For the sake of argument, lets say the band was great. The sound, the lights, your seats were all excellent.  They played every song you wanted to hear, note for note perfect. But there was one thing that you noticed, but only because you know the lineup of the band, and this wasn’t the Foreigner you bought $46 tickets for.

Long gone is the voice of Lou Gramm, who sang all the original hits you love, but new lead singer Kelly Hanson covered them well.  All of the other original members are gone too, and in this case, this night included the main man who is Foreigner, legally speaking, Mick Jones.

Mick plays guitar and, he owns the name Foreigner, so he can book the band and make other legal decisions in their name. But, on Sunday night, Mick was not on stage, but instead, replaced by a guitar good guitar player and you wouldn’t have noticed if you weren’t looking.

My question is, did you see Foreigner in concert or a good cover band? If it was a cover band, would you feel cheated? If they used “enhancements” like original recordings to beef up their sound, Is that the tipping point, i.e., no longer Foreigner?

Holograms are already in use, and will likely play a bigger part in “live” concerts. Rhythm tracks, keyboard fills. The band has a lot of hits, but there’s that one hit of theirs where they used an orchestra, but the costs of dragging an orchestra around on the road is very cost prohibitive, so they play to a synched pre recorded track. Where is that line for you?

As many Classic Rockers pass away or get to old for the road, things are going to change. How much will you accept?

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