Salt Lake City, Utah Concert

April 24, 1998

America performed with the Lovin' Spoonful in the Jon M. Huntsman Center which is located on the University of Utah campus. Steve Lowry and his wife, Janell, were able to attend that concert along with approximately 10,000 other fans. These are a few of the photos that were taken at the concert.

Click on the photos below to see a larger version.

A Spoonful of Human Nature Rolls Through SLC

The University of Utah basketball team finished second in the NCAA tournament this year but America finished first as they visited the home court of the Runnin' Utes in Salt Lake City. The venue was the Jon M. Huntsman Center on the University of Utah campus and about 10,000 screaming fans were treated to a show that rivaled the championship game of the NCAA tournament.

The show was sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Police and they encouraged the fans on the floor level to take plenty of photos and to dance in the aisles. A few of the photos are displayed above.

The concert opened with the Lovin' Spoonful playing many of their hits from the late sixties and early seventies. They were in fine form as they offered their renditions of "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind", "Do You Believe In Magic", and many others. When they played "Summer In The City" I couldn't help but think of the Human Nature CD which will be coming out soon which features a song titled "Hot Town". Soon they were finished and the crowd gave them a very polite standing ovation but they were really waiting for the act to follow.

It wasn't long before the opening chords of "Riverside" were floating through the Huntsman Center and 10,000 anxious fans were finally getting what they came for. "Ventura Highway" was next followed by "You Can Do Magic". As Gerry introduced the band and talked about their "grueling five day tour" (LOL) he said it was good to be at the end of the tour and that they'd give everything they had since this was the final concert of the tour. They certainly did give their all as they continued with "Don't Cross The River" and "Daisy Jane".

"Mirror To Mirror", "Another Try", and "The Last Unicorn" would normally be played at this point but the guys had a limited amount of time to play so they had to skip those three songs and move on to "Three Roses". "I Need You" was next featuring Gerry on guitar. After so many years of hearing Gerry play this love song on piano, it's refreshing to hear it on guitar. Gerry has stated that he wrote the song on the guitar so it's only natural that he come back to that.

The tempo picked up after that with "Tin Man" and "Woman Tonight" followed by "To Each His Own" and "Only In Your Heart". Dewey mentioned that they were glad to be celebrating their 25th anniversary of winning the Best New Group award and that brought a big ovation from the appreciative crowd. "California Dreamin'" was next on the playlist but they skipped that song because the Lovin' Spoonful had played it in their set. The Spoonful did a decent job on the song but it was nowhere near as good as America's rendition.

Before playing "Lonely People" Gerry joked about the security men being lonely because no one was dancing in the aisles or rushing the stage. They hadn't made it through the first verse before a group of people rushed the stage and started dancing in the aisles. It was a very orderly, although enthusiastic, crowd so the security let them "do their thing".

It's unfortunate that the guys had to skip "Green Monkey" at this point because the crowd was really into it. But rousing versions of "Never Be Lonely" and "Sandman" followed by the classic sound of "Sister Golden Hair" with it's new intro was enough to keep them going. After "Sister Golden Hair" the crowd stood on their feet cheering, clapping, screaming, whistling, and stomping their feet to encourage the band to come back for some more. The guys waited quite a while to let the fans fully express their appreciation and then they came out for the encore of "Horse With No Name" joined by the Lovin' Spoonful.

All too soon the concert was over and I was once again amazed at how flawlessly the entire band performed and how much energy they put into it. You would have thought it was their first year on the road rather than their 27th (or whatever it is).

There were a couple of things that were very special to me about this concert. First of all I was once again impressed with how personal Gerry and Dewey are. Before the concert they were behind the stage signing autographs and taking pictures. They showed genuine interest with each fan as they spoke with them and gave them their autograph or allowed them to take their photo. After the concert a handful of handicapped fans were allowed to meet the guys. Once again they were extremely personable and took time to ask them their name, to introduce themselves, and to make them feel special. It's a great tribute to Gerry and Dewey to continue to hold their fans in high esteem after all these years.

The second thing that was special about this concert, didn't really have anything to do with the concert at all. As I walked into the Huntsman Center I heard a song playing over the speakers with the words "from a moving train". I listened carefully and sure enough it was Gerry Beckley singing the song with Dewey Bunnell singing backup vocals. I found out later from Dewey and Gerry that they had told Bill to go ahead and play Human Nature before the concert started. I didn't hear many of the other songs but I definitely heard "From A Moving Train" which I'm sure is going to be a great success. Gerry told me that as far as he knows this is the first public playing of Human Nature so if they keep this up, you fans at the upcoming concerts should have a real treat in store even before the concert begins.

As I look back on this concert I have more than a spoonful of good memories and now I anxiously await June 30 when Human Nature will be released.

Also, I want to thank Scott, Bill, Pete, Rooster, Willie, Brad, Michael, Dewey, and Gerry for making it such a wonderful evening for my wife and I. They'll never know how much we appreciate them.

Steve