Foghat - The Millennium Tour
Performance
Production
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Foghat - The Millennium Tour
Performance
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Although they are generally the critics scorn, I have always had a special fondness for the live rock and roll album, which would explain my love of concert DVDs, and would also explain my inspiration for this site. During my teen years, I would hole up for hours in my bedroom listening to the likes of Aerosmith Live Bootleg, Kiss Alive, Lynyrd Skynyrd One More From The Road, and Foghat Live, playing air guitar in front of the band's posters, and dreaming of the day when, I too, would command the concert stage. Unfortunately, that day never came, which means that I can write about it, without asserting any of the bitter, failed-musician attitude that is so prevalent among many "professional" music critics, who take out their resentment on the poor Poison's and Warrant's of the world. Whoa, got a little sidetracked there. When I heard that Foghat was playing my local concert venue back in 1999, joining John Kay & Steppenwolf, Eddie Money, and David Lee Roth, I jumped at the chance to see them for the first time. Bargain ticket prices helped a lot too. I hadn't even realized that Foghat was back together and touring. I foresaw something similar to what John Kay was doing - touring as Steppenwolf even though he is the only original member of the band. I figured that Foghat, at best, would be Roger Earl on the drums fronted by a bunch of unknown musicians, which is actually what Earl did between 1990-93, but, mercifully, this tour featured three of the four original members "Lonesome" Dave Peverett (guitar & vocals), Tony Stevens (bass), and Roger Earl (drums) - missing only Rod Price on guitar, who was replaced by the very able Bryan Bassett. The concert filmed for this DVD was recorded at the Party On The Plaza in Houston, Texas, on September 9, 1999, only nine days before I saw them in person at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia. I was stunned when I found out that "Lonesome" Dave had died of cancer only five months after I saw him perform, and had no idea that he had recently emerged from months worth of debilitating chemotherapy prior to the tour. Only his shortly-cropped hair and slender appearance might have given something away, because his performance was anything but that of a dying man. Watching him pour his heart and soul into the blues-ballad "Angel Of Mercy", on this DVD, was especially moving, knowing that the lyrics were so uniquely personal at the time. "Kill me with kindness, 'til I feel no pain, angel of mercy when you call my name". Peverett's performance seems even more astounding when you are aware of his suffering, and how close his passing came after this show. His voice was strong and passionate, his guitar playing was killer, and his rapport with the fans was second to none. He must have known the time was near and wanted to go out in style doing what he loved. Peverett wasn't the only impressive thing about this show however. Referring earlier to guitarist Bryan Bassett as "very able" was actually a sort of pun, because this guy was simply incredible both times I saw him. Reading his bio, I discovered that he was a founding member of the group Wild Cherry, anybody not remember their #1 hit song "Play That Funky Music"?, and he also did a six year stint with Molly Hatchet during the 90's. His staggering slide-guitar work and dazzling solos reminded me a lot of the great Warren Haynes. The set list covered most of the essentials, going all the way back to the first album for their scorching cover of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want To Make Love To You", on up to "Rock Your House" and "Angel Of Mercy" from their 1998 live album, Road Cases. Along with all of the hits, such as "Fool For The City", "Slow Ride", and "Stone Blue", was also an impassioned rendition of "It Hurts Me Too", from the old Savoy Brown days, as well as a show-stopping performance of the Robert Johnson classic "Sweet Home Chicago". Much of the older material was seriously neglected at this show, however, seeing that only one song was played from their first four albums. At the very least, they should have included "Ride Ride Ride", and "Road Fever", from the second album (usually referred to as Rock and Roll), and "Honey Hush", and "Home In My Hand", from their third album Energized. There was certainly plenty of room left on the disk! The DVD was disappointingly short in length, especially considering that it was the final document of "Lonesome" Dave Peverett's long and brilliant career. I'm sure that Foghat was probably one of the opening bands on this bill, like when I saw them, so their set length was obviously limited, but they should have made special arrangements, or combined two shows, considering that they were recording for this DVD. The main feature ran for 88 minutes, but much of this was the interview footage interspersed between the songs. The actual ten song performances only totaled about 61 minutes, which is a damn shame. The production had a few minor problems, but was very good overall. The Dolby 5.1 surround track heavily favored the center channel, and the bass mix was very weak. The picture was generally clear and sharp and the simple stage lighting didn't create any problems for the cameras. The camera production featured a lot of long, lingering shots and good close-ups of Peverett and Bassett's fretwork, but I would have enjoyed more shots showing the entire stage. The DVD extras include some behind the scenes footage and interviews with the band, which is where the between-song segments were taken. Unforgivably, the producer provides no option to just play the concert without these interruptions. There was also one exceedingly poor edit where just before they kick off the famous extended ending to "I Just Wanna Make Love To You", the song fades out to an interview. I'd love to hear that justification. Obviously this DVD could have turned out much better, but you still end up with a highly memorable performance by one of the best blues-rock-boogie bands to ever grace the stage, and a fine tribute to the late, great "Lonesome" Dave Peverett. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - March 2005 |
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Running Time: 88 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - February 2005 |