Baltimore - 11/10/06 video

[AR]

Almost the full show.

My bootlegging friend walked in on the 2nd song (Ask The Lonely) but wound up capturing the best quality show ever with JSS fronting them.

Quality is ridiculously great after the first minute or two.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g2X_5Sb ... hoHeS_timQ

Lots of stories about this show and the party the night before which was almost an MR Fest 0.5

Enjoy!

[tater1977]

Love hearing Jeff's version of Message of Love.
Thanks AR...

LOL Jeff at 25.48
Poor Deen at 25 50

[FamilyMan]

Love hearing Jeff's version of Message of Love.
Thanks AR...

LOL Jeff at 25.48
Poor Deen at 25 50

Agreed. Message of Love makes you wonder what might have been.....

[steveo777]

Love hearing Jeff's version of Message of Love.
Thanks AR...

LOL Jeff at 25.48
Poor Deen at 25 50

Agreed. Message of Love makes you wonder what might have been.....

That was JSS stepping in to save the tour, prior to the wheels falling off. Still, that dog won't hunt. The band has come miles far since then, playing larger venues and having far more success than back then. I have nothing against JSS either, but not right for Journey. What "might have been" would be nothing much larger than a bar or state fair act.

[The_Noble_Cause]

What "might have been" would be nothing much larger than a bar or state fair act.

Actually, Journey is back to playing state fairs, many times sharing the stage with 2 other acts. At least with Steve Augeri we got a few tours where it was just an "Evening with Journey." Now it's a 40 minute set and an evening with Whitesnake, Loverboy, and KC and the Sunshine Band. The Glee & Sopranos publicity explosion is def. over.

[Eric]

What "might have been" would be nothing much larger than a bar or state fair act.

Actually, Journey is back to playing state fairs, many times sharing the stage with 2 other acts. At least with Steve Augeri we got a few tours where it was just an "Evening with Journey." Now it's a 40 minute set and an evening with Whitesnake, Loverboy, and KC and the Sunshine Band. The Glee & Sopranos publicity explosion is def. over.

I don't recall them ever NOT playing fairs at the end of a tour each summer? That's where I saw them in '08 with Heart and Cheap Trick....in that disgusting toilet of a venue they call the NYS Fair Grandstand.

[Eric]

Almost the full show.

My bootlegging friend walked in on the 2nd song (Ask The Lonely) but wound up capturing the best quality show ever with JSS fronting them.

Quality is ridiculously great after the first minute or two.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g2X_5Sb ... hoHeS_timQ

Lots of stories about this show and the party the night before which was almost an MR Fest 0.5

Enjoy!

This is so good. My favorite lineup. The energy was ridiculous.

[jestor92]

Letting JSS go was Journey's biggest mistake post Steve Perry.

[scarab]

wow, what a great performance, even Jon seemed in to it.
great set list as well, Message of Love rocked. What did they open with before Ask the Lonely?
Deen Singing Faithfully was awesome.

[brywool]

Most of the stuff I heard with him was in the beginning when he got in and he was really vocally fried at that point (he'd just come off of a tour or recording, I forget which, maybe both). At the beginning, he was just trying to get through the gigs and it wasn't pretty. Not knowing him at that time, I heard some of those recordings and just thought "WTF is THIS?". It was terrible to hear.

However, he sings GREAT on this video. Totally sings his a$$ off here. At some point, he learned to actually sing these tunes instead of 'just get through them'. He's also singing in the original keys. Great performance from JSS here for sure. Not sure that I'd have wanted Journey to go in a JSS type of direction as I don't know that it'd be that high tenor voice on new recordings from them with him. I wonder if he'd have used his lower range for new tunes, maybe not.

I wonder if he could've kept this pace up on tour night after night. Not being facetious, I'm actually wondering that.

Great job for sure.

It is interesting that he didn't sing Open Arms. Wonder if it's tough for him of if it was just "Deen's turn".

[WalrusOct9]

I've said this before, but while, yes, Journey has played better venues with Arnel than with Augeri, I see no reason why this wouldn't have been true had they continued with JSS as well.

The only time I've ever gotten to see Journey was on the 2011 tour with Foreigner...and honestly, Foreigner was better, and I'm not even a huge fan of them. But Kelly Hansen was a tremendous arena-rock frontman, and really connected with the crowd. Arnel jumped around like a kid on too many Red Bulls, and sounded fine, but he didn't connect. It's hard to explain beyond that, but I was really impressed with Kelly, and underwhelmed by Arnel, from watching from the cheap seats. When you're in these huge venues, being able to hit the notes well counts a lot, but you also need to connect with a huge crowd. It's what separates, say, U2, from all the bands who've tried to emulate U2, if that makes sense.

JSS (IMO, of course) in this video connects with the crowd in ways beyond just singing the songs and moving around a bit. I've always considered him very much the consummate frontman, taking his influence from Perry and Freddy Mercury in the best ways. Wish I could've seen the band with JSS, but alas.

[AR]

As for the venues Journey played with Augeri - I think it was the same sized venues as they played with JSS and Arnel.

In fact the first time I saw Journey with Steve A they only had Foreigner opening not a 3 pack and they played the same outdoor sheds they play to this day.

That's neither here nor there though. Just wanted to share this concert because I think it's the best quality recording of JSS's tenure in the band.

[WalrusOct9]

Thanks AR. Really enjoyed it. For a brief moment it was a pretty exciting time to be a fan.

[carleysdad]

When I see JSS standing next to Neal in this video it makes me realize just how little Neal really is. I knew he was short, but wow, Neal is tiny.

[Gideon]

Thanks for posting, Ed. I really enjoyed that boot.

I maintain that Arnel has the better voice, but I tend to forget that what Jeff lacks in natural range compared to the other Journey leads, he makes up for in sheer power and polish. Just listen to that rich vibrato.

I also maintain that 2008 was every bit as energetic and infectious as it was with Jeff, but there's no doubt that age and boredom have conquered enthusiasm with Journey now.

It's disheartening to see. But two thumbs up for Jeff on this one. It took me back to Noblesville, IN. 2006.

[AR]

The night before the Baltimore show.



Got my drunk face on. Miss the dude on the far right.

[portland]

That was fun to watch! As a self confessed Perry only fan....I would say after knowing what I know now...I would go see Journey with Jeff....he really knew how to command an audience....and he sounds great here.

Thanks for sharing!

[WalrusOct9]

That was fun to watch! As a self confessed Perry only fan....I would say after knowing what I know now...I would go see Journey with Jeff....he really knew how to command an audience....and he sounds great here.

Thanks for sharing!

When you're playing big venues, singing the notes is only half the battle. It takes a LOT of other elements to really reach a large audience. I really think it's why Journey with Perry became as big as they were, they just did better shows than their contemporaries (Boston, Toto, Foreigner, etc) at the time.

[JSS]

Most of the stuff I heard with him was in the beginning when he got in and he was really vocally fried at that point (he'd just come off of a tour or recording, I forget which, maybe both). At the beginning, he was just trying to get through the gigs and it wasn't pretty. Not knowing him at that time, I heard some of those recordings and just thought "WTF is THIS?". It was terrible to hear.

However, he sings GREAT on this video. Totally sings his a$$ off here. At some point, he learned to actually sing these tunes instead of 'just get through them'. He's also singing in the original keys. Great performance from JSS here for sure. Not sure that I'd have wanted Journey to go in a JSS type of direction as I don't know that it'd be that high tenor voice on new recordings from them with him. I wonder if he'd have used his lower range for new tunes, maybe not.

I wonder if he could've kept this pace up on tour night after night. Not being facetious, I'm actually wondering that.

Great job for sure.

It is interesting that he didn't sing Open Arms. Wonder if it's tough for him of if it was just "Deen's turn".

Faithfully & Open Arms were given to Deen because 1, he had grown quite accustomed to doing them during the Augeri era, he was bummed thinking he would lose them and 2, I told the others I had NO problem giving Deen the tunes because he was in the band a lot longer and it was ultimately their decision. I did both songs during those 11 months when Deen was ill so it certainly had NOTHING to do with too high...in fact, the highest note on OA is an A, on DSB, SW, AWYWI and Lights, those songs have the B above that A many times throughout and I sang those

But Bry was right, I came into the fold from doing weekend warrior gigs and recording an album during the days off in the week, I was spent and did what I could to get through the 1st 3 weeks. On our 1st 2 week break, I went to Perry, Augeri and then eventually Pineda's vocal coach who after one recorded lesson, gave me a great warm up that gets me up to that tenor 'pinch' and my voice soared from there.

[kgdjpubs]

nice. Energy is there, and coming from someone who has been critical in the past, it's the best I have heard JSS sound with the band.

Hindsight being 20/20, it probably went for the best since this band has a history of frying singer's vocal cords, although it would have been interesting to hear what a full album would have sounded like with JSS at the helm. I wonder if there were any demos recorded other than that one Virginia song. I believe at least one or two of the Revelation tunes were demoed with Augeri.

[Infinity Vocalist 2010]

Jeff... just fucking wow. I'm very happy I get to finally see a nearly full show with you... I watched a lot of fan vids of you. You floor me. You are a master of the voice. And not many people get to say they were the fucking lead singer of Journey! I often (very often) fantasize myself in your shoes. It must have been epic. Even if for a short time, it must be worth it just to get to sing those damn songs with them. I sing too. In fact, I am very inspired by the fact that you did nothing to sound like Steve, but it's plenty obvious both him and Father of Soul himself , Sam, rubbed off on you greatly. You made the catalog fresh this way. You brought the soul. You fucking GOT IT. I just wanted to say you did a good job, and I wish I could have been there. I have seen them twice with Arnel, and both times on what I call the downswing. His voice isn't what it was anymore and they were tuned down, but I had a good time nonetheless. I couldn't miss them this July, they came to my fucking hometown. That's big. I'm one of the biggest Journey fans in Ontario and they come to my shithole hometown. Now, I love the band a lot, and I still admire Neal, the legend, even though he blocked me from his Facebook pages for seemingly no reason, but likely because I had a friend post me singing DSB... or he just found me creepy, but still I dream every day of hitting it big and partly because of you. You lived the dream! And you still live the dream. I know how big a fan you are. I wanted to be like you, respecting Steve your own way. Everything you sing I can hear the soul. Your Queen stuff, your original, the Rock Star stuff, of course. I love it. You're among my top singers dude. Just thought I'd tell you, you powerhouse. You keep on rocking.

[brywool]

Most of the stuff I heard with him was in the beginning when he got in and he was really vocally fried at that point (he'd just come off of a tour or recording, I forget which, maybe both). At the beginning, he was just trying to get through the gigs and it wasn't pretty. Not knowing him at that time, I heard some of those recordings and just thought "WTF is THIS?". It was terrible to hear.

However, he sings GREAT on this video. Totally sings his a$$ off here. At some point, he learned to actually sing these tunes instead of 'just get through them'. He's also singing in the original keys. Great performance from JSS here for sure. Not sure that I'd have wanted Journey to go in a JSS type of direction as I don't know that it'd be that high tenor voice on new recordings from them with him. I wonder if he'd have used his lower range for new tunes, maybe not.

I wonder if he could've kept this pace up on tour night after night. Not being facetious, I'm actually wondering that.

Great job for sure.

It is interesting that he didn't sing Open Arms. Wonder if it's tough for him of if it was just "Deen's turn".

Faithfully & Open Arms were given to Deen because 1, he had grown quite accustomed to doing them during the Augeri era, he was bummed thinking he would lose them and 2, I told the others I had NO problem giving Deen the tunes because he was in the band a lot longer and it was ultimately their decision. I did both songs during those 11 months when Deen was ill so it certainly had NOTHING to do with too high...in fact, the highest note on OA is an A, on DSB, SW, AWYWI and Lights, those songs have the B above that A many times throughout and I sang those

But Bry was right, I came into the fold from doing weekend warrior gigs and recording an album during the days off in the week, I was spent and did what I could to get through the 1st 3 weeks. On our 1st 2 week break, I went to Perry, Augeri and then eventually Pineda's vocal coach who after one recorded lesson, gave me a great warm up that gets me up to that tenor 'pinch' and my voice soared from there.

Thanks Jeff for the reply. I don't come here too often these days so I about missed it. Check your PM.