Lucero at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (10/23/09)

I think the fact that we don’t claim a genre is very important to what Lucero is, there are too many rules in punk rock. Too many rules in country music. We’re hard headed and… god damn if we don’t do things the way we want to do them.

– Ben Nichols

Fans waiting at the door for Lucero ♥ The Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (10/23/09)

I’ve said this again and again, but of all the venues in Minneapolis that I’ve been to, The Varsity Theater is still the best venue in Minneapolis. It’s Friday night and everyone was very excited and eager to see Lucero play. You have to keep in mind that these fans waiting outside the theater have seen Lucero before, if not multiple time.

At the last minute, I was informed that singer/songwriter Amy LaVere (official / myspace) had canceled her appearance. So the set time was pushed back to 9:45pm at the earliest, but it seems forever waiting nearly two hours for the first band.

The “two man wrecking crew” Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm (myspace) came on with an introduction by Lucero bassis John Stubblefield, who would later join the duo for their finale song. I wasn’t expecting Cedric & Malcolm to sound so swamp bluesy, most of their songs went well with the audience. The highlight for me was when they brought Lucero’s saxophonist McKnight on stage near the end of their set.

Lucero ♥ The Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (10/23/09)

When Lucero took the stage, the crowd quadrupled, as they pushed forward to the front. There were a lot of very excited fans in the audience. They all knew their songs, singing along at the top of their lungs. With nine albums, the latest is 1372 Overton Park, they had a large pool of songs to choose from to play live.

I was a little taken back when I did hear singer Ben Nichols speak in this very Tennessean gruff accent. As if he’s spent years drinking whiskey.

They kicked things off with a track off their new album, “Sounds of the City”, after Nichols mutters something about wanting to start with the theme song to Simon & Simon.

Their songs comes off as sounding Americana, alt-country heartland music. There are also some hints of punk, if not evident by their years of tattoos then by the heavier songs.

While I can’t claim to understand Lucero and their very obsessive fans, I’m sure this has to do with their extensive touring schedule and building up a massive fanbase all over the country. At one point in the show, a fan threw on stage one of his shoe. Everyone, including Nichols, was wondering why he did that. Nichols joked that he was going to just keep the one shoe.

As far as I’m concern, Lucero is a band that needs to be seen live. Their high energy and their fans interactions are infectious. 1372 Overton Park from major label, Universal Republic, is out now at all major music sellers, including amazon ($10).

PS, There may be additional information and pictures later.