Review & Photos by Joe Schaeffer
The Juke Box Heroes Tour featuring Foreigner, Whitesnake and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening hit FivePoint Amphitheater and presented an epic evening of classic rocks music.
Jason Bonham and his band blasted through a killer set of Led Zeppelin classics that included “Immigrant Song” and “Over the Hills and Far Away.” James Dylan showed off his amazing vocal talents, which mirrored Robert Plant brilliantly. The stellar guitar work of Jimmy Sakurai was fantastic as well.
The band is well rehearsed and their performance proved that. “Rock and Roll,” “Whole Lotta Love” and “Stairway to Heaven” brought their set to a triumphant end. Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening is a must-see for fans who never had the chance to experience a Zeppelin show.
Next up was Whitesnake featuring rock icon David Coverdale. Coverdale is one of the more underrated front men to come out of the 70s. The band leaned greatly on their 1987 self-titled hit record and featured six from their nine-song set culled from the album.
Coverdale has surrounded himself with an extremely solid cast of players in recent years. There is longtime drummer Tommy Aldridge, the tremendously talented guitar duo of Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra, Michael Devin on bass and Michele Luppi on keyboards. Together they form a very dominant band that unites lifelong musical knowledge with youthful exuberance.
Whitesnake’s powerful performance was followed by the Mick Jones-led Foreigner, who celebrated their 40th Anniversary in 2017.The current lineup features leader Mick Jones on guitar and vocals, lead vocalist Kelly Hansen, the hard rocking Jeff Pilson on bass, Bruce Watson on guitar, the multi-talented Thom Gimbel on saxophone, guitar and flute, powerhouse drummer Chris Frazier and Michael Bluestein on keyboards.
Hansen capably led the group through hit after hit, including “Double Vision,” “Head Games,” “Cold as Ice” and “Waiting For A Girl Like You.” He then introduced Jones who took the stage for “Feels Like the First Time.” He returned to sing lead vocals on “Starrider,” which he described as a more cosmic vibe song that he wrote many moons ago.
Hansen capably led the group through hit after hit, including “Double Vision,” “Head Games,” “Cold as Ice” and “Waiting For A Girl Like You.” He then introduced Jones who took the stage for “Feels Like the First Time.” He returned to sing lead vocals on “Starrider,” which he described as a more cosmic vibe song that he wrote many moons ago.
During the encore, the group brought out a local children’s choir to contribute backing vocals to the 1984 No. 1 hit “I Want to Know What Love Is.” For the final song, Jason Bonham appeared behind the drum kit to help Foreigner finish off the night and tour with “Hot Blooded.”
