Ah, summer. It’s the Classic Rock enthusiast’s favorite time of the year. Because it means it’s time for the Annual Shed Season, with multiple acts embarking on package tours hitting the larger outdoor venues and proffering setlists that stick mostly to the Big Hits and Crowd Pleasers.
Venerable road warriors Styx and Foreigner—along with opener John Waite—brought their “Renegades and Juke Box Heroes” tour to the Woodlands on (what else?) a steamy Houston Saturday.
How steamy? Temps reached into the mid-90s. And it didn’t escape the attention of the performers either.
“This motherfucker is hot! But I’ll tell you a little secret!” Foreigner singer Kelly Hansen told the crowd—before devilishly extending his middle finger. “We have air conditioning up here!”
As headliners Styx took the stage, it was with a couple of new members, including one with a brotherly connection as singer/keyboardist Lawrence Gowan told the Houston Press last month when the band welcomed his brother Terry on bass.
But founding members James “JY” Young (guitar) and Chuck Panozzo (bass), along with classic member Tommy Shaw (vocals/guitar) are still there. Though Panozzo, due to ongoing health issues, played on only three tunes last night as has been the case for years. Todd Sucherman (drums) and Will Evankovich (guitar) round out the largest lineup in the group’s history.
Styx has always had one river paddle in Prog and the other in Mainstream Rock, and their set opened in that fashion with a grandiose “The Grand Illusion.” The title track from their well-received 2021 album of new material, Crash of the Crown, also fell in this vein, and both were highlights.
Gowan’s frenetic, elfin energy make him the focal point, whether kicking, dancing, standing atop his spinning keyboard, or emoting with some showbiz razzle dazzle (i.e. his sparkly gold-and-black shirt, jacket, and hat). It added that X factor to a nicely chaotic “Rockin’ the Paradise” and theatrical “Mr. Roboto.” The latter responsible for perhaps the only Japanese phrase that 90 percent of Gen Xers know.
“The Best of Times” is a new addition to the setlist this tour. And with their more-timely lyrics and Gowan’s earnest phrasing, it actually trumped love song warhorse “Lady” to earn the Ballad of the Night award.
Though the majority of Styx’s hits and album cuts for their commercial heyday were penned by former lead singer/keyboardist Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw always had the more reliable straight-ahead rockers with themes especially identifiable to their primary audience back in the day (re: young males).
His best moments included the Everyman anthems “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights),” “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” and show closer, the outlaw epic “Renegade.”
Shaw’s voice remains shockingly pure and piercing and he, Young, and Evankovich democratically exchanged guitar solo spotlights throughout the night. Shaw even broke out “Deep in the Heart of Texas” as an audience singalong on acoustic guitar for Houstonians, the same way he did the night before for Dallasites.
And on “Fooling Yourself,” Gowan played the famous keyboard solo while facing away from his instrument, thus trumping the skill and dexterity of all those behind-the-head guitar players. And to these ears, he didn’t seem to miss a note.
Finally, regular-set closer “Come Sail Away” remains one of Classic Rock’s Greatest Anthems. And what Gowan introduced as “a little sea shanty” (albeit one that involves UFOs and alien visitors) proved the emotional climax of Styx’s set.
Sharing equal stage time with Styx but performing in the middle, Foreigner’s high-energy set was stuffed with hit after hit and garnered the most audience engagement of all three acts.
Foreigner’s Houston-area fans could be excused for thinking that their headlining show at the Woodlands last August would indeed be the last time they’d visit the city, as part of their Farewell Tour. Though none of the current members onstage played or sang a note on all those classic hits (Guitarist Mick Jones, the last original member, is basically retired due to health issues).
And, as lead singer Kelly Hansen lamented to the Houston Press, this massively popular group was not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and had never even been on the ballot.
What a difference a year makes, as Foreigner not only returned, but are now slated for induction into that glass pyramid on the shores of Lake Erie this fall.
Hansen and bandmates Jeff Pilson (bass) Bruce Watson and Luis Maldonado (guitars), Chris Frazier (drums), and Michael Bluestein (keyboards and…keytar) made athletic stage sprinting a part of the show (and with the sweaty hair to prove it).
Hansen is hands down of current Classic Rock’s great frontmen with an amazing voice. And he dropped only two F bombs this go round, compared to dozens last year.
“Head Games,” “Cold as Ice,” “Urgent,” “Feels Like the First Time” and show closer “Hot Blooded” stood out with fist-pumping furor. Though the audience favorites were clearly the rocket-powered “Juke Box Hero” (which saw Hansen pop up on a rising circle platform out of nowhere by the soundboard) and tearjerker ballad “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
As usual for this spot in Foreigner shows, the band brings out a local school choir to replicate the backing vocals of the gospel choir on record. This time it was more than a dozen students in the Montgomery Madrigals from nearby Montgomery High School standing behind Hansen.
The teens were clearly stoked (with one lad really using his arms to emote the lyrics). Afterwards, Hansen thanked them and reminded that audience that music and arts programs are the first things usually cut when school budgets tightened and urged advocacy and action to keep them.
Band jams and solos ate up some precious minutes that could have been used to add another hit or deep cut, but who could blame them for wanting to show off their chops one last time. At least on lengthy live tours—Hansen told the crowd that Foreigner was not going away and would remain active, which seemed to step back some previous claims or at least insinuations.
John Waite opened the show with a short but very solid set and a three-piece band that found him reaching into not only his solo catalog, but previous bands Bad English and cult faves the Babys.
It was definitely a harder rock-tuned set that his last appearance in Houston opening for Men and Work and Rick Springfield. The Babys’ double dose of “Midnight Rendezvous” and “Head First” (the latter memorably introduced by Waite as “Here’s a song about a blow job”) were highlights.
And while Bad English’s “When I See You Smile” set hearts aflutter as Waite led an audience sing along, it’s his take on their “Best of What I Got” that may have been his best tune of the night. Though solo hit “Missing You” was likely the most familiar to Pavilion ears. And Waite’s voice—like Tommy Shaw’s—seems untouched by age
All in all, this show went 3-for-3 with a batting average better than Houston Astro Lance Berkman in his prime. And these Boys of Summer still know how to hit. And this writer is not above incorporating overused sports metaphors and analogies in his writing to achieve his GOOOOAAAAALLLL!
Random Notebook Dump
Look, I realize that the ubiquitous presence of cell phones at concerts are now a given and expected presence. And I don’t even mind people snapping a few quick photos or some brief video as a souvenir. I’ve done it myself. But at this show I saw something I hadn’t before: Cinematographer Couples.
No less than three couples in my immediate area annoyingly filmed a considerable portion of the show. But what made it odd is I watched as they filmed the same shots from the same angle. Even more bizarre was the couple next to me both filming the video feed of the show on the giant screens and not the actual show itself. Video they will probably never actually watch or use. No words, boppers…no words.
SETLISTS
Styx
The Grand Illusion
Too Much Time on My Hands
Lady
Lorelei
Crash of the Crown
Miss America
Rockin’ the Paradise
Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
The Best of Times
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
Come Sail Away
encore
Mr. Roboto
Renegade
Foreigner
Double Vision
Head Games
Cold as Ice
Waiting for a Girl Like you
Dirty White Boy
Feels Like the First Time
Band Jam
Urgent
Drum Solo
Juke Box Hero
encore
I Want to Know What Love Is
Hot Blooded
John Waite
Midnight Rendezvous
Change
When I See You Smile
Best of What I Got
Missing You
Head First
Back on My Feet Again
Whole Lotta Love > Let Me Love You Baby
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
