The Farr Side: Still plenty of love for Air Supply

Who says time machines don’t exist? I would beg to differ. Sometimes just hearing a great song can take you right back to a moment in time. Last Friday night, a sold-out crowd at Blue Gate Performing Arts Center time traveled back nearly 50 years in time with Air Supply. The '80s band played all of their hits along with a few surprises for the Shipshewana crowd.

Air Supply has long been a favorite band of mine. And judging by the multi-generational crowd of fans in attendance, they are favorites, too. I loved seeing so many familiar faces in the audience and knowing that we all shared a love for the bands music.

I’ve seen the band in concert before, but Friday night’s performance was a little more special for me and my friend, Doug. We were able to meet Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock before the show. Both men were very gracious and pure joy to meet. Its not often you get to tell one of your favorite artists just how much their music has meant to you over the years.

The lights dimmed before the stage lights illuminated bright white, green and red.

The familiar opening synthesizer of “Sweet Dreams” began to sound to which the audience roared with excitement. Then, Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock appeared along with their band mates. The time traveling had begun.

OK, so the years have begun to show. I didn’t care. None of us are exempt from getting older. But, the voices — they are still AMAZING! These guys are so talented. It’s no wonder they continue to grow in popularity.

“Even The Nights Are Better” came next. Russell Hitchcock took command of the song from the get-go. The song was a hit in 1982, but sounded better than ever.

Russell and Hitchcock are both 74 years young. They’ve been friends and bandmates for 49 years, having met back in 1975 while auditioning for “Jesus Christ Superstar” in Australia, Russell said. Graham added that the two have never had a fight.

The hits continued with the tracks “Every Woman In The World,” “Here I Am,” “Goodbye,” “Just As I Am,” “Chances,” “Two Less Lonely People In The World,” and “Now And Forever.” Man, the memories came flowing back. These songs are some of the best pop songs of all time! I can honestly say that the beautiful lyrics of “Two Less Lonely People In The World” truly moved me. The song has a newfound place in my heart.

Russell took a few moments to chat with the audience while Hitchcock enjoyed a cup of tea backstage. He talked about having performed in locations all over the world and meeting all kinds of people along the way. He also shared some original, moving poetry from his forthcoming book of poems. He summed up the moment by asking people to understand that we are all different and to celebrate our differences, reflecting that we are all human.

Air Supply has toured the globe numerous times and performed before people from all over the world. They still write and record new material, as is important Russell had said.

We were lucky to hear a few including, ”I Can Wait Forever.”

Phone flashlights illuminated the venue during “The One That You Love.” That’s always a beautiful moment to witness as were seeing show-goers on their feet swaying their arms.

The best part of the night came when they performed my two favorite Air Supply songs back to back – “Lost In Love” and “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All.” The music, the sounds, the whole experience was fantastic and not something I’ll ever forget!

Many have tried to do “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All,” but that song will always be Russell Hitchcock’s shiniest moment! It’s perfection.

The encore included “Without You” and the band’s No. 1 “All Out Of Love.”

Hearing the crowd sing those lyrics right back to the band was beautiful.

— David T. Farr is a Journal correspondent. Email him at farrboy@hotmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: The Farr Side: Still plenty of love for Air Supply