Foreigner Concert: Fort Lauderdale, Fl[/caption]Foreigner Concert, Fort Lauderdale Florida 3/20/18
Written and Photographed by Robin ErvolinaFort Lauderdale, Florida won the rock lottery when Foreigner announced The Broward Center for the Performing Arts as one of eight U.S. dates for the Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra Tour. Whew. That's a mouthful, right? Yet, there is no better name for a tour celebrating 40 years of Foreigner hits, performed with a full orchestra! Now your head is spinning, right? Can you imagine being there? We can help. Shockwave Magazine is delighted to share our review of the Foreigner concert, Fort Lauderdale, Fl style. Check out our slide show of images at the end of the review.
Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra Tour is not just a treat, but a build up to upcoming CD/DVD package Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, set for release April 27th, 2018 via earMusic. The project began in May of 2017 when the band performed two sold-out shows in Lucerne, Switzerland with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. For the next year, Mick Jones (founder/lead guitarist) and the Grammy nominated duo of Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer, focused on orchestral arrangements of some of the most iconic Foreigner tunes. Says Jones:
I could never have imagined when I set out to create Foreigner 40 years ago, that we’d still be touring around the world and performing the music we love all these years later. Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer’s orchestral arrangements have shown us a new symphonic dimension of our music, which I hope our fans will enjoy.
40 Years of Foreigner in 90 Minutes
Foreigner lead singer Kelly Hansen took the stage at 7:45 p.m. to introduce the concept for the show. The crowed greeted him with thunderous applause, then the house lights dimmed, and stage lights illuminated the 20-person orchestra. The string section began the first bars of "Blue Morning, Blue Day." Shortly after, Foreigner took to the stage, and the crowd to their feet. No one bothered to sit down for follow-up tune "Cold As Ice," including Hansen, who ran fully into the crowd and high-fived fans. "Waiting for a Girl Like You," gave the band the opportunity to connect with the audience, who sang along word for word. Hansen and bassist Jeff Pilson (formerly of Dokken) grinned broadly as they accepted hand shakes and smiles from the ladies in the front row. It was pure 80's all over again.
But lest we forget, Foreigner was more than an 80's band. They formed in the late 70s and their debut CD spawned multiple Top 20 hits including "Feels Like The First Time," and "Cold As Ice." The continued to release album after album, hit after hit, well into the new the new millennium and show no signs of stopping.
For their fourth and fifth songs of the night, the band sat on stools to perform an acoustic set comprised of "Say You Will," and "The Flame Still Burns." And while the fans were fully engaged, when Foreigner followed up with "Double Vision," all feet were planted on the ground, all hands in the air, all hips shaking and grinding.
Some Things Change
Throughout the night my eyes were often drawn to the orchestra and the conductor. On the main stage, the lead violinist and cello player bounced up and down, off their feet, playing so heartily they could not contain the energy. At points in the show even the conductor had to take a break to dance alongside the band. There was nothing less than pure enthusiasm pouring from every person on stage. If I didn't know better, I would swear they were unaware they were performing a show. It was refreshing to see that a band with so many member changes can gel to the point where they look more like best friends than band mates.
Foreigner played for a solid 90 minutes, wrapping up with a nearly ten minute rendition of their biggest U.S. hit, "I Want To Know What Love Is." Part way through the song, members of the Coral Springs School of Rock took stage to form the choir for the chorus. While it wasn't needed (the audience made up a choir of thousands), it was refreshing and a little heart-tugging. With a roar of applause and cheer, the band left the stage just as they'd entered; humbled to be so relevant and talented after 41 years in the industry. However, as the audience, we were humbled to be a stop on such a limited engagement tour.
A Prelude of Things to Come
If a 20-person orchestra and 15-person choir can create such a rich backdrop to the soundtrack of our life, imagine the wall of sound a 60-person choir and 59-person orchestra will bring to the timeless music of Foreigner. So pick up that CD/DVD digipak on April 27th, 2018, only available at Walmart in the US and Canada.
Foreigner Concert: Fort Lauderdale, FL Slideshow
Though few dates remain, tickets may still be available. Click here to purchase, because you do not want to miss this epic, once in a lifetime performance.
FOREIGNER ORCHESTRAL TOUR DATES
03.29.2018 USA Cedar Rapids, IA US CELLULAR CENTER
03.30.2018 USA Sioux City, IA ORPHEUM THEATRE
04.02.2018 USA Grand Forks, ND CHESTER FRITZ AUDITORIUM
04.03.2018 USA Minot, ND ALL SEASONS ARENA
04.04.2018 USA Duluth, MN DECC AUDITORIUM
05.26.2018 SWITZERLAND Lucerne KKL LUCERNE
05.27.2018 SWITZERLAND Lucerne KKL LUCERNE
FOREIGNER is: Mick Jones (guitar), Kelly Hansen (lead vocals), Jeff Pilson (bass, vocals), Tom Gimbel (rhythm guitar, sax, vocals), Michael Bluestein (keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar) and Chris Frazier (drums)
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