Foghat at the Rust Belt -- March 30.
Saturday, March 30, 8 p.m.
The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL
Rock legends responsible for eight gold albums, one platinum and double-platinum album apiece, and iconic status as the talents behind the 1975 classic "Slow Ride," the musicians of Foghat headline a March 30 concert event at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, with original drummer Roger Earl sure to demonstrate that while he has been with the band for more than half a century, he has no plan of stopping now.
Formed in London in 1971, Foghat initially found Earl performing alongside Dave Peverett ("Lonesome Dave") on guitar and vocals and Tony Stevens on bass after all three musicians left Savoy Brown. Rod Price, on guitar/slide guitar, joined after he left Black Cat Bones, and the new lineup was named "Foghat" after a nonsense word from a Scrabble-like game played by Peverett and his brother. Foghat relocated to the United States after signing a deal with Bearsville Records, and their self-titled album debut featured a cover of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love to You", which received considerable airplay. The album also included a remake of Savoy Brown's bluesy ode to the road "Leavin' Again (Again!)," as well as "Sarah Lee", a classic blues burner featuring Price's slide-guitar solo. Released the following year, the band's second self-titled album went gold, and led to 1974's Energized and Rock & Roll Outlaws, plus 1975's Fool for the City.
The next few years for Foghat were busy, as well, with the group releasing Night Shift (1976), a live album (1977), and Stone Blue (1978), each of which attained gold-status in record sales. It was Fool for the City that spawned the hit single "Slow Ride" (which reached number 20 in the United States and number 14 in Canada), but the rockers' greatest sales figures were reached by 1977's Foghat Live, which went double-platinum. More hits followed, among them the singles "Drivin' Wheel," "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (from the live album), "Stone Blue," and "Third Time Lucky (First Time I Was a Fool)," and the band has released another 10 albums over the bast 35 years. Most recently, Foghat delivered last year's Sonic Mojo, which American Songwriter's Lee Zimmerman awarded four starts, writing that it "lives up to its name, proving the fact that Foghat are as adept as ever"." David Quantrick of Classic Rock, meanwhile, called the songs of Sonic Mojo "music that could have appeared any time between 1971 and now," and compared the work to that of the late blues great John Lee Hooker.
Foghat brings their national tour to East Moline on March 30 with an additional set by Electric Shock, admission to the 8 p.m. concert event is $32-57, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBeltQC.com.
