POP MUSIC REVIEW : Little Joe’s Tex-Mex Enthusiasm a Familia Sight

ORANGE — To the world at large, Willie Nelson may seem to be Texas’ most beloved musician, but within the borders of the Lone Star state, Nelson gets a serious run for his money--if he has any left when the IRS is through--from Little Joe Hernandez. For some three decades, Little Joe has ruled in the state’s active Latino music scene, and in such burgs as San Antonio and Corpus Christi he is accorded the godlike status Nelson receives in Austin.

That Hernandez’s luster also extends outside Texas was clear Wednesday night, judging by the rapturous response Little Joe Y La Familia (his seven-piece band) received from the packed house at El Mariachi Restaurant. Sold-out for weeks in advance simply by word of mouth, the booking clearly was a coup for the 300-seat venue, given that these days Hernandez is found more often in spots like the Hollywood Bowl (where he’s due June 9) and Washington’s Kennedy Center.

Such acceptance wasn’t always Hernandez’s lot: Between songs Wednesday he noted how odd it is to now be named Grand Marshal of a parade in San Antonio “where it used to be the marshal was chasing me.”

In his earlier days, his music was based more on Mexican-border folk styles and was heavily politicized, driven by the often-violent oppression Latinos faced in Texas. That sorry situation may be far from over, but Hernandez’s music now anticipates and promotes a more harmonious future. Though his songs now largely are more mainstream, about love and good times, the ideal of overcoming adversity remains implicit in his music.

Wednesday that music commandingly blended elements of Latino styles with Texas country and dance-band music--spicing traditional Mexican horn lines with pedal steel guitar--assimilating both cultures while diluting neither. As Hernandez noted in the autobiographical song that closed his show, “I’m just a good ol’ redneck Mexican boy.”

Little Joe is, indeed, small in stature, but he has an intensely powerful, wonderfully expressive voice, able both to romance a lyric into the back seat and to let loose with the most wicked yowls this side of an ocelot.

Sliding freely between Spanish and English, Hernandez sang his “Por Un Amor,” “Memories of You and Me,” “Isabel,” “Feeling Her Memory,” “Recuerdos Querido Amigo,” “La .45” (about a gun) and the Ernest Tubb signature tune “Waltz Across Texas.”

It was pure pleasure throughout the two-hour show, during which several tables were moved so the audience could dance to the two-steps and corridas. A couple of songs, however, did stand above the rest: If an eagle had a song voice like other birds do, it might sound like Hernandez’s assertive vocal on the bluesy R&B; ballad “You Can Make It If You Try,” while on the ballad “Ella” he blended his ballad style with his unfettered yells to hit an emotional peak.

Hernandez has recently recorded some duets with Willie Nelson, and it’s apt that, like Nelson, Hernandez calls his band the Family (albeit in Spanish). Both groups have a rare empathy for their front men and play in a warm, flowing, organic style. The arrangements were smooth but never slick. And at times when things did appear to be getting just a bit pat, suddenly there would be wild instants where the players would seem to drive off the edge of the world of musical logic, with crazed rhythmic lurches or jarring flurries of notes from the horns or synths (La Familia’s synth player, incidentally, may be the world’s only musician to coax a realistic accordion sound and feel from his keyboards).

The performance was opened by two solid sets from the restaurant’s house band, Mariachi Uclatlan. It’s an impressive 11-piece outfit with several members drawn from Mexico’s top groups. While few venues could afford such a large lineup in these recessionary times, El Mariachi has a fairly unique situation: Four of the band members also are owners of the restaurant. According to one, band director Mark Fogelquist, the restaurant was created and is maintained with the intent of allowing the band a place to play.

Little Joe Y La Familia will play Monday at the Anaheim Marriott Ballroom, 700 W. Convention Way, with openers Jesse Lopez & the Latin Sounds. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets: $15, advance, $20 at the door. Information: (714) 740-1108.