Some personal observations after watching the Manila dvd, in no particular order, for what it’s worth -- $0. It’s been slow around here, so maybe some good discussions will follow:
Neal is the leader and star, Arnel the frontman, but Deen is the MVP of this band. What a monster behind the drum set! And he slayed the few songs he got to sing. They really should give him more. I would pay good money to hear Deen sing all the old songs, while Arnel sings all the new ones.
Posters always comment that Jon never smiles or seem unhappy on stage. Yes, he’s pretty tight-lipped and sometimes looked goofy dated back to his early Journey days. But I just think Jon’s very focused on his playing (keyboards-piano-guitar). Also, he seems to shoulder the responsibility for conducting the flow of music from song to song -- this assessment may be wrong, though.
Is Ross the invisible member of the band now? Where is the squirt water mic…or the funny faces?
In the Revelation re-records, AP sounded eerily like SP. Live, the 2 sound nothing alike…strange.
Re the new songs performed live, various posters have raved about…Lose Your Love, the I Win song, Change for the Better, and old standbys NWA and AATY…pretty ho-hum, to me…(imo) the best is TDTWT. Loved the song first time I heard the studio cut. Even though music connoisseurs here criticized the live arrangement, it still commanded my attention. For some reason, Turn Down… reminds me of Why Can’t This Night…(my all-time favorite Journey song).
I know this has been discussed to death, but I have not weighed in on this issue...and that is re AP’s diction. I’m not going to say problem, because everyone’s diction is his/her own. I have an accent when I speak, so I empathize with Arnel. If it’s not a problem with him or with me, then it shouldn’t be a problem for anyone else. With that being said…I’m also not in the same position as Arnel, singer in an American band with a catalog of songs that hardcore fans have heard hundreds, maybe thousands of times. As a performer, he is fair game to be critiqued. With some songs, wayward enunciation is hardly noticeable; with some, it is there to the point of ruination. I’m mainly referring to AP singing the old songs, which myself have heard (either audio or video) a hundred times. I’m not sure if singing before his people, Arnel let his guard down, but in every one of those songs in the setlist, I didn’t feel he did them justice.
Full Disclosure: I am not a hater, but as a card-carrying member of the perryloon clan, I will admit that I have the perry-ears syndrome.
MG...I know we're always being lectured to -- Don't compare the lead singers! But very hard not to!!! Those songs are ingrained in my heart and mind by how the the Great One delivered them.
Tito...get me a tissue! 
