Early in his set Saturday night at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Kenny Loggins donned a captain’s hat, complimented Atlanta-based opening band Yacht Rock Revue and declared, “I have been dubbed the captain!”
Loggins then jumped into a spirited version of “Heart to Heart,” a fan favorite among Yacht Rock Revue fans that somehow missed the Billboard top 10 more than four decades ago.
The captain of a broad mix of country folk, R&B-inflected pop and sturdy 1980s-style rock as well as the occasionally heartfelt ballad, Loggins turned his farewell sunset cruise into a classy, hit-inflected tour of his five-decade long career, covering songs from 1972 to 2003.
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he said he keeps his concerts under 100 minutes because he runs out of energy by 90. But Loggins, at age 75, showed no signs of flagging throughout the 95-minute, 15-song set list that included his biggest touchstones such as “This is It,” “I’m Alright” and “Whenever I Call You Friend.” His six-piece band, many of whom have worked with him for years, bolstered him at every juncture.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Sure, his slower version of the song he co-wrote with Michael McDonald “What a Fool Believes” didn’t quite resonate as well as the jauntier original Doobie Brothers classic. And during his first encore, the extended version of “Angry Eyes” felt vaguely indulgent at that point in the concert (but was a celebratory nod to the earlier part of his career when he worked with Jim Messina.)
Nonetheless, Loggins was happy to indulge the crowd in soundtrack nostalgia, playing images of the gopher dancing to “I’m Alright” from “Caddyshack,” Tom Cruise whooshing around in fighter jets from “Top Gun” during “Danger Zone” and Tik-Tok dancers cutting loose during “Footloose,” a faithful version that had the entire audience channeling their inner Kevin Bacon.
With help from a vocal coach the past couple of years, Loggins sounded as strong as he ever has, hitting plenty of high notes with ease during “Celebrate Me Home” and his concluding song “Forever.” In fact, his punctuating final vocal of “Forever” pierced the huge amphitheater like a valedictorian statement to say that he may not necessarily tour again but his legacy as a powerful songwriter and performer will forever be cemented in his fans’ hearts.
Credit: RODNEY HO/rhoa
Credit: RODNEY HO/rhoa
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
And as Loggins referenced early in the concert, he has become one of the key symbols of the yacht rock genre, which was named by some comic YouTubers 18 years ago but has become a popular embrace of light 1970s and early 1980s pop-rock that includes Christopher Cross, Hall & Oates and the Little River Band.
So he purposely chose Yacht Rock Revue for his opener. The band began at the tiny 10 High Club in Virginia-Highlands in 2007 as a jokey one-off night and has since turned into a unlikely but mighty phenomenon, a group that can sell out 6,900 seats at Chastain Park twice a year. (Lead singer Nick Niespodziani on stage announced two more dates this year on August 25 and 26. Ticket sales are coming soon.)
While thieves stole the band’s equipment trailer in Texas a couple of weeks ago, Yacht Rock Revue had proper insurance and has been able to rally. And the band was on its smooth A game Saturday night.
Their typical sets almost always include a cover of a Loggins song. In this case, that would have been pure silliness. Instead, Yacht Rock Revue’s tight 12-song, hour-long set honored some signature yacht rock songs like Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Pina Colada Song),” Toto’s “Africa” and Gerry Rafferty’s ‘Baker Street.” They also paid homage to Loggins’ regular co-writer McDonald by opening with one of the Doobie Brothers’ lesser-known songs “It Keeps You Runnin’ " and gave the two female back-up singers some love with Sade’s “Smooth Operator” and The Pointer Sisters’ “He’s So Shy.”
Credit: RODNEY HO
Credit: RODNEY HO
