Twenty Years, Still 'Workin'
By Donna Stanley
HLN Today Reporter
Caesar's Palace; Las Vegas, NV; November 10 & 11, 1999 - What could be better than two picture-perfect autumn days in Las Vegas - you know, the kind of days when the weather is warm and the skies are so clear you can see forever, in any direction?
Well, take a 1,000 people dressed in outfits ranging from t-shirts and jeans to suits and evening gowns into the Circus Maximus Showroom at Caesar's Palace and put Huey Lewis and the News on the stage - it doesn't get much better than that!
The showroom is unlike other types of concert venues where there is room to stand up and dance in front of your seat or in the aisles. It places a lot of restrictions on movement and behavior -- but it didn't keep the crowd from loving every minute of the shows. Huey and the guys had the crowd with them from the moment they took the stage both nights. Wednesday night's crowd was a little more sedate than those who attended Thursday's performance, and the band seemed to recognize this and pumped their energy level up a notch or two.
The first sets of each show featured the group's older hits like "Heart of Rock & Roll" and "Doin' It All For My Baby". They threw in a slightly expanded version of "So Little Kindness" and a new song "I'm Not In Love Yet (But I'm Workin' On It)." Huey talked a little about the new album, due out in the spring (didn't give a title) and very succinctly stated, "If you don't recognize a song, that's because it's new! I know you all came here to hear the new songs, so we'll get to those after we get some of this old stuff out of the way!" That cued the band to launch into "Power of Love," a real crowd-pleaser on both nights. Other favorites included "Too Hip to be Square", "But It's Alright", and "If This Is It".
Thursday, Huey said they had a little change in plans, and asked if the audience minded if they ad libbed a little. After a few minutes of conversing amongst themselves, Huey told the crowd that since it was Veteran's Day they were dedicating the next song, "Walking On A Thin Line," to all the vets.
The "a cappella" portion of the show's featured a superbly performed, updated cover of the old (1950) Billy Ward & the Dominos tune "Sixty Minute Man." Wednesday evening, Huey simply introduced the song as "a true story." The crowd's reaction was substantially different on Thursday, when he told the audience "this song is for the ladies, but you guys out there better pay attention, because this is a true story!" Wednesday they included "A Little Bit of Soap" in the set, but left it out on Thursday, presumably, because during the introductions of the band, Huey mentioned that Chris was extremely hoarse that evening.
The preview of the new material promises a really good collection of songs with a definitive R&B influence. The other tunes they played were the humorous "My Other Woman's Got Another Man", "Let Her Go And Start Over", "When I Write the Book", and "Rhythm Ranch". The long wait will have been worth it, based on what they've teased the fans with so far.
The band's energy, showmanship and musical talents really come alive when they play the expanded version of "I Want a New Drug" toward the end of the show. The guitar, drum, harp and horn solos show the crowd just what makes Huey Lewis and the News the great band they are.
Even though "We're Not Here For A Long Time, We're Here For A Good Time" usually signals the end of the show, there was plenty more to come when the guys took the stage again for the nearly 20 minute encore. "Plan B", showcasing each of the individual talents of the group, "Rhythym Ranch" and the final "standard" "Workin' For A Livin'" gave the audience exactly what they came for -- great music by a great band! If anyone there was not a fan walking in - they had to be a fan walking out!
