The Heart Of Rock & Roll Is Still Beating In LA: Huey Lewis And The News At Club Nokia

If you closed your eyes, it could have been 1985…

After 30 million albums sold worldwide, 19 Top Ten Billboard singles and a legacy of  entertaining music videos that helped establish MTV in the 80’s, Huey Lewis And The News  can still bring it.  Lewis and his long-standing band took an adoring crowd at Club Nokia on a  nostalgic trip through the 80’s, sharing the power of love and their music.

There is just something about Huey Lewis that makes you joyful.  It’s his voice, his smile, his  classic harmonica sound and just the unbridled fun that he brings to a live show.  There is a  comraderie between his band members that is contageous.  The songs…  well, it is difficult to  quantify the power of a song that can take you back to that certain memory from your youth.   The memory of love, won or lost, or that certain someone.  Songs like, “Heart and Soul,” and  “If This Is It,” took Lewis’ fans to that place on Thursday night.  You could see couples  laughing, flirting and gazing into each other’s eyes as the music swept them away.

Highlights of the concert were the opening, “The Heart of Rock & Roll” and two songs from  1985’s Back To The Future, “The Power of Love,” and “Back in Time.” The excited crowd  ranged in age from 20’s to their 60’s and were looking around for Marty McFly or Doc.   Something that this band does at every show and definitely showed their vocal mastery was a  two song acapella section of the night.  Included was a stripped down do-wop version of “It’s  Allright.”

“I Want a New Drug” is one of the great catchy hits of our generation and always makes you sing the words to the controversial Ghostbuster’s single- “Who you gonna’ call, Ghostbusters!”. An extended version of  “Workin’ for a Livin’” closed the set.  It was part of a 3-song encore that the fans demanded as they wouldn’t let Lewis leave.  Ah, yes, the heart of Huey Lewis And The News is still beating.