Chiming in (Chile Concert)

[STORY_TELLER]

Been gone for a while. Finally have a breather to do some mindless shit and what do I find?:

Journey had their first concert with Arnel.

Followed links to youtube clips (the good ones). Downloaded the mp3's some generous fan posted and took some time to let it soak in.

First reactions:
I saw a lot of nerves. Reminds me of my initial prediction/argument I had with crazy suzy way back when. I said he was going to be shaking like a dog shitting peach pits his first time out and I couldn't have been more right. Arnel screwed the pooch on a number of songs. I mean it was amateur hour. So much so, Cain was blatantly embarrassed in moments. I swear, if I heard him yell "OH! CHILE!" one more time, I was going to freak. His utterances felt so contrived and unnatural it stood out like a sore thumb. He was really struggling to find some comfort level on stage, but overall I figure I gotta cut the guy slack given the situation.

Even still, nerves or not, this guy is not a frontman. The difference between a frontman and a singer is the frontman performs the songs from within. He physically emotes what he's singing. It was like watching an inexperienced American Idol contestant.

What disturbed me the most - Arnel physically does not match this band. He looks very out of place. Felt like I was looking at a teenage fan called out of the audience to sing with the old guys on stage. It was surreal.

I was kind of disgusted. I mean, this is what they dropped JSS for? I killed the browser, ate some breakfast, then noticed the MP3's of the concert downloaded on my desktop. Started running them while I did some more work, still disgusted.

The rockers REALLY didn't sound good. I skipped over open arms, simply because I've grown to hate it, lol...

Then it happened:
I heard "Only the Young"

Wait a minute. What happened? This sounds great to me for some reason. Oh I get it now. I'm not watching Arnel, I'm listening to him. Without having to watch someone who not only looks like a kid, but is shorter than Neal, running around on stage like an excited little boy, I was able to get into the important factor:

The music.

Then it happened again:
I heard "Faithfully"

WOW. He doesn't sound like a Perry imitator. Not at all. But there's a quality to his voice. A sophisticated vibrato. Closest to Perry's I've ever heard. Not Perry's layered vocal character and not as good, not by a long shot, but still, very sophisticated.

Biggest concern I hear is Arnel sounds like he's singing on the top end of his voice a lot. He's not as naturally high a tenor as Perry and it sounds like it will be a problem in the long run. He's breaking up on the high notes. Hope he doesn't fry.

Can't say that I want to go see them in concert, yet. I mean I REALLY don't think Arnel has the frontman gene. It's not something you're taught anymore than singing with soul is something you can acquire. Running around on stage excitedly shaking hands isn't performing. Hopefully he'll improve. Even still, I'm tired of the GH's tour. The only GH's tour I'm interested in is one fronted by Perry and that's just never going to happen. So the new material needs to be front and center, and it better be good, for me to attend future concerts.

Conclusions:
Journey finally found the right vocalist. They no longer sound like they have a weak link in their talent pool. I'm excited about the new album now. Still need to hear what I'm buying before I purchase, but I'm cautiously optimistic bordering on excited. Just hope it lives up to my expectations now.

Shining star in the concert:
Deen Castronovo. He was on fire. Best I've heard him play, ever.

[Rip Rokken]

I said he was going to be shaking like a dog shitting peach pits his first time out and I couldn't have been more right.... I swear, if I heard him yell "OH! CHILE!" one more time, I was going to freak.

Hmm.... Maybe he was saying, "Oh, CHILI !!!" You really have to watch what you eat before a show...

[Journey69]

Been gone for a while. Finally have a breather to do some mindless shit and what do I find?:

Journey had their first concert with Arnel.

Followed links to youtube clips (the good ones). Downloaded the mp3's some generous fan posted and took some time to let it soak in.

First reactions:
I saw a lot of nerves. Reminds me of my initial prediction/argument I had with crazy suzy way back when. I said he was going to be shaking like a dog shitting peach pits his first time out and I couldn't have been more right. Arnel screwed the pooch on a number of songs. I mean it was amateur hour. So much so, Cain was blatantly embarrassed in moments. I swear, if I heard him yell "OH! CHILE!" one more time, I was going to freak. His utterances felt so contrived and unnatural it stood out like a sore thumb. He was really struggling to find some comfort level on stage, but overall I figure I gotta cut the guy slack given the situation.

Even still, nerves or not, this guy is not a frontman. The difference between a frontman and a singer is the frontman performs the songs from within. He physically emotes what he's singing. It was like watching an inexperienced American Idol contestant.

What disturbed me the most - Arnel physically does not match this band. He looks very out of place. Felt like I was looking at a teenage fan called out of the audience to sing with the old guys on stage. It was surreal.

I was kind of disgusted. I mean, this is what they dropped JSS for? I killed the browser, ate some breakfast, then noticed the MP3's of the concert downloaded on my desktop. Started running them while I did some more work, still disgusted.

The rockers REALLY didn't sound good. I skipped over open arms, simply because I've grown to hate it, lol...

Then it happened:
I heard "Only the Young"

Wait a minute. What happened? This sounds great to me for some reason. Oh I get it now. I'm not watching Arnel, I'm listening to him. Without having to watch someone who not only looks like a kid, but is shorter than Neal, running around on stage like an excited little boy, I was able to get into the important factor:

The music.

Then it happened again:
I heard "Faithfully"

WOW. He doesn't sound like a Perry imitator. Not at all. But there's a quality to his voice. A sophisticated vibrato. Closest to Perry's I've ever heard. Not Perry's layered vocal character and not as good, not by a long shot, but still, very sophisticated.

Biggest concern I hear is Arnel sounds like he's singing on the top end of his voice a lot. He's not as naturally high a tenor as Perry and it sounds like it will be a problem in the long run. He's breaking up on the high notes. Hope he doesn't fry.

Can't say that I want to go see them in concert, yet. I mean I REALLY don't think Arnel has the frontman gene. It's not something you're taught anymore than singing with soul is something you can acquire. Running around on stage excitedly shaking hands isn't performing. Hopefully he'll improve. Even still, I'm tired of the GH's tour. The only GH's tour I'm interested in is one fronted by Perry and that's just never going to happen. So the new material needs to be front and center, and it better be good, for me to attend future concerts.

Conclusions:
Journey finally found the right vocalist. They no longer sound like they have a weak link in their talent pool. I'm excited about the new album now. Still need to hear what I'm buying before I purchase, but I'm cautiously optimistic bordering on excited. Just hope it lives up to my expectations now.

Shining star in the concert:
Deen Castronovo. He was on fire. Best I've heard him play, ever.

That was a good take.. I thought you hated the guy? Did you come around to his voice ? And yes,he wasn't that great,but he will get better.He just needs some time to work out the nerves,get comfortable,I think that is the biggest part.. I hope the new album is Escape 3. Neal called Arrival Escape 2.. It should be called Freedom!!

[STORY_TELLER]

That was a good take.. I thought you hated the guy? Did you come around to his voice ? And yes,he wasn't that great,but he will get better.He just needs some time to work out the nerves,get comfortable,I think that is the biggest part.. I hope the new album is Escape 3. Neal called Arrival Escape 2.. It should be called Freedom!!

I didn't like him on Journey songs performed with The Zoo. It wasn't the quality of the audio video though, that I can look past. In hindsight I guess it was the overall feel. The weak band was bringing him down, whereas he had to bring himself up to match the talent in Journey.

I thought he sounded very good covering other bands like Survivor and Heart, but he was falling short on the Journey material for me. This lead me to conclude that as good a singer as he is, he might not be good enough to sing Perry's songs. I REALLY didn't like the original songs on his solo album which made me lean even more negative about his prospects. He sounded more Jack Wagner than Steve Perry. This does have me wondering what he'll sound like on the new Journey material, but given that he's probably singing Cain's lyrics and melodies and being produced by Shirley, I'm sure they'll probably mold him into retaining the Perry/Journey sound.

I doubt the new album will have an escape feel. I didn't think Arrival was Escape. More like a combination of Frontiers meets Bad English. I predict this album will be Frontiers meets Trial By Fire.

Arnel is not Perry. No one is. It wasn't just his voice, it was his artistic choices. Just listen to "take me back to Ohio" and you can tell the difference between Arnel and Perry. I don't see Arnel ever originating anything like that and for that reason, I'll always prefer Perry in the mix, but the man made his choices.

The band is soldiering on and well they should. My issue was always that they continued on with the wrong choice of singer. After hearing Arnel in the mix with the band, his chords blend. There's a comparable skill level going on there. Augeri always felt like his chords weren't big enough to front this band. He was the weak link in the talent chain. There was no chemistry. He's a rocker not a crooner and Journey needs a crooner (that can rock). I suspect Augeri will sound better on his new Tall Stories album than anything he did with Journey.

[STORY_TELLER]

I said he was going to be shaking like a dog shitting peach pits his first time out and I couldn't have been more right.... I swear, if I heard him yell "OH! CHILE!" one more time, I was going to freak.

Hmm.... Maybe he was saying, "Oh, CHILI !!!" You really have to watch what you eat before a show...

Well for fuck sakes get the boy some pepto then!

[Rip Rokken]

Well for fark sakes get the boy some pepto then!

I can hear the song now...

Highway runs
Tryin' to escape my buns
The meal spins round and round
Oh, my behind!

Wretched farts
I'll sleep alone tonight
Spending all on TUMS
To quench the fire

They say that the road is no place
For eating chilli
But right then it sounded so
Good to me
But lovin' a Tex Mex meal ain't always
What its s'posed to be

Oh, girl, don't stand by me
Out the old back door
It comes painfully!

[STORY_TELLER]

Well for fark sakes get the boy some pepto then!

I can hear the song now...

Highway runs
Tryin' to escape my buns
The meal spins round and round
Oh, my behind!

Wretched farts
I'll sleep alone tonight
Spending all on TUMS
To quench the fire

They say that the road is no place
For eating chilli
But right then it sounded so
Good to me
But lovin' a Tex Mex meal ain't always
What its s'posed to be

Oh, girl, don't stand by me
Out the old back door
It comes painfully!

Rip, you are one scary dude! LMAO!!!

[slucero]

I remember this band in the 70's.... they got this scrawny lil' singer... to complement their lineup... man the fans gave him shit.... he got up on stage... and he was friggin nervous..... then he opened his mouth and started singing..... wow.... raw... but man you just sense that there was something there....

.... then years later... 1981 at the Oakland Colesium... during one of the bill Graham day on the Greens.... I'd just seen Molly Hatchet, then Black Sabbath.... and now it was time for the hometown heroes to take the stage..... and there he is again.... and man his voice was HUGE..... angelic yet powerful.....

... funny how that happens...

[ProgRocker53]

Well for fark sakes get the boy some pepto then!

I can hear the song now...

Highway runs
Tryin' to escape my buns
The meal spins round and round
Oh, my behind!

Wretched farts
I'll sleep alone tonight
Spending all on TUMS
To quench the fire

They say that the road is no place
For eating chilli
But right then it sounded so
Good to me
But lovin' a Tex Mex meal ain't always
What its s'posed to be

Oh, girl, don't stand by me
Out the old back door
It comes painfully!

Rip, you are one scary dude! LMAO!!!

HAHAHAH! Golden!!

[larryfromnextdoor]

I remember this band in the 70's.... they got this scrawny lil' singer... to complement their lineup... man the fans gave him shit.... he got up on stage... and he was friggin nervous..... then he opened his mouth and started singing..... wow.... raw... but man you just sense that there was something there....

.... then years later... 1981 at the Oakland Colesium... during one of the bill Graham day on the Greens.... I'd just seen Molly Hatchet, then Black Sabbath.... and now it was time for the hometown heroes to take the stage..... and there he is again.... and man his voice was HUGE..... angelic yet powerful.....

... funny how that happens...

you type like myself... i cant read a word of what you just said..

[epresley]

but Lar, u typ rill gud

[Eric]

More like a combination of Frontiers meets Bad English.

MAN...this is a great observation of everything they did with Augeri! I don't think its a negative....its just a great observation.

[mistiejourney]

Well for fark sakes get the boy some pepto then!

I can hear the song now...

Highway runs
Tryin' to escape my buns
The meal spins round and round
Oh, my behind!

Wretched farts
I'll sleep alone tonight
Spending all on TUMS
To quench the fire

They say that the road is no place
For eating chilli
But right then it sounded so
Good to me
But lovin' a Tex Mex meal ain't always
What its s'posed to be

Oh, girl, don't stand by me
Out the old back door
It comes painfully!

Rip, I had a LOUSY night at work, I'm sitting here trying to unwind and then you come up with this totally nut case song and I'm laughing so hard I'm f'ing CRYING!

God, I love this place!!!!

[Melissa]

Well for fark sakes get the boy some pepto then!

I can hear the song now...

Highway runs
Tryin' to escape my buns
The meal spins round and round
Oh, my behind!

Wretched farts
I'll sleep alone tonight
Spending all on TUMS
To quench the fire

They say that the road is no place
For eating chilli
But right then it sounded so
Good to me
But lovin' a Tex Mex meal ain't always
What its s'posed to be

Oh, girl, don't stand by me
Out the old back door
It comes painfully!

Dean's theme song.

[epresley]

There's some chili down here in Texas that'll have you wiping with a snow cone the next day.......................