Foghat Live at MountainFest

Morgantown, WV

July 27, 2013

After leaving the underappreciated Savoy Brown in 1970, Roger Earl and “Lonesome” Dave Peverett formed Foghat. Becoming a household name throughout the seventies, the band has ridden out the waves and through it all (including the era where each man was leading his own version of Foghat, a reunion, and the sad passing of Peverett and Rod Price) they are still here rockin’ four decades later. The 2013 lineup consists of founder Roger Earl, bassist Craig MacGregor (who joined in the band’s seventies heyday), guitarist Bryan Bassett (Wild Cherry, Molly Hatchet), and vocalist/guitarist Charlie Huhn (Ted Nugent, Victory, Gary Moore, etc.).

I have seen many classic rock bands play over the last few years and, honestly, most of them are shadows of their former selves musically, no matter how enjoyable the show might be. So, after waiting in a literal downpour for an hour, Foghat appreciatively took the stage at the MountainFest biker rally. Sure I was excited to see any semblance of this classic band, but I honestly didn’t expect much.

From the opening notes, Foghat tore the place down! They came out sounding HUGE, with thick guitars, stadium drum tones, and bass that rattles your chest. This is the first “classic” band that I have seen that sounded so massive. While the band delivered blistering versions of “Fool For the City,” “Drivin’ Wheel,” and “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” among others, it was the in-between time that fascinated me the most. Huhn and Bassett are monster guitarists to say the least and between songs (and just as often within) they traded solos or licks. Bassett may just be the world’s premiere slide guitarist delivering faithful renditions of Foghat favorites while taking them to a whole new level musically. The band even took a moment to pay homage to Pittsburgh’s own Bassett’s former life by playing a piece of Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funk Music!” The band played for about an hour and a half before leaving the stage briefly and then returning for the obviously omitted “Slow Ride,” the hit which made them a household name in Rock and Roll.

They band ripped through a set that included all their hits in the pouring rain, thanking the  fans over and over again (and there were about 1,500 of us) for standing in such crappy weather to get our Foghat on. While many will scoff at this idea, I absolutely believe that Foghat’s 2013 lineup is a hundred times more musically proficient and dynamic than their heyday counterpart and the folks in attendance seemed to back up my idea with sporadic chants of “That was better than ’79!” from throughout the crowd.

The point is, if Foghat comes to your town do not miss it! The band also have a new single out called “The Word of Rock and Roll” that features all the boogie-woogie and blues you can pack into a hit song. It is available at Itunes now!