Hometown Heroes the Mavericks Had 'Em Dancing in the Aisles at Miami's Arsht Center

On Friday night at the Adrienne Arsht Center, as Raul Malo delivered his lyrics in a register somewhere between a yodel and a croon accompanied by a horn section and an accordion, it was hard to imagine a more unlikely time and place for his band, the Mavericks, to have spawned out of than 1990 Miami.

In my memory as a prepubescent, our city's soundtrack was all drum machines, booty rap, and synthesizer-spawned pop. It's difficult to conceive of where the twangy Mavericks fit in. Their sound seems more prototypical of the Southwest than the Southeast, more apt to soundtrack Breaking Bad than Miami Vice.

But probably more jarring to the 1990 version of the Mavericks was that 34 years later, instead of playing Churchill's (RIP), the site of their first gig, or some other dive, they'd be performing in a space-age, science-fiction concert hall on the corner of Biscayne and 13th where peaceful chimes alert you to get to your seat.

The crowd sat politely as opener Hector Tellez Jr. and his trio tried their hardest to coax the crowd into a blues-rock tizzy. Watching audience members yawn over Tellez's stabs at enthusiasm, I wondered whether this venue was too classy for this kind of music, whether it was intended for sounds one sits for rather than music that prods you to rise from your seat. But it turned out the indifference was just the curse of every opening act.

I needn't have worried. Around 9 p.m., a classical song mostly known from old Bugs Bunny cartoons ("The Can-Can") commenced playing over the loudspeakers and the audience stood and cheered as the nine members of the Mavericks picked up their instruments. With a baby-blue guitar strapped to his torso, Malo took center stage, and the party got underway.

For the next 90 minutes, it was heavy on slide guitar, with more accordion solos than you thought you'd ever require, as the Mavericks transported Miami into a timeless, bilingual, peyote-infused square dance. As they played hits like "There Goes My Heart" and "Dance the Night Away," you could see why Malo preferred the Mavericks be known as a rock 'n' roll band rather than country. You can hear Hank Williams Sr. in their sound, but Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison are the more primal influences. Maybe it's a moot distinction — country and rock both come from the same well of a swinging beat that gets you on your feet.
Mid-set, the Mavericks slowed things down with a cover of Elvis Presley's rendition of "Blue Moon" and a new song inspired by the tragedy in Ukraine called "And We Dance."

Malo got a little nostalgic explaining how their last record, En Español, all sung in Spanish, was inspired by his childhood in Miami. "I was honored by [Miami-]Dade County Board of Education this week. They wanted to talk about music in schools," he told the audience. Then came the punch line: "I wanted to talk about what happened to the traffic."

Bathed in red light, he launched into "La Sitiera" before upping the tempo with a medley of "Rancho Grande" and "Rolling Along" that had the aisles filled with dancing audience members hooting and hollering in (at least) two languages.

One attendee screamed a request, to which Malo shot back, "Shut up. I'm a professional. We sing what we want." It was taken in good humor. This was a night of reciprocated love between the hometown crowd and a local boy made good.

Setlist:

- "Name of the Game"
- "Live Close By"
- "Damned"
- "There Goes My Heart"
- "Crying Shame"
- "And We Dance"
- "Loving Tonight"
- "Blue Moon"
- "Ámsterdam Moon"
- "Moon and Stars"
- "La Sitiera"
- "Rolling Along"
- "Dance in the Moonlight"
- "All Night Long"
- "Back in Your Arms Again"

Encore:
- "Come Unto Me"
- "Bring Me Down"