Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
June 28th 2014, Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills CA: Formed in London in the early 70s, Foghat is a classic rock band that despite several lineup changes has largely been going strong for all these years, and still retains original drummer/founding member Roger Earl along with bassist Craig MacGregor in its current four-piece lineup. It’s been four years since their latest studio album ‘Last Train Home’ but every year they play plenty of live shows, mostly as part of festivals, state fairs and rallies, but amidst those types of appearances they did a headline show at the Saban Theatre last night. For me it was an unprecedented two shows in a row at this venue, and even though I was honestly not too familiar with the band’s entire musical catalog, I knew enough about them to want to check out this show, and so I did.
I got to the venue at around 8:30, and during the wait period till Foghat would hit the stage at 9, I took the opportunity to admire and photograph the lovely architecture of the Saban. While I was taking photos of the lobby, a very elderly guy walked up to me and started spewing his knowledge of theatres and bars in the LA area that closed down long before I was even born. He had an evil smile and although I can assure you he was very much real, he looked and sounded very much like one of those freakish characters you see in movies who is discovered to be either a ghost or a figment of somebody’s imagination. Anyway, I proceeded to enter the concert hall and absorbed the beautiful art on its walls and ceiling. The mysticism of this 84-year old theatre’s art is a sight to behold, and in a way contrasts the culture and lifestyle that’s typically associated with Beverly Hills (You can check out my photos of the venue in the slideshow at the bottom of this post). But soon enough, it was time to switch focus to the rock show that beckoned us.
The four members of Foghat quietly walked onto stage and began promptly at 9 PM. They appeased this crowd with 90-plus minutes of unadulterated classic rock which very prominently consisted of lead axeman Bryan Bassett’s slide-guitar play. In fact, I can safely say I’ve never seen the slide technique used so much by any band, and Bassett (formerly of Molly Hatchet and Wild Cherry) certainly utilized it successfully as the fluidity of his guitar work was clearly felt by everyone in attendance. The Gibson SG-Marshall setup produced a fantastic sound, and the sliding enabled him to reach the higher frets with ease, making the instrument soar and scream. This guitar playing exhibition was very much equivalent to that of an operatic singer with a wide octave range hitting all the high notes while still maintaining clarity.
With that said, frontman Charlie Huhn, who comes with a highly respectable repertoire besides Foghat through his work with the likes of Ted Nugent, Victory and Gary Moore, was by no means any inferior with his role in this Foghat performance, as on guitar he harmonized and dueled with Bassett to tremendous effect and delivered great vocals to go with it. Meanwhile, the old guard stood strong with MacGregor and Earl holding up the rhythm section. This British-American lineup of Foghat definitely did a fine job of doing justice to the band’s long history through their musicianship and song selection. Although the set list looks short, each song featured extensive instrumental jam passages that were extremely enjoyable, and there were a couple of standalone guitar solos featuring Bassett and Earl as well.
And then of course there was ‘Slow Ride’, the one song every one of you has most definitely heard played on the PA in rock clubs, bars, restaurants and at shows between bands. It’s no surprise that the musically simplest and lyrically most repetitive song in Foghat’s catalog is their biggest hit, but it’s in many ways a shame that a song like that dwarfs the rest of their career, during which Foghat came up with some undoubtedly great music, as is evident from the ones they played in this set. Just like Mr. Big is wrongly judged by their biggest hit ‘To Be With You’ and Cheap Trick by ‘I Want You To Want Me’, the same goes for Foghat and ‘Slow Ride’. Catchy song no doubt, but far from the best representation of their musical style.
All in all though, Foghat’s brand of laid-back, blues-laden boogie hard rock was thoroughly enjoyable for longtime fans and first-timers alike.
Check out a full gallery of 33 photos of Foghat (and the Saban architecture) below, or view it here if you’re on a non-Flash device:
Foghat links:
Foghat.net
facebook.com/Foghat
twitter.com/Foghat
Set List:
01. Road Fever
02. Home In My Hand
03. My Babe (The Righteous Brothers cover)
04. Drivin’ Wheel
05. Stone Blue
06. Terraplane Blues (Robert Johnson cover)
07. Drum Solo
09. Fool For The City
09. I Just Want To Make Love To You (Muddy Waters cover)
10. Slow Ride
Saban Theatre links:
SabanTheatre.org
facebook.com/TheSabanTheatre
twitter.com/Saban_Theatre
instagram.com/SabanTheatre