classic ‘Woolly Bully’
preceding the popular encore dance track ‘La
Bamba’, popularised by Richie Valens in the fifties.
Most Los Pacaminos shows, apart from an alternative choice
of covers, are a general standard formula with the humour, crowd banter and
regular tequila breaks often playing down the sheer quality of the music. That
is probably the secret of their longevity as they try not to take themselves too
seriously without compromising their artistry. So, long may these seven guys
get together to indulge in their passion and we’ll probably forgive them for
that never ending wait for a second album.
www.lospacaminos.comStudio version of Woolly Bully