January 28, 2018

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Soft rock from the 1970s has gotten a new name for this generation.  “Yacht Rock” is the new term that is being used to describe the smooth sounds from rock bands from the ‘70s.

 

Those sounds were on full display last Saturday night as Ambrosia, John Ford Coley and Peter Beckett performed at the beautiful Lorain Palace Theater.

 

Ambrosia was on first act on deck and played five of their original tunes including “You’re The Only Woman (You  & I)” and “Nice, Nice, Very Nice.” Bassist Joe Puerta noted that they were very happy to get a writing credit with Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on the latter song because they took the title from one of his poems.

 

John Ford Coley, former partner of the late England Dan, came to the stage and Ambrosia served as the house band.  Coley still has a great voice and provided a little comic relief. He mentioned that he was in a store and a woman approached him and thanked him for his music.  He felt flattered until the woman said, “Mr. Buffett, ‘Margaritaville’ is still  one of my favorite songs.”

 

Coley went on to play four of his biggest hits including “We'll Never Had To Say Goodbye Again,” "Nights Are Forever Without You" and “I’d Really Like To See You Tonight.”  He closed his set with a song that he said was the only song in the Top Ten in 1979 that wasn’t disco. That song was “Love Is The Answer.”

 

After Coley left the stage, Ambrosia played one of their biggest hits, “How Much I Feel” which segued into Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” and Bruce Hornsby’s “The Way It Is.”

 

Peter Beckett from Player  came out and had some fun with the crowd.  After playing Player’s Top Ten hit, “This Time I’m In It For Love,” Beckett and company decided to cover Ace’s “How Long Has This Been Going On.”  

 

Beckett mentioned that he spent about a decade in the Little River Band and played a song that he said “always woke me up” when he was on stage. So he paid homage to that era by playing “Night Owl.”  However, it was Player’s “Baby Come Back” that got everyone on their feet and dancing in the aisles and in front of the stage. It was definitely the highlight of the show.

 

Instead of using the momentum from “Baby Come Back,” Ambrosia chose to play a few less popular songs that had people sitting back in their seats.  

 

To their credit, they got the audience back by playing their number one smash hit,  “You’re The Biggest Part Of Me.”

 

At the end of the show, Ambrosia welcomed Coley and Beckett back to the stage to play “Magical Mystery Tour” and the show closing cover of Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.”

 

It was "Yacht Rock" at its finest that was performed in a beautiful venue.

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Review and photos by Greg Drugan

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