Some things just don't change. Twenty years ago, I bought a copy of Fore! by Huey Lewis and the News on cassette tape (!) and listened to it so hard that the tape eventually broke. I didn't know it at 8 years old, but that mix of classic R&B, doo wop, and shimmering 80s pop was exactly the kind of sound that I would love for the rest of my life.
Well, fast forward a couple of decades to last Sunday night, when I got a chance to see Huey Lewis and the News live in concert at the Walworth County Fair (!) and I am happy to report that they sound as great as the day I bought Fore! - maybe even better. Apparently they've all been friends since elementary school, and it shows - the band is tight, talented and totally in sync with the brainy rock star that is Huey. The highlight, though, is how great they all still sound on the complex vocal harmonies - they performed "All Right" a capella and their voices blended together perfectly. To paraphrase Ellis Paul, their voices are all torn in just the right places and so they fit together perfectly.
They performed most of their big hits - and this is a band with a LOT of hits. To quote Huey after the show, "So many hits, so little time," but still they managed to fit most of them into their hour-and-a-half long set, including "Power of Love," "Heart of Rock and Roll," "Hip to Be Square," "Back in Time," and my personal favorite, "Doing it All for My Baby," which got the power ballad treatment and totally blew me away. They also performed their new song from the "Pineapple Express" soundtrack (and apparently it's already got some fans - one girl in the front was wearing a pineapple tiara and waving pineapple wands during that song.)
So all I can say is, if you get a chance to see Huey Lewis and the News live, don't miss it! They put on a great show and 8-year-old you deserves it.
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