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| Lucero @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Lucero – America’s greatest whiskey bar band– celebrates their 25th anniversary this week as their tour swung from out of their hometown of Memphis, Tennessee to the West Coast and pulled up at The Fillmore on Easter Sunday night.
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| Lucero @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Lead singer Ben Nichols seemed a bit surprised at how many had ventured out on such a holy night and, as always, showed his self-effacing charm and humble connection with their audience. 'The new album’s called Should’ve Learned by Now, not We’ve Learned…' he said early on as he raised one of several toasts to the crowd with prior to their fourth song of “That Much Further West.” A Lucero show always feels like an extended college party band show – drinks flow, smack talk and self-mockery proliferate and the crowd sings along and relates to a high percentage of the songs. To go along with one of the most unique personalities in rock, Nichols has a one-of-a-kind voice that might best be described as a broken bottle, dragged down a gravel road while keeping in tune. This is a hard-working, fun band that knows how to make every show feel like you were at a special concert and has the commitment and intelligence to bring unique touches and styling to every night.
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| Brian Venable of Lucero @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Nichols strapped on an acoustic guitar for a three-song swing through the south with “Coffin Nails” (a dark song about his great grandfather that spotlighted keyboardist Rick Steff’s fantastic touch) and “Texas & Tennessee” (which Nichols introduced as 'the best song I ever wrote'). 2023’s “Macon If We Make It” – a song that Nichols said referenced an incident where 'we outran a hurricane. It was like a Scooby Doo episode. Though they never did shut down the bar.' Guitarist Brian Venable really shined on “Macon”, while bassist John C. Stubblefield provided crowd-energizing bass and drummer Roy Barry kept the steady beat he’s long been known for.
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| John Stubbelfield of Lucero @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Given the holidays, someone had placed easter eggs on the stage and upon discovering them Nichols picked one up saying, 'I don’t know what’s in it, but if it ain’t whiskey, I probably don’t want it.' With that the band returned to a heavier, electric sound with the Lucero classic of “Here at the Starlite”, before going into the bouncy and fun “On My Way Downtown.” Next up was “San Francisco” - a song the band rarely performs live but could not be omitted on this night in the Bay Area. The song is full of local references and it turns out that Nichols – though a son of the south – is quite familiar with the Bay Area, having dated a woman in Santa Rosa at one point.
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| Ben Nichols of Lucero @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
As is the Lucero tradition, multiple shots were sent up from the audience to Nichols and he seemed to appreciate every gesture, until finally needing to yield the last shot or two to drummer Roy Berry. Nichols is always mocking his ability to play guitar and sing, combined with the effects of onstage adult beverage consumption and this night was no exception. Nichols did note that all the beverages were perhaps not in keeping with traditional Easter values, 'You sacrilegious f$#s!' he cried out after one wave of shots coming his way.
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| Ben Nichols of Lucero @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
All in, the band played twenty songs before the encore including classics like “Sweet Little Thing”, “I Can Get Us Out of Here”, “I’ll Just Fall,” “Nights Like These” and “Tears Don’t Matter Much”. Though Nichols was almost apologetic about slipping in some of the new songs off 2023’s Should Have Learned by Now, they held up very nicely live. “Raining for Weeks” was particularly relevant for the Bay Area fans given the winter we’ve endured with its endless atmospheric rivers.
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| Ben Nichols of Lucero @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Nichols emerged alone for the encore and performed a stirring a cappella version of his solo song “The Last Pale Light in the West” – a song made famous on the soundtrack of television’s “Walking Dead.” Next, Rick Steff joined with an accordion and Nichols plugged in his Epiphone guitar to deliver an emotional version of the ode to his grandfather’s journey from bootcamp to bunker in World War II. Finally, the full band returned to the stage to close out the night with the oh so appropriate “Drink ‘Till We’re Gone” – completing a memorable Easter night performance with the energy and commitment of when the band started out 25 years ago.
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| The Shackletons @ the Fillmore (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Speaking of energy, the opening set by Minnesota 3-piece The Shackletons was a major eye opener for the crowd. The Campbell Brothers – Colin (vocals & guitar), Cameron (bass) and Evan (drums) brought a sound and intensity that was reminiscent of a fellow North Star State band – The Replacements. Their blend of punk, blues, and indy music makes for an enjoyable cocktail and they had the audience roaring. They released their first full length, self-titled album in 2021 and seem like a band to keep an eye out for as they make the climb. They closed their set with Rick from Lucero joining on keys for an uproarious cover of Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes.”
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