Los Lobos plays Disney classics, illuminates BCT

“I’m expecting it to be the greatest night of my life,” resident Clay Peterson said in a nearly empty theater with his son and more than 30 minutes to spare.

The Buskirk-Chumley Theater was filled with great expectations for its presentation of rock band Los Lobos on Friday.

The three-time Grammy-winning band originally from East Los Angeles is entering its 35th year of making music and performing to crowds nationwide.

But for now, it is only Peterson and his son, Matt Peterson, among a few others speckled throughout the theater.

“They’re probably pretty good,” Matt Peterson said.

“He’s heard them in the car and probably never noticed,” Clay Peterson said.

Though Clay Peterson may be more familiar with the music, it was his first time
seeing the band live, something he could share with his son.

“They’re absolutely my favorite band,” Clay Peterson said. “It’s just the artistry and the musicianship. They are truly a modern American rock band.”

Resident Braxton Shouten said his own experience with musicianship makes him a fan of Los Lobos’s sound.

“I’m a guitarist and their guitar work is excellent. It’s solid and consistent,” Shouten said.

It didn’t take much longer before the seats began to fill as the ushers lunged up the theater’s incline to greet the searching crowd, helping them to find their places.
Moments later the appearance of the band was met with cheers.

“We were told this is our first time we have played in Bloomington,” Los Lobos member Cesar Rosas joked. “When you get off that tour bus, you never know.”

The band played two selections from their children’s album, “Los Lobos Goes Disney,” and a fan shouted to commend them on their performance at the White House for the National Hispanic Heritage Month celebration in October, which received another round of cheers.

The strumming guitars and pounding percussion vibrated the theater as the band continued to play their combination of rock with Mexican-American influences.
The band transitioned between some songs without a pause as couples began to dance in the aisle.

When the band did stop, it was only for a moment to change instruments and gauge how the audience was feeling.

“What should we play next?” Rosas asked, directed more to the band than crowd.
“Anything!” was the quick response from a fan in the crowd.

And with that, the band began again.