Huey Lewis and the News Reign Over the Roman Empire at Caesar's
By Katrina Pfefferle
HLN Today Reporter
Yes, the time had come again for that all-American band, Huey Lewis and the News to return to Caesar's Palace in that wild and crazy city of Las Vegas, Nevada. They played four shows, (Sept 25-28) each exploding with infinite energy, making the audience beg for more.
Each concert possessed an excellent mixture of music, which displayed
the well-rounded talents of the band. They opened with their more recent
numbers, "100 Years From Now", and "So Little Kindness", which both demonstrated
a rhythm and blues sound. Then they took the crowd back to the beginning
with "Some of My Lies Are True (Sooner or Later)". Then they broke out
their traditional, American rock and roll style that everybody loves with
"Heart and Soul" and the number one hit "Power of Love". Keeping the show
diverse and unpredictable, they slowed the mood down a bit with a couple
of a capella numbers. They began with "Huey's true story" of "60 Minute
Man", which was followed by the infamous "It's Alright". Then it was back
to tradition with the rock anthem, "Heart of Rock & Roll".
Towards the middle of the show, Huey Lewis and the News decided to surprise the audience with a newly composed, unreleased song. "I Never Think About You", written by Chris Hayes, John Pierce, and Huey Lewis was a bluesy number in which the music was full and deep, and the lyrics struck many as being harsh. However, Sean Hopper, the keyboard player for Huey Lewis and the News, explained that the lyrics were not meant to be harsh, but rather they displayed a man in suffering denial.
"Of course he thinks about her. Why else would he sing a five minute song about her if he didn't think about her?" Hopper pointed out.
Later, it was back to the good old rock and roll of the sixties, with
songs such as "Surely, I Love You" and "But It's Alright", off of the
album Four Chords and Several Years Ago. The show ended with the
powerful song "I Want a New Drug", which left the audience on their feet,
pumped, and crying for more. The band graciously returned for their encore,
which opened with the high powered rock and roll of "Couple Days Off". 
Continuing the diversity even in the encore, they played another brand
new song entitled "Let Her Go and Start Over". It was a beautiful ballad
about the tragic dilema of breaking off one love for another. The music
was hypnotizing, with deep, flowing piano chords, and acoustic guitars
played by Chris Hayes and Johnny Colla.
After that came yet another new song, "Plan B", which had a very unique, jazzy sound with a hint of vaudeville. It was a wonderful jam song, that featured the horn section with excellent solos from Rob Sudduth (bari sax), Ron Stallings (tenor sax), and Marvin McFadden (trumpet). It ended with an intense drum solo from Bill Gibson, who then led into the last number of the night,"Workin' For a Livin'", leaving the crowd with their trademark of no-nonsense, all-American rock and roll.
Other songs they played that varied from night to night were originals such as: "If This Is It", "Doing It All For My Baby", and "Stuck With You".
Huey Lewis and the News showed Las Vegas that they have rocked the past, still rock the present, and will continue to rock the future as Time Flies...*
