D.C. & Atlanta couldn't get enough
By Razor Rob
HLN Today reporter
Washington D.C. and Atlanta, Georgia couldn't get enough of Huey Lewis & The News! It was obvious, from both shows the band was riding that wave, getting into the pocket and letting the songs sing themselves, as Huey has said many times over the years. Marvin McFadden said after the show that the band is "on fire" since the release of Plan B and that they have never sounded tighter than they have right now. The thousands of attendees surely believed it!
The D.C. show was announced "sold-out" before it started, while the Atlanta show was over 75% full. It was a great time to be had by all at Wolf Trap in D.C. It’s a great venue with fantastic acoustics. The trip was worth it just for that!
Chastain Amphitheater in Atlanta was another nice surprise. Chastian is the home of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and is designed so you can eat dinner at your seat. The theater supplies tables for you to bring your dinner, and most of the attendees brought their own food, and almost every table was adorned with Chardonnay and candlelight. Chastian also made an impression on Rob Sudduth who thought the atmosphere was very nice. Even for those concert goers who didn’t bring any wine, food or candlelight, the given room for a table was used for dancin’ to the many hits HLN dished out during the night.
The set lists for both nights were the same. Each show started with a recording of the classic R & B instrumental "Last Night", by The Mar-Keys. The band walked out while that was playing, and once they got to their instruments, Bill counted the band off and in came "We’re Not Here For A Long Time, (We’re For A Good Time)."
Huey walked out onto the stage and each night, in typical Huey fashion, received a standing ovation. "My Other Woman" came next, and at the close of that song, Huey had his typical banter with the audience at both gigs. He commented how it’s been a while since they’ve played at both cities and how the audience looked different. In the words of Huey, "Looks like y’all lost a lot of weight". It got a great laugh from the crowd both nights. He continued saying he knows everyone came to the gig wanting to hear the new songs and not the old ones. Of course the audience immediately grunted and groaned very loudly, and Huey took it in stride saying, "Hold on. We’ll get to the new ones, but let us take care of some old business first." Immediately Bill clicked off and the band kicked into "The Heart Of Rock & Roll." The crowd jumped to their feet and roared with enthusiasm at both gigs. That was followed by "Doing It All For My Baby" and their first #1 hit "The Power Of Love." After this, they kicked into the song that featured everyone in the band at one point or another and the title track from their brand new CD Plan B. Before they started "Plan B" in Atlanta, Huey said to the crowd, "Be sure and save some of that Chardonnay. Watch out for that ’57 brand! (pause) Oh, there’s none left."
Next in the set was "Rhythm Ranch," "If This Is It," and "(Too) Hip To Be Square." After the show Huey was asked about "Hip To Be Square," and he said it was written about his brother.
Next were the band introductions, and Huey introduced Sean, Johnny, Bill and Stef. When introducing Johnny both nights, Huey commented that Johnny was playing with Sly Stone in L.A. circa 1978, and he convinced him to leave that wasteland and form a band with him. The rest is history. Huey introduced his golfing buddy, Bill Gibson, next and said that Bill swung an 80 at Peachtree Golf course in Atlanta. Another interesting comment came when Huey introduced Stef and told the crowd both nights that Stef is an East Bay guy and can play as good as he wants.
After the introductions the band broke into their a capella set and sang the "long and forgotten" song from the FORE! CD, "Naturally." What a cool tune, and it’s an original too! Bill commented after the D.C. show that they used to play it a lot in 1986 and ’87. "60 Minute Man" came next and really got everybody’s attention. The ladies loved it and it’s no wonder that this is Huey’s favorite part of the show.
After that came the first single from Plan B, "Let Her Go And Start Over," which was written by Douglasville, Georgia native, Mike Duke. Huey plugged Mike at the Atlanta gig saying he used to be in a local band there called "Wet Willie." The crowd popped when he said that. Then came "Heart & Soul", "But It’s Alright," and "I Want A New Drug." Stef went off on this one and took advantage of the entire neck on his guitar.
At the close of "Drug," the band exited but came back each night for the first of two encores. In Atlanta Huey wanted to thank two guys they had played golf with earlier in the day, "The Dollar Man" & Don (for the bag). The new arrangement of "Do You Believe In Love" came up next, and the crowd sang loudly on the chorus both nights. Regarding the classic songs, Huey said, "We try to rotate the old songs so that the old fans who have been to a lot of our shows have something to look forward to." Next came "Workin For A Livin," and that closed out the second set.
The band came out for a second encore and worked out a deal with the crowd on both nights. Huey said, "Let us play a new song, and we’ll play you all an old song." The crowd agreed, and Bill clicked off "I Ain’t Perfect," which was co-written by him coincidently with a bass line by John Pierce which soaks that song. That was followed by "Stuck With You" and an oldie but goody, "Back In Time." When Johnny plays "Back In Time" he adds a cool choreography in the chorus. Remember he and Tower of Power did that on the FORE! tour.
These two concerts were great. Fifteen years ago Huey said about the music business, "The hell with the awards; what stands is the hang."
