Loverboy & Foreigner

from August 2023

Loverboy & Foreigner

Trish Stoecker, Managing Editor

The first time I saw both Foreigner and Loverboy, they were part of a five-band day-long mega concert on June 19, 1982 at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. I was a Sophomore in College, and went with my boyfriend at the time. Powerhouses of the day, Foreigner and The Kinks were coheadliners, and Loverboy played third. Joan Jett and Huey Lewis and the News were also featured. It was very hot and humid. The 1old bench seats were cracked, allowing the fiberglass to scratch the backs of our legs. That was the first concert I ever went to, and you know I found that old ticket stub the other day when I was cleaning out a desk drawer. It’s amazing the things we hold onto.

Fast forward 41 years. Two of those bands reunite for one phenomenal trip down memory lane here in Tampa. Only this time, I can afford superb seats where I can see the expressions on their faces and the fret work of these extremely talented musicians. The guys of Loverboy showed they not only had what it took to recreate their hits, but they also let the audience know how much fun they were having doing it. It has been a very long time since I’ve seen a drum kit that expansive, but the equipment on the rest of the stage was minimal, save for some throwback stacked Marshall amps which were, in fact, in service. The show opened with keyboardist Mike Johnson leaping onto the stage platform and hitting the single note to start “Notorious.” The crowd recognized it immediately and threw up a rousing cheer. Drummer Matt Frenette followed as he took his seat and started pounding out the rhythm. Lead guitarist Paul Dean, Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve on Bass, and Mike Reno in his signature red bandana, joined in and belted out the super hit, which is also one of my personal favorites. It was followed by ‘Lucky Ones, ‘Queen of the Broken Hearts,‘ and ‘Turn Me Loose. 'As the band got to “The Kid Is Hot Tonight,” Reno commented on how the song was fitting given the blazing hot temperature of that July 9 th night.

The band slowed the tempo down with the ballad from the original Top Gun movie, “Heaven in Your Eyes.” But that was the only time they took a breather. They saved their biggest hits for last with ‘Lovin’ Every Minute of It’, ‘Hot Girls in Love’, and ‘Turn Me Loose,’ closing out the set with ‘Working For the Weekend.‘ Mike Reno’s voice hasn’t changed much. He can still hit the high notes, and the overall performance brought back those MTV memories from my college days and set the tone for the main event. Now the sun had completely set; the air had settled down from the scorching temps of just a couple hours before. We waited in anticipation for the headliner to take the stage. Amazingly enough, no original members of Foreigner played this night. Only one remains, Mick Jones, but he was not on stage and is only appearing with the band on a handful of dates during this tour. The most recognizable aspect of the group is the voice of Kelly Hansen (joined in 2005). The opener was ‘Double Vision,‘ and it got the crowd on their feet, where they remained for the better part of the show. Kelly resplendent in yellow leather pants, black concert tee, white and black vest topped off with a long red and white striped scarf, greeted the audience and went right into the band’s library of megahits. Next up was ‘Head Games‘, and the band sounds incredible – not any bit older than it did in 1982, but better because I’m in a more intimate venue than that huge stadium. Kelly is full of energy, bouncing from one side of the stage to the other. Luis Maldonado, the relative newcomer of the group (2021), played rhythm and lead guitar as well as sang background vocals. This guy has real talent and makes it look so incredibly easy. After Foreigner, I expect to see him with other headliner bands. Bruce Watson (2012) is also rhythm and lead guitar with background vocals. All the musicians interact with each other and trade off taking lead. Bassist Jeff Pilson (2004) Jeff had a back injury and played from a stool towards the back of the stage. He was wheeled on and off, but any pain he was in was never betrayed by the quality of his music.

‘Cold As Ice‘ was number three, with the crowd eagerly joining in to the familiar 80s hit. ‘Waiting For a Girl Like You‘ and ‘Dirty White Boy‘ rounded out the first part of the set. The band then gathered into a semi-circle for an acoustic portion playing three songs, two of which were numbers they did not regularly perform. Kelly said they had some extra time, and it wasn’t often they got to do this. Weren’t we the lucky ones that got to witness it! ‘When It Comes To Love‘ from the ‘Can’t Slow Down‘ album, and one of my personal favorites, ‘Girl On The Moon‘ from the iconic ‘Foreigner 4‘ were first. Not sure if the audience recognized those two because they were fairly quiet. Kelly then took a few minutes to talk with the audience, and asked whether we wanted him to introduce the band by age or by tenure with the band. That brought a big laugh.

He also let everyone know they were playing live and not using any background vocals or musical tracks, and the reasons why this would, indeed, be his and the band’s swansong concert tour. He said that after 46 years of performing, he wanted to go out on top before his voice started to betray him, as he said is what happens to so many other artists. He loved performing, but it was time to retire. You can appreciate that a man wants to be remembered at the top of his game. The final number of the acoustic portion was ‘Say You Will‘, which is a keyboard-heavy tune and featured Michael Bluestein (2008) seated to the far left at his metal shop floor-clad piano. What a treat for those of us in attendance to see this monumental band play this mini-set unplugged.

After the band got back up and plugged back in, they launched into ‘Feels Like the First Time‘, and brought the crowd back to its feet. ‘Urgent‘ followed. During the concert, all the musicians got their opportunity to shine with their own solos, and after ‘Urgent‘, Michael Bluestein performed a lengthy keyboard rendition followed by one by drummer Chris Frazier (2012). During this interlude, a platform had been set up close to the soundboard. The band starting playing ‘Juke Box Hero‘. Kelly was singing, but no one knew exactly where he was. Turns out he was on top of the platform in the middle of the crowd, and everyone focused on him as it rose up into the sky. He remained there for the majority of the song, but was lowered to the floor and ran up to the stage by the end. The band gathered at the front of the stage to take a bow, but we all knew that couldn’t be the end of the music. Besides, the lights were still on!

As the opening notes of ‘I Want to Know What Love It‘ started, the audience lit up their cell phones just as we used to do with Bic lighters back in the day. The finale was ‘Hot Blooded‘. The music was accompanied by volleys of fireworks and the moveable light bars making their way up and down the stage to frame the musicians and bathe them in multicolored illumination. It was a fitting sendoff for a true megaband, and we stayed until the last note was played, and the last bow was taken.