If it's not obvious by now, I need
to enunciate my thoughts on classic rock and roll: I am now and have always
been a fan of classic rock and roll bands from the sixties and seventies. I like it all: the big blues bands, the glam
rockers, the laid-back California country-rockers, the progressive rockers, the
punk rockers, and the southern rockers.
And fortunately for me, El Paso in the early eighties was fertile
touring ground for classic rock bands.
When I heard on the radio that Foghat was bringing their legendary blues
rock to town, I was more than happy to do whatever extra chores and begging was
necessary to get the money from my parents for a ticket.
My brother, Tom, shared my affection
for classic rock and agreed to go to the show with me. Two years my senior, he'd graduated half a
semester early from Bitburg American High School in Germany and was now living
and working in El Paso. He drove us to
the show, which was at the El Paso County Coliseum, in his metallic pea-green
Ford Pinto. My friends from the track
team at Andress High School, John and Tony, tagged along with us.
We got to the venue an hour before show
time. This was Tom's first show at the Coliseum and he decided to plunge into
the experience head-first by skipping the seats and watching the show from the
crowd in front of the stage. John, Tony,
and I were less adventurous and found seats in the first few rows on the left
side of the stage and not too far back.
At around seven-thirty, the first of two
opening acts, upstate New York rockers The Rods, took the stage. A three-piece band fronted by
singer/guitarist David "Rock" Feinstein---a cousin of famed metal
vocalist Ronnie James Dio, The Rods played a straight-ahead, no-frills brand of
rock and roll that fell somewhere between heavy metal and punk. They were loud, brash, cussed a lot, and
their drummer gave the finger to the audience at the end of his drum solo. I can't say that I didn't enjoy their music
while it lasted, but twenty minutes after they'd left the stage, I couldn't
remember the name of any of the songs they'd played.
Next to perform was Danny Joe Brown and
the Danny Joe Brown Band. Brown
surprised the rock world by leaving the southern rock band Molly Hatchet at the
height of their success, but what wasn't a surprise was the high quality of the
debut solo album for which he was touring.
Guided by none other than Glynn Johns, the famous British producer who'd
previously worked with Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and The
Eagles, Brown's first and only solo effort was a perfect mix of the blues and
country of southern rock and the flash and polish of modern hard rock.
The Danny Joe Brown Band was getting
radio airplay with a song called "Edge of Sundown," and the band gave
it a ferocious rendering at the Coliseum.
The band utilized a three guitar lineup similar to Molly Hatchet, but
unlike Brown's former band, a keyboard player was thrown into the mixture,
giving an added element of depth and atmosphere to "Edge of Sundown"
and the rest of Brown's new repertoire.
Brown couldn't completely ignore his
past, of course, and for his final number he led his band through a mighty
version of Molly Hatchet's "Flirtin' with Disaster." It came off perfectly until the end of the
song. Where there is normally a pause in
the music and a growling vocal from Brown, he chose to hold his microphone out
to the audience to let them provide the growl.
At that moment, El Paso's crazed rock fan, Simon, took the opportunity
to swing his jacket at the microphone and instead of a growl, the pause in the
music was filled with a well-timed thud.
Brown pulled the microphone back and the band brought the song to its
muscular conclusion, bringing to a close a great set from one of southern rocks
best vocalists.
Finally, at around nine thirty,
the lights dimmed and Foghat hit the stage with "Stone Blue," an
aggressive blues-rock song from their album of the same name. It was a great opening statement for the
band, getting the audience firmly on their side with the feel-good sentiment of
the lyric: "When I was stone blue, rock and roll sure helped me
through!"
After the first song, somebody down in
the crowd yelled something at lead singer/guitarist "Lonesome" Dave
Peverett and he smiled and said: "That one comes a bit later." From that moment it was obvious that the
crowd was there to hear the big hits from the seventies.
There are those who believe that
Foghat's glory days ended after the "Stone Blue" album, and it must
have been frustrating for the band to try and remain relevant by continuing to
release new material in a fast-changing musical landscape. Blues rock was quickly fading out of fashion
by 1981 and Foghat's latest album, "Girls to Chat and Boys to
Bounce," for which they were touring, strayed from their bread-and-butter
formula by incorporating pub rock tunes and even a little bit of ska. For my part, I liked the new song that was
getting played on the radio, "Live Now, Pay Later," and the crowd seemed to enjoy it when they played
it early in their set.
Rod Price, the guitarist from Foghats'
classic period left the band after disagreeing with their new musical
direction. He was replaced by Erik
Cartwright, who capably filled in the big shoes of his predecessor and added a
new dimension of playing, especially on the new material, like "Wide
Boy," a pub-rocking pop tune from their new album. It passed without much notice at the Coliseum,
but has stood the test of time as one of the better early eighties Foghat
songs.
Another post-"Stone Blue" song
played was the ballad "Third Time Lucky" from the "Boogie
Motel" album. "Lonesome"
Dave Peverett rendered the song alone onstage, accompanying himself on a
keyboard. It was the first time I'd
heard the song and it's since become one of my favorite Foghat tunes. It's easy for me to appreciate and empathize
with the hopeful lyrics of the chorus: "The first time I was a fool/ I
never knew that love could be so cruel/ it happened to me again/ third time
lucky."
Of course, the band couldn't ignore the
big hits all night, and they eventually unleashed suitably rocking renditions
of "Fool for the City," " I Just Want to Make Love to You,"
and "Slow Ride," which was played as the last encore song. The
audience showed appropriate enthusiasm for these classics, and I was no
exception. The band was tight,
professional, played with passion, and deserved every bit of applause we gave
them.
After the show, as I rode through the streets of El
Paso in the passenger seat of my brothers car, with the window down and the
cool evening wind in my hair, I had the presence of mind to appreciate my good
fortune at having seen Foghat. They were
one of the giants of seventies classic rock and I felt lucky to have seen them
with such an appreciative audience. To this day, I still feel that
way. It was a very good show.
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