Foreigner at USANA

I have always really loved Foreigner!  I played my vinyl copy of 4 so much I scratched it in several places (now whenever I hear "Urgent" it sounds strange without the skip at the beginning).  They were one of the first bands I saw in concert when I was in high school (the University of Utah a cappella choir backed them on "I Want to Know What Love Is") and I drove to Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver just to to see them in a double bill with Journey.  I was really excited to see them again last night at USANA Amphitheatre during a stop on what has been billed the Farewell Tour.  Mick Jones is the last remaining original member of the group and, because he has had some health problems recently, the band has decided to quit touring.  He has performed very sporadically on this tour because of these ongoing health problems and he was not with the band last night.  They were, essentially, a cover band without any original members but it didn't seem to matter because there was a huge crowd who sang along with every song!  They performed all of the hits starting with "Double Vision," "Head Games," and "Cold As Ice."  Then came "Waiting for a Girl Like You," which is my favorite song by the band, and it was amazing.  After such a beautiful ballad, Kelly Hansen joked that it was time for something a bit nasty so they sang "Dirty White Boy" which got the crowd cheering.  Next came an acoustic set featuring several lesser known songs including "When It Comes To Love," "Girl on the Moon," which I actually really love (see above comment about the album 4), and "Say You Will."  They continued with "Urgent," another favorite of mine, and "Feels Like the First Time" followed by extended keyboard and drum solos and then an epic rendition of "Juke Box Hero" to finish the main set.  For the encore, they performed "I Want to Know What Love Is" with everyone holding up their phones (I always love it when the crowd does this because it looks so cool) and "Hot Blooded" with some awesome pyrotechnics!  Hansen doesn't sound exactly like Lou Gramm but I thought he did justice to the songs and I liked his banter with the crowd.  He was funny at times but was also quite poignant about the legacy of the band.  I really enjoyed this concert because these songs are filled with a lot of nostalgia for me (a recurring theme this summer) and I'm glad I made the effort to go even though I was tired from my camping trip!

Note:  The opening band was Loverboy (another band from my youth).  I had never seen them before and I enjoyed their set, especially "Lovin' Every Minute Of It," "Turn Me Loose," and "Working for the Weekend."