It’s been an insane weekend. Not only were my parents in town, but my favorite band was also here. Although I would have loved to spend some more time with my parents, there was no way I was missing my ride or die band so after a day of catching up and visiting, my parents left for their show choice of the night and grabbed a few friends and headed downtown. Opening act Morgan Wade got the Saturday night show at First Avenue started off right. A native of Virginia, Morgan Wade may be a fairly new name to the scene having only been performing since 2018 but you honestly wouldn’t have known that had you caught her set on Saturday. She came off like a seasoned veteran with her amazing country-tinged music and her incredible stage presence. With a lot of the audience singing along to her emotionally drenched tracks, it was hard to tell who in the audience was there for just her and what fans were just crossovers from the headliner. Regardless of why you were there, there was no denying that Morgan Wade had the quickly growing crowd in the palm of her hand- just where every opening act wants the audience. The highlight of her set was absolutely her stunning cover of “Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC but I honestly think it wasn’t because of the song choice, more because of her unique spin on the track. Again, the roar of applause that followed every track from Morgan made it clear– she may have been the opener on this show but it’s just a matter of time before she’s headlining shows of this magnitude.
Where do I begin with Lucero? If you know me, hell, if you’ve been reading this post for a while, you know that Lucero is my one. They are my ride or die. They are the band I listen to when nothing feels right and when everything feels great. I don’t know what it is about this band but I think they just hit me at the right time when I so badly needed a friend and I found a sense of comfort in their music. I’ll be the first to admit, they are not my usual vibe (and they absolutely are a vibe). There were a couple of points throughout their lengthy and amazing set on Saturday night where my friend would just turn to me and say something like “I just don’t get it” or “This is the band? Really?” And honestly, with my reputation of being a bit of a metal kid with a pop-punk heart, I hear her confusion loud and clear but the fact is, yes, that’s the band and they mean the world to me so seeing them on Saturday was absolutely everything. Another thing my friend would mention is how much I was in the zone. I didn’t want to go to the bar to grab a drink, I didn’t even want to run upstairs to use the bathroom. I was completely in my happy place as the band played through their set. Because of this, I couldn’t even attempt to tell you how many songs they played through but I can tell you that even though they were on the stage for nearly two hours, it was not enough for me and I would have happily stood there for two more hours listening to them perform the song that were there for me when nothing else was. I can tell you that although I didn’t get to hear all of the songs I wanted to, I got to hear tracks like “Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble?”, “Tears Don’t Matter Much” and “Slow Dancing” that hit me right in the gut. I always sing along to Lucero when I’m listening to them alone in my house so being able to sing along lost in a sea of other people singing along to every word with the same amount of passion and love is truly something I wish I could experience every night of my life. I feel like I’m the worst person to try and review Lucero because, in my mind, they truly can do no wrong but the fact that one of my friends who came with me last night went into the show not being completely sold on the band but left without a single complaint means at least I’m on the right track? I mean, obviously, I’m completely infatuated with everything about this band because they mean so much to me but, beyond that, they are truly just a solid band. Their slow and sad whiskey-drinking songs take on a whole new energy when performed live. Although they are still slow and fairly sad songs, there’s just an undeniable sense of energy that radiates from the stage and is mirrored by the fans in the audience. There’s an addicting charm about this band that will keep your eyes glued to the stage regardless of if you have heard their songs before or not and I think that’s one of the most magical things about this band.
I don’t know how many times I have seen Lucero live. I’ve driven as far as Colorado to see them perform and will continue to catch them as many times as I can. The feeling I got as I watched them on Saturday night is something that I just can’t quite put into words, and I will never forget or get sick of that feeling. A sense of sadness, a sense of calm, a mix of fiery passion and butterflies in my stomach… I think everyone has that one band that just gets them and, for me, that band is Lucero. So yeah, you could say that Saturday night was amazing and perfect but even those words don’t do it justice.
