“I’ve got a side gig as an Uber driver, and a fare is waiting for me,” quipped Nick Lowe on stage at The Atlantis before taking a break during a recent gig in DC.
The audience chuckled at the jovial Mr. Lowe’s exit line, and the legendary producer and songwriter took a five-song break, during which Los Straitjackets, the surf-rock instrumentalists backing him, played through some of their own numbers.
Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets were a winning combination for this sold-out house for the first of two nights at The Atlantis.
During Nick’s break on Oct. 20, Los Straitjackets covered the theme from The Magnificent Seven and turned into a few of their own numbers including “Driving Guitars” and “Itchy Chicken,” a number for which a squeaky rubber chicken becomes part of the instrumentation.
The break occurred after Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets wrapped “Tokyo Bay,” single first released roughly six years ago via Yep Roc. It was compiled along with various Lowe selections on a new album, Indoor Safari, released in September.
Lowe recorded the album with Los Straitjackets to capture a record of how marvelously the elder Englishman sounds with the surf-rockin’ America quartet. It is a combination that wins accolades from long-time fans such as those who cheered them on at The Atlantis.
Watch Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets perform “Tokyo Bay” live at WFPK on YouTube:
Upon Nick’s return to stage, the collective performed “Trombone,” another Yep Roc single, dating from 2019. But sprinkled throughout the set were also totally new numbers including “I Went to a Party” and “Jet Pack Boomerang” early in the set and “Different Kind of Blue” later.
Across the incredibly satisfying 28-song set, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets also picked up tracks from across Nick’s incredible career, beginning with “So It Goes,” his first solo song after departing Brinsley Schwarz way back in 1976. Later in the show, a few of those most famous Brinsley Schwarz numbers also received the Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets treatment, notably “Cruel to Be Kind” and “(What’s So Funny “Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding.”
The end of the show nodded to other parts of Lowe’s storied work. The main set closed on “I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock ‘n’ Roll)” by Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit — first recorded by Dave Edmunds in 1977. Lowe and Edmunds had their own band in the ’70s called Rockpile, as every Lowe aficionado knows, and Rockpile’s “When I Write the Book” surfaced in a first encore at The Atlantis. Los Straitjackets began the encore without Nick, playing a thrilling rendition of “Surfin’ Bird” by The Trashmen.
Lowe closed the evening with a second encore and a single song that he played solo on guitar: “Alison” by Elvis Costello. Nick produced Costello’s debut album, My Aim Is True, which features “Alison,” of course, and so it was a wonderful thing to witness Nick play the tune. His performance was stunning, full of emotion and power.
The Atlantis was full of people who like myself clearly found a formative musical influence in the music of Nick Lowe. And it was wholly fulfilling to see him out there still, cracking wise and as sharp as ever. At 75, he seems so bursting with talent and so happy to share it with his audience, and we are richer for it.
Catch Nick Lowe on tour with Los Straitjackets!
Here are some photos of Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets performing at The Atlantis on Oct. 20, 2024. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.
