The inflatable jukebox is in storage, and the band that carries the name “Foreigner” is almost entirely made up of replacement players these days, except for founding guitarist Mick Jones. Still, Foreigner managed to serve up an enjoyable yet predictable performance on Sunday night at the House of Blues.
Vocalist Kelly Hansen, an almost-dead ringer for Steven Tyler, has a couple of years in the lead vocalist slot for Foreigner, and got the job replacing longtime signature voice Lou Gramm, after Gramm and Jones once again parted ways in early 2003.
The replacement of Gramm has gone better this time around, probably because Hansen is a closer fit vocally, than Johnny Edwards was during Gramm’s previous Foreigner hiatus in the 90s.
Accessorize Hansen’s vocals with a band that includes former Dokken bass player Jeff Pilson, drummer Jason Bonham, multi-instrumentalist Thom Gimbel, and of course Jones, and you have Foreigner circa: 2008 – souped up, and ready to rock.
The setlist was almost completely a “greatest hits” set with the exception of Jones’ now traditional lead vocal on “Starrider” from the 1977 Foreigner debut album, and “Too Late,” the first new Foreigner song recorded with Hansen on vocals (from the new Foreigner anthology No End In Sight.)
Jones is promising a new Foreigner album, and I think that he’s probably got at least one more good Foreigner album in the tank, as long as he stays clear of outside songwriters.
“Too Late” might be a good song for another band, but it doesn’t sound like a Foreigner song to me.
Foreigner – Too Late
After seeing several rough Foreigner shows with Lou Gramm, who struggled vocally after surgery for a brain tumor in the late 90s, it was good to see Foreigner back at full steam with Hansen on vocals. While I’ll always hold special memories of the great Foreigner shows that I saw in the early 90s after Gramm and Jones reunited, Hansen does complete justice to Foreigner’s hit catalog, and Cleveland fans ate it up, song after song.
Memo to Foreigner:
I’d love to see a few oddball tracks thrown into the setlist to make it feel less calculated – give me some of the proven crowd-pleasers like “That Was Yesterday,” “Blue Morning, Blue Day,” “Long, Long Way From Home,” and why not take a shot at something like “Can’t Wait” off Inside Information or “Reaction to Action?”
Both tunes are on your brand new anthology No End In Sight, check ’em out and think about it!
In the mood for some Foreigner related humor? Check this out!
Setlist:
Double Vision
Head Games
Cold as Ice
Waiting For A Girl Like You
Too Late
Dirty White Boy
Say You Will (acoustic)
Starrider
Band Intros
Feels Like The First Time
Urgent
Drum solo
Juke Box Hero / Whole Lotta Love
Encore:
I Wanna Know What Love Is
Hot Blooded
Relevant Links:
Purchase Foreigner: No End In Sight (best of) from Amazon – CD or MP3
Foreigner’s official website
Foreigner – That Was Yesterday (live at Deer Creek 1993)
Foreigner – Head Games (live at Deer Creek 1993)
AWESOME! I totally needed to listen to Foreigner today.
A friend of mine told me she met “the keyboard player to Foreigners” and I asked her if he was friendly or “Cold as Ice”. When she didn’t get it I asked if she was too drunk and had “Double Vision” and then apologized for playing “Head Games” at which point she walked away from me.
I am only sharing this because I needed SOMEONE who understood to hear it.
Narm,
As someone that TOTALLY has gotten the blank stare for “song title” related humor, I completely appreciate that.
That’s pretty bad though.
One of my favorite stories, happened while I was working at a record store a couple of years ago (for fun, one day a week) and I wore my Tesla shirt to work that particular day.
I took a lot of abuse for that shirt, from my buddy Brian, and later in the day, as I was ringing out a particularly ditzy customer, Brian continued to give me abuse.
She giggled at all of the Tesla bashing that was going on, pointed at my shirt, and said “he’s wearing a Tesla shirt, tee-hee!”
Both of us looked straight at her, and started laughing. Poor creature didn’t realize that we were laughing at her, not with her.
This was not the playlist at House Of blues in Cleveland on 8-17-2008… the last song was Urgent, right?
As I recall, it was Hot Blooded – kept track of the setlist, and typed it up in order…
Cool! are you sure?
yeah – I’ll say I’m sure about this one…..were you at the show?
I remember there being someone backstage from Spain…
THAT’S ME!!
hello? 🙂
right on….I figured it would be awfully coincidental for it not to be you..
How many shows did you end up catching on the tour??
Haha why?
Oh just one… how about you?
Ha – I figured you were a big Foreigner fan, and might have come over to catch multiple shows…
Seemed like at least one cool reason to come over from Spain!
I just caught the Cleveland show, although I’ve seen Foreigner many times in the past
Who are you? and how do you know there was somebody from Spain there? I had been teaching Spanish in Lorain for a whole year. That’s why I was there 🙂