The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2024 inductees, Foreigner, rolled into town with opener Loverboy and left Charleston in a state of musical euphoria.
With a little over 3,000 tickets sold, Loverboy took the stage promptly at 7:00 PM and rocked the coliseum in true 80s arena-rock style for a solid 55 minutes. The band started strong with the hit song “Notorious.” Next up, “Take Me to the Top” and lead singer Mike Reno had no issues hitting his first high falsetto notes of the night and the smooth saxophone solo added a nice feel to the song. The audience, which was pretty subdued up to this point, all took to their feet in unison for the band’s mega-hit “Lovin’ Every Minute of It.” Screeching rock guitars filled the air, and Reno engaged the crowd in a huge back-and-forth singalong. The band ended their time on stage with back-to-back hits “Turn Me Loose,” with the unmistakable sliding keyboard and bass intro, and the four-beat cowbell entrance to “Working for the Weekend.” Loverboy was a fantastic warm-up for what was to come.
After a short stage changeover, Foreigner commanded the stage for the next hour and 45 minutes, and with almost 50 years of hits and history together as a band, they rocked non-stop from start to finish. Singer Kelly Hansen, the band’s frontman since 2005, was a perpetual ball of energy and constant motion. With spot-on vocals and a stage presence that was a cross between Steven Tyler and David Lee Roth, he grabbed your attention and never relinquished control. Foreigner started with hits “Double Vision,” “Head Games,” and “Cold as Ice,” before slowing it down a bit and crooning out the classic “Waiting for a Girl Like You.” Harmonies were amazingly tight with the mega-hit “Feels Like the First Time” and the crowd was like a rehearsed background choir as they sang along so loud and boisterous.“Urgent” brought rock muscle and power to the stage. Hansen had in-your-face vocals to compliment the driving bass and drums, and keyboardist Michael Bluestein strapped on a “keytar” (synth guitar) and jammed out a killer solo. From there, Bluestein and drummer Chris Frazier knocked out phenomenal keyboard and drum solos, respectfully, before the stage went black and the intensifying keyboard smoothly built to Hansen showing up in a smokey spotlight on the drum riser and belting out intro vocals to “Juke Box Hero.” After almost an hour-and-20-ish minutes of leaving it on the stage, the band thanked the crowd and walked off stage. Those in attendance immediately started clamoring for an encore and of course, the band didn’t disappoint. The group retook the stage with “Long Way from Home” as Hansen belted out “It was a Monday, a day like any other day.” Next up, during “I Want to Know What Love Is,” a local high school choir came on stage with the band and swayed back and forth with all those in attendance and sang along with Hansen “I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me.”
To end the night and their solid hit-packed setlist, the group rocked out “Hot Blooded.” Those that came out on a Monday night were given a true Rock & Roll Hall of Fame performance.
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