Live Review: Lou Gramm All Stars • Arcada Theatre • St. Charles

Brassneck | December 6, 2024

Lou Gramm All-Stars

Arcada Theatre

St. Charles, IL

December 5, 2024

Review by Jeff Elbel

Singer and songwriter Lou Gramm returned to his regular haunt at the Arcada Theatre to warm up a cold Thursday night in December. The original voice of newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Foreigner delivered 80 minutes of the band’s classic rock favorites, including “Cold as Ice” and “Blue Morning, Blue Day” alongside evergreen ballads like “Waiting for a Girl Like You” and “I Want to Know What Love Is.” The One Last Look Tour also touched on Gramm’s solo work by including the 1987 Top Ten hit “Midnight Blue.”

Guitarist Michael Staertow lashed into the signature riff of “Feels Like the First Time” to begin the show, accompanied by Jeff Jacobs’ shimmering Hammond organ. Backed by five musicians, including four singers, Gramm led the familiar arrangement supported by lush harmony.

“We’ve got a lot of songs to play,” said Gramm afterward. “I’ll bet you know just about every one of them.” The slashing rocker “Double Vision” was anchored by the gritty but melodic fretless bass groove of Tony Franklin, known to many for his tenure alongside Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers in the Firm.

Gramm was generous with stories about his early days in Foreigner alongside guitarist Mick Jones and their creation of the band’s indelible songs. Gramm connected the line “I left a small town for the apple in decay” from “Long, Long Way from Home” to his youthful experience moving from Rochester, New York, to New York City at a time when the city’s notorious garbage strike was weeks underway. Scott Gilman’s effervescent saxophone solo punctuated the song.

Gramm shared memories about the tender ballad “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” which spent 11 weeks at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 beginning in late 1981. The singer explained that the song was held at bay from the top spot by Olivia Newton-John’s PG-13 smash “Physical.” The bouncing singalong anthem “Cold as Ice” was prefaced by commentary on the brisk local weather. The song was propelled by the steady pulse of Gramm’s brother Ben on drums.

Jacobs’ acoustic piano intro announced the expressive Agent Provocateur single “That Was Yesterday.” Gramm inhabited the emotional state of the song’s character, upended by a sudden change in his love life. The dramatic song was paired with the 1979 single “Head Games,” describing a turbulent relationship that was still underway. The song surged with powerful playing and great tone from Staertow’s guitar.

“Now, this is an emergency!” shouted Gramm as the band kicked into the lusty “Urgent.” The song drew strong audience participation, and Gilman charged through the house while playing the song’s bawdy saxophone lead. “Thank you so much,” said Gramm afterward. “We have a ball with that song.”

Gramm asked for help on the main set’s final song. “We usually have a gospel choir when we play this song, and as you can see, we don’t have one with us,” he said. “We were wondering if you guys would be our gospel choir tonight.” The crowd happily obliged, filling the room with voices in unison for the chorus of the chart-topping 1984 ballad “I Want to Know What Love Is.” Gramm praised the moving single by his former group as “a beautiful love song.”

Photo by Jeff Elbel

The band returned for a high-octane encore of “Juke Box Hero” and a floor-shaking romp through “Hot Blooded.” Gramm stretched the swaggering song’s ribald innuendo with the addition of cheeky ad-libs in the song’s call-and-response outro. These were punctuated by the song’s title as sung together by the band and audience.

It’s fair to note that Gramm’s vocal performance during the concert wasn’t flawless, but there were mitigating factors. At 74, Gramm possesses a significant portion of his youthful belting power, but he occasionally had issues with pitch accuracy. However, he retains ample range to hit familiar high notes and deliver melodies that fans want to hear, and his voice sounds unmistakably like the one that ushered so many hard rock and pop singles into the Top 40. With his gregarious nature, confident stage presence, commitment to connecting with fans throughout the theater, and a dynamite stage band, Gramm overcame any obstacles in the way of delivering a great evening to generations of fans.

SETLIST:

Feels Like the First Time

Double Vision

Long, Long Way from Home

Waiting for a Girl Like You

Blue Morning, Blue Day

Cold as Ice

Drum Solo

Midnight Blue

That Was Yesterday

Head Games

Urgent