Foreigner Performed Live at Hartman Arena in Park City on August 7, 2021
It simply is not summer without seeing Foreigner live! It is tradition and something we just cannot do without. After all, we consider Foreigner as “our” band. With the music industry hiatus of 2020 behind us, the group finally returned to the road with its “Greatest Hits” tour hitting several cities for the first time ever. Hartman Arena in the Wichita suburb of Park City, KS hosted the charismatic rockers on August 7, 2021. The long-awaited night was the first post-pandemic concert for most of the fans and the first at the venue in 534 days.
After last year’s cancelled show in the Kansas City area, we yearned to see Foreigner back on stage and to hear all of those classics in person. The evening was everything we have come to love and more, as well as an amazing opportunity to see the members playing inside of an arena. On stage were Kelly Hansen (lead vocals), Jeff Pilson (bass guitar), Michael Bluestein (keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar), Chris Frazier (drums) and newcomer Luis Maldonado (guitar). With new protocols at hand though, there were changes to parts of the show as one would expect—Hansen did not take his usual stroll through the crowd and no local school choir joined for “I Want to Know What Love Is.” Additionally, founder and songwriter Mick Jones has slowed down the amount of shows in which he performs plus classic member and multi-instrumentalist Thom Gimbel retired earlier this year.
One of the things that kept us holding on throughout the last two years was looking forward to hearing Gimbel play that “Urgent” saxophone solo. It ran through our head so many times, but we pray that all is amazing in his new stage of life and that maybe we will see him back on stage for a reunion concert down the line. We wondered how exactly the band would perform the song with such an integral part missing, and were we ever blown away. Bluestein showed up towing along his Roland AX-Edge and dazzled fans with the absolute greatest replacement. We could not have dreamt of anything better as he literally shredded the keytar.
Every time seeing Foreigner live is like the first time, certainly no pun intended. Filled with non-stop energy, each performance and each song feels so fresh and revitalizing. A swirl of emotions always run wild from the romantic and ever-sentimental “Waiting for a Girl Like You” to the spine-tingling chills felt as the gong rings and leads into “Juke Box Hero.” From the moment Hansen jumps off the backdrop to the moment that the band leaves it all on the stage with “Hot Blooded,” the moments are relentless and something we could see, hear and photograph every single night of the week.
Setlist for Foreigner at Hartman Arena on August 7, 2021:
“Double Vision,” “Head Games,” “Cold as Ice,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” “Blue Morning, Blue Day,” “Dirty White Boy,” “Feels Like the First Time,” “Urgent” and “Juke Box Hero”; Encore – “Long, Long Way from Home,” “I Want to Know What Love Is” and “Hot Blooded”
Also, check out the Foreigner photo albums from the 40th Anniversary and “Juke Box Hero” tour at Starlight Theater in Kansas City, as well as at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia!
