THE SUBDUDES
Bayou Boogaloo & Cajun Food Festival
June 25
Town Point Park
The subdudes were regular visitors to Town Point Park in the early ‘90s, filtering the blues, funk, gospel and R&B of their native New Orleans through the laid-back sensibilities of their adopted Colorado home base. Guitarist/vocalist Tommy Malone is one of the great soul singers of the post-AM radio era, John Magnie legitimized the accordion as a rock instrument and Steve Amadie is the baddest tambouriner on the planet. Who needs stinkin’ drums anyway? After an eight-year hiatus, the ‘dudes regrouped a couple of years ago with a sound as magical as ever. Dr. John and the Nevilles are also on the bill for this first Bayou Boogaloo since Katrina, so the waterfront will be groovin’ to those second line rhythms all weekend long.
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CHICAGO/HUEY LEWIS
July 16, 7:30 pm
Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheatre
For their annual Virginia Beach sojourn, Chicago is bringing along ‘80s chart-toppers, Huey Lewis & the News. Yes, it’s been a long time since either of these bands had a hit, but Chicago just put out their thirtieth album, Chicago XXX. Huey has a new greatest hits package coming out this week, and that’s exactly what this double bill will be—an evening of non-stop singalong classics for aging baby boomers. It’s easy to dismiss shows like this as irrelevant feelgood fodder for the geriatric crowd, and there’s no denying the lack of substance in the lightweight fluff that Lewis rode to stardom on. But the eight guys in Chicago prove year after year that they are one of the tightest, most well-oiled musical machines on the summer circuit. Robert Lamm hasn’t lost his voice or his lyrical bite, and that trademark three-horn frontline still packs a powerful punch.
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JOHN FOGERTY/WILLIE NELSON
July 30, 7:00 pm
Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheatre
Sunday nights must be old-folks night at the amphitheatre. But this show brings together two old geezers who haven’t mellowed a bit. Fogerty’s finally made peace with his past and delivers those classic Creedence tunes in concert with as much passion and more musicality than ever. He’s still coming up with an occasional gem as well—his topical “Déjà vu (All Over Again)” from 2004 is one the best musical treatises on the Iraq War thus far. Willie Nelson has never been overtly political in his music, but the way he’s lived his life—with his own set of values, inner integrity and rejection of the “establishment”—made him an icon to many. This matchup has a lot of people scratching their heads wondering what’s the connection between the two, but in many ways it’s a perfect pairing—two rootsy, rebellious songwriting geniuses whose music conjures up a world that is simultaneously raw and mythical.
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LYLE LOVETT
August 27, 7:30 pm
nTtelos Pavilion at Harbor Center
Originally billed as a country singer and songwriter when a new breed was threatening to take over Nashville in the late ‘80s, Lyle Lovett has proven himself to be an eclectic musical explorer, writing songs that are literate, clever, witty and poignant. Never one to fit into a formula, he’s remained a cult favorite but not a superstar hitmaker. Chances are more people know him through his short-lived marriage to Julia Roberts than through his music. Like Randy Newman, another outside-the boundaries songwriter whose music is too subtle and intelligent for the mainstream, Lovett is not particularly prolific, so there’s usually a gap between albums. It’s been three years since his last, My Baby Don’t Tolerate, but that’s OK with fans; Lyle live is always a treat. His return to Portsmouth closes out the summer in style.
copyright © 2006 Port Folio Weekly. Used by Permission.
