Was at the Greek Theater in L.A. the other night and it was a totally awesome experience. Did not have a dull moment, from the moment Cheap Trick came on board (didn’t know they sang the theme from “That 70’s Show”), to the unbelievable vocals of Ann Wilson’s “What About Love” and “Never”. But I was not prepared for the wild response of the crowd when finally Journey came onstage. And mind you, I have been to a lot of concerts here in L.A. and here at the Greek, and LA audiences are known to be “staid” (I read it from a different thread), so it was really something to see the crowd that enthused. Not even the “nosebleed” seats we got can detract from my total enjoyment. If anything, the crowd at our section are the most rowdy, most drunk (twenty something girls slugging draft bear from large cups in each hand), and most animated. The audience was the most mixed I have seen in all the concerts I’ve been. There was this group of thirty something who looked like sorority sisters out for a girl’s night who came in a limo. There’s also a group of Filipina nurses from Kaiser Hospital and a smattering of Valley girls, 90210 types and then there’s me and my husband who stick out like sore thumbs being flower children from the sixties. Months ago when they first started selling tickets for this tour, I was not able to get tickets to the Verizon gig. When the Greek tickets went on sale, my daughter snagged these seats the first day it went on sale for a birthday gift to me. She was so mad when she found out they added another show (Sep 27) where she could have got me better seats. It didn’t matter. There underneath the overhanging trees of the Los Feliz hills, I got to enjoy the “re-born” Journey and the phenom that is Arnel Pineda through the lens of a bulky 6-inch long binoculars (courtesy of my husband who is a bird-watcher) so I got to see every nuance and every antic of this diminutive spark plug of a lead singer named AP.
His first two songs scared me a bit cause he was having a tough time hitting the high notes. I said to myself, it’s “tour fatigue”. But after a short break where Neal Schon mesmerized us with his rendition of “Star Spangled Banner” (better than Jimi Hendrix, if I may say so!), Arnel came back with an explosion of energy and nailed every single song from that point on , peaking with the quadruple whammy of OA, Faithfully, DSB and WITS. Just today, I read a blog from somebody at the Pechanga concert where AP said “Not too bad for a sick boy”. So I gathered he had been sick at the Greek too and what a trouper! We couldn’t tell at all because he was jumping up and down and around the stage like a firecracker, working and involving the audience, lighting up the stage whenever he flashed that megawatt smile.
The band was excellent. You could not tell they are at the homestretch of a long grueling tour. Neal looked like he lost a lot of weight (judging from how he looks like at the Revelation DVD). His face is more angular and lean. Cain is awesome at the keyboards and at the harmonica when they did the jazzy bluesy encore. I can understand how the “NA NA NA NA” keeps ringing on your ears long after you’ve gone home, just like the article at GQ says. CAN’T WAIT FOR THEIR NEXT CD AND CONCERT! (“Revelation” by the way is Journey’s best selling album in the west in 30 years – said by Neal Schon himself at the show).
by twinklestar » Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:54 am 
