Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

A Foreigners Journey, Epstein Theatre, Liverpool. February 2019. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

To tackle and cover the songs and emotional response of one of the greatest and intensely loved bands of all time is one thing, to do justice to two, that takes more than just the idea of a tribute, it is a carnival of appreciation brought to life as if it was theatre, a series of beautifully balanced songs, highs, expectations and genuine love for a genre’s creativity.

A tribute is one thing, we can all lay laurels down at the feet of heroes and give them the attention they deserve as we sing their praises, but recognition is quite another, and for A Foreigners Journey, that recognition of the work of one of San Francisco’s finest and the sheer audacity of performances from the likes of Neil Schon and Steve Perry, and the popularity of the fusion of English-American sensibilities in Mick Jones and Lou Gramm, is to behold magic, a rock mystic which is an absolute thrill and reminder of when rock truly was a captivating form of expression.

Two distinctive bands brought to life in one evening, the Epstein Theatre playing the hand of host with sincerity and its own applause freely given, as the sound and memories of songs such as Double Vision, Waiting For A Girl Like You, Head Games, Who’s Crying Now, Feels Like The First Time, Cold As Ice, Anyway You Want It hurtled back into view, and an enormously satisfying impromptu A cappella version of Open Arms brought the goose bumps of reminisce charmingly to the bare skin of what once was as the thought of Steve Perry’s vocals were given an airing in a way that was beyond special.

In a world which seems to give credence and applause to the superficial, the almost plastic delivery of inconsequence and the nothing but noise, to acknowledge two of the foremost bands of their generation and their genre, to stride alongside their memory with a sense of electricity which inflamed the vocal, smiling crowd at the Epstein Theatre, that is not just a tribute, it is absolute respect and one that was virtuous and welcome.

Ian D. Hall