Air Supply gets Lost in Love with PNE crowd

The 70s super duo from Australia hit the PNE stage with an even of romantic pop songs but the crowd was packed with an estimated 6,000 fans (aka “Airheads”) of ALL ages!

Graham Russell & Russell Hitchcock met in 1975, became instant friends, and have been performing together ever since.  Graham claims 44 years later, more than 5000 shows, and they’ve never had an argument!

Interesting mix of age groups in the crowd – some a lot younger than my middle aged self … and I was still in grade school when they hit their commercial height of success.  Case in point, there was a group of pre teens getting those in the amphitheater seating to wave their arms along with “The One that you Love”.  That song hit #1 in the US and Canada in 1981 but they new ALL the words!

 

Russel Hitchcock restricted in his movements with a sling clutching his arm against his chest, but his voice was on point!  Lost in Love had me lost in loads of respect with Russell hitting those long high notes.  Most can’t hit the high notes at all in their 50s let alone at 70 … and to maintain it as long as he did in the recording studio 40 years ago is incredibly impressive!

 

Two giant screens and amphitheater style seating in the back + reserved seats in the front for super fans.  The much smaller Tim Horton’s stage – mixed in with the rides was also airing the show but the sound was competing with the music from the BBQ booths if you were further back so most people stayed as close to the stage as possible, despite needing to crink their necks to see the screen.  Screens in the PNE Amphitheatre had poor lighting with far too much red on the face for the first few songs … they flickered off and on and went out all together by the 5th song temporarily then BOOM … a collective side – literally – from those off to the sides and in the back.

But the acoustics and audio in general were incredible – regardless of where you were sitting – or standing … from the crowd but on stage, Russell Hitchcock seemed to struggle with his ear piece – often having to give direction to the sound booth in between waiving and mouthing “I love you too” to the “Airheads” in the front.

Poetry (not potty!) break after the first handful of songs … Everyone cleared the stage and all the lights but one spotlight for Graham Russel … He recited a poem, sang solo with the entire audience clapping along on queue to accompany, then stools came out for Graham and Russell to perform a Now and Forever / Two Less Lonely People medley … Just the piano and Russell on guitar to open before the full band kicked in and out came the phones to try to capture pictures but most I saw were live streaming.  This was a treat for the fans zooming in with the phones as much as possible because they rarely stood together during songs – often at opposite ends of the stage and frequently passing each other to switch sides.

If you missed seeing them at the PNE in Vancouver, you may be out of luck for a long while … Next stops for Air Supply include Argentina and Chile THIS WEEK before spending time in Vegas.  The closest Canada will see them is at the Central Washington State Fair in Yakima on September 29th.

For more information on Air Supply, visit their website at www.AirSupplyMusic.com