Review from Borgata:
http://www.shorenewstoday.com/news.php?id=4161
Journey as good as ever - or even better
Sep, 08-2009 5:21 pm
By KAREN FITZPATRICK
When you go to a casino show to see an old favorite band from your youth, the first thing you want to know is if they sound the same, especially when the group’s superstar lead singer, gone from the group for more than a decade, has been replaced by a former cover band performer who was discovered on YouTube.
The question was answered loud and clear while seeing Journey and new front man Arnel Pineda Friday night at Borgata’s Event Center.
The answer was ‘yes’ – and even a little better.
I last saw Journey on Oct. 14, 1986 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. I remember the date because I still have the ticket stub in a scrapbook in my closet.
I was 20 years old and it was the first rock concert for me and my two best friends, Lori and Rhonda.
Journey was touring in support of “Raised on Radio,” and the ballad “Faithfully,” from the band’s previous album, “Frontiers,” was firmly fixed in my memory as the theme from our senior prom.
It didn’t matter back then that we were in the second level in the back of the arena and the performers were too distant to distinguish one from another. It was our first concert and the band was fantastic.
Fast-forward to 2009. I’m 43 years old and lucky enough to have my same two best friends with me Friday night, Sept. 4 to see if Journey still had it, and to relive a little bit of our youth.
Naturally, after 23 years you have your doubts. Now on its third singer since Steve Perry left in 1998, will Journey be as good as the band I remembered from my first rock show? Would Arnel Pineda live up to his YouTube billing and be worthy of “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’,” “Only the Young,” and the standards from soundtrack of my youth?
Journey came through. To borrow a word from the band’s newest album, Pineda is a revelation to a casual Journey fan like me whose mental impression of the band was formed almost a quarter century ago.
If you close your eyes you almost can’t tell the difference between him and what you remember as the Perry sound. But the sound is only half the story.
The way Pineda moves on stage from the beginning of the show to the end, constantly jumping around while connecting with the audience, adds an extra level of entertainment. He’s obviously enjoying himself, and it was fun to watch.
The same energy that propelled his actions on stage sustained the strength of his voice, so it was just as strong singing “Stone in Love,” near the show’s open, as it was belting out “Any Way You Want It,” the last number before the encore.
His voice remained strong with a smoothness that contrasts the raspiness Perry sometimes showed. I wasn’t missing Steve Perry at all.
The true test of any veteran live band is if they can play their new stuff and still entertain an audience that’s there to hear the hits.
From the 2008 release “Revelation,” they performed “Wildest Dream,” “Never Walk Away,” and “Change for the Better,” all of which left me wanting to hear more.
With band originals Neal Schon on guitar and Ross Valory on bass, joined by Jonathan Cain on keyboards and Deen Castronovo on drums, Journey is as talented as ever. Add Pineda’s high energy, a large dose of nostalgia, all from a vantage close enough to actually see them, and the experience was that much better.
Expecting to be impressed by the same band you last heard 23 years ago is a recipe for disappointment. Instead, they sounded just as good as they always did; I was pleasantly surprised.
