Man, I love YouTube and the internet and all the access it gives me to music and boots and what not, but goddamn if it's not ruining the essence of being a music fan. I thought Arnel's performance was good, not great. I'm not going to sit here and explain why the specific way he sang a phrase exactly 2 minutes and 30 seconds into Edge of the Blade detracted from his performance. I'm 21 and I have musically come of age in this digital age and it sometimes saddens me - I know people went to CSNY concerts where the guys were so loaded off of coke they had nosebleeds while they were playing and people still had a hell of a good time. Now we're sitting here debating whether or not Arnel properly pronounced a consonant? Man. I used to get roped into listening to people who are overly critical of every YouTube clip, every bootleg, every slip-up. Don't we go to concerts to HAVE FUN?
As the years go by and almost all the concerts I go to feature members that are at least middle aged, if not fast approaching Social Security eligibility and not getting younger, I've seen enough bands tune down 1/2 a step or a full step so the aging vocalist can make it through the show without keeling over, slow the tempos down so the guitarist can keep up on that once-blazing solo he recorded, heard the harmonies canned and played through a backing tape because the backing vocalists can't hit the notes anymore, so on and so forth. The point is, live shows aren't perfect, especially as the guys get older. Unless the guys are just absolutely terrible (see: drunk Eddie from the last Van Hagar tour), I'm grateful I'll be able to say I saw some of my all-time favorite/most influential musicians play some of my favorite music, and Journey is no exception, even if the mighty Perry isn't fronting the band. Some of you may honestly not be able to stand hearing Arnel's take on the classics now or ever, and that's fine. But give it a chance, and certainly don't let a missed consonant in the chorus of Open Arms keep you away from having fun.
As Journey goes, I am grateful to hear someone do most of the songs justice (Stone In Love was bad, I must agree) and hear and see the fretboard work of the man who made me dust off the guitar that had been idle in its stand until I saw him play when I was 16 - Neal. I guess somewhere in this rambling, I think my point is some of you need to take a step back and realize that the music is bigger than a missed consonant or even an entire butchered song in a live set, and certainly bigger than any of the band members' personalities/actions. By all reports, Don Henley is one of the biggest dickheads in the biz, but that doesn't mean I won't shell out good money to go see The Eagles or Henley solo and listen to any and all new stuff he puts out. I won't even panic when I realize Henley plays all his older stuff a full step down from the original studio key anymore. The music is bigger than that.
Give Arnel a chance, I think he'll only get better. He's got a shitload of talent and hopefully a lot of upside. It's impossible to predict the latter, but let's hope for the best. Maybe you won't ever like him, maybe you won't ever go see Journey until JSS, Jeremy, Perry, Augeri, or whoever your preferred flavor is manning the mic. But give the man a chance past his first performance on a shitty YouTube bootleg video. Some of you have been fans for 30+ years and cite the "legacy." Wouldn't it be worth giving the remaining guys WILLING to go out and play the music the chance to do some justice to that legacy and keep a three decade tradition alive? Doesn't the music deserve a bigger chance than one green night broadcast over a far from perfect medium? Think about it. If this post sounds preachy, it's because I guess it is. I just would hate to see any of you get cheated out of having FUN at what I still believe will be a great concert when it comes my way. ProgRocker said it best, Journey is the sum of the parts. Not just Arnel, JSS, Augeri, or even Perry. Holy shit this is long.
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