LUCERO'S "DRUNK NIGHT" AT THE BOWERY BALLROOM

I had the pleasure of catching Memphis, Tennessee’s Lucero on night two of their three night run at Bowery Ballroom. This night just so happened to be a “Drunk Night” according to front man Ben Nichols.

The band took the stage to the Magnum PI theme song. Nichols questioned their decision to open up for themselves. On this “By The Seat Of Our Pants Tour“, they decided they would open each night by playing an acoustic set of a bunch of the stuff they usually don’t get to play live with the full band. As the scaled down band played, Nichols sipped from what appeared to be whiskey, given to him by a friendly fan, as well as some beer. He admitted to losing the set list, but luckily took a picture of it with his cell phone, under the advice of his guitarist.

When the opening set ended the band hung out on the street, smoking and chatting with fans. After the short cigarette and whiskey break, the band returned to the stage, this time with a horn section, and electric instruments. I felt a little out of place. It seemed everyone knew every word to every song. Fans shouted out requests all night long. The band continued to drink. Nichols stated that the first night he was good…this night he decided to drink. At one point he actually joked that if he was a fan with tickets for the following night’s show he would probably stay home, not really knowing what kind of shape he would be in.

I’m sure the next show was great. This “Drunk Night” was definitely a show worth seeing, and maybe, if you’re lucky enough, you’ll catch them on a “Drunk Night” too!

Article by: Michael DiGiovanni