Foreigner, Whitesnake slide assertively into the jukebox on Northerly Island

At this stage of its more than 40-year career, Foreigner is amongst the most visible acts of its entire classic rock class, and while Mick Jones (lead guitar), Kelly Hansen (lead vocals), Jeff Pilson (bass), Tom Gimbel (rhythm guitar, saxophone), Michael Bluestein (keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar) and Chris Frazier (drums) are about due for some new tunes, that means they’re nothing but “Juke Box Heroes” on the road right now. Given that title of its latest tour, which comes on the heels of the “Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus” CD/DVD set and PBS special that’s in programming rotation, that meant only the oldies, though with everyone sounding this passionate and amped up over the material at Huntington Bank Pavilion downtown on Northerly Island, it felt far from stale.

Joining Foreigner was hard rock/heavy metal men Whitesnake led by the internationally admired David Coverdale (also known for his stint fronting Deep Purple and collaborating with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page).

WhitesnakeIf anything, all the recent activity (which also included a major reunion with all the surviving original members in 2017 and the “40” double disc compilation) revitalized Foreigner to the point where distant tracks such as “Long, Long Way From Home,” “Double Vision,” “Head Games” and “Cold As Ice” gained an entirely new lease on life. Sole co-founder Jones (now 73) especially appeared to be enjoying the latest wave of adulation, making the most of his psychedelic opus “Starrider,” while Hansen continued to confidently follow in Lou Gramm’s lofty foot-steps between the ballads “Waiting For A Girl Like You” and “I Want To Know What Love Is” (backed by a local children’s choir) to the sax-drenched “Urgent,” his mid-crowd appearance on a hydraulic lift during “Juke Box Heroes” and the burning “Hot Blooded.”

Joining Foreigner was hard rock/heavy metal men Whitesnake led by the internationally admired David Coverdale (also known for his stint fronting Deep Purple and collaborating with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page). Though the group’s latest collection “The Purple Album” actually tips its hat to his previous band, this trip was mostly about recalling the “30th Anniversary Edition” of its more than eight million-copy selling self-titled album, and in a few cases, its double platinum precursor “Slide It In.”

WhitesnakeAlong with guitarist Reb Beach, guitarist Joel Hoekstra, bassist Michael Devin, drummer Tommy Aldridge and keyboard player Michele Luppi, Coverdale soared throughout ballsy “Bad Boys” such as “Give Me All Your Love,” “Slow An’ Easy” and “Still Of The Night,” while there wasn’t a person in even the most distant grandstand that didn’t join him in belting out the definitive Whitesnake anthem “Here I Go Again.” And while nothing from his Coverdale-Page days appeared, anyone who showed up early got an angle of that itch scratched thanks to former Foreigner beat keeper Jason Bonham’s expertly-executed Led Zeppelin Evening with a “Whole Lotta Love” for his late father John Bonham and company’s eclectic archives.


For additional information on Foreigner and Whitesnake, visit ForeignerOnline.com and Whitesnake.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at Huntington Bank Pavilion include the Special Olympics 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert (Jul. 21); 3 Doors Down and Collective Soul (Jul. 24); Coheed And Cambria and Taking Back Sunday (Jul. 26); Jeff Beck, Paul Rodgers and Ann Wilson of Heart (Jul. 29); Charlie Puth (Jul. 31); Slightly Stoopid (Aug. 12); G-Eazy (Aug. 14); 311 and The Offspring (Sept. 6); Needtobreathe (Sept. 8) and Dispatch (Sept. 15). For additional details, visit LiveNation.com.