Interesting,

The first time I saw SRV he "opened" for Huey Lewis and the News at Irvine Meadows. I went because my friend was hip to SRV. This was shortly after SRV played on Bowie's Let's Dance. A strange pairing indeed.

Bill Graham died flying back when his helicopter crashed in the Bay Area from a Huey Lewis show. I remember the night vividly as the lights went out and we had a call shortly later with the sad news.

The next evening was a memorable Dead show with Santana and Gary Duncan doing quite the tribute for Graham.

Just checked out the lineup.

James Harman is one of my favorites. NMA is always fun with Luther Dickinson on the slide. Smokin Joe Kubick is cool if you like the Texas Blues thing. The Thunderbirds are a lock but I don't think Kid Ramos is with them anymore.

You are preaching to the choir with me, Dave.

They don't call it show BUSINESS for nothin'.

This is old news now I guess... but did anyone catch the show?
I think it could have gone either way, and here's why.

The blues chops of Huey Lewis and the News are almost certainly overshadowed by his 80s pop-rock success... he's best known for "if this is it," "i want a new drug," "hip to be square," and that upbeat, clean 80s rock sound. Part of it sounding so clean and processed, though, was just that the News, and the Tower of Power horn section he brought in, were among the tightest bands ever to record anywhere. I'm talking Benny Goodman's kind of tight-- the individual musicianship tied with rock-solid timing and an incredible group dynamic were what sold those records. And it doesn't show much on the albums, but Lewis is a helluva good harmonica player when he needs to be.

All that said, of course, if Huey Lewis and the News ran through the "Greatest Hits" program, you're right, they're totally wrong for the event. And I suspect that's what they'd have to do--you pay the money to get a big act like that, even if most of their hits were more than 15 years ago, and you want to hear those hits.

I would LOVE to hear Huey Lewis and a scaled-down band (maybe just a five-piece) do one set of real Chicago blues-- Willie Dixon/Muddy Waters kind of stuff, with that rough roadhouse sound.... then maybe a second set with the full band of later blues influenced soul stuff-- things out of the Wilson Pickett repertoire, with some Dr. John thrown in, that kind of thing.

Maybe not enough for blues purists who are looking for an old man with a beat-up Blues King who looks and sounds like Skip James, but it would somehow be appropriate.

And if all you've ever heard of Huey Lewis is what gets radio airplay or shows up on the Back to the Future soundtrack-- for god's sake, find yourself some bootlegs or catch a live show and see what they can do--or what they could have done if the big money hadn't been in poppier fare.