Journey concert review in Fireworks Magazine

[MartyMoffatt]

Following our trip out to California in August to see Journey, I wrote a review of one of the concerts for Fireworks Magazine, which has just been published this month.

Fireworks is a classic rock mag based in the UK, published every two or three months and is a great source of information to rock fans here - much better than the more well known Classic Rock magazine.

I was asked originally to write a full blown article about the band but given the apparent press blackout at the time regarding potential change of singer (this was well before the official announcement remember, and even before Andrew flew out to get his interviews), it wasn't possible to set up any proper interviews at that time, so I simply wrote a review of one of the concerts we attended.

Rather than scan the page from the magazine, I thought it would be easier to read if I just published the entire text here. Sorry if it's a bit long.....

------------------
Journey concert – Concord, CA 26th August 2006

After wooing Journey-starved European fans with two sellout shows and a superlative performance at this year’s Monsters of Rock (best band on the day by a country mile) and then more great shows in Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden, Journey teamed up with Def Leppard and embarked on a huge tour of the US from July through to November. More than 70 shows, playing to more than 1 million concert-goers over five months, this was not a tour for the faint hearted.

Although billed as a co-headline tour, it was clear from the outset that Def Leppard were going to finish each show and as such they obviously saw themselves as the headline act. This was also reflected in the stage setup, with Def Leppard sporting a much more elaborate and spectacular lightshow. Journey’s wasn’t too shabby, but was nowhere near as full or as big as Leppard’s.

However, the quality of a performance is in the sound and the musicianship, rather than the lightshow, and here Journey has it nailed. Night after night they wowed audiences with consistently high level performances.

For a band whose reputation is based as much as anything on a signature vocal style, the unthinkable happened early into this tour. Lead singer Steve Augeri audibly struggled with vocal problems during the first few US shows and would fail to see out the remainder of the tour

Unable to continue without a singer, but obviously not wanting to cancel a lucrative tour with Def Leppard, guitarist Neal Schon called up the cavalry in the form of old friend Jeff Scott Soto to cover vocal duties. Long time music fans may remember JSS from his days with Yngwie Malmstein, Talisman and Soul SirkUS (where his relationship with Neal Schon was forged). JSS is actually better known in Europe than in his native land, but is respected by musicians everywhere for his versatility, energy and power.

As a relative unknown in the US, JSS taking the stage in place of Augeri must have confused quite a few punters, although to be fair many still hadn’t realised that Steve Perry had been replaced by Steve Augeri eight years ago.

Replacing the lead singer in the middle of a tour could have been a disaster. In fact, it has turned out to be a master stroke. JSS has injected a pace and energy into the band that has seen them get rave reviews from this tour probably beyond their wildest dreams.

And so, to our own experience of the Journey tour. We flew to San Francisco to catch up with the band at Concord, and followed that with shows at Shoreline, Marysville, Portland and Seattle. Five Journey/Def Leppard shows in seven days. This was around six weeks into the tour. JSS had been singing for just a few short weeks, and was still feeling his way into the difficult and vocally demanding Journey song catalogue.

Some shows had a majority of Journey fans, others a majority of Def Leppard fans and some would be evenly split. This review covers the first of those five shows. This was primarily a Journey oriented audience. Concord is a semi-outdoor venue, with a capacity of around 12,000. It has a stage and a roof extending back over the amphitheatre seating, but has no walls, allowing for more people to sit or stand in the lawn area around the perimeter. Tonight the show was sold out – not surprising for a hometown show for Journey, originating just down the road in San Francisco.

Warm up act for the night was Stoll Vaughn, who’s fifteen minute solo set was joined for the last song by the Journey engine room of Ross Valory (bass) and Jonathan Cain (keyboards, or in this case, harmonica).

A short retreat backstage, and then back for the main show.

As a joint tour with another band, timings are very tight, and in this case both Journey and Def Leppard get exactly 80 minutes each in which to complete their set. This is way too short to cover the catalogue of classic songs that Journey have at their disposal, and many popular tunes have to be left out. As a result, there is little respite and Journey’s approach here is to pound you with hit after hit after hit, leaving the audience breathless but wanting more.

Neal walked out onstage alone and launched himself into a guitar solo of the Star Spangled Banner, which was enough to get the already excited crowd on their feet. As he finished, the rest of the band joined him, and we got our first glimpse of JSS fronting Journey. I’ve seen JSS several times before, both in Soul SirkUS and with his solo band and I know what a magnetic frontman he is. However, Journey fans are so demanding that the songs be sung perfectly, and we wondered if Soto’s deeper vocal style would suit the much higher pitched sound of songs made famous by Perry and Augeri.

Within moments we realised that we needn’t have worried. As the band work their way through ‘Stone in Love’, ‘Ask the Lonely’ and ‘Wheel in the Sky’ JSS sings each one effortlessly.

The pace quickens with ‘Keep on Runnin’ and ‘Edge of the Blade’, Neal’s guitar work proving time and again that he has few equals when it comes to heavy rock with liberal doses of melody. This guy just loves to play guitar and is the reason Journey keep on touring year after year. JSS runs around the stage, dances, jumps, plays with the other band members, and generally enjoys himself, all the while belting out the songs like he was born to sing them. His enthusiasm and energy transmits to the rest of the band, who are grinning and laughing like never before. This is a Journey reborn – the quality of musicianship that comes with experience matched with the exuberance of youth. OK JSS isn’t that young. He’s 40 and has been singing in rock bands since he was in nappies, but he’s extremely fit, young looking and has a style that certainly appeals to much younger audiences.

For a moment, JSS takes a back seat, as vocal duties for ‘Who’s Crying Now’ are taken up by drummer Deen Castronovo. Deen’s singing in recent years has been a revelation. His pitch and timbre are very reminiscent of Steve Perry and, especially on the slower numbers, his vocal performance leaves fans dropping their jaws in awe.

‘Chain Reaction’ follows, JSS back at the helm and leading – actually pushing – his bandmates to new heights. Hometown favourite ‘Lights’ allows the San Francisco crowd to exercise their own vocal chords and JSS orchestrates the singalong.

The familiar sound of Jonathan Cain’s keyboard solo introduces ‘Open Arms’, Deen again on vox. Then just a few more, including ‘Escape’ and ‘Dead or Alive’, and another song from Deen, ‘Faithfully’. While singing, he holds up a Rock Star magazine to the audience, showing us a picture of his son Roman on the cover.

Coming towards the end of the set, Journey throw in their signature song ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ and finally ‘Anyway You Want It’. Then, seemingly in the blink of an eye, the show’s over. The crowd demand more, and Journey oblige by coming back for their encore ‘Separate Ways’. Neal surprisingly came on stage with a cordless guitar, allowing him to run from side to side on the stage during the song, something he hasn’t done for years and further evidence that he is really enjoying himself up there right now.

After Journey’s set, Def Leppard’s by contrast seemed lethargic and much slower paced. They picked their way through their hits with consummate professionalism, but somehow the spark that lit up Journey seemed to be missing. Maybe they themselves were overawed at having to follow such an uptempo performance. I have to say that in the later shows, Def Leppard did improve considerably, but at this particular show they were simply outgunned by their ‘opening’ act.

Whether JSS stays with Journey remains to be seen, but the move has already been enormously beneficial to both. JSS has gained more exposure, especially in the US where he was relatively unknown and as a consequence has simply wowed audiences who were unprepared for how good he is. And Journey have discovered a gem that may just re-light their fire. Augeri is a great singer, but in recent years journey have become a touring machine thanks to Schon’s insatiable appetite for playing live, and that took its toll on Augeri, resulting in his now well publicised vocal problems. JSS is somebody that lives to play live and he is extremely good at it – in fact he’s probably one of the best singers and frontmen in rock at the moment. Schon and Soto are a match made in heaven. Add the songwriting skills of Cain into the mix and you have the potential for something really special.

On the evidence of the few short shows I saw, and the many many hundreds of glowingly positive reviews flowing in from concert-goers all over the US, I’d say they are getting close to realising that potential already.

Review by Marty Moffatt
--------------------

[bionic]

Following our trip out to California in August to see Journey, I wrote a review of one of the concerts for Fireworks Magazine, which has just been published this month.

Fireworks is a classic rock mag based in the UK, published every two or three months and is a great source of information to rock fans here - much better than the more well known Classic Rock magazine.

I was asked originally to write a full blown article about the band but given the apparent press blackout at the time regarding potential change of singer (this was well before the official announcement remember, and even before Andrew flew out to get his interviews), it wasn't possible to set up any proper interviews at that time, so I simply wrote a review of one of the concerts we attended.

Rather than scan the page from the magazine, I thought it would be easier to read if I just published the entire text here. Sorry if it's a bit long.....

------------------
Journey concert – Concord, CA 26th August 2006

After wooing Journey-starved European fans with two sellout shows and a superlative performance at this year’s Monsters of Rock (best band on the day by a country mile) and then more great shows in Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden, Journey teamed up with Def Leppard and embarked on a huge tour of the US from July through to November. More than 70 shows, playing to more than 1 million concert-goers over five months, this was not a tour for the faint hearted.

Although billed as a co-headline tour, it was clear from the outset that Def Leppard were going to finish each show and as such they obviously saw themselves as the headline act. This was also reflected in the stage setup, with Def Leppard sporting a much more elaborate and spectacular lightshow. Journey’s wasn’t too shabby, but was nowhere near as full or as big as Leppard’s.

However, the quality of a performance is in the sound and the musicianship, rather than the lightshow, and here Journey has it nailed. Night after night they wowed audiences with consistently high level performances.

For a band whose reputation is based as much as anything on a signature vocal style, the unthinkable happened early into this tour. Lead singer Steve Augeri audibly struggled with vocal problems during the first few US shows and would fail to see out the remainder of the tour

Unable to continue without a singer, but obviously not wanting to cancel a lucrative tour with Def Leppard, guitarist Neal Schon called up the cavalry in the form of old friend Jeff Scott Soto to cover vocal duties. Long time music fans may remember JSS from his days with Yngwie Malmstein, Talisman and Soul SirkUS (where his relationship with Neal Schon was forged). JSS is actually better known in Europe than in his native land, but is respected by musicians everywhere for his versatility, energy and power.

As a relative unknown in the US, JSS taking the stage in place of Augeri must have confused quite a few punters, although to be fair many still hadn’t realised that Steve Perry had been replaced by Steve Augeri eight years ago.

Replacing the lead singer in the middle of a tour could have been a disaster. In fact, it has turned out to be a master stroke. JSS has injected a pace and energy into the band that has seen them get rave reviews from this tour probably beyond their wildest dreams.

And so, to our own experience of the Journey tour. We flew to San Francisco to catch up with the band at Concord, and followed that with shows at Shoreline, Marysville, Portland and Seattle. Five Journey/Def Leppard shows in seven days. This was around six weeks into the tour. JSS had been singing for just a few short weeks, and was still feeling his way into the difficult and vocally demanding Journey song catalogue.

Some shows had a majority of Journey fans, others a majority of Def Leppard fans and some would be evenly split. This review covers the first of those five shows. This was primarily a Journey oriented audience. Concord is a semi-outdoor venue, with a capacity of around 12,000. It has a stage and a roof extending back over the amphitheatre seating, but has no walls, allowing for more people to sit or stand in the lawn area around the perimeter. Tonight the show was sold out – not surprising for a hometown show for Journey, originating just down the road in San Francisco.

Warm up act for the night was Stoll Vaughn, who’s fifteen minute solo set was joined for the last song by the Journey engine room of Ross Valory (bass) and Jonathan Cain (keyboards, or in this case, harmonica).

A short retreat backstage, and then back for the main show.

As a joint tour with another band, timings are very tight, and in this case both Journey and Def Leppard get exactly 80 minutes each in which to complete their set. This is way too short to cover the catalogue of classic songs that Journey have at their disposal, and many popular tunes have to be left out. As a result, there is little respite and Journey’s approach here is to pound you with hit after hit after hit, leaving the audience breathless but wanting more.

Neal walked out onstage alone and launched himself into a guitar solo of the Star Spangled Banner, which was enough to get the already excited crowd on their feet. As he finished, the rest of the band joined him, and we got our first glimpse of JSS fronting Journey. I’ve seen JSS several times before, both in Soul SirkUS and with his solo band and I know what a magnetic frontman he is. However, Journey fans are so demanding that the songs be sung perfectly, and we wondered if Soto’s deeper vocal style would suit the much higher pitched sound of songs made famous by Perry and Augeri.

Within moments we realised that we needn’t have worried. As the band work their way through ‘Stone in Love’, ‘Ask the Lonely’ and ‘Wheel in the Sky’ JSS sings each one effortlessly.

The pace quickens with ‘Keep on Runnin’ and ‘Edge of the Blade’, Neal’s guitar work proving time and again that he has few equals when it comes to heavy rock with liberal doses of melody. This guy just loves to play guitar and is the reason Journey keep on touring year after year. JSS runs around the stage, dances, jumps, plays with the other band members, and generally enjoys himself, all the while belting out the songs like he was born to sing them. His enthusiasm and energy transmits to the rest of the band, who are grinning and laughing like never before. This is a Journey reborn – the quality of musicianship that comes with experience matched with the exuberance of youth. OK JSS isn’t that young. He’s 40 and has been singing in rock bands since he was in nappies, but he’s extremely fit, young looking and has a style that certainly appeals to much younger audiences.

For a moment, JSS takes a back seat, as vocal duties for ‘Who’s Crying Now’ are taken up by drummer Deen Castronovo. Deen’s singing in recent years has been a revelation. His pitch and timbre are very reminiscent of Steve Perry and, especially on the slower numbers, his vocal performance leaves fans dropping their jaws in awe.

‘Chain Reaction’ follows, JSS back at the helm and leading – actually pushing – his bandmates to new heights. Hometown favourite ‘Lights’ allows the San Francisco crowd to exercise their own vocal chords and JSS orchestrates the singalong.

The familiar sound of Jonathan Cain’s keyboard solo introduces ‘Open Arms’, Deen again on vox. Then just a few more, including ‘Escape’ and ‘Dead or Alive’, and another song from Deen, ‘Faithfully’. While singing, he holds up a Rock Star magazine to the audience, showing us a picture of his son Roman on the cover.

Coming towards the end of the set, Journey throw in their signature song ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ and finally ‘Anyway You Want It’. Then, seemingly in the blink of an eye, the show’s over. The crowd demand more, and Journey oblige by coming back for their encore ‘Separate Ways’. Neal surprisingly came on stage with a cordless guitar, allowing him to run from side to side on the stage during the song, something he hasn’t done for years and further evidence that he is really enjoying himself up there right now.

After Journey’s set, Def Leppard’s by contrast seemed lethargic and much slower paced. They picked their way through their hits with consummate professionalism, but somehow the spark that lit up Journey seemed to be missing. Maybe they themselves were overawed at having to follow such an uptempo performance. I have to say that in the later shows, Def Leppard did improve considerably, but at this particular show they were simply outgunned by their ‘opening’ act.

Whether JSS stays with Journey remains to be seen, but the move has already been enormously beneficial to both. JSS has gained more exposure, especially in the US where he was relatively unknown and as a consequence has simply wowed audiences who were unprepared for how good he is. And Journey have discovered a gem that may just re-light their fire. Augeri is a great singer, but in recent years journey have become a touring machine thanks to Schon’s insatiable appetite for playing live, and that took its toll on Augeri, resulting in his now well publicised vocal problems. JSS is somebody that lives to play live and he is extremely good at it – in fact he’s probably one of the best singers and frontmen in rock at the moment. Schon and Soto are a match made in heaven. Add the songwriting skills of Cain into the mix and you have the potential for something really special.

On the evidence of the few short shows I saw, and the many many hundreds of glowingly positive reviews flowing in from concert-goers all over the US, I’d say they are getting close to realising that potential already.

Review by Marty Moffatt
--------------------

Great review welcome to the team,its a great magazine i have been writing with them for around a year my self,check my Steve Perry reissue reviews!

[*Laura]

That was an excellent review,Marty,thanks for posting it.

I think you summed up very well the colors of the future Journey with this one:

JSS is somebody that lives to play live and he is extremely good at it – in fact he’s probably one of the best singers and frontmen in rock at the moment. Schon and Soto are a match made in heaven. Add the songwriting skills of Cain into the mix and you have the potential for something really special.

[MartyMoffatt]

Great review welcome to the team,its a great magazine i have been writing with them for around a year my self,check my Steve Perry reissue reviews!

Hi Ray, yes I noticed your name in the credits in the magazine

Marty

[ohsherrie]

Great review Marty.

[donnaplease]

BRAVO!!!

[Melissa]

Great read, thanks for posting it!

[SteveForever]

Marty, I'm making a Journey album with my keepsakes and this IS going in it, it really captures the moment
thanks for posting it,
SF