Foreigner Concert Review !!!
Jul 27, 2016 20:04:02 GMT -5
laughingmooseinn, 1thinlizzy, and 1 more like this
Post by cloggercass on Jul 27, 2016 20:04:02 GMT -5
So we saw Foreigner at the fair recently and I thought I'd copy my review over for y'all:
We arrived about 5 hours early to get a good seat reserved in the grandstands. We almost bought track seating but we missed the sale on the best seats, so we decided to get front and center in the grandstands instead.
Being so early, we had time to walk around a little, check out the rides, have something to eat, etc, while we were waiting.
I feel it’s prudent to note the dedication of many fans here, including us, as we sat in the metal bleachers, partly in the sun, for five hours in 101 degree weather, just to have good seats for the show.
Another benefit of being early, was getting to see the stage setup and the soundcheck- and lemme tell you, the soundcheck was awesome! Their crew came out and played several songs as a band, and we were certainly entertained! They played some AC/DC and Pat Benatar just to name a couple tunes. They ended it by saying, "as you may have guessed, we're not Foreigner. Foreigner will be good and on later, as opposed to us." But everyone who was there early still applauded them! It was the tightest sounding group of people doing a soundcheck I've heard. Foreigner might have to watch out for them breaking off into their own band lol!
About 30 minutes prior to the concert start at 8:00 pm, some fair officials came out to announce some things. The Nappanee High School Choir came out to sing the national anthem as skydivers swooped in with the American flag (among many flags), landing just as the song ended. They all did a beautiful job, and also I’d like to know how they timed that.
Then… the band came out.
Chris Fraizer (Drums) came out first to get a beat going, followed closely by Michael Bluestein on the keys. Then out bounded Tom Gimbel and Jeff Pilson, on guitar and bass guitar, respectively.
Mick Jones wasn’t there. From the reading up I’ve done, due to some health issues he hasn’t been going on every tour with the band; he toured with them last year and is, I assume, resting up after that. Of course we missed him, but the show was still amazing! If you check out the lineup on their wikipedia it appears this has been their general touring lineup for a while now.
Kelly Hansen came out last, striking a pose between the drums and keys on the riser as fog poured from the machines and the lights flashed to the drums, before Double Vision ramped up and he came leaping down the stairs to the front of the stage.
The set list was something like
It would be very difficult to communicate the pure energy with which they held the stage in text form, or even via any video of them playing live that you could watch. None of the numerous videos I’ve ever seen could have prepared me for the power behind the drums and bass, the shredding on guitar and keys, or Kelly’s powerhouse vocals. Long story short, if you ever get the chance to see Foreigner live, definitely do it. You will not be disappointed.
Kelly didn’t talk until after the second song (Head Games), welcoming us, and making a praying hands symbol to the sky and adding, “I’m gonna do this, and hope i doesn’t rain. But if it does rain, we’re gonna keep on rockin right on through it. And if we have to evacuate the grandstands due to lightning threats, y’all can come down here with us.”
‘Us’ would be the people who paid to actually sit close, and I’m not so sure he approved that message with anyone before making it lol, but of course everyone cheered and the show picked up again with Cold as Ice.
Speaking of Cold as Ice, I might add that Kelly basically leaped from the stage into the crowd during that song, and processed to essentially Usain Bolt through the crowd- and not just the paid seats. He also made the rounds down in front of the grandstands, which of course means he was less than say, seven feet from where we were sitting! I can’t imagine where he gets that much energy but what I do know is he must be a security nightmare haha!
By the time they were playing Waiting for a Girl Like You, it was sprinkling rain, and by the time they got to Dirty White Boy it was POURING. The barkers started selling ponchos but we were already instantly soaked in the front of the grandstands so we didn’t bother. A few people actually left at this point, but we most certainly did not (if only the people who left knew what they missed!)
The rain didn’t put any damper at all on the show, however, as they did an acoustic version of Say You Will, amd Kelly stood on a chair directly in front of the special front row seats- in the pouring rain- to sing the entire song. I might add that the special seats were for the fair queen and officials, and the choir.
Then came the long and rocking keys and drums solo- it began as a keyboard solo, and then morphed into a drum solo, and then became a sort of duet at the end. Chris Fraizer is a very good drummer, and Michael Bluestein really smoked those keys. Everyone really enjoyed the solos!
As the solo came to an end, it transitioned into Juke Box Hero, and the guys minus Kelly out one by one to get the unmistakable beginning of the song going. After a few bars, Kelly ‘appeared’ out of the strategic lighting darkness on the riser at the back of the stage, backlit perfectly in such a way that all you could see was a super bright outline of him (it was very neat to see, I wonder how exactly they have to arrange where he’ll stand for that bit). Juke Box Hero also included a high note that he held for a good minute it seemed- he really is an outstanding vocalist!
For I Wanna Know What Love Is, they brought the choir up on stage to sing backup. They do this at every show. In fact, in doing a little reading I found they started a program to raise money for local high school music programs. This helps music programs from getting lost in budget cuts. There’s some sort of contest which determines which local choir will sing backup, which I found to be pretty neat!
The choir did a beautiful job, taking up residence on the riser, and at one point Kelly went back to sing with them.
There were sort of jumbo tron live footage screens that a lot of camera men were running cameras for, so people in the cheap seats could see, plus we could get lovely close ups of what was going on. For the last song, Hot Blooded, Kelly stole one of the guy’s cameras and started running around the stage with it- so we got some from-the-stage-footage from him, and he did a pretty good job, although he made have made us dizzy with the thing a couple times.
Oh, and I can’t forget the balls! Someone sponsored these little red and white beach balls and let them loose in the crowd with the intention of us all batting them around in the air. I ‘helped’ a little girl sitting behind me collect a few to take home, and I even caught one myself, at the end of the night, let the air out of it to make it easy to carry and took it home as a souvenir!
Although we couldn’t get much in the way of good pictures or videos due to the lighting, the rain, and where we were sitting, it was definitely one of the best music experiences I’ve had, and I’d highly recommend going to see Foreigner if you get the chance!
-Cass
We arrived about 5 hours early to get a good seat reserved in the grandstands. We almost bought track seating but we missed the sale on the best seats, so we decided to get front and center in the grandstands instead.
Being so early, we had time to walk around a little, check out the rides, have something to eat, etc, while we were waiting.
I feel it’s prudent to note the dedication of many fans here, including us, as we sat in the metal bleachers, partly in the sun, for five hours in 101 degree weather, just to have good seats for the show.
Another benefit of being early, was getting to see the stage setup and the soundcheck- and lemme tell you, the soundcheck was awesome! Their crew came out and played several songs as a band, and we were certainly entertained! They played some AC/DC and Pat Benatar just to name a couple tunes. They ended it by saying, "as you may have guessed, we're not Foreigner. Foreigner will be good and on later, as opposed to us." But everyone who was there early still applauded them! It was the tightest sounding group of people doing a soundcheck I've heard. Foreigner might have to watch out for them breaking off into their own band lol!
About 30 minutes prior to the concert start at 8:00 pm, some fair officials came out to announce some things. The Nappanee High School Choir came out to sing the national anthem as skydivers swooped in with the American flag (among many flags), landing just as the song ended. They all did a beautiful job, and also I’d like to know how they timed that.
Then… the band came out.
Chris Fraizer (Drums) came out first to get a beat going, followed closely by Michael Bluestein on the keys. Then out bounded Tom Gimbel and Jeff Pilson, on guitar and bass guitar, respectively.
Mick Jones wasn’t there. From the reading up I’ve done, due to some health issues he hasn’t been going on every tour with the band; he toured with them last year and is, I assume, resting up after that. Of course we missed him, but the show was still amazing! If you check out the lineup on their wikipedia it appears this has been their general touring lineup for a while now.
Kelly Hansen came out last, striking a pose between the drums and keys on the riser as fog poured from the machines and the lights flashed to the drums, before Double Vision ramped up and he came leaping down the stairs to the front of the stage.
The set list was something like
- Double Vision
- Head Games
- Cold as Ice
- Waiting for a Girl Like You
- Dirty White Boy
- Say You Will
- Feels Like The First Time
- Urgent
- Keyboard & Drum Solo
- Juke Box Hero
- I Wanna Know What Love Is
- Hot Blooded
Kelly didn’t talk until after the second song (Head Games), welcoming us, and making a praying hands symbol to the sky and adding, “I’m gonna do this, and hope i doesn’t rain. But if it does rain, we’re gonna keep on rockin right on through it. And if we have to evacuate the grandstands due to lightning threats, y’all can come down here with us.”
‘Us’ would be the people who paid to actually sit close, and I’m not so sure he approved that message with anyone before making it lol, but of course everyone cheered and the show picked up again with Cold as Ice.
Speaking of Cold as Ice, I might add that Kelly basically leaped from the stage into the crowd during that song, and processed to essentially Usain Bolt through the crowd- and not just the paid seats. He also made the rounds down in front of the grandstands, which of course means he was less than say, seven feet from where we were sitting! I can’t imagine where he gets that much energy but what I do know is he must be a security nightmare haha!
By the time they were playing Waiting for a Girl Like You, it was sprinkling rain, and by the time they got to Dirty White Boy it was POURING. The barkers started selling ponchos but we were already instantly soaked in the front of the grandstands so we didn’t bother. A few people actually left at this point, but we most certainly did not (if only the people who left knew what they missed!)
The rain didn’t put any damper at all on the show, however, as they did an acoustic version of Say You Will, amd Kelly stood on a chair directly in front of the special front row seats- in the pouring rain- to sing the entire song. I might add that the special seats were for the fair queen and officials, and the choir.
Then came the long and rocking keys and drums solo- it began as a keyboard solo, and then morphed into a drum solo, and then became a sort of duet at the end. Chris Fraizer is a very good drummer, and Michael Bluestein really smoked those keys. Everyone really enjoyed the solos!
As the solo came to an end, it transitioned into Juke Box Hero, and the guys minus Kelly out one by one to get the unmistakable beginning of the song going. After a few bars, Kelly ‘appeared’ out of the strategic lighting darkness on the riser at the back of the stage, backlit perfectly in such a way that all you could see was a super bright outline of him (it was very neat to see, I wonder how exactly they have to arrange where he’ll stand for that bit). Juke Box Hero also included a high note that he held for a good minute it seemed- he really is an outstanding vocalist!
For I Wanna Know What Love Is, they brought the choir up on stage to sing backup. They do this at every show. In fact, in doing a little reading I found they started a program to raise money for local high school music programs. This helps music programs from getting lost in budget cuts. There’s some sort of contest which determines which local choir will sing backup, which I found to be pretty neat!
The choir did a beautiful job, taking up residence on the riser, and at one point Kelly went back to sing with them.
There were sort of jumbo tron live footage screens that a lot of camera men were running cameras for, so people in the cheap seats could see, plus we could get lovely close ups of what was going on. For the last song, Hot Blooded, Kelly stole one of the guy’s cameras and started running around the stage with it- so we got some from-the-stage-footage from him, and he did a pretty good job, although he made have made us dizzy with the thing a couple times.
Oh, and I can’t forget the balls! Someone sponsored these little red and white beach balls and let them loose in the crowd with the intention of us all batting them around in the air. I ‘helped’ a little girl sitting behind me collect a few to take home, and I even caught one myself, at the end of the night, let the air out of it to make it easy to carry and took it home as a souvenir!
Although we couldn’t get much in the way of good pictures or videos due to the lighting, the rain, and where we were sitting, it was definitely one of the best music experiences I’ve had, and I’d highly recommend going to see Foreigner if you get the chance!
-Cass
