They've still got it....

In the last month, I've had the opportunity to see two of my favorite bands live. When I was younger, I used to go to a lot of concerts. I've seen my favorite band Rush 9 times live if that gives you any idea. Anyway, I had never seen either of these bands live.

The first was the Eagles. I saw them when they were in Nashville a few weeks ago. After they did their first two songs, Glenn Frey said "We'd like to welcome you to the Eagles 'Assisted Living Tour'" He was hilarious. Theses guys still have it. Though Glenn Frey and Don Henley typically garner most of the attention for their vocals, I came away most impressed with Joe Walsh. Until you see them live, you don't realize that Joe Walsh is the guy playing most of the difficult guitar solos. Though, since seeing the "Hell Freezes Over" video, I noticed they seems to carry around another guitarist to play some of the licks. All in all, it was a great show...one of the greatest bands in rock history IMHO....however.

Last night, I took Chris to see Foreigner at the Wildhorse. Ever since he got the Guitar Hero video game, he has become a huge classic rock fan. Music from the 70s and 80s is one of the areas that he and I connect on, it is a big part of our relationship. A month or so ago, I saw that Foreigner was coming to Nashville and I mentioned that I'd like to take him. I got busy and didn't think about it (the tickets were kind of expensive) until I received an email on Monday or Tuesday that they were offering tickets 2 for 1. At that point, I said, "We have to go", I'm so glad we did.

Like I said before, I've been to a lot of live shows, but for overall atmosphere and music, I've never been to a show that compares with seeing Foreigner at the Wildhorse. The Wildhorse (for you non-Nashvillians) is a country bar built by Gaylord Entertainment (Grand Ole Opry folks). A few years ago, they started hosting some live concerts there. Some of the bands from the 70s and 80s play there (if they are still able to get around). The Wildhorse is an impressive venue, it has three levels, but no matter where you sit, you are close to the stage.

We got there about 7:30 when the opening act was supposed to start. Kip Winger opened the show. It was him and a 12 string guitar, he was good. I remember the band Winger from years ago, but to be honest, I couldn't remember any of his songs.

Foreigner took the stage about 9:00 or so. When they walked out on the stage, this wild looking guy with white hair came out carrying a guitar. He looked more like a lost high school science teacher than a rocker. When there is a band I like, I usually know all of the members by name, however, with Foreigner, I pretty much only knew the name of the (former) lead singer Lou Gramm (Louis Grammatico I just found out). Anyway, the wild haired guy was Mick Jones, he was one of the founding members, he co-wrote most of their songs and co-produced all of their albums. He's now 63 years old and absolutely brought the house down. The dude rocks, the guitar solos on their songs are his. He is only remaining original member.

They opened the show with 'Double Vision', followed by 'Head Games'. After that, I don't remember the order of the songs. I wasn't drunk, but it was a constant barrage of hit after hit. It was fantastic.

I do remember the song 'Urgent'. Their rhythm guitar player (I don't remember his name) played the sax part on that song. They expanded his solo time considerably from the original song. It was fantastic. That song has too much of a be-bop feel to it for me, but when he played that solo. It was incredible.

Chris and I listen to a lot of music together and it is usually a game about who can recognize and name the band and song first. When they started the intro for 'Jukebox Hero', I heard that distinctive synth sound that opens the song. I looked at Chris and said "come on son, what's the song?" He didn't know. They lengthened the intro and changed it a bit, so it wasn't just like the album. Anyway, I kept watching his face, when the singer hit the second line of the lyrics, it finally hit him what song it was. His face lit up and he said "That was them?" I said, yeah, Jukebox Hero, what a song. They changed it up quite a bit, Mick Jones really showed his stuff on the guitar solo. They even inserted a little of Led Zepplin's "Whole lotta Love". Definitely a highlight.

And I can't forget the singer. I have to say that Lou Gramm, in my opinion, was one of the real greats in rock vocals. When I realized that he wasn't singing for Foreigner any more, I have to say that I was a little disappointed and even thought "It's not Foreigner without Lou Gramm". I was wrong. Kelly Hansen, their new vocalist had the voice, range and emotion needed to pull off their repertoire. He was great. Mick Jones even said himself "He's brought new life into these songs".

Well, I could probably ramble on about that show for hours. I'll wrap it up by saying this....if a band that you like plays at the Wildhorse, spend the money, go see them...you won't be dissappointed.