Review and Photos by Jeff Palmucci
Galleries: Foreigner, Whitesnake
Foreigner and Whitesnake played the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion last week to a pretty packed house. The diversity of the crowd at these types of concerts always amazes me. Sure, I’ve been around long enough to remember when these bands first started, but more than half the crowd there wasn’t even born when they were formed.. by a long shot.
Jason Bonham’s band opened up. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to the concert on time, and was just able to catch Stairway to Heaven. His set consisted entirely of classic Zeppelin, and if you are a fan (which I am), you’d have loved it.[1]
Whitesnake was up next, and really rocked the stage. Check out the photo gallery. David Coverdale has still got an amazing voice and is still working the crowd. They played a ton of classics during the set, with the crowd singing along to their favorites.
Tommy Aldridge had a great moment putting on a drum solo, sans sticks. He play almost the entire thing with just open hands and fists, giving his drum set a proper beat-down. Through the entire thing, I simple kept thinking “OUCH!”
Foreigner was up next. Songwriter / Guitarist Mick Jones is still with the band since the very beginning, and current lead singer Kelly Hansen gave him a nice intro. Did not know all the side projects he produced, including Van Halen’s 5150 and Billy Joel’s Stormfront. 5150 was probably one of my most played albums as a kid.
The set was filled with classics for the crowd to sing along with. Jukebox Hero, Cold As Ice, Hot Blooded, Feels Like The First Time. They were all there. During the first encore, I Want to Know What Love Is, the band brought out the chorus from the Boston Latin School to sing backing vocals. Looked like fun, especially for this girl, that got to wail on Pilson’s bass.
We’re in a golden age of classic rock. Seems like bands from my youth are touring a lot more frequently than they have in the past. If you were to tell me that I’d be able to see GnR (with Axl and Slash) last year, I wouldn’t have believed it. (don’t tell Axl I called them classic rock). Do yourself a favor and catch the wave.
[1] As a side note, if you love Zeppelin, check out Greta Van Fleet. They are a new(ish) band influenced (heavily) by Led Zeppelin, and they are just amazing.
Foreigner and Whitesnake at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion – Boston, MA
