My weekend of music continued with a Lou Gramm concert on Saturday night. One of the founding members of Foreigner, Gramm performed at Des Plaines Theater.

Built in 1925, Des Plaines Theatre was originally a vaudeville and movie venue. After a fire ravaged it in 1982, periods of inactivity followed until three years of renovation were completed last year. Open since November, it has hosted a variety of musical acts.

Gramm was a singer-songwriter for Foreigner from their founding in 1976. Their first four albums were 5x platinum in the United States. Except for a short break, Gramm stayed with Foreigner until 2003, when he left to pursue other musical projects.

Photo by Jack Keenan

Saturday night it was mostly about Foreigner, though. Starting with “Long, Long Way from Home,” Gramm and his band delighted the crowd with a dozen songs, mostly Foreigner hits. The sold-out crowd cheered for an encore, and Gramm delivered with “Urgent,” before finishing with “Hot Blooded,” one of the Foreigner’s most popular songs.

Gramm, 72, sounded fantastic. Despite battling a benign brain tumor which affected his voice and stamina 25 years ago, Gramm’s energy level was high, and the crowd responded feverishly.

Located about 15 minutes from my place, Des Plaines Theater has several more great acts scheduled this year. Next up for me is Haley Reinhart in September. I can’t wait.

— John Wroblewski, online writer