Huey Lewis & the News - House of Blues, Atlantic City, 7.11.14

When I heard that the Showboat Casino was closing down at the end of August, I realized I had to take some action in making sure I bid it a proper farewell. After all, the House of Blues provided me with some of my favorite memories during my time in South Jersey like reliving old NFG tunes, getting a busted lip at Saves the Day, or rekindling a relationship at Reel Big Fish. Someone's who been on my to-see bucket list happened to be one of the last acts of HOB's career: Huey Lewis & the News.

I showed up about a half hour before showtime at 9pm... and I barely got in on time! I couldn't believe how crowded it was. I figured the demographic would've skewed old to supremely old, but I was pleasantly surprised to find about 30% of the crowd was my age or younger. Lot of people reliving their 'Back to the Future' days I guess. The setup was odd, as I had never seen rows of chairs set up in the HOB before... was pretty uncomfortable to try to get from one side to the other. After grabbing a beer, I set myself up behind a group of old ladies in the back and The News made their way out. Opening with 'The Heart of Rock 'n' Roll,' Huey made his way out to huge howls from the crowd.

The horn section, consisting of a bari and tenor sax and trumpet, were on fire. Johnny Colla was nailing his sax solos, tons of sound but not overbearing. Like many older bands, some of the songs were played in lower keys to alleviate the strain on Huey's vocal chords. 'If This Is It' was really noticeable to me, almost didn't sound like the same song. Towards the end of the set, acappella versions were performed of 'Under The Boardwalk' and 'Little Bitty Pretty One,' much to the delight of the crowd. Eventually, the set ended almost unceremoniously... came back out for three more encore songs. And that lit the place on fire! 'The Power of Love' was so strong that it even got the old ladies in front of me up and dancing with each other. Had people rushing the stage, slapping at the toes of the band. The entire set ended with 'Working for a Living,' sending everyone home pleased.

On my way out, I made sure to stop by the House of Blues' store and grabbed a shirt. Made sure it said Showboat on it too, royal blue of course.