For my first trip this year to the Virginia Beach Amphitheater I headed on down for the "United in Rock Tour," tossing together three hard-rock acts from my very early years of seeing live concerts. This was one rockin' night of music . . . the fans in the packed venue were on their feet all evening as all three bands served up hit after well-known hit cascading from the stage.
        Since the photos outshine any accolades I could offer, I'm just gonna make a few brief points about the bands and give you their set-lists and running times.
        KANSAS was up first, opening with "Point of Know Return", Miracles Out of Nowhere", "Hold On", "Dust in the Wind", "Icarus - Borne on Wings of Steel", "Portrait (He Knew)", "Fight Fire With Fire", and ending their 40-minute set with "Carry On Wayward Son."
        STYX was up next, kicking off their set with a medley of song snippets that included "Borrowed Time/Mr. Roboto/Rockin' The Paradise" before going into "The Grand Illusion", "Too Much Time on My Hands", "Lady" and "Lorelei", before Tommy Shaw introduced a surprise set addition of "High Enough", a hit he co-wrote during his stint in the supergroup Damn Yankees. Then "Suite Madam Blue" and "Fooling Yourself" (The Angry Young Man) with Shaw showcasing his acoustic guitar skills incredibly before ending the set with "Miss America" and "Come Sail Away." For their encore they returned to play "Blue Collar Man" before ending their hour and fifteen-minute set with "Renegade."
        Headlining tonight's show was FOREIGNER, opening with "Double Vision", "Head Games", "Cold As Ice" and "Dirty White Boy" before Mick Jones and the band found time for two songs from their new album, title track "Can't Slow Down" and current single "In Pieces." Up next, the highlight of the night was "Starrider", a cool track on the band's debut album on which Jones handles lead vocals. Jones begins the song on acoustic guitar, but the pace gradually builds before he ends it with a blistering electric guitar solo segment lasting an additional several minutes. Next, "Feels Like The First Time" and "Urgent" before ending their set with "Juke Box Hero." For their encore they returned to play "I Want to Know What Love Is" and ending their hour and twenty-minute set with "Hot Blooded."
        All the bands were gracious, clearly excited to be performing on the same stage together. They thanked the fans for their support over the years . . . make that decades.  Each of these classic hard-rock bands has virtuoso guitarists, thunderous drummers and strong vocals. The rockers tossed guitar picks and drum sticks like confetti to end each of their sets. This was one night of great classic rock n roll. If anyone is interested in seeing this triple bill repeat performance, you can see it at the Borgata in Atlantic City, NJ, on Friday, August 13th.  The Borgata is a small, intimate and accoustically supreme venue in which to see any event;  so count on them to rock the place then. No way I'm missing that!!!
– Gary Crouthamel, concert photo journalist