Foreigner and Styx were touring together last year and I thought about getting tickets, and didn’t. I don’t regret many decisions I make in life, but I DEFINITELY regretted that one. I really like Foreigner and wondered if I’d ever have a chance to see them again…
Then I ran across an article last November saying Foreigner was coming to Waukegan, Illinois, in March! YESSSSSSS!!! Here was my chance to see them!
I sent the article to the person I know loves 80s (and late 70s?) music like I do, Rachel, and she did not hesitate in saying “count me in!”
I don’t think we could have been any more pumped for the concert! Every time I heard (or played) a Foreigner song, I got so excited! We decided to do some 80s inspired glamming up for the show, and figured other people would too…
Nope. Just us. Ha! And I think we may have been the youngest people there! I was surprised! Where were all the other young 30s Foreigner fans? Ha ha.
The concert was last night at the Genesee theater. Not everyone I told about the concert thought it sounded like an idea of fun (one person even asked if I was getting paid to go, jokingly!), but everyone told me the Genesee is beautiful, and it is!
I thought it might feel funny to be watching a rock concert in a place that feels like it’s set up for an opera or orchestral concert, but once the show started, I completely forgot about it! The space had great acoustics and Foreigner sounded AMAZING. Gah, it was so fun to hear all their popular songs being sung, live (here’s the set list)!!! I really can’t decide which song was my favorite, but I particularly enjoyed “Dirty White Boy,” “Say You Will,” “Feels Like the First Time,” “Urgent,” and “Juke Box Hero.” Ha. I just listed half the set – I might as well list them all!
The entire band was fun to watch, but the current lead singer (Kelly Hansen) was especially amusing – just dancing all over, going in to the crowd, touching people’s hands in the crowd, calling them old (ha), making fun of them for sitting, shaking his booty during “Dirty White Boy,” and so on. So high energy! I was smiling the whole time!
And I thought this was really cool – a local high school choir got to come on stage and sing the refrain with the band during “I Want to Know What Love Is.” What a neat opportunity!
I’m so grateful I got a chance to go, and that Rachel came with me! I wonder what awesome 80s band we will see next?! Ha!
Tell me your favorite Foreigner song!
OMG! Cool! I love your 80s outfits, too! I can imagine what the crowd was like – when we went to see the Violent Femmes last summer, it was hilarious to see all the people our age and older, some of them headbanging and most of them (including me) still knowing all the lyrics to every song.
I was never a huge Foreigner fan, but if you grew up in the 80s those songs are an integral part of the soundtrack of your youth. My favorite song has to be “Urgent”, although when I saw the title of your blogpost in my feed, “I’ve Been Waiting” automatically started playing in my head.
Glad you had a great time!
Thank you! And yep, that is EXACTLY what the crowd was like, you visualized it perfectly! Hee hee!
Their performance of Urgent was so cool! I especially dug the saxophone solo!
That sounds like a blast, and I love your outfit! (CUTE SHOES!!!). It’s so much fun to see bands from the 80’s.
Thank you!!!! 😀
Have you seen some?!
I love the 80’s inspired looks! We went to a Fleetwood Mac concert last year and were definitely among the youngest people in the audience.
This is so embarrassing, but I didn’t know who Foreigner was. I’d heard “Juke Box Hero” because it was covered on a random episode of “Glee” that I watched (Ugh). I *do* love Styx though, so I’d be bummed to have missed that concert too. My favorite Styx song is “Mr. Roboto”–I always sing it at karaoke!
Don’t be embarrassed. There are lots of bands (and definitely shows) other people like and I’ve never heard of! 🙂
My fave Styx song is probably “Renegade” 🙂
Oops, how did I miss this post? (Even though you told me you wrote it! hahah)
I’m so happy you invited me to join you! It was an awesome show and Kev was totally jealous when I told him all about it. I still have all the songs stuck in my head! 🙂