It wasn’t as horrific as The War of 1812, but America lit up Windsor last night (Mar. 5) with a glow of flashing lights and a bombast of sound. But this time the US didn’t try to hit us with weapons, but with the smooth sounds of the music of America, the folk/rock band.
The duo of Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell stopped into Caesars Windsor to celebrate 50 years of making music together as America. And they kicked it off with a sampling of hits right out of the hopper. Beginning with Tin Man, one of their many 70s hits, followed by their biggest hit of the 80s, You Can Do Magic, it was obviously a show about the music, the hits and the “magic” that made America a great band.
Though they never had the chance to reunite with original member Dan Peek before he died in 2011, America has been a duo for most of its 50 years and that’s the way most of the fans look at them. It was an authentic America concert experience in every single way.
Saving the most popular for last, the band closed with their two number one Billboard hits, Sister Golden Hair and A Horse With No Name, in a show that blended a history of four decades of recordings. Mostly concentrating on the 70s songs, including several tracks from the first two albums: 1971’s America and 1972’s Homecoming, the duo brought along three very talented musicians to back them up – drummer Ryland Steen, bassist Richard Campbell and guitarist/keyboardist Steve Fekete.
All being said and done, America performed 22 classics for Windsor fans, leaving the audience with one very memorable performance.
America sounded and looked much like you’d expect from a classic band with a huge catalog of music, but the massive Caesars stage may have been overkill for the simple layout and folky performance. It was truly an intimate show in a grand showroom. One thing Caesars did provide them with was an incredible sound – both Burnell and Beckley are now in their late 60s and they sounded far better than many performers from their generation – their voices still had that original charm that won fans over all those years ago.
America continues its US tour into the spring and eventually heads to Europe for some summer shows, in another very busy year of “American” history.
America Setlist
Caesars Windsor – March 5, 2020.
- Tin Man
- You Can Do Magic
- Don’t Cross the River
- Daisy Jane
- Riverside
- I Need You
- Here
- Ventura Highway
- Driving
- Eleanor Rigby
- Cornwall Blank
- Hollywood
- Survival
- The Border
- Greenhouse
- Woman Tonight
- Only in Your Heart
- California Dreamin’
- Lonely People
- Sandman
- Sister Golden Hair
- A Horse With No Name
