MR

I wish I saw them in 2009. Amazing:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OJvi6_HZuk&feature=related

That's the only way Neal ought to be endulging with Journey.

Majestic wrote:I wish I saw them in 2009. Amazing:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OJvi6_HZuk&feature=related

That's the only way Neal ought to be endulging with Journey.

Epic. Arnel killed it. Great sound on that clip.

From the start of the US tour in 2008 through the Euro-tour of 2009, i think the band was on fire. Arnel had gotten his sea legs under him during the Euro-tour 2008 and hit the States running. In 2009 he came out of the gate swinging and was tearing it up but then seemed to lose a lot of steam when the US leg approached. I don't think he's been the same since. He had some good moments during the South America Tour this year but even with the year off prior, it seems his stamina isn't quite the same. I think the band dumping the Asian tour next year shows that 80 QUALITY shows a year is no longer feasible with this catalog and the advancing age of the members, particularly the vocalist who, while the youngest also has the most fragile instrument to maintain.

Dang Straight!

I know Arnel had some vocal fatigue in the US tour in places, but we saw him toward the very end of the tour and I was worried, but he was on fire. His vocals were fantastic, much more effortless than two weeks before.

Jana wrote:I know Arnel had some vocal fatigue in the US tour in places, but we saw him toward the very end of the tour and I was worried, but he was on fire. His vocals were fantastic, much more effortless than two weeks before.

When I saw him, he was excellent.

Majestic wrote:I wish I saw them in 2009. Amazing:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OJvi6_HZuk&feature=related

That's the only way Neal ought to be endulging with Journey.

Here is a Journey/Arnel fan site I found which is devoted solely for the 2009 Tour - complete from Asia to Europe to the US., plus the Charity Concert at Glen Ellen, CA which was their very last gig (not part of the tour). It's worth checking out if you missed and wished you have seen the 2009 Tour.

http://2009worldtour.ning.com/

Don wrote:From the start of the US tour in 2008 through the Euro-tour of 2009, i think the band was on fire. Arnel had gotten his sea legs under him during the Euro-tour 2008 and hit the States running. In 2009 he came out of the gate swinging and was tearing it up but then seemed to lose a lot of steam when the US leg approached. I don't think he's been the same since. He had some good moments during the South America Tour this year but even with the year off prior, it seems his stamina isn't quite the same. I think the band dumping the Asian tour next year shows that 80 QUALITY shows a year is no longer feasible with this catalog and the advancing age of the members, particularly the vocalist who, while the youngest also has the most fragile instrument to maintain.

Arnel was nearly unbelievable the first two shows I saw this year. It took him a while to hit his groove for the third, the Atlanta show, which was just a few days later. I believe this was probably due to the fact that it was pretty cool for that outdoor show. The rumors of his demise are greatly, and laughingly, exaggerated.

NoMoreTails wrote:

Don wrote:From the start of the US tour in 2008 through the Euro-tour of 2009, i think the band was on fire. Arnel had gotten his sea legs under him during the Euro-tour 2008 and hit the States running. In 2009 he came out of the gate swinging and was tearing it up but then seemed to lose a lot of steam when the US leg approached. I don't think he's been the same since. He had some good moments during the South America Tour this year but even with the year off prior, it seems his stamina isn't quite the same. I think the band dumping the Asian tour next year shows that 80 QUALITY shows a year is no longer feasible with this catalog and the advancing age of the members, particularly the vocalist who, while the youngest also has the most fragile instrument to maintain.

Arnel was nearly unbelievable the first two shows I saw this year. It took him a while to hit his groove for the third, the Atlanta show, which was just a few days later. I believe this was probably due to the fact that it was pretty cool for that outdoor show. The rumors of his demise are greatly, and laughingly, exaggerated.

I just don't think he can do an 80 gig run like in 2008 anymore where every show was pretty good.
In 2008, he had a lot of three in a row shows and powered right through them. This year, he's been hit and miss depending on how many days off before the gigs he's had.

I think Arnel sounds great NOW. The problem is Neal, and management. The set list is bad, Eclipse is not supported with the exception of City of Hope that nobody likes, and Neal is shredding too much and wasting set time. If they fixed the set list and contained Neal's yearn to burn within the confines of tasteful extended versions that show case musicianship while supporting the actual song, this could be a good tour too, why not?