Memories of Foghat, the ultimate '70s boogiemeisters (next to Status Quo)

Man, if I wasn't already on the outs with the Pitchfork-reading hipster crowd, this blog'll surely get me off their Christmas lists.

But hey, it's been 35 years since British blues-rockers Foghat released their platinum-selling album Fool For the City and scored a hit with one of the last radio-driven gasps of '70s guitar-boogie, "Slow Ride". Somebody's gotta mark the occasion.

Actually, by the time singer-guitarist "Lonesome" Dave Peverett, lead guitarist Rod Price, drummer Roger Earl, and whatever bass player they had at the time hit it big in '75, I was already starting to get over them. As far as I was concerned they'd peaked the year before, when they released Energized in January and then Rock and Roll Outlaws in October. And besides, my little sister was getting into them by the time Fool For the City came out. They were my band before that!

It's embarassing to admit, but through their butt-shakin' boogie Foghat kind of introduced me to the blues, and for that I'm forever grateful. I hadn't heard a Willie Dixon song before Foghat's version of "I Just Want to Make Love to You" on their self-titled 1972 debut. And the rendition of Big Joe Turner's "Honey Hush" that opened Energized got me going the same way that Aerosmith's '74 version of the old chestnut "Train Kept A-Rollin'" did. Of course they both used the exact same guitar riff. But what a riff!

Another thing that I liked about Foghat was that, because of them, I got to see Rod Stewart & the Faces in their prime. The Faces were headlining the Pacific Coliseum in '75, but I wouldn't have gone if it weren't for the fact that "Lonesome Dave" and the boys were the warmup act. That was a pretty wicked show. Rod the Mod kicked soccer balls around--beaning one poor girl right in the face--and the show ended with the stage being showered in little red balls.

Okay, so the real reason why I'm getting all nostalgic about Foghat--which, unlike Thin Lizzy, Blue Oyster Cult, and Bad Company, I don't listen to much anymore--is because they're actually playing tonight (Saturday) at the Starlight Casino in New Westminster!

Now don't get too excited; it's not the original lineup. Peverett died of pancreatic cancer in 2000, and Price passed on in 2005 after falling down a flight of stairs and suffering a heart attack. Earl's still kicking, though, and he's got Charlie Huhn from the Ted Nugent band on guitar and vocals and Bryan Bassett from Molly Hatchet on lead guitar.

Ah, Molly Hatchet. Good times. I remember when me and a bunch of high-school buddies from Chilliwack...

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