What’s the best way to gauge the success of a concert from a multi-platinum-selling act that no longer boasts any of its original members?

That’s a question that classic rock fans are having to navigate more and more these days as so many bands continue to tour without the players who were responsible for crafting their greatest hits.

Some might say that the success should be judged by how well the new lineup sounds like the old one. Others might say that the group needs to rise above that standard and come across like something more than a cover band. And, judging by sales figures, pretty much no one would say that success should be determined by the quality of new recordings from recent lineups.

Yet, I think it’s primarily about memories — conjuring up old ones and creating new ones. If the band is able to do that in concert then, at least to some degree, it’s a success.

In that regard, if not a few others, Foreigner — the classic rock outfit that long ago waved goodbye to all of its original members in terms of regular touring — was mostly triumphant during its concert on Sunday night (March 22) at the San Jose Civic.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame act, enshrined alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Cher, Dave Matthews Band and others as part of the class of 2024, delivered pretty much all the old ’70s and ’80s hits that the casual fan would want to hear. And they did so in a fashion that, at least instrumentally, pretty much resembled the versions you still hear played on classic rock radio today.

Vocally, however, it was a different story. Luis Maldonado, who was making his Bay Area debut as Foreigner’s lead singer after years of playing rhythm guitar and backing vocal vocals behind Kelly Hansen, doesn’t sound at all like the legendary Lou Gramm.

But, then again, there aren’t many who can hold a candle to the original voice of Foreigner. Sounding different, however, is not necessarily a bad thing — since I never once thought during the concert that Maldonado was trying to imitate Gramm. Instead, he’s got his own thing going on, which can feel a little-too-rambunctious and forced at times, but should improve as he gets more comfortable in his new role.

Backed by an orchestra on this tour, Foreigner — Maldonado, bassist Jeff Pilson, guitarists Bruce Watson and John Roth, keyboardist Michael Bluestein and drummer Chris Frazier – took the stage and immediately hit the audience with the mighty “Blue Morning, Blue Day.”

From there, the nostalgia train was in full effect, carrying crowd members — many of whom were probably in high school or college when these songs were first released — through a soundtrack of past romances, old friends and road trips of yore.

I also found myself getting swept away a bit, given that Foreigner got plenty of airtime on my turntable and radio during junior high school. And those memories even managed to briefly overpower my critical analysis, as thoughts of my now-wife Nancy — who I attended Union Middle School with in San Jose — made me even swoon over “Waiting for a Girl Like You.” (By the next morning, however, I was back to thinking that aching power ballad might be the most most annoying song of the ’80s.)

The orchestra was a nice added touch, bringing depth and an appreciated bit of novelty to “Cold as Ice,” “That Was Yesterday” and other numbers that these fans have heard (roughly) 147,388 times before. Yet, no one seemed to mind hearing them for the 147,389th time.

“I’m not sure it’s a Sunday,” Maldonado remarked of the upbeat, appreciative crowd. “It feels like a Friday.”

The group also tried to change things up with an acoustic segment, which kicked off with a pretty impressive solo guitar piece from the lead singer (who, just as a reminder, formerly played guitar in the band). He then dropped the axe and joined the rest of acoustic Foreigner — plus some of the orchestra’s string players — in a fine version of the band’s own “Say You Will” and a surprisingly solid cover of the Simon & Garfunkel standard “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

That acoustic segment nicely set up the big first-set closer of “Urgent” —  highlighted by former Bay Area resident Bluestein on keytar — which had people up out of their seats and grooving along.

“This is your chance to get Twizzlers, Junior Mints or something else you want,” Maldonado remarked as the band left for the intermission.

An orchestral interlude led us into Set 2, which then offered up possibly the most powerful one-two punch combination of the evening — “”Double Vision” into “Feels Like the First Time.” The only other combo that was in the same league had come early in the first set, as “Blue Morning. Blue Day” transitioned into “Cold as Ice.” As those two examples suggest, the best songs of the night were the ones off the group’s first two albums — 1977’s “Foreigner” and 1978’s “Double Vision” — which, for my money, are the only two you need to own.

A bizarre cello spotlight (featuring crowd-pleasing snippets from “The Addams Family” theme song) followed from Dave Eggar, setting up a mammoth version of “Jukebox Hero” that was sadly both over-the-top and overdone.

Credit a lot of that to Maldonado, who has apparently yet to learn that musical dynamics can also include playing it straight and subtlety — or that stage cliches sometimes need to be retired.

In terms of the former, he decided to sing the band member introductions — which is annoying and, really, puts the spotlight back on him instead of the other players. In regard to the later, he went with the way-tired trick of dividing the crowd into two and having them square off in a contest to see which side was louder.

Even though the group milked “Juke Box Hero” for way more than it was worth on this night, the song still managed to bring up some pretty poignant memories from back in the day. Those ones, however, were then quickly decimated by the ones I have of first hearing (and hating) “I Want to Know What Love Is” — which belongs on the short list of the most nauseatingly cheesy ballads of the ’80s.

Foreigner went out on a high note — taking all of us along with them for the ride — closing the show with a strong version of “Hot Blooded.”

Foreigner San Jose Civic setlist:
1. Orchestral overture
2. “Blue Morning, Blue Day”
3. “Cold as Ice”
4. “Waiting for a Girl Like You”
5. “That Was Yesterday”
6. Acoustic guitar solo piece (by Luis Maldonado)
7. “Say You Will”
8. “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
9. “Urgent”
Set 2
10. Orchestra solo
11. “Double Vision”
12. “Feels Like the First Time”
13. Cello solo (by Dave Eggar)
14. “Juke Box Hero”
15. “I Want to Know What Love Is”
16. “Hot Blooded”