Memorial Day weekend 2007

Betsy's Review:

Las Vegas, NV: Air Supply Performs to 4 Sold-Out Crowds in Las Vegas Over Memorial Day Weekend. Howie Gordon of Big Brother 6 and Big Brother All-Stars Shows He is Not All Out Of Love on Saturday Night!

Air Supply came to Las Vegas for their Memorial Day Weekend concerts, just as they do each year. The Thursday and Friday night performances were fabulous, as ever, but Saturday night was a real treat!

Any Big Brother fan knows who Howie Gordon is. In fact, he's simply known as Howie, Hurricane Howie, Howiewood, Big Boy and that crazy guy on Big Brother! His celebrity status precedes him and he does not disappoint his fans.

When fans meet Howie, they expect the loud and boisterous Howie they know and love from Big Brother, and that is exactly what they get!

But did you know that there is a 'softer side' to Howie? Well, 'softer' may not be the right word. Perhaps 'sensitive'? Ok, maybe not that either. Why don't we just use the words 'surprisingly unexpected'? I think that covers it! Howie has a surprisingly unexpected side to him that Airheads attending the Saturday night show got to see. And what they saw, and heard, was unexpectedand a surprise!

I ran into Howie at the Orleans Casino on Friday night. As a Howie fan myself, I took the opportunity to say hello and asked for a few photos. After asking how long he was in town for, I told him he should come to an Air Supply show! Howie said he LOVED AIR SUPPLY!!! I had no idea and thought he might be kidding, but he started singing Air Supply songs right then and there!

I had a few extra tickets for the show on Saturday but also hoped to secure some passes for him and his dad (who is also a big AS fan). I ran into Graham Russell the next day and told him about Howie possibly attending the show, and was able to get him on the list to get in to the show and to meet the band afterwards.

Howie and I met up right before the concert and Howie was definitely in the Air Supply zone! After much debate on which CD to buy at the merchandise table, I convinced him to pick up Graham Russell's new debut solo CD, The Future (www.myspace.com/anicepear) and told him that Graham would sign it after the show.

While we waited in line, Howie belted out song after song, as only Howie can -- loudly. He got a lot of odd looks from passersby, but a lot of people came up to him cheering him on, saying it was great he was having so much fun and that's what it was all about!

I had front row seats and knew that Howie would love to sit right up front, so I had him sit with me. A few people recognized Howie right away and he was gracious enough to allow the Air Supply/Howie BB fans a few pre-show photos just as the lights went down.

The first Air Supply song was Even the Nights are Better, and Howie was just gone! Off he went, singing at the top of his lungs. I'd say he shocked most people because he was quite loud, but much of the crowd was laughing hysterically.

Normally at Air Supply concerts there aren't a whole lot of men who absolutely LOVE Air Supply. Mostly, they get dragged by their girlfriends or wives, so Howie was unique in that he truly loved Air Supply and WANTED to be there! What better way for him to celebrate his joy than by singing? That saidyeah, he was loud!

Song after song, Howie sang with the audience, sometimes even making up his own words (you can't say he didn't try!). I knew there was a special moment coming up and let him be surprised. During The One That You Love, Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock go into the audience and sing, hug, kiss, allow photos etc. with the fans. Howie took complete advantage of that and ran right up to Russell who grabbed him and tossed him over to his daughter, who happened to be in attendance Saturday night, and she absolutely loved it! She is a huge Howie fan herself! Cameras were flashing, people were laughing and all the while, Russell was still singing!

As Russell came back to the stage to finish the song, the audience

was expected to sing the last part of it with him. NO INVITATION REQUIRED for Howie! Russell was standing right over us and Howie was singing so loud...but he wasn't always singing at the right time! So Russell would sing, hear Howie sing when he wasn't supposed to, and then motion for Howie to wait. Russell walked back and forth across the stage, and kept giving Howie looks like "Dude, whoa".I captured some of this on the video clip I posted on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCL7EKQEht4 and on MySpace. Unfortunately, you can't make out Russell's looks clearly due to lighting issues, but I can tell you that Russell's looks were all good natured and you can tell that while he knew Howie was a bit wild, he really wasn't minding ittoo much! At one point on the clip, Russell gives Howie a 'thumbs up', and Howie took that to mean, go ahead and sing! So he started up again, and Russell put his hand up as if to say "Uh, no"! It was hilarious and the audience was having a blast!

Right before the 2nd to last song, the audience was invited up to stand at the foot of the stage. So Howie and I did that. A lot of fans asked Howie for photos, even though Air Supply was singing! At one point, Howie was pulled away to stand with Russell's daughter for the last two songs and once the show ended, he was whisked away back stage where he was finally able to meet his two idols, Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell, and get photos taken with both of them (See Howie's forum).

Howie had an awesome time and I think we can officially give Howie the new title of Airhead. Hopefully, more Air Supply shows are in Howie's future. I have but one word of advice: If you come to see and hear only Air Supply, change seats and move as far away from Howie as you can. If, however, you want to laugh your butt off and have a great time, go try to sit as close as you can to him and join in on all that fun!

This was by far my favorite Air Supply show I have attended. I absolutely love Air Supply shows and if you read my other reviews and blog (www.AirSupplyBlog.com), you will certainly know that this 'review' is nothing like I have written before. Air Supply shows are always fantastic and Graham, Russell, Jed Moss, Jonni Lightfoot and Mike Zerbe make all that happen for the fans. But Saturday night we actually got a bit of a 2-fera great Air Supply concert and a real comedy show, which, like Howie, was surprisingly unexpected!

Thanks to Air Supply, the fabulous crew of Sparky, Brett, Moe, Nate and Mark, and of course, Howie Gordon. Again, who knew Howie was such an Airhead?

Thanks Howie! This was a show none of us will ever forget!

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