Superb Performances Abound in Atlantic City
By Glen Beckwith
HLN Today reporter
What a fantastic weekend another visit over the pond to see Huey Lewis and the News in Atlantic City. After getting withdrawal symptoms from seeing the guys over in the UK last May a trip to the USA had to be made. After dashing around New York for a couple of days spending my hard earned cash a nice car trip to Atlantic City saw me arrive in plenty of time to catch the first show on Friday night.
The band did not disappoint and from the opening chords of "We're Not Here For a Long Time" to the closing sound of "Workin for a living" the guys were outstanding. The venue was first class and the sound quality out of this world. The Hilton is fairly intimate so the shows generated a good crowd who were vocal throughout. One highlight of the first night had to be "Jacobs Ladder" which seems to get better with every performance, the band blend so well together. Huey was in fine fettle vocally and literally belted out all the songs. It was great hearing "Under The Boardwalk" in a place it is meant to be sung.
Moving onto Saturday night, it was again fantastic show with a slightly different set. Highlights for Saturday were "I Want a New Drug," "Heart and Soul" and an outstanding “Plan B”. Bill was in fine form with his drum solo and the horn section was "fabulous." Once again the intro from Huey and the harmonica for "Workin For a Living" was stunning and could have lasted forever.
Sunday night arrived and was probably the best of the three nights. The guys seemed to be more relaxed and just belted the music out superbly. It was my favourite night because the played many of my favourite tunes, including "Back in Time" and "Stuck With You." However, the highlight of the three nights and well worth the airfare across from the UK was "I Want a New Drug" fusing into "Small World." This was purely magical and Rob's solo on sax which must have lasted for at least three/four minutes was out of this world. To hear the songs played in this way is what the band stand for and Rob must be congratulated for what is the best sax solo I have heard in many a year.
