Review: Styx, Foreigner, Kansas... Oh My!

It was Saturday night, amidst severe thunderstorm warnings all over the area, we ventured to Nissan Pavillion (wait.. its Jiffy Lube Live now... sorry). With all the lightning and severe weather, and given that they didn't sell out, all the lawn people got let in the 300's section of the pavillion! AWESOME!

Show was fantastic! Arrived there just in time for "Carry on My Wayward Son", Kansas' last encore song. Picked up some beers, and got some seats and prepped for STYX. Mr. Roboto medley, a few newer songs and Lady later, it was time for their encore... and they closed out with everyone's jukebox favorite... RENEGADE! great set and performance guys!




Next came Foreigner.... and all I can say is wow! Their new lead singer has definitely given them much needed energy and has energized the band! Their guitarist, one of the co-founder, may look old, but dude can still rock a stratocaster!

Cold as Ice, Head Games, Hot Blooded, even Dirty White Boy was played and the crowd went insane! But I wasn't waiting for those songs. Not even the worldwide hit "I Wanna Know What Love Is" got me excited...It was the encore last song, the finale.. JUKEBOX HERO. Yes, it is one of the most recognized songs of all time, but this tune has always been in my soul even when I was little wee lad. I even played the song in my band a couple of years ago, when we practiced covers to play out at bars. The song had a place in my heart... and when they played it that muggy night, it was nothing short of AWESOME!

As a fan of heavy metal and hard rock, these bands barely fit in the genre I listen to. However, with each band's history its impact on the music industry, there is no denying that these guys have touched people through their music. And, by watching the crowd as Styx played Lady.. or as Foreigner played Hot Blooded, it really was a rude awakening for me. Yes RUDE. All this time I always made fun of musicians that I did not like... on how they suck and they're not talented. However.. what I'm forgetting is that the reason why I like what I do is because the songs envoke an emotion in me. But these same emotions can't be envoked by the same music for everyone. At the concert, Ladies in their 50's were jamming to Styx, which means their songs has brought memories of the past. While I always talk about Zeppelin or Hendrix and how its influenced music...I'm forgetting how some of these other bands (like the ones that played tonight) has influenced the masses in other ways.

Only time will tell if the likes of Kings of Leon and all these "crappy"bands will influence the future generation. Will a teenager who, 30 years from now, go out to see Kings of Leon and scream if they play 'Sex is on Fire'? I doubt it. But really, I dont know the answer. What I know is this (taken from my first blog post):

... music has always been the vessel for my life's journey.

And we all have our own journeys to take, which means we all have a choice in what music will help us get through the good and the bad in life.

Great concert..

Rock On, DC!
\m/
DCVince