Foreigner set familiar to rock fans at Utah State Fair
Guitarist Bruce Watson (left) and bassist Jeff Pilson (right) of Foreigner perform at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen and guitarist Bruce Watson perform at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner bassist Jeff Pilson performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner guitarist Bruce Watson performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner guitarist Bruce Watson performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner fans react after a song at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Tom Gimbel (guitar, keyboards, sax) and frontman Kelly Hansen perform at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen and guitarist Bruce Watson perform at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Guitarist Bruce Watson (left) and bassist Jeff Pilson (right) of Foreigner perform at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner keyboardist Michael Bluestein performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner guitarist Tom Gimbel performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner guitarist Bruce Watson performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner bassist Jeff Pilson performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner's Tom Gimbel (guitar, keyboards, sax) performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner fans of all ages cheer on the band at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner drummer Chris Frazier hits a cymbal while performing at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Foreigner performs at the Days of '47 Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
Friday’s Foreigner concert may have been held at the Days of ’47 Arena during the Utah State Fair, but for most of those in attendance, it was not their first rodeo.
Foreigner delivered exactly the type of show fans of the band in these parts have come to expect: hits delivered with high energy and precision, an MIA Mick Jones, some extended dialogue between songs, superb lighting, exuberant audience singalongs, a high school choir appearance and crowd hugfest during “I Want to Know What Love Is,” and a rousing rendition of “Hot Blooded” to bring the proceedings to a fiery conclusion. If this review ended right here, nobody who has seen the band in recent years would be surprised by any of those details.
Now we just need more time for all of it. Friday’s concert may have clocked in at 90 minutes, but it felt short in terms of song count. By the time you add in a couple of keyboard and drum solos, extended jams during several tunes and the aforementioned lengthy intros between numbers — all of which are well done and individually appreciated by the way — it exacts a toll on the overall setlist.
So it was that Foreigner played only nine actual songs Friday, which, considering the band’s huge catalog of hits and quality album tracks, just doesn’t seem like enough. Another 15 minutes and three to four more songs would make a world of difference.
But enough about what wasn’t there, let’s turn focus to what was. Foreigner is an extremely dynamic band that sizzles in a live setting. The band, starting with live-wire frontman Kelly Hansen, puts forth a visually stimulating show. Guitarists Bruce Watson and Tom Gimbel, and bassist Jeff Pilson all freely roam the stage while cranking out the riffs which have launched a million radio plays. Drummer Chris Frazier and keyboardist Michael Bluestein are rooted with their instruments at the back of the stage, but are also animated in their performance delivery.
The band roared through hits “Double Vision,” “Head Games” and “Cold as Ice” — the latter song highlighted by Hansen climbing the scaffolding high above the crowd at stage left.
Between songs, Hansen took a moment to offer a shoutout to veteran rocker Eddie Money, who died earlier in the day after battling esophageal cancer. Hansen noted that Money was a great guy and tour mate who was always quick with a joke. In the run-up to showtime, it was all Money all the time as a selection of the hitmaker’s songs played over the stage loudspeakers, which I thought was a nice touch.
After slowing the pace down with “Waiting For a Girl Like You,” Hansen looked out over the audience before making a sweeping — but not necessarily untrue — generalization. “All these beautiful ladies,” Hansen said, “surrounded by all these sketchy dudes.” Of course, this was the clear lead in for the song “Dirty White Boy.”
The age of the audience also proved to be a subject of conversation throughout the night — something to be expected since the band’s debut record came out 42 years ago.
“Let’s hear it for those over 40!” Hansen exhorted the audience at one point, to loud applause. “Let’s hear it for over 50! Let’s … stop right there! I don’t have time to go through all the decades.”
At another point, Hansen educated the younger part of the audience in the semantics of a “live” show.
“For all of you twentysomethings out there, this show is 100 percent without pitch correction,” he said. “We’re doing it old school.”
As songs like “Feels Like the First Time,” “Urgent” (with its invigorating sax solo by Gimbel) and “Juke Box Hero” showed Friday, old school is where Foreigner is at the top of its class. Now let’s see about expanding the curriculum to include more lesson time.{span class=”print_trim”}