R. Reese Fuller

Randy Newman doesn't miss a beat

by R. Reese Fuller

Randy Newman proved last night that he's still a force to be reckoned with. Playing to a packed auditorium at the Heymann Center in Lafayette, Newman kicked off his solo performance with "Last Night I Had a Dream," "Mama Told Me Not To Come," and a new song titled "Losing You."

Before his fourth number, Newman said, "This will be a medley of all my hits. It will be the first and last song." In the middle of his 1977 hit, "Short People," Newman forgot the lyrics and stopped the song. "I forgot the lyrics to the one goddamn hit I had!" The audience laughed, and Newman picked the song back up where he left off, finishing it out.

During the second set, after performing "Baltimore," a woman in the crowd yelled "Louisiana!" in request for "Louisiana 1927." Newman declined to play the song at the time, and he choked up when he told the crowd, "I want to apologize for the country, that they've allowed for a colossal thing like that to happen. The federal government, I'm ashamed for it. Kind of a laugh killer, isn't it?" Newman was referring to the new significance the song has taken in the wake of the 2005 hurricanes. After making those comments, he played "Rollin'."

Newman wrapped up the second set with "Louisiana 1927." Watch him perform the song inĀ  the clip below from a 2006 show in Stuttgart, Germany. Below that, see the set lists of the evening's music here in Lafayette.

first set
Last Night I Had a Dream
Mama Told Me Not to Come
Losing You
Short People
Birmingham
Marie
The Girls In My Life (Pt. 1)
The World Isn't Fair
I Miss You
Red Bandana
Wedding in Cherokee County
You Can Leave Your Hat On
I'm Dead (But I Don't Know It)
Guilty
Political Science

second set
Laugh and Be Happy
It's Money That I Love
In Germany Before The War
The Great Nations of Europe
Baltimore
Rollin'
Just A Few Words (In Defense of Our Country)
Living Without You
You've Got A Friend
I Love L.A.
Kingfish
Dixie Flyer
Potholes on Memory Lane
Rednecks
Sail Away
I Think It's Going to Rain
Louisiana 1927

encore
Lonely at the Top
Feels Like Home