Little River Band @ Bergen PAC, Englewood NJ

The evening’s weather forecast was at the very least, ominous. Severe thunderstorms would be passing through close to showtime, and again at the end of the show. Most of us were lucky, having beaten the raindrops into the comfort of the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, New Jersey.

The Little River Band opened the night with a little a capella intro into “It’s A Long Way There,” just in case you may have forgotten just how strong their five part harmonies can be. Though the band has gone through many changes of personnel over forty years, the integral sound is still very much alive.

Bass player Wayne Nelson has taken over most of the lead vocal duties, though Greg Hind gets plenty of lead time as well. The LRB has a deep catalog of hits with hooks that you can’t get out of your head. All the songs you remember would be played this night, with “Man On Your Mind” as the next in line.

After greeting the crowd and asking if they were ready to sing, the band launched into “Happy Anniversary.” While the set list was heavy on the hits, they didn’t ignore their most recent album, Cuts Like A Diamond, with fine versions “The Lost And The Lonely” and “I’m An Island.” But with an older crowd, the night would indeed be about “Reminiscing.”

For the rest of the review and additional photos, please jump over to Little River Band @ Bergen PAC, Englewood NJ at OnstageMagazine.com

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Guilty Pleasures: Have You Heard...

Past few days, I have not been feeling real good. There's something going around and I caught it. So while I am able to pretty much function normally (take that for what it is), I am not in the mood to spend a half a day researching some great new band.

So today, we will enjoy the second installment of Guilty Pleasures. My definition of: A song or an artist totally outside your normal, but there's something about it that makes you happy. Not too complicated.  If you don't remember, the first blog that centered on Guilty Pleasures was on Howard Jones. Nice 80's slightly techno music, but good lyrics and catchy melodies.

This morning, we go to the other side of the world...down under to be specific. Over the years there have been some great bands out of Australia: INXS, Men At Work, Midnight Oil and AC/DC...to name a few.
Another fairly successful Aussie group was The Little River Band. Back in the 70s when the group came together, they were considered kind of a supergroup, with founding members Glenn Shorrock, Beeb Birtles and Graeham Goble, all having previously successful ventures.

In the states there were several songs which moved up the charts. Many of the singles released by the Little River Band were a bit too pop for me, They did however have one song, which had a great chorus, nice arrangement and just a really good feeling about it.

"Have you heard about the lonesome loser

Beaten by the queen of hearts every time

Have you heard about the lonesome loser

He's a loser, but he still keeps on tryin'"

That song, today's Guilty Pleasure is... "Lonesome Loser"
A great beginning, they start out with an a capella rendition of the chorus...immediately setting the tone of the song.

"Sit down, take a look at yourself

Don't you want to be somebody

Someday somebody's gonna see inside

You have to face up, you can't run and hide"

Take a listen, we all know the song, and if you can keep yourself from singing along, you are seriously missing the enjoyment chip in your DNA.

Have you heard...

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