Tonight while Woodland High School’s Class of 1981 (and 78, 79, 80, and 82) reminisced about our high school days 30 years ago at the Spednic Club, the music of Night Ranger, Foreigner, and Journey transported me back in time. The concert was an anniversary present for my husband. (From the beginning, I knew I would be more excited about it than he was. When he found out the Blind Boys of Alabama were coming to town, those tickets became the more sought after gift. In October, I will let you know about that concert.)
While walking into the concert arena, the sounds of Night Ranger could be heard from the speakers. Singing along, I was soon 18 and riding the loop again. Looking up on stage was like watching a music video on MTV back when MTV showed music videos. There was a reason why many bands in the 80s were called ‘hair bands’. I looked on stage to see the guitar players hair blowing in the wind….except there was no wind. (It was a sultry 95 degrees.) A fan provided the look that made the show that much more fun. While their sound quality wasn’t the best, the songs were the ones we used to sing back in the day. Seats began to fill up as their set continued. By the time they played Sister Christian, voices in the crowd could be heard singing along.
The real treat of the evening was Foreigner. Think of a Foreigner song and they played it the way you listened to it back in the day. I was in Pennsylvania when I listened to Foreigner 4 at least 10 times a day. I had left college; had my first apartment; and was trying hard to figure out who I was. The music poured through the speakers bridging the gap in time. I danced and sang along with every song they played. While Hot-Blooded was the song I waited for all night long (and it was fantastic!), it was the encore of Jukebox Hero that gets my vote for the best song of the evening. Not only was the band superb, the manga cartoon playing in the background complimented the song nicely.
Unfortunately, after the infusion of music from Foreigner, Journey was a disappointment and it wasn’t because Steve Perry is no longer the lead singer. (It is crazy how a Filipino can sound so American singing and speaking.) I know bands need to promote their new music, but after knowing every song that Foreigner played, I was not ready to listen. I wanted to sing along. Even on the songs I did know and sing along to, did not go as I expected. There is nothing wrong with unexpected – except when it includes long guitar solos on every song. I don’t know whose bright idea it was to include them, but I would have found that portion of the concert much more enjoyable with fewer of them.
Would I recommend the concert? Most definitely! Bring your dancing shoes and dance as if nobody is watching. I did.
KOOL!
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