Hacienda « The House List

It’s a Family Affair

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Hacienda - Mercury Lounge - August 21, 2010

Hacienda - Mercury Lounge - August 21, 2010
Hacienda—three Villanueva brothers (Rene, on bass and vocals, Abraham, on piano and vocals, and Jaime, on drums and vocals) and one Schwebel cousin (Dante, on guitar and vocals)—caught an early break when Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys got a hold of their six-song demo. One thing led to another and eventually the band finished an album at his studio and was opening for the likes of the Black Keys and Dr. Dog and gaining wider exposure. Last year, along with My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan, they backed Auerbach on his Keep It Hid tour.

This year, Hacienda released their second disc, Big Red & Barbacoa, and they played plenty of it on Saturday night at Mercury Lounge. With their four-part harmonies, early-Kinks intensity and surf-rock influences, the plaid-heavy San Antonio quartet played a sweaty, energetic 45-minute set of swaggering, hip-shaking rock and roll, punctuated by Schwebel’s vibrant guitar solos. Onstage, songs like “Shake Ya” and “Mama’s Cookin’” emerged more rollicking and raw than their studio versions. At one point Schwebel said, “Here’s a song for Saturday night.” And he was right. —R. Zizmor

(Hacienda opens for My Morning Jacket at Terminal 5 on October 19th.)

Photos courtesy of Sean O’Kane | seanokanephoto.com

Tags: Hacienda, Mercury Lounge, My Morning Jacket, Photos, Review, Terminal 5
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Dan Auerbach Rocks Webster Hall

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Dan Auerbach - Webster Hall - November 11, 2009

Dan Auerbach - Webster Hall - November 11, 2009
Just as Jack White has done work outside of the White Stripes, first with the Raconteurs and now the Dead Weather, Dan Auerbach, one half of the power-blues machine that is the Black Keys, also fronts a second band with a bigger sound. His backing band, the Fast Five, is made up of the San Antonio rock group Hacienda—Antonio Abraham Villanueva on keys, Dante Schwebel on guitar, Jaime Villanueva on drums and Rene Villanueva on bass—plus My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan on drums and percussion. (Hallahan, eyes closed and mouth open, played the maracas and the triangle with the unrestrained mirth of a small child.)

Last night at a crowded Webster Hall, Auerbach and Co. made their way through Auerbach’s solo album, Keep It Hid, released in February, plus a few other songs, including a cover of Rocking Horse’s “Oh Carol.” The show began with some relatively quiet harmonizing before kicking into a higher, louder gear. They played more than an hour of a winning combo of gritty blues and dirty rock and roll, including “My Last Mistake,” “Money and Trouble” and “When the Night Comes.”

The encore began with Rene Villanueva, whose bass thumped ferociously all night, laying down a dancing bassline. As the audience enthusiastically clapped along, the band shifted into a tight blues riff that blew up into raging mayhem. When the song ended, just Auerbach remained onstage. “Thank you for coming out tonight,” he said before launching into the last song, “Goin’ Home.” The line “be thankful for all you got” drew cheers and applause. And then he finished with “So long/ I’m going/ I’m going home,” and then the crowd went wild and the stage went dark. —R. Zizmor