Foghat at the Arcada Theatre (4/4/2025)

“The show must go on.”: A saying nearly as old as time itself, and one that couldn’t have held more true for Foghat this past Friday at the historic Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois. Just a week earlier, the boogie rock gods were forced to end a show early, due to a health emergency involving guitarist Bryan Bassett. This week, it was founding drummer, Roger Earl, who fell ill, testing positive for COVID-19 and leaving the band with zero original members come showtime. Now as you know, I’m the first to be skeptical of a classic band with zero OGs in the fold. However, considering the urgency of the situation (it’s not like Earl wanted to sit this out) and the fact that Bassett has been in the fold for nearly three decades, I looked at this as a sort of Riot V situation, casting my doubts aside and letting the music do the talking.

Filling in for Earl on this occasion was none other than Jules Radino of Blue Öyster Cult fame: A band who has shared the stage with Foghat on many occasions. Radino must’ve been playing close attention from the side of the stage during those many double bills, knowing that it’d one day pay off, because while there’s only one Roger Earl, Radino held down the beat with confidence and power, which was all the more impressive considering the short notice. To the fore were bassist Rodney O’Quinn (formerly of Pat Travers Band), singer/guitarist Scott Holt (formerly of Buddy Guy’s band), and the aforementioned Bassett, whose slide guitar heroics served as the evening’s main events.

At about 9:30, the band took to the stage with a rambunctious rendition of the classic “Chateau Lafitte ’59 Boogie”, setting the tone for an evening of blues, boogie, n’ heavy rock n’ roll! Foghat still deals in all in spades, even on a powerful new song like “Drivin’ Home”, which just so happened to be penned by the late Savoy Brown bandleader, Kim Simmonds. Ironically, Foghat formed out of Savoy Brown, so to hear them breeze through a new song written by the man who more or less served as the band’s springboard, was not just a beautiful rock n’ roll homage, but a way of bringing things full circle after a nearly 55 year run.

Throughout the course of the evening, whether consciously or not, Foghat reinforced their spot in hard and heavy history with a career-spanning setlist, coming off like the missing link between early boogie purveyors Status Quo and English boogie metallers Vardis that they are. Timeless anthems like “My Babe” and “Drivin’ Wheel” resonated as hard with the audience as hidden gems like “It Hurts Me Too” and “Home in My Hand”. The highlight of the evening, however, goes to one-time FM staple turned certified deep cut classic, “Stone Blue”. In our recent interview with Bassett, he branded the solo as his favorite in the Foghat canon, and we completely understand why. Its winding structure and wild delivery gives the song an almost epic boogie rock feel, if there ever was such a thing.

Come the home stretch of the evening, consisting of hits like “Fool for the City”, “I Just Want to Make Love to You”, and the inevitable “Slow Ride”, the entire theatre were on their feet and dancing to the boogieing beat. I guess this is the part of the review that writes itself: The crowd was in the mood, the rhythm was right, we moved to the music and rolled all night. Lonesome Dave, you brilliant wordsmith, we sure do miss you. Roger, you were missed as well, but fear not! Your kit was in good hands (and feet) with Jules at the helm! We just wish a speedy recovery, because it’s always a pleasure rocking with you, and if Foghat’s crowded itinerary is any indication of such, there’ll be plenty more opportunities to do so all summer long. Take it easy!

Setlist