JOURNEY / HEART / CHEAP TRICK in CHARLOTTE 8/2

[7 Wishes]

Wow. I'm still at a loss for words. A sold-out show...Zander was brilliant, somehow Ann was just a little better, and Arnel was UNREAL. Pitch-perfect. Stunning. And WHAT A SHOWMAN!

A special thank-you to Jim and Canseco for the hook-up...six rows back! Wow!

It was great to meet you guys and your families...we would have loved to have partied after the show, but, well, you know...had to get the family home safely. Let's see another show soon.

Anyone who hasn't heard G.I. Jim's stuff yet...you don't know what you're missing. And I don't want to spill the beans on his "side project"...but if anyone is familiar with Eden's Curse or Cornerstone...

Anyway...the bands were amazing. Definitely one of the five best shows I've ever been to - and I've seen hundreds.

[DrFU]

Thanks for checking in, 7; glad to hear you had such a good time.

Arnel was talking w/ his fans in the shoutbox on his site today and said something like he thought he'd do okay tonight but not great. Sounds much better than just okay.

[Rick]

He's not vocally healthy at all, and what he's doing, while seemingly brilliant, is not his best.

He's got a hard road to finish this tour. He's gonna need help.

[txfirefighter]

Thanks for checking in, 7; glad to hear you had such a good time.

Arnel was talking w/ his fans in the shoutbox on his site today and said something like he thought he'd do okay tonight but not great. Sounds much better than just okay.

Got a concert call of Faithfully. Sounded amazing. Glad a lot of the MR peeps got to meet up!!

Linda......you in for Cleveland? You KNOW you want to.

[7 Wishes]

He's not vocally healthy at all, and what he's doing, while seemingly brilliant, is not his best.

He's got a hard road to finish this tour. He's gonna need help.

If that's true, it does not bode well at all. The tour still has two months to go.

[DrFU]

Thanks for checking in, 7; glad to hear you had such a good time.

Arnel was talking w/ his fans in the shoutbox on his site today and said something like he thought he'd do okay tonight but not great. Sounds much better than just okay.

Got a concert call of Faithfully. Sounded amazing. Glad a lot of the MR peeps got to meet up!!

Linda......you in for Cleveland? You KNOW you want to.

Sacramento and Shoreline...

doing a fall foliage cruise that conflicts with Cleveland.

[Rick]

He's not vocally healthy at all, and what he's doing, while seemingly brilliant, is not his best.

He's got a hard road to finish this tour. He's gonna need help.

If that's true, it does not bode well at all. The tour still has two months to go.

His voice needs rest. They need to give Deen a song or two, which I'm sure we will see. Give him that and good weather and he will finish the tour, but if they don't help him, it's not going to end well.

[Natalie]

He's not vocally healthy at all, and what he's doing, while seemingly brilliant, is not his best.

He's got a hard road to finish this tour. He's gonna need help.

If that's true, it does not bode well at all. The tour still has two months to go.

His voice needs rest. They need to give Deen a song or two, which I'm sure we will see. Give him that and good weather and he will finish the tour, but if they don't help him, it's not going to end well.

Are you saying it could possibly end in a new youtube search?????


(just kidding, no one kill me!)

[stevew2]

He's not vocally healthy at all, and what he's doing, while seemingly brilliant, is not his best.

He's got a hard road to finish this tour. He's gonna need help.

If that's true, it does not bode well at all. The tour still has two months to go.

His voice needs rest. They need to give Deen a song or two, which I'm sure we will see. Give him that and good weather and he will finish the tour, but if they don't help him, it's not going to end well.

Wow, thanks for your honest review,Im going to see them soon,I hope he has a voice, damit

[DerriD]

The boys were fucking fantastic tonight. Glad to meet G.I. Jim and St. John.

7 wishes, sorry we couldn't meet up, but as often as you go to Amos's I'm sure we'll hook up.

[Rick]

He's not vocally healthy at all, and what he's doing, while seemingly brilliant, is not his best.

He's got a hard road to finish this tour. He's gonna need help.

If that's true, it does not bode well at all. The tour still has two months to go.

His voice needs rest. They need to give Deen a song or two, which I'm sure we will see. Give him that and good weather and he will finish the tour, but if they don't help him, it's not going to end well.

Are you saying it could possibly end in a new youtube search?????


(just kidding, no one kill me!)

Oh lord, hopefully not. This is their golden goose, whether or not anyone chooses to believe it.

[donnaplease]

I got to hear a few clips of Heart, and they sounded great! Thanks SJ!!!

[Allied Forces]

He's not vocally healthy at all, and what he's doing, while seemingly brilliant, is not his best.

He's got a hard road to finish this tour. He's gonna need help.

If that's true, it does not bode well at all. The tour still has two months to go.

His voice needs rest. They need to give Deen a song or two, which I'm sure we will see. Give him that and good weather and he will finish the tour, but if they don't help him, it's not going to end well.

Do you think Schon and Cain actually care?

[RocknRoll]

He's not vocally healthy at all, and what he's doing, while seemingly brilliant, is not his best.

He's got a hard road to finish this tour. He's gonna need help.

If that's true, it does not bode well at all. The tour still has two months to go.

His voice needs rest. They need to give Deen a song or two, which I'm sure we will see. Give him that and good weather and he will finish the tour, but if they don't help him, it's not going to end well.

Do you think Schon and Cain actually care?

Yes

[Michigan Girl]

He's not vocally healthy at all, and what he's doing, while seemingly brilliant, is not his best.

He's got a hard road to finish this tour. He's gonna need help.

I hope he takes care for the remainder of the tour ....that guy is a real trooper, his energy, WOW!!!!
He seems to be pleasing all audiences!!!

[Natalie]

Wow. I'm still at a loss for words. A sold-out show...Zander was brilliant, somehow Ann was just a little better, and Arnel was UNREAL. Pitch-perfect. Stunning. And WHAT A SHOWMAN!

A special thank-you to Jim and Canseco for the hook-up...six rows back! Wow!

It was great to meet you guys and your families...we would have loved to have partied after the show, but, well, you know...had to get the family home safely. Let's see another show soon.

Anyone who hasn't heard G.I. Jim's stuff yet...you don't know what you're missing. And I don't want to spill the beans on his "side project"...but if anyone is familiar with Eden's Curse or Cornerstone...

Anyway...the bands were amazing. Definitely one of the five best shows I've ever been to - and I've seen hundreds.

I'm glad you all had a good time!

I have heard some of Jim's work on his myspace it's awesome!

[UncleKG]

My two cents on the Charlotte, NC, show.

I'll preface this by saying I've seen Journey with Perry, JSS and now Arnel. I think JSS is an incredibly talented singer, and I very much enjoyed the show I saw with him (House of Blues, Orlando, Feb., 2007). Journey handled his dismissal poorly, and I'll continue to support his other projects.

But, if the goal was to return to the "legacy sound," they couldn't have made a better choice than Arnel. I went into it with a, "OK, let's see if the guy can cut it live" attitude, and I was blown away. The guy has an amazing voice, and I thought he did a great job as a frontman as well.

Those who are saying he jumps around too much or that he's "trying too hard" have to remember he's not just playing to the people in the reserved seats, he's playing to the guy at the very back of the lawn/arena/venue. I saw an interview with Bruce Dickinson one time where he was talking about how you have to amplify your gestures when you're in a large venue. You can't make a small hand movement, at least not if you expect anyone past the first 15 rows to see it. I thought Arnel had amazing energy, and I appreciate the effort he put into his performance. He was all over the stage, in a good way.

If his voice is not in top shape as some have alluded to, you could have fooled me. I'm a singer, and I was putting my fingers in my ears quite a bit to hear the "real" mix (volume covers up a lot, as you all know), and he sounded dead on to me. You could tell they're still piping in some backing vocals, but it sounded like Arnel was doing all the heavy lifting on the lead vocals. I missed hearing Deen sing a song, especially after the way he handled "Mother Father" on the DVD. I'd like to see them give Deen a song or two to give Arnel a break, and because Deen is a monster vocalist to boot.

The other major kudos goes out to Deen. I made a point to really watch him this time around, and he is not only a great timekeeper and rock drummer, he's also very visually entertaining to watch. I especially enjoyed how he swings "through" the snare drum. Instead of hitting the snare and stopping his stroke, he extends his left hand past the snare. I hope I'm explaining that well enough, but drummers should know what I mean. It looks very cool. His background vocals were great, as always (although it was difficult to tell what's live and what's Memorex about their backing vocals).

The other cool thing I noticed was when I looked around during the choruses on different songs and watched all the different concertgoers going through their individual experiences. Parents had kids on their shoulders, couples and friends with their arms around each other, swaying and singing at the top of their lungs. What I took away from it more than anything was that it reminded me what a big part these songs are in a lot of peoples' lives. It reminded me of how much the songs mean to me, which was awesome. Very moving.

I started thinking on the way home, and I don't know that I've ever seen a show where you had three outstanding vocalists on the same bill like that. I mean, Robin Zander, Ann Wilson and then Arnel? They all KILLED it.

Speaking of which, I was as excited to see Heart as I was to see Journey (I haven't seen Heart in 26 years, since the "Private Audition" tour, when their opening act was John Cougar Mellencamp, right as "Jack and Diane" was hitting big), and they completely lived up to my expectations. It sounded to me like Ann has not lost anything vocally. I knew she was going to amaze the crowd, and everyone that was with me all were shaking their heads after Heart's set.

Cheap Trick was great, as always. I would love to know how Zander and Ann Wilson keep their voices in shape after as many shows as they've both done over the past 30+ years. Zander's note at the end of "The Flame" was dead on. Rick Neilsen (sp?) brought out his five-neck at the end, which I got a kick out of (yeah, I know he does it every show, but it's so over the top, you've got to love it).

I don't know that the show was a 100% sellout, as they did still have some of the most expensive seats available a few hours before showtime, but I've never seen the lawn that packed. They originally had a four-pack sale going for $18.75 a ticket, then they had a $10 lawn seat sale a couple of weeks before the show and it certainly did the trick. The fact that it was a Saturday night show certainly didn't hurt, either.

Again, major props to Arnel. The guy is the real deal. He delivered in spades.

[scarygirl]

Thanks to some fab peeps I was there fourth row center. Let me tell you, Arnel was spot on. Though I'm a huge Steve Perry fan I must say I can't think of anyone better to fill the shoes left behind. Rick, I hope to god you're wrong about his voice not holding up. For him to lose it would be a crying shame.

Special thanks to GI Jim and his friends and family whom I met at TGI Friday's prior to the show. And of course, SJ. Will upload pics ASAP.

7 Wishes, I saw you in the 7th row. Sorry we couldn't meet.

[Michigan Girl]

Thanks to some fab peeps I was there fourth row center. Let me tell you, Arnel was spot on. Though I'm a huge Steve Perry fan I must say I can't think of anyone better to fill the shoes left behind. Rick, I hope to god you're wrong about his voice not holding up. For him to lose it would be a crying shame.

Special thanks to GI Jim and his friends and family whom I met at TGI Friday's prior to the show. And of course, SJ. Will upload pics ASAP.

7 Wishes, I saw you in the 7th row. Sorry we couldn't meet.

Girl...I knew you'd be up front if you had to crawl to get there!!!! Glad you enjoyed~ isn't he FAB?

[scarygirl]

Thanks to some fab peeps I was there fourth row center. Let me tell you, Arnel was spot on. Though I'm a huge Steve Perry fan I must say I can't think of anyone better to fill the shoes left behind. Rick, I hope to god you're wrong about his voice not holding up. For him to lose it would be a crying shame.

Special thanks to GI Jim and his friends and family whom I met at TGI Friday's prior to the show. And of course, SJ. Will upload pics ASAP.

7 Wishes, I saw you in the 7th row. Sorry we couldn't meet.

Girl...I knew you'd be up front if you had to crawl to get there!!!! Glad you enjoyed~ isn't he FAB?

He was fabulous. What is it with short men anyway? The hot gene just seems to throw up all over them.

[G.I.Jim]

Thanks for the great time on Saturday! Man we had a blast. I really had a great time meeting all of you, and couldn't have had a better time....I'm still in recovery mode! Saint John and Scary Girl came back to our hotel after the show, and stayed until about 3 in the morning! I hope I didn't make too much of an ass out of myself, because I was completely hammered and don't recall everything.

The show itself was amazing too from what I remember. SJ hooked me up with some great seats, and I got 6th or 7th row, and really enjoyed it. It was great to meet 7 Wishes' family too. Also met Scott and his family as well. Wish you could have hung out with us more!

A funny thing happened after the show... We had a taxi take us to the venue after dinner. After the show, we called her to come back and pick us up. We waited for a while, but it was taking forever, so we decided to take another one. We were only going to have to pay the 1st cab $12.00 for all 6 of us, but the 2nd cab driver told us when we got in that it was going to cost us $35.00. When he said that, my wife said the hell with that, and got out. He'd only driven us about 1/2 a block at this point, and said we owed him $12.00. I was pissed off, but gave him his money anyway. He was being a complete asshole to us at this point. Once we got out of his cab... He started cursing us out over a loudspeaker, calling us "Cheap Mother fuckers!!!".. I went back over to the cab and cussed his ass out! I'd walk away, and he'd start running his mouth again. I was trying to keep my cool because there were two cops about 50 feet away from me, but he just kept running his mouth. I walked back up, and told him to get his ass out of the cab, but he just sat there. I don't remember the last time I wanted to whip someones ass so bad, but I finally walked away after cussing that guy out for all he was worth!

At the hotel room after the show, SJ, Scary Girl and myself hungout (my wife was passed out at this point) and we had a great time. Dan and I continued pounding the beers, ordered a pizza, and I introduced them to some good old-fashioned pork rinds. We actually tried to call Deano to harrass him at around 2:30 Eastern time (11:30 his time), but he didn't answer. I would have LOVED to mess with him.... Oh well.

All in all, it was a great night! Thanks again to everyone there.

[scarygirl]

Here are a couple pics I took. I apologize that I can't remember Gi Jim's wife's name. There were more pictures, but these came out best. Enjoy!

[scarygirl]

P.S. Is it just me or do I always have this goofy grin in every picture?

[Michigan Girl]

A funny thing happened after the show... We had a taxi take us to the venue after dinner. After the show, we called her to come back and pick us up. We waited for a while, but it was taking forever, so we decided to take another one. We were only going to have to pay the 1st cab $12.00 for all 6 of us, but the 2nd cab driver told us when we got in that it was going to cost us $35.00. When he said that, my wife said the hell with that, and got out. He'd only driven us about 1/2 a block at this point, and said we owed him $12.00. I was pissed off, but gave him his money anyway. He was being a complete asshole to us at this point. Once we got out of his cab... He started cursing us out over a loudspeaker, calling us "Cheap Mother fuckers!!!".. I went back over to the cab and cussed his ass out! I'd walk away, and he'd start running his mouth again. I was trying to keep my cool because there were two cops about 50 feet away from me, but he just kept running his mouth. I walked back up, and told him to get his ass out of the cab, but he just sat there. I don't remember the last time I wanted to whip someones ass so bad, but I finally walked away after cussing that guy out for all he was worth!
.

WOW!!!
GI JIMBO~ You and your Wife~SO CUTE!!!!!

[Michigan Girl]

P.S. Is it just me or do I always have this goofy grin in every picture?

Not GOOFY.....You're a doll!!!

GOOD PICS...THANKS!!!!

[scarygirl]

P.S. Is it just me or do I always have this goofy grin in every picture?

Not GOOFY.....You're a doll!!!

GOOD PICS...THANKS!!!!

YW. You're too sweet.

[G.I.Jim]

A funny thing happened after the show... We had a taxi take us to the venue after dinner. After the show, we called her to come back and pick us up. We waited for a while, but it was taking forever, so we decided to take another one. We were only going to have to pay the 1st cab $12.00 for all 6 of us, but the 2nd cab driver told us when we got in that it was going to cost us $35.00. When he said that, my wife said the hell with that, and got out. He'd only driven us about 1/2 a block at this point, and said we owed him $12.00. I was pissed off, but gave him his money anyway. He was being a complete asshole to us at this point. Once we got out of his cab... He started cursing us out over a loudspeaker, calling us "Cheap Mother fuckers!!!".. I went back over to the cab and cussed his ass out! I'd walk away, and he'd start running his mouth again. I was trying to keep my cool because there were two cops about 50 feet away from me, but he just kept running his mouth. I walked back up, and told him to get his ass out of the cab, but he just sat there. I don't remember the last time I wanted to whip someones ass so bad, but I finally walked away after cussing that guy out for all he was worth!
.

WOW!!!
GI JIMBO~ You and your Wife~SO CUTE!!!!!

Thanks! I'm such a bad picture taker! I wore that shirt just for Dan and Elizabeth... I thought they'd get a kick out of it.

[AlteredDNA]

P.S. Is it just me or do I always have this goofy grin in every picture?

Nice pics...I'm glad you all enjoyed the show...

[Saint John]

I can't even begin to explain how much fun I had this weekend. Meeting Scarygirl, Jim, his wife and 4 other friends, 7 Wishes, DerriD and his awesome family and a whole host of other people was just amazing. Jim's 2 buddies made the mistake of trying to hang with the 2 of us all night. Didn't work. That guy Wayne in the parking lot that had the moonshine was one cool dude!!!

[AlteredDNA]

I can't even begin to explain how much fun I had this weekend. Meeting Scarygirl, Jim, his wife and 4 other friends, 7 Wishes, DerriD and his awesome family and a whole host of other people was just amazing. Jim's 2 buddies made the mistake of trying to hang with the 2 of us all night. Didn't work. That guy Wayne in the parking lot that had the moonshine was one cool dude!!!

Best moonshine I ever had was from a deacon in a Baptist church...truth...