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March 23, 2024

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Ambrosia and John Ford Coley brought their smooth Yacht Rock sounds to the beautiful Goodyear Theatre on Saturday night.

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Promptly hitting the stage at 7:30, Ambrosia opened the show with "Nice, Nice Very Nice" which segued right into one of their huge hits, "You're The Only Woman." 

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Although only two original members remain, bassist/vocalist Joe Puerta and drummer Burleigh Drummond, the two of them have surrounded themselves with outstanding musicians that have been in various bands and touring with the like of Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Loggins and Gary Wright.

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The band played a few more hits from their career like "Heart To Heart" and "How Much I Feel" before they welcomed their good friend, John Ford Coley to the stage and serve as his backing band.

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Coley quipped, "I had other clothes, but man it's cold!" referencing his heavy coat that he was wearing.

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Coley expertly flew through four hits that he and his former partner, England Dan made popular in the '70s.  A couple of times he said, "You may remember this one." before launching into a big hit like, "Night's Are Forever Without You," "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again," and "I'd Really Like To See You Tonight."

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After a twenty minute intermission, Ambrosia returned to play "Magical Mystery Tour" which they recorded for the ill-fated "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band" movie soundtrack.  Well, the soundtrack was ok but the movie was horrible, even by Joe Puerta's own admission.

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They even played Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is" because Puerta was an original member of The Range and played on the first couple of Bruce Hornsby records.

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The band also paid tribute to long time friend and touring mate, Gary Wright.  Puerta noted that this was the last song Wright played before he passed away and they served as his backing band.  They then launched into a great version of "Love Is Alive." and then ended the main set with "Biggest Part of Me."

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John Ford Coley and the rest of Ambrosia returned to encore with "Love Is The Answer" and a fantastic cover of Ace's "How Long."

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It was a great night of Yacht Rock at it's finest.

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However, there was one thing or should I say person that put a damper on this great show for everyone in our section.  This middle aged, entitled woman who perhaps had a little too much to drink, kept screaming "Whooooo!" and "Send It!" (whatever that means) about a dozen times during EVERY song. 

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This is a laid back kind of show where people just sit back and just vibe with the music.  There is a time to yell and scream, either at the start of the song, or the end of the song, but not through the whole song.  You are not the show, nobody came to a concert to hear you scream, they came to hear the bands.

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Either get out a little more often and know how to behave or do us all a favor and just stay home. 

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Review and cellphone pictures by Greg Drugan

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