Double Vision – Foreigner rocks Ottawa & Kingston

It was a tour that was 40, well technically 41, years in the making as Foreigner, along with special guests Chilliwack, brought the second leg of their 40th Anniversary tour to TD Place in Ottawa and Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston.

The Ottawa appearance marks Foreigners first visit to the capital since their appearance at RBC Bluesfest in 2014. Undoubtedly one of the biggest rock bands of their generation still touring but with only one original member, Mike Jones, still in the lineup one has to wonder what kind of magic makes this band such a hot ticket 41 years after their conception?

One can’t ignore their catalogue of hits from “Waiting for a Girl Like You” to “Hot Blooded” all of which remain commercially relevant today but even more important is having a charismatic frontman who can do that catalogue justice and put on a show for the audience night after night. Kelly Hansen is the missing puzzle piece and holds the magic that keeps Foreigner relevant nearly 2 decades after Mick Jones and Lou Gramm called it quits.

Vancouver based, Chilliwack opened the show both nights. Chilliwack’s story is well into 4 decades with them being slightly closer to 5 than Foreigner with 48 years in the game but their songs haven’t aged at all.

What a trip down memory lane that was, I grew up listening to Chilliwack but had forgotten many of the songs I used to love. From “Whatcha Gonna Do When I’m Gone” to “Crazy Talk” and all the back to “Fly at Night” from 1977 all leading up to the song everyone was looking forward to leading into the show “My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone, So Long)”.

The Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston was filled to capacity with classic rock fans for the final Canadian stop on the tour. Chilliwack easily fired them up and had everyone “Hot Blooded” and ready for Foreigner.

Hansen and the gang exploded onto the stage to “Double Vision” and from there it was a nonstop thrill ride through hit after hit. Hanson was like a one man circus act, twirling his microphone stand as if it was a prop.

The show was perfectly choreographed and orchestrated, every note and every word spoken to the crowd tied into the next song.

During the encore presentation, much to the crowds delight, a local school choir from Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in Kingston joined Foreigner on stage to perform their massive hit “I Wanna Know What Love Is”. Following the performance Hansen said to the crowd “this is the future of music in your community” he encouraged everyone in the audience to reach out to their local school-board and encourage them not to cut funding for music in the schools.

After the choir left the stage Hansen and the band gave the crowd an explosive send off with “Hot Blooded”.

I can’t say enough good things about this show. We can only hope there’s many more Foreigner tours ahead but first Western Canada can look forward to “Juke Box Hero” the Musical. The production debuts in Calgary August 10-12 and moves to Edmonton August 16-19. Tickets are on sale now and more dates are expected to be announced this summer.

Foreigners 40th Anniversary World tour continues through the spring before it wraps up in Syracuse, NY on June 19. For full dates and tickets visit www.foreigneronline.com