JSS and Journey in Nashville

[Milos]

I’m back from the Nashville show. I would give Jeff’s performance a solid B effort. He sounded a lot better live than on the bootleg, but he was still struggling with some of the songs. It’s interesting that they completely removed Only The Young from the set. They didn’t really replace it with anything else either--it was just gone. I guess the “squawk” on the Atlanta bootleg wasn’t an isolated incident. ha ha.

Correction: I forgot that they actually added Be Good to Yourself later on in the set. This was probably the reason why they removed Only The Young--just to make room for another song. Sorry about that.

Jeff also kept having trouble with his inner ear monitor and at one point completely removed it and threw it on the drum riser. It’s funny that he actually sounded better after removing it. He sang more in-tune without it.

Some people have stated that he cuts notes off, but I didn’t hear any of that tonight. He sang most of the passages the way they were originally intended. The problem is that he’s trying to constantly sing at the limit of his vocal range. I have no doubt if the band would tune down a half step his voice would improve dramatically.

Jeff never sounded completely terrible on any of the songs. At times he was awesome and at other times he was just pretty good. I think he’s continuing to improve with each concert.

The band definitely rocked more with Jeff out front. He’s an amazing showman and a great frontman. He has lots of energy and is fun to watch. You can’t help but like the guy. It's obvious he’s giving it all he’s got.

My girlfriend thought he was fantastic and “good-looking” too. She kept watching him through binoculars even though we were only about 15 rows from the stage. Go figure.

The rest of the band was incredible as usual.

Set List (as far as I can remember. the order may be off slightly)

Star Spangled Banner
Any Way You Want It
Ask the Lonely
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Who's Crying Now (Dean on vocals)
Chain Reaction
Lights
Open Arms (Dean on vocals)
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
Escape
Dead or Alive
Be Good to Yourself
Faithfully (Dean on vocals)
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways

[RedWingFan]

Jeff never sounded completely terrible on any of the songs. At times he was awesome and at other times he was just pretty good.

UGH! By your description it sounds like a C- at best. I have tickets for the Indy show 7/22. I hope the techs or bandmates give him the feedback and pull in the reigns on him to make for a better performance by then.

[jrnysc]

Jeff never sounded completely terrible on any of the songs. At times he was awesome and at other times he was just pretty good.

UGH! By your description it sounds like a C- at best. I have tickets for the Indy show 7/22. I hope the techs or bandmates give him the feedback and pull in the reigns on him to make for a better performance by then.

You won't be disappointed....

[Ash]

I was listing to 106.7 The Fan on the way in to work (I live in Nashville)... one of the guys ont this sports-related talk show tried to get tickets to the show... and to his surprise, it was completely sold out - so he didn't get in.

They were doing a bit called "The Monday Morning Facial" where you basically talk smack about someone who did something over the weekend - and it's usually sports related. One person's facial was for Steve Perry because he's not on stage with Journey. This same caller went on to say that Journey sounded awful and the show's host who tried to get into the show commented that based on what he heard from outside the venue on his way to and from the car that they sounded really rough. There were a couple of other calls to this effect in the same hour

Now these aren't fanboys (even though the caller did know Steve Augieri's name).. they're the "average joe" everyone likes to speak for in these forums. And they are basically saying the same thing in every thing I'm reading and seeing from last night's show.

[brywool]

"The problem is that he’s trying to constantly sing at the limit of his vocal range. I have no doubt if the band would tune down a half step his voice would improve dramatically. "

YUP!! They can't tune down because of the tracked background VOX. They will just proceed to ruin another singer.

[iLex]

Being Jeff's good friend and webmaster for his media section I've been following this whole Journey-thing with him from day 1. More than anyone else I'm very much aware of Jeff's capabilities and I don't think the Atlanta bootleg is doing him any justice!
I think you all should know that Jeff's been singing EVERY week for the past 5-6 months with 'Boogie Knights' on the weekends, then blowing out his voice with sessions, the forthcoming Talisman album & his new solo stuff... and then Journey flew him over to stand in for Augeri who got ill!
Although concert reviews are great, the 2 weeks of recharge he gets at the end of this month will make him go on even stronger!... wait and see!

[Blueskies]

Being Jeff's good friend and webmaster for his media section I've been following this whole Journey-thing with him from day 1. More than anyone else I'm very much aware of Jeff's capabilities and I don't think the Atlanta bootleg is doing him any justice!
I think you all should know that Jeff's been singing EVERY week for the past 5-6 months with 'Boogie Knights' on the weekends, then blowing out his voice with sessions, the forthcoming Talisman album & his new solo stuff... and then Journey flew him over to stand in for Augeri who got ill!
Although concert reviews are great, the 2 weeks of recharge he gets at the end of this month will make him go on even stronger!... wait and see!

I keep reading this same post everywhere I go- it's getting really tiresome- your not helping your friend with this.

[Milos]

Jeff never sounded completely terrible on any of the songs. At times he was awesome and at other times he was just pretty good.

UGH! By your description it sounds like a C- at best. I have tickets for the Indy show 7/22. I hope the techs or bandmates give him the feedback and pull in the reigns on him to make for a better performance by then.

I guess I should clarify that I was giving JSS a B overall.

Stage Presence, Showmanship: He gets an A+
Singing: He gets a high C.

He reached down deep and hit the hard notes in Chain Reaction perfectly. I could tell he was really focused when he did it too. It must have about killed him, but the result was spectacular. It was obvious that he had a really powerful, nice-sounding voice when he could control it. For a few seconds there, he was very impressive--in-tune and sounding great. If the whole show would have been like that, it would have been incredible. After that, he sounded really good on Escape until about half way through and then he lost it again.

[DerriD]

So Milos, what did you think of Def Leppard? I know you weren't exactly thrilled about song selection, or lack thereof. Just curious.

[Milos]

YUP!! They can't tune down because of the tracked background VOX. They will just proceed to ruin another singer.

If they just have to use taped backing vocals, then why not get Kevin Elson to record a new set with the band singing a half step down. I'm sure Kevin has a portable ProTools rig with him. For that matter, they were just in Nashville of all places, so couldn't they have just rented some quick studio time and made up a new set for the remainder of the tour? How hard can it be?

[Milos]

So Milos, what did you think of Def Leppard? I know you weren't exactly thrilled about song selection, or lack thereof. Just curious.

I've seen Def Leppard about 10 times now and for me their schtick is getting rather old. For a band with such a long history and tons of good songs to choose from, they keep repeating themselves on tour.

I was looking forward to hearing new material and some old favorites that they haven't played for a while, but what I got was the usual setlist that they always play. I was bored with it and finally had to admit to myself that I honestly don't care to see them live anymore. This was probably my last Def Leppard show for a good long while--if not forever.

Performance-wise they were good, but it's the same show they've been doing for 10 years. It's just stale--at least for me. This band has a wealth of great material, but you'll never hear the majority of it live.

They started out with Let's Get Rocked and then immediately played Make Love Like A Man--which sucked as always. They could have played Let It Go, Rock Rock 'Til You Drop, or Stagefright, but instead they played a p.o.s. song like that.

MLLAM has worn out it's welcome with me years ago. I sat down during that song in protest. I should also mention that I must not be the only person who didn't like the song because near the end of the song, Phil came over to my side of the stage and I saw a guy give him a big thumbs down and yelled "this song sucks" really loud at him. It seemed like Phil was looking straight at him, but I couldn't tell by his expression if he heard it or not, but the crowd around me did and they were laughing.

Def Leppard was my favorite band for years, but I've finally given up on them--at least live. I'll continue to buy their music, but I probably won't go to anymore live shows. I have a tour program from every tour since Hysteria and tonight I didn't even bother to buy one.

But hey, they sold the place out and I'm sure the majority of the people had a great time drinking and singing along to songs they only knew from hearing them on the radio or VH1. I'm sure the band won't mind if I sit the next tour out because I'm not their target audience anyway--you know, the people who buy the CDs and want to hear those songs performed.

[AR]

They started out with Let's Get Rocked and then immediately played Make Love Like A Man--which sucked as always. They could have played Let It Go, Rock Rock 'Til You Drop, or Stagefright, but instead they played a p.o.s. song like that.

Don't even get me started on THAT song.

The lyrics are so embarassing it's not even funny. Awful.

[wildone]

Being Jeff's good friend and webmaster for his media section I've been following this whole Journey-thing with him from day 1. More than anyone else I'm very much aware of Jeff's capabilities and I don't think the Atlanta bootleg is doing him any justice!
I think you all should know that Jeff's been singing EVERY week for the past 5-6 months with 'Boogie Knights' on the weekends, then blowing out his voice with sessions, the forthcoming Talisman album & his new solo stuff... and then Journey flew him over to stand in for Augeri who got ill!
Although concert reviews are great, the 2 weeks of recharge he gets at the end of this month will make him go on even stronger!... wait and see!

I keep reading this same post everywhere I go- it's getting really tiresome- your not helping your friend with this.

maybe he's just tring to be honest...there's not alot of that going around the journey camp right now

[Moon Beam]

Don't even get me started on THAT song.
The lyrics are so embarassing it's not even funny. Awful.

I think I recall you saying that a couple times Arrivalrules :lol: