The Thunder Rolled, and the Lightning Struck
By Tom Lau
HLN Today Reporter
Nautica Stage; Cleveland, Ohio; July 21, 1998 - The show began just after eight o'clock with the opening act "Box Set," and about halfway through their show a nasty squall line moved in from Lake Erie. At one point the lead singer said something like, "We seemed to have stirred up some sort of wrath!" It was getting darker and cooler and soon it started pouring down like it was coming out of buckets! They kept playing, but eventually it was too much and the show had to stop. The lead singer said, "Thanks Cleveland, we won't forget you!" With the rain and wind blowing, and a lot of thunder and lightning, HLN's portion of the show was delayed for nearly 45 minutes. By this time everyone had been taking shelter in the restrooms, or underneath the bleachers and concession stands. However, it did taper off long enough to get the concert off the ground by 9:30.
It rained a little at the beginning, but it stopped for the rest of the show. During the show Huey would play off the weather by addressing the crowd with something like, "It being the last night of our lives and if it was the best place to die on stage would be CLEVELAND!" {He also did say, off his T-shirt from a long ago newsletter, "Cleveland, You Have Got to be Tough."} The lightning provided the full effect along with the music, and with about every flash the crowd would exclaim, "OOOOOOOH!"
The show began with "(She's) Some Kind of Wonderful," which got the crowd on its feet. Other songs performed were: "My Other Woman's Got Another Man," "Heart and Soul," "60 Minute Man," (dedicated to the ladies in the house) "Heart of Rock & Roll," "Power of Love," "If This Is It," "Hip to Be Square," (and the lyrics changed a bit with "Too Hip to be Square") "Bad is Bad," "He Don't Know," and "But It's Alright." Toward the end of the show Huey stated, "They tell us we have 27 minutes left." They left the stage while the lighters started to shine with people calling out, "Huey, Huey!" A couple minutes later he came back out and said, "We'll just jam until it rains again," and the crowd went crazy.
For the encore it was, "Plan B," "We're Not Here for a Long Time, but We're Here for a Good Time," and when he said the next song was for everyone who didn't make enough money, the show ended with the obvious number, "Workin' for a Livin'."
