Milwaukee: Journey's appeal goes on and on and on

[tater1977]

Journey's appeal goes on and on and on

By Piet Levy

http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/m ... 72261.html

Typically a nearly four-decade old band on its fourth lead singer (fifth, if you count the brief run of a touring vocalist) should barely be able to fill clubs, let alone headline arenas. But an exception has been made for Journey and its latest frontman, Arnel Pineda.

That's what happens when your 1981 hit "Don't Stop Believin' " - an impossible-to-resist rock ballad that speaks to the small town girl and city boy inside all of us - enjoys an incredible resurrection in the new millennium as the anthem for Tony Soprano, those "Glee" kids and a number of major sports teams. And the fairy tale story behind Pineda's placement in the band in 2007 - guitarist Neal Schon discovered the native Filipino on YouTube - ensured Journey stayed in the spotlight.

Combined with fellow '80s breakout rock acts Pat Benatar and Loverboy, Journey was able to muster enough nostalgic Milwaukeeans to bring the BMO Harris Bradley Center to approximately two-thirds capacity Friday.

Journey played "City of Hope" and "Resonate" from last year's "Eclipse" early in the night for a polite but reserved audience. But for the most part, its 100-minute set was primarily centered around its late '70s to early '80s hits like "Lights," "Open Arms," and of course "Don't Stop Believin'".

Even though the band's iconic lead singer Steve Perry is long gone, three players from its formative years are still in the group, most critically of all Schon. On practically every track he relished the opportunity to play guitar god, ripping out squeals and riffing with such speed notes fell like drops of rain in a downpour. There was even a gratuitous guitar solo to "Star Spangled Banner."

Jonathan Cain on rhythm guitar and keys (with the band since 1980) seized the spotlight himself on a few occasions, playing some Delta blues-style harmonica for "Wheel in the Sky," and singing lead vocals on "Just the Same Way." Deen Castronovo, drummer with the band since '98, displayed his own impressive pipes on "Keep on Runnin.' "

But during the back-to-back "Way" and "Runnin'," even with some impressive voices from two elder Journeymen and Schon's guitar heroics, Pineda, who made his Milwaukee debut with the band Friday, was not on stage. And during those moments of absence he was able to indisputably prove his importance in the band's live shows.

The concert simply suffered without his gleeful energy - rarely did he stay still, nor were his feet firmly on the ground - and his own Perry-worthy vocals. Second to Perry, he's the best fans could hope for.

Opener Pat Benatar, though, had the night's greatest voice. Even though she and her husband Neil "Spyder" Giraldo had to sit on stools after the third song in their set, because, Benatar explained, they were old, she was able to sell the lyric "we are young" on "Love is a Battlefield" with her raging mezzo-soprano. She promised the crowd there wouldn't be much talking, but Benatar and Giraldo couldn't help but take several trips down memory lane. But the live version of "Heartbreaker" showed they aren't strictly stuck in the past. With little warning, it transformed into an '80s rock ballad rendition of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," with Benatar smiling fondly at her husband as she sang "The taste of love is sweet," and Giraldo doing some strutting in return on guitar, including a surprising riff swiped from the theme to Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather."

Both acts had their corny moments, but they weren't as consistently cheesy as Loverboy. Singer Mike Reno frequently played air guitar (he even waddled at one point, like a penguin, while playing his imaginary instrument). Fortunately Paul Dean still did a good job playing the real thing and the audience enjoyed its first flashbacks of the night courtesy of hits like "Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend."

[JRNYMAN]

But during the back-to-back "Way" and "Runnin'," even with some impressive voices from two elder Journeymen and Schon's guitar heroics, Pineda, who made his Milwaukee debut with the band Friday, was not on stage. And during those moments of absence he was able to indisputably prove his importance in the band's live shows.

The concert simply suffered without his gleeful energy - rarely did he stay still, nor were his feet firmly on the ground - and his own Perry-worthy vocals. Second to Perry, he's the best fans could hope for

Read this article last night elsewhere and was going to post it here but forgot - glad you did. The journalist who wrote this article really drives home Arnel's importance not only as the lead singer, but also his vital importance to the Journey sound. As we all know delivering the vocals for Journey's catalog is a tough row to hoe, so to speak. It's one thing to be able to hit the notes dead-on every time. It's another to not only hit them but project and hold them every time, night after night. And when Arnel is on... he brings it like nobody else can. Unfortunately, the question of how long is now becoming relevant.