THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 3, 1995 TAG: 9506030280
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Concert Review
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
John Berry, singer/talker, played to a full house - more than 300 - at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base's Planet Beach Club on Thursday, receiving standing ovations.
Well, there was no seating. But even if there had been seats, the people would have stood.
Berry has a voice as big as all outdoors, the strength of it reminiscent of Gary Morris. Add to that a Mr. Nice Guy approach and you have a first-rate audience pleaser.
Berry chats constantly in a friend-to-friend manner, often speaking lovingly of home and family. It's fuzzy puppy time.
Part of his family was onstage - wife, Robin, serving as backup singer and tambourine player.
She is expecting their third child (a boy) in July. Considering the volume of the concert - the decibels were WAY up - the infant's first word might be ``What?''
Berry's powerhouse voice and his feel for the lyrics have made hits of such songs as ``Your Love Amazes Me'' and ``You and Only You.''
He concentrates on Southern country blues and ballads, but during his concert he went off in a couple of other directions.
It was fun listening to the Berry good versions of Trisha Yearwood's ``Wrong Side of Memphis'' and a reprise of a wild 1967 Hank Snow non-hit, ``Goin' 90 Miles an Hour on a Dead End Street.''
Berry's own vehicle song is one of his best-known hits, ``Kiss Me in the Car.''
He has been in the business since 1979 when his first album was released.
Since then the charismatic sing-er/songwriter's voice and material have improved to the point where, in this highly competitive business, he has quite an edge.
The audience also enjoyed the opening act, Gary Street's Easy Street Band, an excellent local group thanks, in part, to vocalist Misty Wright.
Wherever they open, they close with a smokin' 10-minute or so jam version of ``Orange Blossom Special,'' with fiddler Billy Batt making your goose bumps jump. ILLUSTRATION: CONCERT REVIEW
John Berry, Easy Street. Thursday at Little Creek Naval Amphibious
Base's Planet Beach Club. by CNB