Newly minted Rock Roll Hall of Famer Lou Gramm brought his All Star Band to a packed crowd at the Batavia Downs this past Friday night. Gramm was inducted in 2024 for his work with Foreigner. Gramm has reconnected with Foreigner over the last handful of years. by making some special appearances with the band. Gramm’s solo band consists of Gary Hoey on guitar, Tony Franklin on bass, his brother Ben Gramm on drums, Jeff Jacobs (formerly of Foreigner) on keys and Scot Gilman on saxaphone and rhythm guitar. This is the second time Gramm has played Batavia Downs but the 1st time since 2017.
Taking the stage at 8:30pm sharp, Gramm was all smiles as the band kicked into “Feels Like the First Time.” Dressed in a black coat (which he eventually discarded), Gramm’s voice was strong right off the bat. After all these years of taking in and reviewing shows, this was the 1st time I got to see Tony Franklin live. He surely didn’t disappoint. He and Ed Gramm were steady handling the low end all night. Newcomer to the Gramm All Star band was six string slinger Gary Hoey. Hoey flashed all night but didn’t overplay at all. He was a perfect pick in delivering Mick Jones memorable guitar parts. I thought the secret weapon was Gilman’s performance as he handled multiple duties including delivering cool sax parts; especially on the song “Urgent.” When you have a catalog like Foreigner’s and Gramm’s solo career, there will be songs omitted due to time constraints. “Say You Will” and “Just between You and Me” were missed. Regardless, the songs the band did play, were masterfully delivered. Gramm is now 75 years old and may not have the range he once did, but he still sings with the same tenacity. He belted out “Long, Long Way from Home” and “That Was Yesterday” to show the doubters he still has power. He ended with the 2 of the most recognizable songs in popular music history in “Juke Box Hero” and “Hot Blooded.”
Overall, it was great show by a great band. You can almost consider this a hometown show as this was less than an hour from his native Rochester, NY. Gramm has stated he won’t be doing many more solo shows. He is slated though to make guest appearances on the Foreigner 4 Deluxe tour this fall. So if you have any chance to see him, do yourself a favor and do so!
Setlist:
Feels Like the First Time (Foreigner song)
Double Vision (Foreigner song)
Long, Long Way From Home (Foreigner song)
Waiting for a Girl Like You (Foreigner song)
Blue Morning, Blue Day (Foreigner song)
Cold as Ice (Foreigner song)
Drum Solo
Midnight Blue
That Was Yesterday (Foreigner song)
Head Games (Foreigner song)
Urgent (Foreigner song)
I Want to Know What Love Is(Foreigner song)
Encore:
Juke Box Hero (Foreigner song)
Hot Blooded (Foreigner song)
We would like to thank Ryan Hasenauer from Batavia Downs for the credentials to review the show.
