25 February 2023 (gig)
27 February 2023
Air Supply was a major mainstay of pop-radio stations in the early '80s. It was nearly impossible to go a single day and not hear one of their tunes bleeding out of a speaker somewhere in the United States.
While Air Supply has been making hits since the '70s in Australia, they initially broke in the United States with "Lost in Love" in 1980. They would eventually garner a total of ten Top-40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1980 and 1983.
An enduring ensemble, Air Supply is also a very popular live act. The duo (Graham Russell, vocals/guitar and Russell Hitchcock, vocals) performed at the Lynn Auditorium in Lynn, Massachusetts, on February 25, 2023.
The hour-and-a-half set began with "Sweet Dreams" before pulling out their most upbeat song, "Even the Nights Are Better" (a song that reminds one of England Dan and John Ford Coley's iconic "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight").
The Auditorium was then transferred back to 1981 for a bit as that year's uber-smashes, "Every Woman in the World" and "Here I Am", meshed together flawlessly. While Valentine's Day was nearly two weeks ago, Air Supply's romantic vibes made it feel as if that day had never ended.
At one point, Russell asked the audience if this was their first Air Supply concert, and a large number of attendees admitted that it was. Russell jokingly stated that they are now officially "Air Heads" (a name given to diehard fans of the duo).
While Hitchcock was backstage for a bit, Russell surprised some by reading a poem titled, "Am I"? (which is from his book, "Turn Left at Greenland", a line from The Beatles' 1964 film, "A Hard Day's Night"). He then performed a solo number, "I Can Wait Forever".
Russell and Hitchcock then sat side-by-side on stools and told the story of how they had met and their enduring partnership, which led into a charming version of "Two Less Lonely People in the World".
The set ended with Air Supply catalog staples "The One That You Love", "Lost in Love", and an epic take of "Making Love Out of Nothing at All".
A two-song encore included a cover of "Without You" (originally done by Badfinger) and ended with "All Out of Love".
In a time when many acts are not living up to their past glories, Russell and Hitchcock sound just as fantastic as they did decades ago. Armed with a gang of killer sidemen (Aaron McLain, lead guitarist; Mirko Tessandori, keyboards; Doug Gild, bass; and Pavel Valdman, drums), who added a powerful sound to the set, and made it a spectacular evening.
