No surprises at Journey's grandstand performance at the NYS
Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 10:47 amNo surprises at Journey's grandstand performance at the NYS Fair (review)
By Chris Baker | cbaker@syracuse.com
August 29, 2014
http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/i ... eview.html
As I settled into my seat for Journey at the NYS Fair grandstand Thursday night, I got talking with the guy next to me. After some small talk about music, I made my prediction for the show: They'll close with "Don't Stop Believin'."
"Have you seen the set list?" he asked me.
No. But what else would they play? They're a dynamic and versatile group with a string of rock and roll hits. They're wildly talented and incredibly loud. Yet for all their 80s pop-rock success, this is a band known today almost exclusively for the power ballad that killed Tony Soprano.
And it's a band completely devoid of any surprises.
So of course they're going to close with "Don't Stop Believin'." And of course everyone is going to sing along. And of course, people are going to start filing out of the stands before the band has time to get back onstage for their encore, "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'."
But Journey is more than just one song and the night's 90-minute concert was more than just its closer. On a mostly naked stage, they played hits like "Any Way You Want It" and "Lights," as well as moderately received numbers off their two most recent albums.
On the whole, however, Journey struck a contrast between talent and lack of personality. Their songs were crisp and tight, each man a master of his instrument. They're well-rehearsed and know their material. But their precision felt cold and calculated.
Just before the set-ending "Don't Stop Believin,'" for example, pianist Jonathan Cain sat down to play "Faithfully." The song was beautiful, but it was introduced with a script so rehearsed it sounded like a recording. He sounded like a robot trying to learn how to love.
Lead singer Arnel Pineda's voice is a dead ringer for former front man Steve Perry. But his place in the band seems to be just that: a substitute for the guy who helped make them popular. Between songs, founding members Neal Schon and Ross Valory shared front man duties, talking to the crowd and introducing the next number. Pineda waited in the wings until it was his turn to sing again.
In that regard, Journey came across more like five guys playing old songs than a united band. They hardly interacted with one another and it was hard to tell if they were enjoying themselves or just going through the motions.
In stark contrast to the meticulously over-crafted performance by the headliner, opener Cheap Trick put on a rough-around-the-edges rock show. Anthrax singer and Oswego native Joey Belladonna joined the group onstage to sing "Surrender" and they hammed it up in full eighties attire as they blasted the crowd with old school rock.
Yes, Journey hit all the right notes and had all the right moves. But rock 'n roll is more than just going through the motions. And that's exactly what it felt like Journey was doing Thursday night.
By Chris Baker | cbaker@syracuse.com
August 29, 2014
http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/i ... eview.html
As I settled into my seat for Journey at the NYS Fair grandstand Thursday night, I got talking with the guy next to me. After some small talk about music, I made my prediction for the show: They'll close with "Don't Stop Believin'."
"Have you seen the set list?" he asked me.
No. But what else would they play? They're a dynamic and versatile group with a string of rock and roll hits. They're wildly talented and incredibly loud. Yet for all their 80s pop-rock success, this is a band known today almost exclusively for the power ballad that killed Tony Soprano.
And it's a band completely devoid of any surprises.
So of course they're going to close with "Don't Stop Believin'." And of course everyone is going to sing along. And of course, people are going to start filing out of the stands before the band has time to get back onstage for their encore, "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'."
But Journey is more than just one song and the night's 90-minute concert was more than just its closer. On a mostly naked stage, they played hits like "Any Way You Want It" and "Lights," as well as moderately received numbers off their two most recent albums.
On the whole, however, Journey struck a contrast between talent and lack of personality. Their songs were crisp and tight, each man a master of his instrument. They're well-rehearsed and know their material. But their precision felt cold and calculated.
Just before the set-ending "Don't Stop Believin,'" for example, pianist Jonathan Cain sat down to play "Faithfully." The song was beautiful, but it was introduced with a script so rehearsed it sounded like a recording. He sounded like a robot trying to learn how to love.
Lead singer Arnel Pineda's voice is a dead ringer for former front man Steve Perry. But his place in the band seems to be just that: a substitute for the guy who helped make them popular. Between songs, founding members Neal Schon and Ross Valory shared front man duties, talking to the crowd and introducing the next number. Pineda waited in the wings until it was his turn to sing again.
In that regard, Journey came across more like five guys playing old songs than a united band. They hardly interacted with one another and it was hard to tell if they were enjoying themselves or just going through the motions.
In stark contrast to the meticulously over-crafted performance by the headliner, opener Cheap Trick put on a rough-around-the-edges rock show. Anthrax singer and Oswego native Joey Belladonna joined the group onstage to sing "Surrender" and they hammed it up in full eighties attire as they blasted the crowd with old school rock.
Yes, Journey hit all the right notes and had all the right moves. But rock 'n roll is more than just going through the motions. And that's exactly what it felt like Journey was doing Thursday night.
I mostly am going because I'm taking a couple of my kids and some friends are going. I'm sitting in the back, so I suspect I'll be surrounded by people talking anyway.