Mueller fires up fiesta with Holly tunes
The Buddy Holly Statue in Lubbock | Charlie Stout
It was about 30 minutes into John Mueller’s first set of Buddy Holly tunes Wednesday when the entertainer briefly paused and said, ”OK, dinner time’s over. So the rest of Lubbock is gonna show up now, right?”
Sorry. Evidently not.
Nevertheless, close to 100 rock ‘n’ roll fans seated in front of the stage on the opening night of Fiestas del Llano still had a terrific time as Mueller, his aptly named Reminiscing Band and a few special guests brought the ’50s back to musical life.
And unlike recent festival headliner Chuck Berry, Mueller wasn’t about to shortchange even a small audience, mentioning before the concert that he and his band planned to explore most of Holly’s repertoire.
”We know about 50 Holly songs,” said the headliner who starred in the touring musical ”Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” six years ago. ”And I expect we’ll do about 40 of his songs tonight. Each of the three sets we perform will be different.”
The physical setup for Fiestas del Llano has improved, with the concert stage now elevated so that entertainers face an audience located in the northwest lower parking area of the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center.
Wednesday’s show kicked off 30 minutes late because the area had not been cleared soon enough for stage construction, according to Tom Prather, owner of The Electric Ear. ”We’re basically doing a two-day set-up in one day,” he explained.
To his credit, the stage was prepared sooner than expected and the sound quality was just right for an open air concert.
Mueller greeted the crowd at 7:35 p.m. and led his animated four-piece band into ”Looking for Someone to Love,” the small turnout soon smiling and clapping along to the opening percussion of ”Not Fade Away.”
Whether playing Holly originals or Little Richard tunes that Holly recorded, Mueller and his band played with enthusiasm.
The Big Bopper Jr., who was so good at the 1999 Crossroads Music Festival, made another fabulous guest appearance. Backed by the Reminiscing Band, he opened with a fun rendition of ”White Lightning.”
When Holly historian Bill Griggs walked on stage with a telephone, every fan knew the next words from the Bopper would be ”Hello, baby” as he launched into ”Chantilly Lace.”
The evening’s other guests included Fernando Vega with a tribute to the late Richie Valens, and Holly’s niece, Sherry.
By WILLIAM KERNS
A-J Entertainment Editor
