On their live DVD Live In St. Pete, Foghat’s original drummer Roger Earl, monster bassist Craig MacGregor (with the band since 1975) , seductive slide guitarist Bryan Bassett and singer/ guitarist Charlie Huhn take the stage and kick this 10-song concert set out of the park. This lineup truly has this whole thing down — from the medium speed blues opening of “Road Fever” with its double-guitar opening to a fast cover of Al Green’s “Take Me To The River” from 1976’s Night Shift album, two years before Talking Heads had a hit single with the song.
The rest of the DVD follows suit. “My Babe” is a chunky mover with excellent backing vocals from MacGregor and Basset, while the latter’s mid-set slide solo “Bottle Neckin’” and “Stone Blue” highlight both musicians dexterity on the fretboards. “Terraplane Blues” has a great staccato opening with a weird and loose beat, but this foursome keeps it together.
After band intros and a Roger Earl solo, we get a fairly straightforward “Fool For The City.” The version of “I Just Want To Make Love To You” showcases double-guitar trade-offs between Bassett and Huhn before a 15-minute encore of “Slow Ride” wraps up the show on a high note. This is a sweet performance, shot wonderfully with close ups and superb sound. In a nutshell, Live In St. Pete is classic stuff from a still classic band.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
