A Hipper Yet Still Kicking America
by Bobby Bone KatK on 8/6/25Kiva Auditorium at the Albuquerque Convention Center - AlbuquerqueRating: 4 out of 5Tonight was an interesting experience for me. First off, it was great to see and hear America's iconic front man, Dewey Bunnell. His distinctive silky voice, humor, and amiable way about him was really enjoyable, almost comforting. And, of course, I definitely enjoyed hearing some of America's greatest hits, "Sister Golden Hair", the "Sandman", "Lonely People", "Tin Man", "A Horse With No Name", to mention just a few. Yet, with Bunnell and all those memorable tunes, I felt there was something missing. Let's face it; I miss the original guys in the band, doing their thing back in the 60's and 70's when they were at the height of their musical creativity. (Damn! Gerry Beckley retired?) But, as they say, today's today, and then was then. Interspersed with the hits were some new America material, which was more upbeat and flashier, with lots of guitar shredding and a more excited and turned-up-volume feel. Don't get me wrong. It was all done well and definitely appealed to the nearly 2000 enthusiastic America fans in attendance at Albuquerque's cavernous Kiva Auditorium. But for me, even the hits weren't quite the same. Sure, the tight harmonies and memorable melody lines were all there, and the new cats injected into the band were super-talented - creating more of a contemporary and hipper latest version of America. But something was still missing. I guess tonight, I was hoping to hear more of the original soft rock vibes that put America on the musical map. For me, the uptempo "Lonely People"just didn't cut it, didn't have that laid back America feel. Even the encore, "Horse With No Name", had a more contemporary feel than the original. It was, as my girlfriend remarked at the end of the concert, "like Dewey was invited to sit-in with another band of musicians."But. as I said before, it was a great experience to see the great Dewey Bunnell and hear those fantastic America hits, live and in person - definitely worth the price of admission.