Review: Huey Lewis Proves He Still Has The 'Heart Of Rock & Roll'
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
WABASH – Huey Lewis & The News still have “The Heart of Rock & Roll,” as evidenced in their amazing performance Saturday at the Honeywell Center in Wabash. Watching them perform live, they were just as good – even better – than I remembered them from the ’80s when they were one of the biggest pop bands around. Every song they performed made you want to sing along, clap or stand up and dance. Besides the band members playing their instruments like the seasoned professionals they are, Lewis’ voice still delivers as if he’s 30-something, not 62 like he really is. As soon as they came out, Huey and the boys started off with one of my all-time favorite News songs – “The Heart of Rock & Roll.” I instantly found myself mouthing the words as I took photos from the front of the stage. The song really got the nearly sold-out audience into the show, and the band never slipped. For the second song, they went into “(She’s) Some Kind of Wonderful,” which was wonderfully delivered. Again, people were singing along and clapping their hands. I didn’t know the third tune as well, “Got to Get You Off My Mind,” but it was still a good performance. Before slipping into the next song, the Staple Singers’ classic “Respect Yourself,” which the band covered in its last CD “Soulsville,” Lewis introduced the band’s newest members, the backup singers. Daunielle Hill and Sandy Griffith really did an outstanding job on every song they contributed to, but almost stole the show on “Respect Yourself.” During the course of the night, Lewis let his bandmates have their solos, whether it was on guitar or saxophone. It’s great that Lewis has been with these guys since before the News was formed in 1979 because they all can slay on their respective instruments. While the guitar got some amazing solo time on stage, there was an even better solo for the saxophone during “Small World,” one of the band’s many catchy songs. Backstage where the bands unload and hang out before a show, there are white brick walls decorated with the autographs of the many performers who have sang, danced or acted there. There’s tons of signatures. Before slipping into “I Ain’t Perfect,” Lewis told the audience, “I know why they’ve booked us here. We’re the only band in the world who hasn’t played here before now.” Driving down to Wabash, I was listening to the greatest hits CD of Huey Lewis & The News. One of the last songs I heard before parking was “Jacob’s Ladder.” I didn’t think they’d play it Saturday night, but they did! To hear it live – and the way they did with a long introduction and later a soft guitar solo – was even better than what I had heard on the CD. The audience also loved it a lot judging by how they reacted. Lewis asked the audience how many of them had seen the band perform before. Quite a few hands went up. Then he asked how many were seeing them for the first time. More hands than the first time went up. “I’m surprised,” he said at the number of first-timers. “We’ve only been around for 34 years.” Apparently, there’s a part in their show where the whole band sings a couple of a cappella songs. That also gives time for Lewis to introduce the other band members: Johnny Colla on saxophone, guitar and vocals; Bill Gibson on drums and vocals; Chris Hayes on guitars and vocals; Sean Hopper on keyboards and vocals; and Mario Cipollina on bass. While the horn players kept playing, the band members all got microphones to sing “a little beach music” with Lewis. The beach songs were not ones I was familiar with, but the next two songs were. “Perfect World” felt a little reggae to me, and was good and catchy. It was for “Heart & Soul,” however, that the audience finally stood up en masse. People were clapping, swaying and singing along. While some people sat back down, they all didn’t stay seated for long. By that time, everyone was ready to rock with Huey Lewis & The News. After one last song, the band said good-bye, but the chants and claps immediately started for an encore. And the encore started with “Power of Love,” which Lewis said the band recorded a quarter of a century ago. Now, they have to play it every night, and that’s just fine with me. The first top 30 record the band had was “Do You Believe In Love,” which was the second song of the encore and also got a strong audience reaction. The next and last song, Lewis dedicated to the working man. He had played his harmonica off and on all night, but for this song, “Working for a Living,” Lewis played it at full strength.All in all, Huey Lewis & The News gave an amazing show that I would be more than happy to see again and again. If you missed it, you missed one heck of a fun night! For more information about the band, visit www.hueylewisandthenews.com For more information about the Honeywell Center and its upcoming shows, visit its website at www.honeywellcenter.com
