Whitesnake/Foreigner - Birmingham Review

A few years ago classic rock package tours seemed to be all the rage. With attendances at rock and metal shows creeping up again, package tours featuring two or three 'name' bands were often sufficient to get said bands back into arenas. Costs were shared and those who bought tickets were guaranteed value for money, so I can see why they were popular. They seem to have become less popular again now, though, which is likely due to the fact that many of the bands that made use of them previously are now big enough again to headline arenas on their own. This is great, of course, but I have missed the package tours - as they were a way to see a few big acts relatively easily. It was with glee then, at the end of 2019, that I greeted the news that Whitesnake would be touring with Foreigner and Europe in 2020. It was billed as a co-headline arrangement, with Europe as the special guests, and included a number of arena dates around the country. Clearly, however, these shows never happened. In truth, I do not think that they would have taken place even if the COVID-19 pandemic had not happened, as Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale needed to have hernia surgery around the same time - which thankfully he seems to have fully recovered from. The shows were cancelled rather than rescheduled, so it was great when the tour was re-announced last year. I had tickets for the London show previously, but this time I opted for a Sunday night at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham - a venue which I have been to a number of times over the years. Due to its city centre location it is easier to access than the Resorts World Arena out of town, and it is a place where the sound is usually very good - especially for a big venue. It was great as well that Whitesnake, who were the band on the bill that interested me the most, would be in the headlining spot. Whilst the show was a co-headline arrangement, as was typical of these arrangements previously, Whitesnake benefitted from the longest time on stage of the three bands. I had seen Whitesnake twice previously, and both times they were part of similar co-headline arrangements. At both of those other shows, though, Whitesnake were in the middle slot - so I was looking forward to seeing a bit of a longer set from one of my favourite bands. The tour is also acting as the UK leg of Whitensake's farewell tour - as Coverdale is looking to retire. Many bands have said that they will retire and then ultimately return a few years later, so whether this tour is indeed Whitesnake's final UK tour remains to be seen, but Coverdale certainly seems sincere in his wish to call it a day. He has been in the business for nearly 50 years at this point, and is currently 70 years old, so the time sees right for him to gracefully retire. Going out with a bang is always welcome, though, and the show attracted a large crowd in Birmingham. Whilst the show was not sold out, it was certainly very busy. Most of the seats were full, with the exception of a few sections at the back which were curtained off, and the floor was also pretty full. I arrived early enough to get quite close to the stage, too, which is a position that I managed to maintain throughout the night.

Up first were Europe, who took to the stage to find a healthy crowd waiting and proceeded to impress for around 45 minutes. I have seen the Swedish five-piece a number of times in the past, and they always deliver live. I had not see them since 2018, however, so I was really looking forward to seeing them again. Generally they tend to play sets that focus on their more recent albums, but their set in Birmingham was certainly aimed at the more casual listener - with lots of their 1980s classics included. They did play a couple of newer songs, though, and opened with the Led Zeppelin-esque Walk the Earth, from the 2017 album of the same name. The majestic song really brought the best out of Mic Michaeli (keyboards/vocals), who's retro keyboards took the song to new levels, whilst frontman Joey Tempest twirled his microphone stand and sung the song with ease. The live sound mix for Europe was immaculate, too, which meant that everything could be heard with ease. It is rare that an opening act sounds so clear, and this no doubt allowed Europe's set to really shine. There were cheers as John Norum (guitar/vocals) then launched into the main riff of Rock the Night, and the song was the first sing-a-long of the night - with even the casual listeners around me getting into it. It is an easy song to like, however, thanks to its anthemic riffing and chorus, but it certainly upped the energy levels - which were maintained with the fast-paced Scream of Anger. The power ballad Carrie was the only slower song played, but again it was one that prompted quite a few to sing along, before another more recent track in Last Look at Eden impressed as it always does with its symphonic metal edge and soaring chorus. It is the sort of song that really showcases nicely where Europe are in the 21st Century, and I would not be surprised if it converted a few of a sceptics. In truth though, especially down at the front, most people were really into what Europe were doing. Tempest strapped on a guitar for Ready or Not and the riff-heavy rocker kept the energy levels high, before the driving organ of Superstitious again encouraged a decent amount of singing. There were only a couple of songs left at this point, but they were both crowd-pleasers. The melodic Cherokee turned the clock back to the 1980s with its pulsing synths and staccato verses; and it was left to the timeless The Final Countdown to bring the set to a close. This did lead to one of the evening's more annoying moments, however, as a group of women old enough to know better suddenly decided to barge past a load of people near me just so they could jump around to the song and film themselves doing so. Europe are more than a novelty act to film yourselves being obnoxious to, but thankfully most in attendance realised that. That minor blip aside, though, Europe were excellent, as they always are - and they raised the bar for the two bands who followed. The setlist was:

Walk the Earth

Rock the Night

Scream of Anger

Carrie

Last Look at Eden

Ready or Not

Superstitious

Cherokee

The Final Countdown

The changeovers throughout the evening were quick and slick, which meant that it was only around 20 or 25 minutes after Europe finished that Foreigner took to the stage. I am a big fan, but I have long had an issue with the current situation that the band finds itself in. I have never been a line-up purist, but for a band to feel legitimate there has to be someone on stage that either founded the band or who is a long-time classic member that is known for being a big part of that band's success. Most of the time these days that is not the case for Foreigner. The band's founding member, guitarist, and songwriter Mick Jones is still a member of the band, but his health means that his appearances with the band are limited - and even when he does appear he tends to only join for the encores. With the rest of the band all being newer recruits, this leaves Foreigner looking like their own tribute band more than anything. This, coupled with stagnant and predictable setlists, meant that I made the decision to stop seeing the band live after a 2014 show in Nottingham - and I have kept that vow until now. Jones started this tour, but did not appear with the band at the two shows prior to the Birmingham one - so I assumed that he would not do so at the Utilita Arena. I was correct, which meant that this was the second Foreigner show in a row that I had seen that did not feature Jones at all. As I had gone to the show more for Whitesnake and Europe anyway, I did not let it bother me. The quality of Foreigner's songs cannot be denied, however, so they gave me a reason to sing along for an hour or so whilst I waited for Whitesnake! The current Foreigner line-up are very slick, too, with frontman Kelly Hansen being a great singer. They have never really been a guitar hero band, so the standout musician for me was Michael Bluestein (keyboards/vocals). His playing elevated the band, and it was fun watching him work.

Double Vision opened the set in fine fashion, and the 'hits only' set meant that even the casuals were singing along to most of the band's songs. Cold as Ice, with Jeff Pilson (bass guitar/keyboards/vocals) playing the main piano line in Jones' absence, received probably loudest cheer of the night, before the heavier Dirty White Boy allowed the guitars of both Bruce Watson and Luis Moldonado to shine a little more. The evergreen Feels Like the First Time also impressed, before the R&B-influenced Urgent cut a strong groove. The famous saxophone solo was replaced by a keytar solo from Bluestein, though, which did lessen my enjoyment of the song. Not replacing the recently-retired Thom Gimbel with someone else who can play saxophone is another black mark against this band for me. Moldonado is a solid guitarist, but Foreigner really need a multi-instrumentalist who can play saxophone and flute. It seems lazy not to find someone who ticks all of those boxes, but all Foreigner do these days is pander to the causal fan who owns a greatest hits album - and those people do not care about the lack of saxophone, or even the lack of Jones (they probably do not even notice his absence). A lengthy keyboard and drum solo followed Urgent, which seemed strange considering the limited stage time, but it led into a hard rocking rendition of Juke Box Hero - which brought the band's main set to a close. Foreigner were the only band of the night to go off and come back on again, which seemed strange, and they were gone for barely 30 seconds before launching into Long, Long Way From Home - which was also saxophone-less. The huge power ballad I Want to Know What Love Is followed, which also saw plenty of singing, whilst it was left to the mid-paced hard rock of Hot Blooded to bring the band's time on stage to a close. The setlist was:

Double Vision

Head Games

Cold as Ice

Dirty White Boy

Feels Like the First Time

Urgent

Keyboard and Drum solos

Juke Box Hero

-

Long, Long Way From Home

I Want to Know What Love Is

Hot Blooded

Again the changeover time between Foreigner and Whitesnake's sets was short, and Whitesnake actually took to the stage a little early. Being one of my all-time favourite bands, Whitesnake's set was the most-anticipated of the evening - especially as it was likely to be the last time that I saw them. Lots of people like to criticise Coverdale and the modern Whitensake line-ups, but I am not one of them. Coverdale's voice certainly is not what it was, and it does seem to have deteriorated compared to when I last saw him live in 2015 (when he sounded pretty strong to me), but he is still a great showman who led his seven-piece band through their paces throughout the 90 minutes or so that they were on stage. It was very much a 'best of' set, but it still included a few songs that I had not heard the band play live before. They opened with the ever-present Bad Boys, however, which set the tone nicely. Coverdale's voice was low in the mix for the first couple of numbers, but the band still powered through. The guitars of Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra dominated, but the keyboards were higher in the mix than is often typical for modern Whitesnake. The band do have two keyboard players now, though, with Dino Jelusick having been added alongside existing keyboard player Michele Luppi. Both are arguably more important for their voices than for their keyboard playing, however, and they helped Coverdale out a lot throughout. Jelusick sang a few lines of Slide It In in a duet with Coverdale, whilst Luppi was often doubling Coverdale's own lead lines for extra depth. Coverdale does not attempt to hide his limitations, unlike some, so I cannot blame him for finding solutions. This big vocal approach was generally only present early on, however, and Coverdale seemed to grow in stature and voice as the set progressed. The bullish hard rock of Hey You (You Make Me Rock) was a great addition to the set, and only real non-hit played, whilst Slow an' Easy was transformed from a blues-based track into something much heavier - which the crowd sang along to with gusto.

The pace was then slowed for a gorgeous rendition of Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City, which showed that Coverdale still has a great voice for the blues. Beach's guitar solo was a thing of beauty too, and a world away from the shred firepower that him and Hoekstra generally employed throughout the rest of the set. The mega hit Fool for Your Loving unsurprisingly elicited a strong reaction too, and everyone in the crowd sung along to the track that made Whitesnake a household name here in the UK in the early 1980s. A lengthy solo section followed, with the two guitarists taking a chance to shred - along with Jelusick who came out from behind his keyboard with a keytar. A muscular version of Crying in the Rain followed, which was another song that Coverdale owned vocally. There was no help here, and he belted out the song with plenty of power - with the whole band harmonising during the big choruses. Tanya O'Callaghan (bass guitar/vocals) really added to the overall sound of these big harmonies thanks to her higher voice, and the song was paused half way through to allow a drum solo from Tommy Aldridge to take place. At 71, Aldridge has not aged one bit since the 1970s. He is one of those musicians who has never slowed down, and it is always great to witness him in action. There was then another slowing of the pace for an emotional rendition of Is This Love, which included a great Hoekstra solo, but the rest of the set was then upbeat and hard rocking until the close. Give Me All Your Love saw plenty of singing in the mid-section, before Here I Go Again received one of the biggest cheers of the evening. Beach's melodic solo filled the hall, and the place then went wild as the main riff to Still of the Night filled the speakers. It is always a barnstorming song live, and everyone around me down at the front was having a great time as the strutting, bluesy riff powered through everything. There was time for one last song, though, and Coverdale reached back into his Deep Purple past and dusted off Burn, which also managed to elicit a strong reaction. It was a long version of the song, too, with lots of soloing - including a great organ solo from Luppi. It was a great way to close out a powerful set from Whitesnake, and the large crowd certainly showed their appreciation as the band took their bows. The setlist was:

Bad Boys/Children of the Night

Slide It In

Love Ain't No Stranger

Hey You (You Make Me Rock)

Slow an' Easy

Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City [Bobby 'Blue' Bland cover]

Fool for Your Loving

Guitar and Keyboard solos

Crying in the Rain

Is This Love

Give Me All Your Love

Here I Go Again

Still of the Night

Burn [Deep Purple cover]

We Wish You Well

Despite what I think about the situation regarding Foreigner these days, I had a great evening in Birmingham with all three bands. Europe were great as always, and Foreigner put on a professional performance that included a lot of legendary songs. Objectively, Europe were probably the band of the night, but my history with Whitesnake goes back a long way. I loved seeing them for what will probably be the final time - and the band's set was a powerful one that was filled with a lot of fan-favourite songs.