The Foreigner farewell tour featured a Foreigner-like presence

Foreigner. // photo by Chris Ortiz

After a short delay due to rain, the gates at at Starlight Theater opened to cooler temps than expected on Tuesday, with the evening slated to be a night of solid rock and roll as Loverboy and Foreigner came to town during the start of Foreigner’s almost two-year Farewell Tour.

For Loverboy, the band was as good if not better than when they came through last year, opening for Styx and REO Speedwagon (which was again at Starlight Theater). The band was energetic, more so than a few other younger bands that I had the chance to photograph and review over the past few months, which was very impressive. The band rocked the sold-out Theater with their 10 song setlist that slightly differed from the other stops so far on this tour. 68 year-old lead singer Mike Reno seemed like he had more rest and vigor than last year’s stop. Even though he stood behind the mic for the vast majority of the show, there were times where he walked around stage and engaged with the audience, telling the crowd how much the band LOVED Kansas City and how they had been in the metro for a few days already and were just “dicking around.”

Reno also stated that the band still had all of the original members in it, having formed back in 1979, right before the band played their first single “Kid is Hot Tonight,” which is the single that eventually got the band’s first record contract with Columbia/CBS Records Canada.

With the playing of this song, just like with “Lovin’ Every Minute of It” and their most notable hit, “Working for the Weekend,” got the crowd on their feet, singing along with every note. Reno also told the story behind one song, “Heaven in Your Eyes,” where the band was approached on a Tuesday with the idea of writing an original tune for the first Top Gun soundtrack, that was due the following Thursday. Never-the-less though, the band got the song done, it was released on the soundtrack, and played the “heart felt moment” (as Reno put it) for the audience.

After the closing of “Working for the Weekend,” the crowd made a mad dash out of their seats to create long and exhausting lines for concessions and the restrooms. It was truly unclear if this was the time when Independence’s Van Horn High School choir was to perform, or if it was before Loverboy took the stage. The students seemed to be there as the school buses were already parked along the street as I was pulling into the parking area for the night. Regardless, the choir never took the stage as promised. Maybe it was due to the doors opening delay, but let’s hope that regardless of the reason, the kids got to stick around and watch the show and that Van Horn High School choir still received a Bose L1 Pro16 sound system that they had been a promised donation by Foreigner and Bose Sound System.

When it was time for Foreigner to come on, and with the vast majority of the fans back in their seats (and with the weather still holding out), the band took the stage with a blasting of “Double Vision” that knocked everyone’s socks off. It was a great way to start the set and the band played through some of their most successful hits, including “Head Games,” “Cold as Ice,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” “Feels Like The First Time,” “Urgent,” “Juke Box Hero” (which saw lead singer Kelly Hansen rise on a platform from the middle of the crowd, along the right side of the seats, about 18 feet into the air), “I Want to Know What Love Is,” and “Hot Blooded.”

However, this is where the issue stands. These songs, of which we have all grown to love as Foreigner’s songs, were played amazingly, with some of the best talent out there to play them. Yet, last night’s band lineup did not include a single original member of Foreigner. Hell, the longest member of the current band, bass player Jeff Pilson, didn’t even join the group until 2004, a full 27 years after the band’s first single, “Feels like the First Time,” was released. With no original members left in the band (yes, Mick Jones WAS supposed to be out on this tour, but because of health issues could not be there) is the current lineup still Foreigner? Or is it a glorified cover/tribute band? That is the question: with no regards to how good they sounded on stage (which they did sound VERY good up there), are they still Foreigner?

Should the ”Historic Farewell Tour” actually go on without any original members left in the group? And if so, at the same ticket prices that people are paying now to see a group that isn’t the members of the group that made them who they are today?

Sure, the band’s songs are loved by millions around the globe, and the band is up for a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024, but it feels almost wrong to be paying top dollar to see a band that is not the band that made the songs famous. Maybe just go with “That Was Yesterday, the Farewell Tour.”