Dave Matthews Band Outshined by an Act With Teeth: Los Lobos

IRVINE —  The Los Lobos-Dave Matthews Band show at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Saturday featured two bands going in very different directions.

Opening act Los Lobos is a veteran group in its third decade of making passionate and sometimes heady music that adeptly traverses folk, blues, rock, Tex-Mex and norteno styles. Today, the East L.A. band’s critical notices glow brighter than ever, even though its album sales continue to slide since its chart-topping days of “La Bamba” 10 years ago.

Conversely, the concert’s headliner is a ‘90s-rooted entity whose fevered following seems to be expanding with each sold-out concert, despite lukewarm critical notices. The upstart, Virginia-based outfit has drawn more than a few comparisons to the Grateful Dead because of its lengthy in-concert instrumental jams and intensely loyal fandom.

Of course, mass popularity doesn’t necessarily translate into great music, and vice versa. This point was illustrated once again as Los Lobos easily outshined the Matthews band. Despite playing an all-too-brief 40-minute set to a host of empty seats, the grizzled Chicano outfit had no trouble displaying its often awesome musical versatility and strength.

Any notions that age has cut into this band’s ability to rock with authority was dispelled by the second number, in which singer-guitarist Cesar Rosas led a torrid version of “Don’t Worry Baby.”

Soon after, singer-guitarist-accordionist David Hidalgo spearheaded an equally robust new song called “Mas y Mas.” Hidalgo delivered some sizzling lead-guitar breaks during this bluesy stomper, a highlight of the group’s latest album, “Colossal Head.”

Shifting into a Spanish-language mode is as natural as getting out of bed for Rosas and Hidalgo, who subsequently split vocal duties on two spirited norteno numbers. One was “Anselma,” the Grammy-winning track from the group’s “. . . And a Time to Dance” EP from 1983. Hidalgo jokingly dedicated these two tunes to “all the surfers out there.”

Los Lobos has always been known for its unpretentious informality on stage. These days the group seems even more relaxed and willing to experiment with extended or revised song arrangements.

The quintet used one and sometimes two additional drummers during its brief set. This additional rhythmic support helped bolster flat-out rockers as well as subtler tunes such as “Dream in Blue.” During several numbers, primary drummer Louie Perez stretched his wings by switching to acoustic guitar.

Los Lobos surely caught many in the crowd by surprise with a much slower--though still energized--rendition of “La Bamba” than its recorded version.

The Dave Matthews Band (which was reviewed at length in these pages in February) has a number of things going for it. Matthews has a quirky and engaging voice as well as the ability to write a ballad as memorable as “Crash Into Me.” Plus, bassist Stefan Lessard and, particularly, jazz-based drummer Carter Beauford are masterful support musicians.

But the five-piece group tends to get so caught up in extended instrumental workouts that Matthews’ songs and reedy singing can seem like afterthoughts. When the melodic focus shifts too intently to saxophonist Leroi Moore and violinist Boyd Tinsley, these drawn-out songs lose momentum.

It will be interesting to see whether, in a decade or so, the Dave Matthews Band, and such other neo-hippie jam entries as Phish, have been able to build the type of dedicated and wide following that helped make the Grateful Dead a cultural phenomenon.