The set list was identical to the Charlotte show the night before. I was
surprised by the amount of people there. My guess is somewhere in the
15,000-20,000-ish number. The level of musicianship was outstanding.
Peter Cetra's replacement on bass and vocals is Jason Scheff. Jason's
dad played bass on tons of sessions and was Elvis' bass player for year.
Jason does a pretty good covering all of Cetra's parts (and is a much
better bass player). Also, Robert Lamm looked and sounded great. I went
with a guy who's a big fan and said the Lamm sounded better and was more
involved than he has been in years. Bottom line is if you like Chicago
and the radio hits, you'll dig the show.
 
But don't worry about getting there on time. Huey Lewis and the News
opened. I was never a fan of the band, but thought they had enough
recognizable hits that it wouldn't be too bad. It's not that they were
terrible, but nothing more than fair (especially in comparison to
Chicago who blew them off the stage). Curiously, they opened with 2
non-hits. Lewis' voice strained to hit the high notes. And surprisingly
no "Heart of Rock and Roll." I loathe this song, but as a performer with
a song naming rock cities, wouldn't you play this song at every stop and
drop in the name of the city you're in, even for cheap applause? I never
in my wildest dreams would think I'd be disappointed in a Huey Lewis
show (1) because I never thought I'd go and 2) my expectations were so
low is was almost impossible to be let down, but somehow I still was. 


-----Original Message-----
From: audities-owner@smoe.org [mailto:audities-owner@smoe.org] On Behalf
Of Klutho Home
Sent: Sunday, July 16, 2006 10:53 AM
To: audities@smoe.org
Subject: Chicago/Huey Lewis and the News

Someone was asking about the Chicago/Huey Lewis tour. I went last night
in
Raleigh and here is the Chicago set list:

Ballad for a Girl in Buchanan w/Huey Lewis on vocals for Colour My World
(Chicago spelling)
I'm A Man w/ Huey Lewis and the News including the News' brass section
Feel/horn version (first single from XXX...the single was horn-less)
Old Days
If You Leave Me Now
Beginnings
Just You and Me
Dialogue I & II
Love Will Come Back (new Cetera-style ballad from XXX...also last song
from
XXX)
Saturday in the Park
Feelin' Stronger Every Day
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
Hard Habit to Break w/ extended brass outro
(encore)
Free (from Chicago III...complete with American flag backdrop)
25 of 6 to 4
 
that's it. Huey Lewis sounded like the best R&B cover band you've heard
in
awhile. They covered JJ Jackson's But It's Alright, Major Lance's
UUUUMMM
Song, Sam & Dave's I Thank You w/Bill Champlin on vocals. Huey also
blasted
shows like American Idol saying it was really nice traveling and playing
with professional musicians who knew how to entertain an audience. He
also
took a swipe at most reality shows. 

All in all, a good show with a few surprises because of the pairing.
Bonus
points to the venue for adding Terry Anderson and the Olympic
Ass-Kickin'
Team on a side stage to play before the show and during intermission.
They
were in fine form and sold some product to boot.
 
Bill