Foreigner rocks out ATT Center
Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:43 pmNice to see the band selling out a good size venue again (16.5k). Looks like no opening act either, very impressive. Seems like having a Wal-Mart deal has breathed new life into these guys.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/rodeo/84285467.html
By Robert Johnson - Express-News
ATTENDANCE: 16,500 (sold out)
FIRST TAKE: You wouldn't expect to see "Foreigner" and "Stock Show & Rodeo" in the same sentence, but the classic-rock hit machine whose biggest hit, the massive power ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is," came during the Reagan administration (the first one), nevertheless managed to fill the AT&T Center to the rafters Friday night. The band, led by guitarist and only remaining founding member Mick Jones, took full advantage of its first solo headlining appearance in San Antonio in more than a decade; its most recent visits were always co-headlining affairs with '70s/'80s arena-rock compadres Journey, Def Leppard, Styx and Bad Company.
After an intro worthy of the Spurs — roving spotlights in the darkened arena and a scoreboard going crazy — the band opened with a rock 'n' roll salvo of "Double Vision," "Head Games," "Cold as Ice" (the piano intro drew a huge roar) and "Dirty White Boy."
THE SCENE: As advertised, new lead singer Kelly Hansen sounded uncannily like his predecessor, Lou Gramm, although the rail-thin singer looked more like a young Steven Tyler. He endeared himself to the crowd by leaving the gray revolving stage to take a lap around the dirt of the arena floor, slapping hands with fans; and by dedicating the first new tune of the evening, "Can't Slow Down," to the wounded warriors in attendance.
Jones, meanwhile, showed he can still burn the strings of his Gibson Les Paul — and sing a bit, too. He took over the vocal chores from Hansen on the soft-to-hard "Starrider," which is noteworthy for being one of the few tunes on the band's first album that wasn't a hit.
The hits just kept on coming, as the band went all the way back to 1977 for its very first Top 10 tune, "Feels Like the First Time." "Urgent" saw second guitarist Thom Gimbel switch to sax and stepped into the spotlight for an extended solo. A quickie drum solo from Brian Tichy signaled the arrival of "Juke Box Hero," which abruptly shifted into the familiar riff that kicks off Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" before going back to the jukebox guy in a swirl of howling guitars that closed the hour-long main set.
Because it would have involved a nervous walk through the dirt, the band eschewed standard encore procedure and remained onstage for an encore that was exactly what you'd expect — a sing-along version of the chart-topping power ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is" (with Jones helping out on keyboards), followed by a raucous run-through of the power-chord workout "Hot Blooded," arguably one of the band's finest moments and a great closing tune.
They call what Foreigner does "arena rock." They proved Friday they still know how to rattle the far reaches of an arena. And yes, it rocked.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/rodeo/84285467.html
By Robert Johnson - Express-News
ATTENDANCE: 16,500 (sold out)
FIRST TAKE: You wouldn't expect to see "Foreigner" and "Stock Show & Rodeo" in the same sentence, but the classic-rock hit machine whose biggest hit, the massive power ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is," came during the Reagan administration (the first one), nevertheless managed to fill the AT&T Center to the rafters Friday night. The band, led by guitarist and only remaining founding member Mick Jones, took full advantage of its first solo headlining appearance in San Antonio in more than a decade; its most recent visits were always co-headlining affairs with '70s/'80s arena-rock compadres Journey, Def Leppard, Styx and Bad Company.
After an intro worthy of the Spurs — roving spotlights in the darkened arena and a scoreboard going crazy — the band opened with a rock 'n' roll salvo of "Double Vision," "Head Games," "Cold as Ice" (the piano intro drew a huge roar) and "Dirty White Boy."
THE SCENE: As advertised, new lead singer Kelly Hansen sounded uncannily like his predecessor, Lou Gramm, although the rail-thin singer looked more like a young Steven Tyler. He endeared himself to the crowd by leaving the gray revolving stage to take a lap around the dirt of the arena floor, slapping hands with fans; and by dedicating the first new tune of the evening, "Can't Slow Down," to the wounded warriors in attendance.
Jones, meanwhile, showed he can still burn the strings of his Gibson Les Paul — and sing a bit, too. He took over the vocal chores from Hansen on the soft-to-hard "Starrider," which is noteworthy for being one of the few tunes on the band's first album that wasn't a hit.
The hits just kept on coming, as the band went all the way back to 1977 for its very first Top 10 tune, "Feels Like the First Time." "Urgent" saw second guitarist Thom Gimbel switch to sax and stepped into the spotlight for an extended solo. A quickie drum solo from Brian Tichy signaled the arrival of "Juke Box Hero," which abruptly shifted into the familiar riff that kicks off Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" before going back to the jukebox guy in a swirl of howling guitars that closed the hour-long main set.
Because it would have involved a nervous walk through the dirt, the band eschewed standard encore procedure and remained onstage for an encore that was exactly what you'd expect — a sing-along version of the chart-topping power ballad "I Want to Know What Love Is" (with Jones helping out on keyboards), followed by a raucous run-through of the power-chord workout "Hot Blooded," arguably one of the band's finest moments and a great closing tune.
They call what Foreigner does "arena rock." They proved Friday they still know how to rattle the far reaches of an arena. And yes, it rocked.
