Foreigner & Cheap Trick – The Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA. – 8/30/17
Fan Experience: Teresa Schachtel
Pictures: Sheri Hastings
Foreigner
When you’re tapped on the shoulder at the merch booth and some guy says, “Hey Blondie, you want a front row pit ticket to see Foreigner?” you politely oblige with a “Hell Yeah!” and have the best night of your life at the Greek Theater under a misty moonlit Summer sky in L.A.
With crazy energy and monster vocals and musicianship, Foreigner never seems to disappoint. One of the biggest rock bands of my childhood and into adulthood still claiming fame to that nostalgic yet current sound that we all crave. With such amazing hits like “Cold as Ice”, “Urgent”, “Waiting for a Girl Like You”, and “I Want to Know What Love Is”, every single song is an essential hit that was familiar to sing along to.
All while I stood staring at the laces of legendary guitarist, Mick Jones’ shoes as they stamped on the setlist one foot in front of me at stage level. With the amazing raspy and on point vocals and showmanship of Kelly Hansen and the thump of Jeff Pilson’s Bass, the actual show contained so much energy that they even made it rain in LA during the Summer.
Personally, I appreciate the way the band interacts with the audience. Kelly goes out into the crowd and high fives the crowd and talks to the fans about nostalgic stories like they’re members of his family while the other band members shake hands and make eye contact with the crowd like they’re playing for each of them individually.
As the setlist drew to a close, the chants of the rain soaked crowd let the band know that they wanted more. Obligingly, Foreigner popped off with an ending explosion of “Hot Blooded” and once again thrilled it’s captives with a magical force… it was either that or Kelly Hansen’s white jeans, as I’ve always thought they’ve had a bit of magic about them.
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Cheap Trick
Basically, when Robin Zander sings, you listen. And you smile. And you are filled with the sounds of original rock and roll that is so iconic that this sound has never been duplicated. With Zander’s talent and his snazzy newspaper print suit, Cheap Trick always deliver a show that is top notch entertainment at its best.
With such an amazing Hit List such as “The Flame,” “I Want You To Want Me,” and “The Dream Police,” Cheap Trick prove that their talent has stood the test of time over the years and that the cohesion of the band and relationship between Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen on guitar is a match made in heaven. In fact, even a lesser-known song called “Heaven Tonight” was played by request from social media outlets.
One of the highlights of the show was the appearance of Scott Ian from Anthrax on guitar during “Surrender” at the close of the set. It made the crowd go wild and really solidified the additional aspect and nod to Hard Rock for the night. It was a great surprise that I was able to catch a glimpse of Scott Ian walking into the Greek which made it pretty exciting for me to experience the notion that he might perform with them.
Cheap Trick will always be one of my favorite bands and personally that show was awesome to me because before Robin Zander took the stage he was standing in the wings of stage left and I pointed to him and said, “Hi” and he locked eyes with me and pointed right back. No wonder I named my son after him 🙂
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