I Wanted to Know What Love Is....And Oh, Did They Show Me

When I checked the listings and saw that Eddie Money would be touring with Foreigner and the two would be appearing at the Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, I thought, “Well why not? Now there’s a show that will be hilariously amazing.”

And it was, but in a completely different sense than I’d imagined.

The Ruth Eckerd Hall was filled on January 15, 2010 with Eddie Money and Foreigner fans of all ages, but mostly it was populated 40-something women with their husbands, boyfriends or single girl friends, that were dressed to impress. The place was packed already and it was only a half-hour until show time.

My husband and I took our seats and I did a scan of the room. I had a double take as I realized just how big the venue was. The stage was set up for Eddie Money and we were watching people stumble to their seats with drinks in hand.

The lights went down and Eddie Money and his band appeared on the stage. This was the hilarious part of the evening. I’ll admit I had to do a quick Google check on Eddie Money. I’d heard of him, he was on an 80’s playlist on my iPod, but I couldn’t remember what song it was. “Two Tickets to Paradise” was his opener, and the song I knew best. He took the stage feverishly spinning in circles, throwing a tambourine behind him, and kicking as though having a tantrum every few beats, I couldn’t help but laugh. Then I looked down and saw the “Ladies of the 80’s,” as Eddie Money referred to them, dancing, singing along and screaming to him.

Eddie Money’s band was great. The guitar player constantly did this uncomfortable-looking split stance that reeked of 80’s “cool;” the drummer was talented and animated, and the bass player had the quintessential hair from the 80’s to keep the vibe alive. Eddie Money, however, has not aged well, but he put all of his energy into making the audience happy and giving a solid performance. The highlight of the evening was when Eddie Money brought out his daughter, Jesse Money, to accompany him.

Jessie Money definitely inherited some amazing pipes and she sang like a dream. She is also quite an attractive young lady. She wowed the audience when she sang the woman vocal part of “Take Me Home Tonight” and then gave her dad a break and belted out a blues tune. Eddie finished his hour opening performance with “Baby Hold On To Me” and then was summoned back onstage for a quick Encore. I think my husband characterized Eddie Money’s performance best when he said jokingly, “It’s funny watching older people rock out when it’s not, like, The Grateful Dead.”

There was a quick intermission to refill drinks and empty bladders before Foreigner took the stage. Their stage set-up was great and the intro proved to be even better. They opened with their classic hit “Double Vision” and the audience went wild. I was mesmerized and it was just as the room became so loud that the publicist from Ruth Eckerd Hall tried to ask me a question. I couldn’t understand a word she was saying but at the end of the exchange I’d picked up her hand gestures indicating that there were some 2,163 Foreigner Fans in the place, which was probably why I couldn’t hear her!

I hadn’t known until I looked it up that Foreigner’s band members had changed quite often throughout the years. However, the guys that rocked the stage Friday night were Mick Jones, Jeff Jacobs, Thom Gimbel, Jason Bonham, and Kelly Hansen. The lead singer, Hansen, must have been channeling Steven Tyler because some of his moves were so Tyler-esque and at times he even kind of looked like him.

This performance was the amazing part. It was such a tribute to the 80’s in the best way: the lights, the clothes, and those classic songs. “Head Games,” “Cold as Ice,” “Waiting For a Girl Like You,” were all featured and played with great energy. Hansen was bouncing all over the place, occasionally going into the audience to be groped by the many women in awe of him. His voice was so strong. At one point he hit one of those pained notes that still sounded sharp and in perfect pitch to make jaws drop and ears cringe momentarily.

Foreigner threw in some new stuff and proved they still had it. The heavy drums and familiar Foreigner beats whipped up a few new hits. Then they came back with “Dirty White Boy” at which point I just had to sit and watch the audience go crazy lip-syncing and dancing provocatively. Foreigner has quite the following, and there were far less people sitting than standing to rock out with them.

Towards the end of the evening they played an 80’s psychedelic rock song called “Starrider” which was sung by Mick Jones. The drummer made an “F” with his drumsticks and showed it to the audience before accompanying the band during the song. Then they played “Feels like the First Time,” and the drummer hit the drum so hard that the drumstick flipped up in the air a few times and then he caught it just in time to hit that last note.

The band left just the keyboard player and the drummer on the stage to let the audience have a sweet and trippy keyboard solo and a way too awesome drum solo; at one point the man played with just his hands! Then Foreigner hit us with the big finale. They finished with a bang and left the audience wanting more. After a few torturous moments they reappeared for the Encore to play “I Want to Know What Love Is,” my personal favorite, and ended the epic night leaving us “Hot Blooded.”

Foreigner was fierce. I had a feeling that they would be, and the evening was a blast. They completely surpassed all expectations, but I think my husband put it best when he said “I have to admit, this show was much better that I thought it would be.”