Unfortunately, I missed much of Jason Bonham’s set, but what I saw was very good. While I never saw Led Zeppelin live, if I closed my eyes, I could imagine being transported back to another time, when bell bottoms were the style and rock was taking new and exciting turns.
Cheap Trick hasn’t changed much since the first time I saw them, except that Bun E. Carlos has been replaced by Daxx Nielsen behind the drums. They are still putting out new music, with We’re All Alright coming out this year. While not a band I listen to all the time, I do enjoy their music, and they definitely are a solid, live band. Robin Zander, who I had heard was having some voice issues recently, sounded good this time. Tom Peterssen, bassist for the group, sang a song (“I’m Waiting for the Man”) as well and looked to be enjoying the show. I don't know how he plays that 12 string bass, though. It's wild! Rick Nielsen was his usual, quirky self on guitar, throwing picks to fans by the handful.
Their set included: “Hello There”, “Big Eyes”, “Lookout”, “Long Time Coming”, “Ain’t That A Shame”, “You Got It Going On”, “Magical Mystery Tour”, “I’m Waiting for the Man”, “The Flame”, “I Want You to Want Me”, “Dream Police”, “Never Had a Lot to Lose”, “Surrender”, “Goodnight Now”
Foreigner was out on their 40th anniversary tour. This is another band that some feel is not worth seeing since the only original member is Mick Jones, and he no longer performs every show with them. I feel that the new line-up more than lives up to the spirit of the original band, whether Mick is there or not, and they are a well-oiled machine when playing live. Kelly Hansen is a fantastic front-man, with a superb voice and rock-star swagger. Jeff Pilson, former Dokken member, handles bass more than adequately with a quirky charm. Bruce Watson on guitar always seems to be enjoying himself, as does Tom Gimbel who seems to play just about everything, including sax and keyboards. Rounding out the band are Chris Frazier on drums and Michael Bluestein on keyboards. Mick Jones did perform at this show, though no full reunion show was to be had, as has been rumored for some stops on this tour. As is their usual, the encore included “I Want to Know What Love Is” and had a local choir performing with the band.
The setlist for the show was nothing unexpected: “Double Vision”, “Head Games”, “Cold As Ice”, “Waiting for a Girl Like You”, “Blue Morning, Blue Day”, “Dirty White Boy”, “Feels Like the First Time”, “Urgent”, “Starrider”, “Juke Box Hero”, “I Want to Know What Love Is”, “Hot Blooded”
Only some cell phone shots for this one, so I'm glad I was close.
