In “Went to a Party,” Nick Lowe sings about being mistaken for his fellow British singer-songwriter and oddball Robyn Hitchcock. (As a fellow eccentric, I use this term with the utmost kindness and respect.) It’s the kind of askew, left-field humor that shows up throughout much of his work. In his recent appearance at The Birchmere, backed by the lucha libre mask-wearing instrumental rock outfit Los Straitjackets, Lowe treated the audience to perfectly constructed pop songs channeled through his unique perspective.
In addition to a set of photographs of the sold-out concert at The Birchmere on August 5 by James Todd Miller, Parklife has a set of photos from Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets’ appearance at Rams Head on Stage on August 6 by Steve Satzberg! Scroll on for all of the goods.
Lowe’s perspective is certainly unique, as is the course his career has taken since he entered the music business in the ’60s, playing bass and writing songs for the band Brinsley Schwarz. A master songwriter, his compositions have been covered by towering figures across many genres: Johnny Cash, Diana Ross, and Elvis Costello are just a few. As an in-house producer at Stiff Records, he shaped the course of punk and new wave music by working with the Damned, Pretenders, and Costello. His first two albums are absolute classics, and he played a few tunes from them back by Los Straitjackets at The Birchmere on August 5. The Impossible Bird, from which he played “I Live on a Battlefield” — released in the ’90s — is a cornerstone of what came to be known as Americana music. For all of his influence and importance, Lowe has only had one hit, “Cruel to Be Kind,” and he sang it toward the end of his set. (He joked about hoping he would’ve been playing bigger venues by now, “but here we are.”)
“Went to a Party” appears on last year’s “Indoor Safari,” Lowe’s first LP in a dozen years. He joked that no one was more surprised than he and the band were to have another album, and he kidded that they’d make one again in another 12 years. Nick did several of the songs from the album: “Love Starvation,” “Trombone,” “Jet Pac Boomerang” (much respect on a heck of a title there), “Tokyo Bay,” “Blue on Blue,” and “A Different Kind of Blue.”
Watch Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets perform “Went to a Party” live on YouTube:
Nick’s set covered his whole career. There were early solo songs, “So It Goes,” “Raging Eyes,” “Without Love,” and “Heart of the City, which has a great bit about alligators in the sewers. Just a few days ago, I found myself referencing “Half a Boy and Half a Man” to describe the state of arrested development I share with the lady I am currently wooing. Of “House for Sale,” Nick said, “Make of it what you will.” He referred to “Lately I’ve Let Things Slide” as “a reflective piece.”
Midway through the set, Nick took a break and Los Straitjackets did a series of instrumental songs: their own “University Blvd” and covers of “My Heart Will Go On,” from the movie Titanic, the theme from The Magnificent Seven, and the Ventures’ “Driving Guitars.” As he came toward the end of the evening, he did what may be his most well-known song, “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?” He closed his main set with “I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock ‘n’ Roll).” Los Straitjackets came out for the encore and did the Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird,” and Nick wrapped things up with “When I Write the Book,” a Rockpile song.
Over his long career, Lowe has worked in many styles and modes, from straight-ahead rock ‘n’ roller to classic pop crooner, and his set reflected his versatility. Whatever mode he may be working in, the songs are always unmistakably the work of Nick Lowe: smart, poignant, and often quite funny. Los Straitjackets, with their gimmick, work perfectly as a backing band for him, and they do a great job of filling out the sound around his lyrics.
Here are some photos of Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets performing live at The Birchmere on August 5, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of James Todd Miller.
Here are photos of Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets performing live at Rams Head on Stage on August 6, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Steve Satzberg.
