Little River Band
Maryland Live – 22 Jan, 2014
The first time Cindy and I saw the Little River Band in concert was in Colorado in 1984. They put on a jaw dropping performance that became one of my reference points for what a concert should be. This in mind there was more than a little reservation about seeing a reconstituted LRB in a casino show twenty years later.
Over time many rock bands end up replacing and reformulating the consist of the band for various and sundry reasons. Sometimes it works, other times it does not. Little River Band is one of those that seems to have been successful in replacing the majority of the band without loosing the core sound and presence that made them so good to begin with. Their stage presence keeps true to the idea that a concert is a performance. They don’t just play songs – they put on a show. While it may seem sacrilegious, I believe that the replacement band members are both better musicians and better performers than were the original members of the band.
While Wayne Nelson (bass) is the ‘oldest’ member of the band and the front man, the member who (I believe) really pulls this off for the band is the lead guitarist Rich Herring. Rich played guitar licks that would have left me with ‘permanent guitar face disfiguration’ in a seemingly effortless style. If you get a chance to see LRB perform make sure you get a seat where you can watch him work.
I thoroughly enjoyed this concert. It ended far too soon. I’m not sure if this was because the sets were too short or if I just enjoyed myself and the time disappeared. I would highly recommend going to see these guys if they are playing anywhere in your vicinity. Well worth the drive to catch their show.
Little River Band was one of the top air-play bands of the 1970’s and 80’s. They were one of the few bands that were able to put together top 10 hits for six consecutive years. Some of their well recognized songs are:
- It’s a Long Way There
- Help Is on Its Way
- Happy Anniversary
- Reminiscing
- Lady
- Cool Change
- Lonesome Loser
- The Night Owls
- Take It Easy On Me
- Man On Your Mind
- We Two
- The Other Guy