The New and Different News
By Rob Mason
HLN Today Reporter
Puyallup, Washington; Puyallup Fair; September 23, 1999 - Huey Lewis & the News were in fine form, as they performed all their classics, and some new ones, at the Puyallup Fair in Puyallup Washington. The warm cloudy night made for a great night of outdoor music.
After the acoustic guitar duo called "Box Set" opened the show, Guitarist Chris Hayes was very eager to start, as he was the first one out and was already playing before anyone else took the stage! They opened up the show with a new song for the audience, as well as "My Other Woman got Another Man", and immediately proceeded with "Heart of Rock n' Roll". You could tell at that moment that the crowd were a little more excited with the older stuff. This was confirmed, when he said after the song he had to get some old songs "out of the way", and the audience went nuts! "Doin it All for my Baby" and "Power of Love" did the trick.
Then came the acapella tunes. The four main "newsmen" and Huey did "60 Minute Man" which the crowd got a kick out of, and another tune the audience didn't really know called "Little bit of Soap". The vocals were flawless and smooth, as if one was listening to a studio version.
They broke out the instruments, and Chris Hayes played the familiar opening to "If This is It", and followed with "Hip to be Square". No one was sitting from this point on. They then played "Let her go and Start Over", which had a good old-time feel, and then "But its alright", which showcased Huey's (although limited) xylophone playing skills.
Then the guitar fans were rewarded with "I want a new Drug", the guitar solo staple of what I guess is every Huey Lewis & the News concert. Not much flash, distortion, or wild whammy bars as the old days, but a very tight, musical, and clever solo that lasted quite a while. They ended the set with a tune called "Good Time not a Long Time".
After about 5 minutes of cheering from the crowd, out they came again for an encore. After basking in the applause, Huey had the whole audience join in for "Plan B", which the audience did quite well.
A special moment came then, when Huey introduced the crowd to his father, who came out to share the joy of his sons music. Although he did little more than dance and clap, his enthusiasm sparked the crowd. Huey said his father lived in Port Angeles, Washington, and spent some time talking and jamming with him the day before. The band did a song which I think might have been called "Rhythm Man" in honor of his dad, with Huey's dad on stage with him.
Bill Gibson then started pounding out a great beat, and did the oldest Huey Lewis and the News original of the night, "Workin' for a Living". Then the lights came on, and a whole bunch of smiling faces made their way out.
If you had seen them 10 years ago in support of their "Fore!" album, you would have seen a decidedly different band. They were a "rock" band then. On September 23, 1999, they added some "roll" to it, to make a great night for an extremely varied audience.
