Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, Foghat at the Coronado Theatre (10/9/2025)

It’s been a minute since I caught one of those two for one classic rock shows, let alone reviewed one for this here webzine. You know, the type of show where you can sit back, relax, and disconnect from the insanity of the outside world for just a few hours, basking in an evening of hits. So when the opportunity arose to make the 90 minute haul to the land of Cheap Trick (Rockford, Illinois) to catch my good pals in Foghat and Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, I hopped behind the wheel, cranked up Foghat’s iconic Live to 11, and hit the road west. For this Chicagoan, it was well worth the drive and then some, for multitude of reasons which follow below…

Foghat

Admittedly, when I last saw Foghat at the Arcada Theatre this past April, it was technically as if catching the world’s greatest Foghat tribute band. Founding drummer and sole survivor of the band’s Live lineup, Roger Earl, had fallen ill, leaving longtime guitarist Bryan Bassett at the helm and Blue Öyster Cult drummer, Jules Radino, pinch hitting at the eleventh hour. As electric as that set was, especially under short notice and what I can only assume was tremendous pressure, it was this past Thursday’s set, even in its abbreviated opening act format (60 minutes sharp), that reinforced what we’ve known to be true for years: Roger Earl is the heart and soul of Foghat.

At 79 years old, the legendary drummer took his throne sans his iconic mustache, but bearing his equally recognizable shades and headband, ready to pummel the Rockford faithful with Foghat’s signature brand of energized, full tilt blues n’ boogie banger-mania. No doubt about it, between the two acts on the bill, Foghat were certainly the more, ahem, “metal” of the pair, so to speak. As the band shuffled their way to “Chateau Lafitte ’59 Boogie”, bopped to “My Babe”, and unleashed pure ’70s metal, dazed n’ confused hell to “Drivin’ Wheel”, I couldn’t help but internally ponder, “How will the AOR stylings of Starship follow this?”

This was the sound of four master musicians absolutely locked in, as the kids like to say. Frontman Scott Holt bears the burden of filling the late, great Lonesome Dave’s shoes: An impossible task on paper, but convincing on an evening like this when the band’s especially fired up, taking on the first of a three night jaunt. Guitarist Bryan Bassett’s slide guitar pyrotechnics steal the show on more than one occasion, shining like Polaris on the epic “Stone Blue”. Bassist Rodney O’Quinn fills the fold with his hard-thumping rhythms, and the aforementioned Earl brings it altogether, blurring the lines between precision and power, speed and swagger. This master of the sticks wields his own unique style, one that stands amongst the Bonhams and the Moons, the Wards and the Paices, the gods of his generation. Don’t take it from me; take it from Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s Carl. That’s his drummer.

Unfortunately, there was no 30 minute drum solo, nor was there the usual lengthy, old school jamming characteristic of a Foghat set, at least not outside of “Stone Blue” and “I Just Want to Make Love to You”. Again, the band was strapped for time (How do you fit nearly 55 years of rock n’ roll history into 60 minutes?), and I know if they had their way, we’d be treated to the same longform musical wizardry that carries the grooves of Live. Yet Foghat did exactly what they needed to do, rocking us four on the floor, and leaving us hungry for more. I’ll certainly be boogieing down the freeway the next time this FM radio staple plays within a 3 hour radius of the Windy City!

Setlist

“Chateau Lafitte ’59 Boogie”
“My Babe” (The Righteous Brothers cover)
“Drivin’ Wheel”
“Black Days and Blue Nights”
“Stone Blue”
“Home in My Head”
“Fool for the City”
“I Just Want to Make Love to You” (Willie Dixon cover)
“Play That Funky Music” (Wild Cherry cover)
“Slow Ride”

Starship featuring Mickey Thomas

After a roughly 30 minute intermission, and too many glances on my phone of the Cubs-Brewers matchup to remember (The boys in blue won that night, but ultimately lost the series), Mickey Thomas and the gang took to the stage with the larger than life hooks of “Layin’ It on the Line”, kicking off a nonstop hit parade for the band known as Starship. By the second chorus, it became (nu)clear how a slick (no pun intended), melodic act like Starship would handle being on the same bill as the rough and ready Foghat: By being true to themselves, the only way they know how, just like the band that proceeded them.

In the case of Starship, many (if not all) of their set felt less appropriate for the beautiful Coronado Theatre (Trivia: The theatre was featured in the music video for Savatage’s “When the Crowds Are Gone”) and more appropriate of the *insert corporation here* Arena down the block. Yes, Mickey and his band of co-conspirators can turn even the tiniest room into the world’s biggest megadome with their iconic brand of larger than life guitar riffs, keyboard licks, and most important of all, singalong hooks. Sure, you’re not going to sound a fraction as brilliant as the man himself, but that doesn’t mean he won’t dare you to join him, especially on the likes of “Jane”, “We Built This City”, and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”.

Although it’s been just over a year since we last caught Starship, this particular set was not without its differences, particularly involving personnel. For one, this show happened to mark the debut of guest guitarist, Howie Simon, holding down the fort for Winger/Giant/Medieval Steel axeman Jon Roth who was, most likely, occupied with another gig. Ironically, it was Simon who’d fill in for Roth in Winger when Roth was booked with Starship, so seeing him tackle the riffs n’ leads for Starship felt like a Freaky Friday moment in the best way possible. Way to make an entrance, Howie!

Furthermore, now a year into her jaunt with the band, co-singer Chelsee Foster has really come into her own, both musically and visually. The last Starship show I caught happened to be one of her first with the act, and you could tell she was easing her way in. Fast forward a year and change later, and she fully channels the chaotic energy of the Chrome Nun, Acid Queen, LSD Lucifera, et. al. of Grace Slick, especially when Starship pays tribute to their earliest incarnation, Jefferson Airplane, with a rollicking one-two punch of “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love”.

Come the closing “Find Your Way Back”, the audience were on their feet, admittedly probably part cheering that they’d be out of a concert before 10 on a school night, but more so because Starship brought the house down in their own way, proving that even AOR can rock hard! Before leaving the stage, Thomas proclaimed, “Make America sane again!”, circling us back to the theme of escapism that prevailed. How does one “Make America sane again”? Well, you could start by turning off your TV and turning up your old records. Neither CNN nor Fox will ever be more worthwhile than Hendrix’s burning strat, Iommi’s unholy tritone, or catching the last remaining greats of the classic rock era onstage while you still can. Do it now, or weep about it later!

Setlist