PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley of America perform in Lynn.
By LEAH DEARBORN
LYNN — A relaxed crowd gathered Thursday night for the classic soft rock tunes of America.
Original bandmates Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell met in high school and rose to fame with their ’70s hit, “Horse With No Name.” After 46 years of touring, America has released nearly three dozen albums.
The band made their stage entrance a few minutes late at the Lynn Memorial Auditorium, warming up with “Tin Man.” While Bunnell and Beckley started off looking somewhat stiff, the duo seemed to limber up by the second track, playing “You Can Do Magic” to flashing blue and red lights and smoke.
The band returned to their roots a few songs in, choosing numbers from the first side of their earliest album and working their way chronologically up to later work.
“I Need You” got the most rise out of the crowd, with fans waving their arms and handing a bouquet of flowers up to the stage.
Wearing plaid and sneakers, Bunnell and Beckley appeared most at home on acoustic guitar and mirrored the laid back attitude expressed by the audience.
America’s 2015 album “Lost And Found” took a backseat to more recognizable songs, but the audience did get a taste of the band’s most recent compilation. It presents a slightly harder sound than America’s 1970s hits but maintains a clear continuity with older discography.
While longtime fans may have turned out to watch original members Bunnell and Beckley take the stage, newer additions Bill Worrell (guitar) and Richard Campbell (bass) were highlights of the show, bringing an impressive level of energy and focus to the heavier rock numbers.
The electric guitar solo by Worrell in the 1974 song “Hollywood” was especially charged, taking the band “dangerously close to jamming,” in the words of Beckley.
Auditorium general manager Jamie Marsh expressed a personal fondness for America, commenting, “It’s a really great crowd. These are the songs I grew up with.”
He added that the auditorium booked upcoming shows with Pat Benatar, Ted Nugent and Yes earlier that day.