Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets Are a Match Made in Heaven at Bowery Ballroom Show
[Forbes]
By David Chiu
If there is a constant in Nick Lowe’s decades-long music career in addition to his acclaimed songwriting, it’s his charming sense of humor. During his Friday evening show with Los Straitjackets at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom — as he was about to briefly step away from the stage to allow the instrumental band to do their own set — Lowe told the audience he was going to use his break to partake in his side hustle: driving for Uber.
Lowe was only joking, of course. For the majority of the night (the second of two dates in the Big Apple), the musician and Los Straitjackets — who are best known for their brand of instrumental surf rock and wearing Mexican wrestling masks — together performed an entertaining set as part of their tour promoting Lowe’s new album Indoor Safari.
For about 90 minutes, the Jesus of Cool and the band ran down some of his best-known songs that drew from Lowe’s career — encompassing the genres of pub rock, power pop, rockabilly and roots music — both as a solo artist and a member of such bands as Brinsley Schwarz and Rockpile. He kicked the night off with the classic rocker “So It Goes,” his 1976 solo debut single, which was later followed by such songs as “I Live on a Battlefield” (from his 1994 comeback album The Impossible Bird) and “I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock ‘n’ Roll).”
A considerable portion of Lowe’s show was devoted to the aforementioned Indoor Safari, his first new album in 11 years. Among its songs were “Went to a Party,” “Jet Pac Boomerang,” “Love Starvation,” “Trombone” and “Blue on Blue” — whose collective lyrical themes mostly touch on romantic yearning and heartache.
While Lowe was on his “Uber-ing” break, Los Straitjackets shined in their showcase performing surf rock-styled takes of Elmer Berstein’s “Theme from ‘The Magnificent Seven’” and Shocking Blue’s “Venus” along with their originals like “Kawanga!”
The second part of the set found Lowe returning to perform some of the old favorites including the rocking “Heart of the City”; “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love and Understanding” (later popularized by Elvis Costello, whose first several albums Lowe produced); and the signature hit “Cruel to Be Kind,” which was originally recorded by his former band Brinsely Schwarz and then later re-done for Lowe’s second album, 1979’s Labour of Lust. For the encore, Lowe again revisited some older tracks from more than 40 years ago, including “Raging Eyes” and “When I Write the Book,” the latter from Rockpile’s 1980 album Seconds of Pleasure.
As indicated by Friday’s show, Lowe and Los Straitjackets are a match made in heaven as the two acts have been collaborating on stage and in the studio for a couple of years now. Their affinity for ‘50s and ‘60s rock-pop music accounts for their chemistry, and Lowe was in top form whether it was him delivering the rockers (“12-Step Program (to Quit You Babe)”) and the heartbreaking ballads (“House for Sale”). It was a killer evening filled with top-notch songs from Lowe and ace musicianship by Los Straitjackets.
(Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets)
So It Goes
Went to a Party
Not Too Long Ago
You Inspire Me
I Live on a Battlefield
Love Starvation
Jet Pac Boomerang
Somebody Cares for Me
Tokyo Bay
(Los Straitjackets)
Theme from ‘The Magnificent Seven’
Kawanga!
Outer Limits
Isn’t Love Grand
Venus
(Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets)
Trombone
House for Sale
12‐Step Program (to Quit You Babe)
Blue on Blue
Cruel to Be Kind
Half a Boy and Half a Man
(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
Heart of the City
I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock ‘n’ Roll)
Encore:
(Los Straitjackets)
Surfin’ Bird
(Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets)
Ragin’ Eyes
When I Write the Book
Encore 2:
(Nick Lowe)
Heart