![Live Review: Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes w/ Flaco El Jandro @ The Hamilton Live — 1/22/25 Live Review: Chuck Prophet and His Cumbia Shoes w/ Flaco El Jandro @ The Hamilton Live — 1/22/25](https://i0.wp.com/parklifedc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/54287037221_73ce595f94_o.jpg?fit=768%2C479&ssl=1)
Chuck Prophet’s recent show at The Hamilton Live was very different from his last appearance in the DMV. For years, he has regularly toured with his band, the Mission Express. When he last appeared in DC, he was with His Cumbia Shoes, featuring members of Qiensave and The Mission Express.
Prophet worked with Qiensave on his latest album, Wake The Dead, which came out last fall. (This marked the longest gap between his records at four years.) During the pandemic lockdown, Chuck was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma, which is, I am happy to say, in remission following treatment. During that time, he found solace in his record collection, especially in the danceable Latin music known as cumbia.
This might seem like a big change for Chuck, but it’s less so than you might think. He’s already straddled genres, with one foot in Americana, and Americana has always had a Latin influence — the work of folks like Doug Sahm, Los Lobos, and the Mavericks. A lifelong Californian — except for two years he when he lived in Ohio during his elementary school years, he grew up in Orange County, and he’s been a resident of San Francisco (which he calls “the cool gray city of love”) most of his adult years — he’s been surrounded by Latin culture.
The special qualities that have always made Chuck’s music special — the great guitar riffs, the wit in the lyrics — all of that is still there in his work with Qiensave and in concert at The Hamilton Live on Jan. 22. It’s like he decided to take a chili that was already great and add a little hot sauce. There were pointed barbs at topic social and political, like “In The Shadows (For Elon),” and a new arrangement of a song he wrote with Alejandro Escovedo, “Sally Was A Good,” about the narco-terrorist gangs. His unique spin on religion, “Jesus Was A Social Drinker,” got a new spin with some different, exciting aspects.
The show opened with Eddie Cochrane’s “C’mon Everybody,” which allowed His Cumbia Shoes to really strut their stuff. He then dived into the new material with “Same Old Crime” and the title cut from Wake The Dead. The set included all the tracks from the album, though he played with the order to mix things up. He also tossed in some old favorites like “West Memphis Moon” and “Ford Econoline,” a paean to touring. He finished his set with a bit of rock & roll goofiness, “You Did.”
Watch the official music video for “Wake the Dead” by Chuck Prophet on YouTube:
Prophet’s fine humor was on display when he made his political comment of the night. He told the audience he didn’t think a man should be able to walk into a shop and walk out with a handgun. But, he said in the punchline, “I don’t have a problem with a woman walking out with a handgun.” And he’s onto something — it’s a stone cold fact that men commit exponentially more crimes with guns than women. Before the band played “Cumbia de los pajaritos,” he said, “This is a song that asks the question, ‘How much cowbell is too much?’ Nobody knows.”
Chuck came back for his encore with just an acoustic guitar and played the closing track from Wake The Dead, “A Good Day To Be Alive.” It’s a beautiful song, and a wonderful expression of his gratitude for making it through cancer. His Cumbia Shoes then joined him, and they got a good portion of the audience to dance to the classic “Wooly Bully.”
Flaco El Jandro, a member of Qiensave, opened the show. He started off singing in English, but quickly told the audience the rest of his set would be in Spanish. He addressed the folks who might not want to hear that, declaring that America gets its strength from its diversity of cultures, which drew a round of applause from the audience.
The collaboration with His Cumbia Shoes made this a high-energy show, and Chuck was rocking as hard as I’ve ever seen him. The new material was fantastic, and the new takes on old material made them fresh. Chuck himself refreshed and energized to be doing this material with this band, and he was putting out a great vibe. If you have a chance to catch him on this tour, it’s not to be missed, as you may not get to see him in this format again.
Here are some photos of Chuck Prophet performing at The Hamilton Live on Jan. 22, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.
Here are some photos of Alejandro El Flaco opening Chuck Prophet at The Hamilton Live on Jan. 22, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.