Canadian 2015 Tour

[tater1977]

July 6, 2015
Winnipeg, MB
Pros/Cons of NS band so far

Snapshot(2).jpg (67.17 KiB) Viewed 6558 times

Snapshot(3).jpg (21.05 KiB) Viewed 6558 times

[tater1977]

Separate Ways

https://www.periscope.tv/w/aGsmdTI0MDAx ... d-9g7qTg==

[Journey/Survivor]

That carwashcanada idiot was obviously only there for the dirty dozen. He or she only wants hits and music to dance to or some crap like that. He or she is not able to appreciate great instrumental and complex music.

[perryfan61]

That carwashcanada idiot was obviously only there for the dirty dozen. He or she only wants hits and music to dance to or some crap like that. He or she is not able to appreciate great instrumental and complex music.

I'm afraid that's going to be the case for the whole tour. A lot a favourable comments on their FB page tho. I don't get to see them until almost the end, July 30th. Not sure how the opening band will go over here, Journey has never been here before, so lots of excitement to see them.

[Archetype]

I'd be willing to wager that a lot of the people making comments like that don't even realize that Neal is in Journey.

"Don't Stop Believing!!!1!!1!!!!!"

[tater1977]

What’s On: Indian Summer Fest, Calexico, Journey and more

http://www.vancouversun.com/What+Indian ... story.html


Journey

Journey became one of the most successful bands in history by merging epic rock arrangements with heartfelt balladry. That the group just wanted to rock out on its last album, Eclipse, is understandable. But the band quickly discovered Journey fans weren’t about to head bang to hard rock; the album tanked. Humbled, the group has promised to concentrate on its solid, power-ballad catalogue (in fact, we may never hear a new Journey album again). But guitarist Neal Schon — Journey’s last remaining original member — can get heavy on this tour, anyway. His eponymous, all-instrumental, prog-fusion solo project is the opening act. (Schon’s band includes drummer Omar Hakim, who will also man drums for Journey, due to last week’s arrest of Deen Castronovo.)

July 11, 7:30 p.m. | Rogers Arena

Tickets: $34.50-$143, livenation.com

[perryfan61]

The band posted on FB they will be giving out signed copies of Vortex at every show....good thing I didn't buy my copy yet!

[Majestic]

Genre-wise, the Neal Schon band makes little sense as an opening act and they should be careful with their set list. Keep it short and sweet and go for the more melodic stuff. Go as far back as Late Nite, play abridged versions rather than full extended jams. Have Neal sing some from these: Voodo Chil', No More Lies, Smoke of the Revolution, Blackened Bacon, Covered by Midnight, Self Defense.

I think there is little chance of this. He wants to play Vortex. I love Vortex a lot, but it doesn't exactly match Journey or what Don't Stop Believin' fans want to hear.

Neal should consider opening for Satriani, Vai, Beck, and players like that, if he wants to find an audience for his fusion sound. I think he should bring Miles too, because the Vortex type material is layered and complex. One axe won't do it justice in a live setting, and if playing it life isn't equal or better than the recordings then why perform them live?

[Triple S]

The band posted on FB they will be giving out signed copies of Vortex at every show....good thing I didn't buy my copy yet!

I don't think they're giving them away - the posts say "you can GET a signed copy . . . "

But speaking of Facebook, this is their latest post:

Journey with Neal Schon
July 7 at 11:30pm · Edited ·
NS Vortex will open for Journey on Friday ( Vancouver ) See you There 7:30 you can also get a Signed copy of Vortex al All our Shows

Um - I have tickets for Friday's show, and it's not in Vancouver Hope they don't show up in Vancouver on Friday - no-one will be there

[tater1977]

Stampede Roundup offers nostalgia with Journey, Collective Soul and Big Wreck

Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald

http://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/ ... -big-wreck
Published on: July 8, 2015

Apparently, organizers of the Stampede Roundup have been trying to land veteran rockers Journey for 15 of the event’s 20-year existence.

But the thousands attending the annual corporate shindig at Fort Calgary were whisked back much further Wednesday night.

More like 1983, actually. If the extra-long solos, samplings of 80s-era radio hits and polished corporate-rock finesse of the 42-year-old band didn’t do the trick, then guitarist Neal Schon’s fierce, liquid-fire guitar solos certainly did.

He even hit his stadium-rock apex with a Hendrix-esque run through our national anthem.
...
Yes, sticklers will no doubt point out that replacement lead singer Arnel Pineda, who was plucked from obscurity in 2007, is not Steve Perry.

But his ability to imitate Perry’s banshee wail is actually quite uncanny and has given the band a late-career boost of novelty.

Whether it’s that underdog story or the Sopranos ingenious use of hit Don’t Stop Believin’ a few years back that has prevented the San Francisco act from sinking into the county-fair scene is unclear.

But what was clear Tuesday night was that many of the band’s songs have proven far sturdier than those snooty Rolling Stone critics would have ever imagined back in the 1980s.
...

The memory-lane vibe started early with Big Wreck.

The band had the thankless job of opening the festivities in the pounding heat.

Toronto-born frontman Ian Thornley, wearing shades and burgundy jeans and T-shirt, has kept up both his perpetually youthful rock-star cool and Canadian niceness. He also possesses a leather-lunged howl that, come to think of it, also sort of sounds a bit like Steve Perry’s.

So, yes, everything old is new again. And then old again. As the Roundup proves year after year, musical memories are powerful things.


-------------

Sorry some things in life, are worth a

[Memorex]

The memory-lane vibe started early with Big Wreck.

The band had the thankless job of opening the festivities in the pounding heat.

Toronto-born frontman Ian Thornley, wearing shades and burgundy jeans and T-shirt, has kept up both his perpetually youthful rock-star cool and Canadian niceness. He also possesses a leather-lunged howl that, come to think of it, also sort of sounds a bit like Steve Perry’s.

Was listening to Big Wreck as I wrote this. Amazing live version of Ghosts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uYzg6dgoDU

Big Wreck is fairly new to me and helps me believe rock music can still be good.

[tater1977]

The memory-lane vibe started early with Big Wreck.

The band had the thankless job of opening the festivities in the pounding heat.

Toronto-born frontman Ian Thornley, wearing shades and burgundy jeans and T-shirt, has kept up both his perpetually youthful rock-star cool and Canadian niceness. He also possesses a leather-lunged howl that, come to think of it, also sort of sounds a bit like Steve Perry’s.

Was listening to Big Wreck as I wrote this. Amazing live version of Ghosts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uYzg6dgoDU

Big Wreck is fairly new to me and helps me believe rock music can still be good.

At 4.00 ...sounds like Colin Hay with the harmonies.

[Memorex]

The memory-lane vibe started early with Big Wreck.

The band had the thankless job of opening the festivities in the pounding heat.

Toronto-born frontman Ian Thornley, wearing shades and burgundy jeans and T-shirt, has kept up both his perpetually youthful rock-star cool and Canadian niceness. He also possesses a leather-lunged howl that, come to think of it, also sort of sounds a bit like Steve Perry’s.

Was listening to Big Wreck as I wrote this. Amazing live version of Ghosts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uYzg6dgoDU

Big Wreck is fairly new to me and helps me believe rock music can still be good.

At 4.00 ...sounds like Colin Hay with the harmonies.

Damn it! Now I'll never unhear it!.

Although I like Colin Hay, so I guess that's ok.

[tater1977]

At 4.00 ...sounds like Colin Hay with the harmonies.

Damn it! Now I'll never unhear it!.

Although I like Colin Hay, so I guess that's ok.

[Triple S]

Short thoughts on the show in Penticton last night:

My first 'live' Journey experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it as expected. Mostly the 'Dirty Dozen' but that's what we came for and the crowd loved it.

We had great seats view-wise (side of stage) but the sound sucked. If I didn't know every word to every song I wouldn't have known what Arnel was singing. But the one video we took turned out pretty good:

https://youtu.be/InM8BwY8GTY

Thoughts on Neal/Vortex - felt pretty much what I expected to. I was enthralled listening to and watching such talented musicians, but not something I really want to listen to live, especially opening for Journey. Don't ask what they played because I have absolutely no idea - they only spoke/announced one song and I didn't catch the name, and I haven't listened to Vortex enough to know. And as someone else mentioned, I'm pretty sure a lot of the crowd had no idea who Neal was. The couples on either side of us definitely didn't - they both asked if I knew who 'that band' was and I had to give them a short history lesson But both thought they were awesome and the crowd in general seemed pretty into it.

Very glad we went, another one I can scratch off my bucket list.

[tater1977]

At Rogers Arena on Saturday, July 11

https://www.straight.com/music/487986/j ... -vancouver

by Steve Newton on July 12th, 2015
Vancouver, BC

Journey has long been criticized for being one of the prime purveyors of "corporate rock", along with the likes of Foreigner, Boston, Styx, and REO Speedwagon. But anyone who's ever slagged the group for its commercial sensibilities would have to admit that its latest attempt to make even more moola is pretty ingenious. For its current North American tour the band went ahead and made one of its own members the opening act! Now that's what I call good business sense.

The guest for last night's Journey show at Rogers Arena was Journey guitarist Neal Schon--or Neal "Vortex" Schon as he's known when pulling double-duty. But I for one had no problem with the unexpected booking. I've been a fan of Schon's for decades, and not just for his tasty playing on Journey's radio-friendly rock hits. In '93 he plugged in for two Paul Rodgers albums--Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters and The Hendrix Set--and a couple of years later proved himself an ace instrumental artist with the new-agey smooth-jazz album Beyond the Thunder. The music on that disc was so beautifully melodic that I chose it as the soundtrack for the birth of my first child. Strangely enough, nowadays my wife has issues listening to it, even though she was only in labour for like 12 or 13 hours.

The music Schon cranked out last night in his warm-up role was not exactly delivery-room material. Along with keyboardist Rachel Z, bassist Jerry Brooks, and Journey touring drummer Omar Hakim--who was called in to replace Deen Castronova last month after the latter was charged with rape, assault, and other felonies--Schon ranged through a handful of adventurous tracks from his new double-album Vortex. Hakim was a percussive force of nature, skilfully pounding out the rhythms for the intense jazz-rock and world-music-flavoured instrumentals. "The record's out there if you want to get it," announced Schon. "Very musical record."

After about half-an-hour of Schon showcasing his impressive solo project it was time for a short break, before he and Hakim returned with their Journey bandmates--singer Arnel Pineda, keyboardist Jonathan Cain, and bassist Ross Valory--for the music most folks had come to hear. Schon didn't start things off by saying, "This is the part of the show where I dumb it down," but, you know, he could have.

Although not as challenging as the material from Vortex, Journey's big radio hits--in particular "Who's Crying Now", "Anyway You Want It", and "Stone in Love"--benefited greatly from Schon's technical virtuosity, killer tone, and great melodic sense. He also enchanted the crap out of the crowd with a stirring rendition of "Oh Canada" that should put Mark Donnelly out of work for good.

On the downside, Cain looked bored out of his skull most of the time, and Valory didn't seem too thrilled to be there either. Mind you, that's in comparison to Pineda, who was a sparkplug throughout. The diminutive Filipino--who Schon discovered via YouTube and brought into the band in 2007 as the next-best-thing to Steve Perry--did his utmost to incite the crowd, whether that meant leaping about like an acrobat or just grinning like he'd won the lottery.

Despite Pineda's best intentions, though, the Journey show seemed to be missing something--and it wasn't just Steve Perry. "It doesn't seem like a rock band," observed my wife about halfway through, "it just seems like a performance." I had that sense too, like there was something too calculated in the delivery of the music. Or was it a general soulessness in the fabric of the songs themselves? Could "corporate rock" be a thing after all?

Talk amongst yourselves.

[tater1977]

setlist.jpg (131.1 KiB) Viewed 5680 times

[Onestepper]

Thanks for the reviews. I guess I'm just amazed at the number of times I've seen over and over that Cain looks bored out of his mind. I say this as I think back to last summer when I saw them live, and Cain looked bored out of his mind.

Must be good to punch the clock and make that type of jack with no apparent reason to care.

[Archetype]

The weird thing to me is that I'm positive that Cain could leave Journey right now and it's pretty unlikely that he'd have to make any financial lifestyle adjustments at all. Songwriting royalties and even some modest interest rates could keep him going for the rest of his life. So, why does he stay?

[tater1977]

Vancouver welcomes Journey with open arms (PHOTOS)

By Rob Feller July 12, 2015

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2015/07/vanc ... ms-photos/

80’s superstars Journey rocked a packed Rogers Arena Saturday night, delivering a solid (albeit unspectacular) show chockfull of classics from their four-decade-long career.

Despite countless lineup changes and no major hits for decades, Journey continues to be one of rock music’s top touring acts (2012’s Eclipse tour grossed more than $65 million). It’s been three long years since they last played our city and Vancouver fans welcomed them with open arms last night. And with open wallets too – the line to buy vintage-style Journey t-shirts at the merch table was almost as long as the line for beer.

The smell of wine, cheap perfume and lots of weed smoke filled the arena as the band opened with “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”. The audience breathed a collective sigh of relief when singer Arnel Pineda delivered his first couple of notes – the kid can sing. He’s not a dead ringer for Steve Perry but no one is, unfortunately.

Pineda, a Filipino cover singer the band discovered on YouTube, is the sixth(!) person to sing lead vocals for Journey since their inception in 1973. The group has recorded two albums of new material with Pineda at the helm but ignored them completely Saturday night in favour of tunes from the Steve Perry era (one clunker from 1996’s “reunion” album Trial By Fire somehow made the cut).

The boys powered their way through a slew of jukebox favourites like “Only The Young” and “Who’s Crying Now” while thousands of fans faithfully screamed along. Pineda strutted, posed, high-fived audience members and sang his little heart out while his bandmates tried their best to keep up. They didn’t always succeed, however.

A piano solo by Jonathan Cain sounded lovely and guitarist Neal Schon’s “O Canada” had the crowd on it’s feet, but when the band jammed together, their playing sounded a little sloppy at times. Deen Castronovo, Journey’s drummer since 1998, was replaced at the last minute due to legal troubles and it was reported that the new lineup had just days to rehearse together before kicking off their tour last Monday.

Snapshot.jpg (43.57 KiB) Viewed 5569 times

There was very little interaction amongst the band as well, and almost none between them and Pineda. It was a stark contrast to the lovefest I witnessed between Queen & temporary lead singer Adam Lambert on their killer tour last summer.

But Journey weren’t exactly chatty with the crowd, either. Pineda used the breaks between songs to say “Vancouver!!” a couple dozen times while Cain gave a painfully boring speech about writing “Faithfully” that sounded like he was reading it from a teleprompter.

But Vancouver was clearly in the mood to party, and the place went nuts for anthems like “Wheel In The Sky” and “Any Way You Want It”. Love (and more weed smoke) was in the air for “Don’t Stop Believin” too – couples danced in the aisles while the lady next to me used FaceTime to share the moment with her bored-looking kids. Guess they aren’t streetlight people like their awesome mom.

Snapshot(2).jpg (24.01 KiB) Viewed 5569 times

[tater1977]

Schon to pull double duty at Journey concert

Frank PEEBLES / Prince George Citizen
July 14, 2015 09:36 PM

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/ente ... -1.2000784


It took them 42 years and 47 million albums, but one band's journey to the top of the world's charts has finally brought them to Prince George.

Journey is one of the best-selling bands in history. They are one of the most popular bands of all time. Their songs form the soundtrack to the world, between 1973 and today, with massive peaks in the 1980s and '90s. Their lineup has had some changes, but original members still dot their active roster, and no one is disputing new vocalist Arnel Pineda (although he has now been fronting Journey for almost 10 years) has pipes more than worthy to sing the songs made megafamous by Steve Perry.

Pineda is a made-for-a-movie personal story. He grew up in the Sampaloc district of Manila in the Philippines. He spent time living on the streets when his family could no longer afford his mouth to feed. But music was always a burning passion and now the world gets to hear it burning from the front of Journey's stage.

The newest member of Journey is a whole other story. Prince George is one of the first dates for Omar Hakim pounding the skins for the legendary classic rock unit, but he is more than at ease in front of audiences this large and devoted.

He has been a drummer for the likes of David Bowie, Dire Straits, Michael Jackson, Sting, and many more.

When legal problems ousted longtime Journey drummer Deen Castronovo in June, Journey's co-founder and bandleader Neal Schon had to take swift action. Hakim was the result.

"He wasn't my first call, I have to say. My first call was Steve Smith (their longest serving drummer aside from Castronovo) but he was on his way to Europe for a gig he couldn't get out of," said Schon. "I asked him to get out of it, but he just couldn't make it work. I made some other calls, but no one got back to me in time. I only had like a day and a half.

"And I kept thinking of Omar (the drummer in Schon's solo band) and he was the only one who made sense in the end. We could probably have gotten a lot of drummers who could play our songs verbatim, and Omar has a lot of learning to do in really tight timelines, but they aren't like him. He is an orchestra leader.

"He and Schon will get a serious workout, playing the 30-minute opening act, then back on stage for the entire Journey set. "When I'm done my solo set, I'm soaked in sweat.

I have to take my vitamins and eat right," to stay physically fit for the demanding task, Schon said.

There are certain other benefits to getting a half-hour to himself to project his all-instrumental progressive hard-rock material.

It's a bit of a throwback to his early years working with consummate instrumental rock guitarist Carlos Santana (they still work together) and the new vibes he is always gathering in. His latest solo double-album is out on vinyl and it's called Vortex.

Getting to play the Vortex repertoire makes him feel less inclined to stress over the constant choices made by the members of Journey to come up with the night's set list.

No two nights are ever the same, especially with Hakim in place of Castronovo. With Vortex on his agenda, he feels less need to assert himself in the democratic to-and-fro of the Journey collective.

Also a factor in their choices lately is the culture of the audience. Crowds in their hometown of San Francisco want different Journey material than the crowds in Europe or Asia. And this time, they are staring into the eyes of Canada.

"This is the first time we have toured Canada, ever," said Schon, although the band has been here before. He laughed that the last time they were in Victoria for a concert, they opened for comedy superstars Cheech & Chong. They also got to open once in B.C., early on in their band's career, for the late blues legend B.B. King.

That was before they piled on the hits, loading up the Billboard Top 40 charts with 18 Top 40 singles. Some of the biggest among them were Faithfully, Open Arms, Any Way You Want It, Chains (Someday Love Will Find You) , Who's Cryin' Now, and what was that other little tune they had? Oh yeah, a little ditty known as Don't Stop Believin' you may have heard (a thousand times).

Schon still holds out hope that their old pal and still admired friend Steve Perry will come out on stage one night and join them for one or two of those vocally challenging golden rockers.

"The invitation is always there for him, he knows that. He makes his own choices, I just get tired of hearing that I'm the reason he isn't with the band. He can join us anytime he likes, I don't care where we are or what we're doing," Schon said.

He would love for a great vocalist like Pineda to get to stand alongside Perry for some of those songs they are both so steeped in.

That probably won't happen in Prince George, what with Perry typically at home in the Bay area of San Francisco-Oakland, but the layers of legendary singers and players on the CN Centre stage tonight will be worth making the journey for.

[FamilyMan]

Short thoughts on the show in Penticton last night:

My first 'live' Journey experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it as expected. Mostly the 'Dirty Dozen' but that's what we came for and the crowd loved it.

We had great seats view-wise (side of stage) but the sound sucked. If I didn't know every word to every song I wouldn't have known what Arnel was singing. But the one video we took turned out pretty good:

https://youtu.be/InM8BwY8GTY

Thoughts on Neal/Vortex - felt pretty much what I expected to. I was enthralled listening to and watching such talented musicians, but not something I really want to listen to live, especially opening for Journey. Don't ask what they played because I have absolutely no idea - they only spoke/announced one song and I didn't catch the name, and I haven't listened to Vortex enough to know. And as someone else mentioned, I'm pretty sure a lot of the crowd had no idea who Neal was. The couples on either side of us definitely didn't - they both asked if I knew who 'that band' was and I had to give them a short history lesson But both thought they were awesome and the crowd in general seemed pretty into it.

Very glad we went, another one I can scratch off my bucket list.

How can you possibly be going to a Journey show in the year 2015 and not know who Neal Schon is?

[tater1977]

Journey's packed concert reveals 'boomers can't — and won't — stop believing


http://www.vancouverobserver.com/cultur ... -believing

Craig Fleisch

Jul 15th, 2015


With over 90 million albums sold worldwide, and still going, the band known as Journey has gone on their own unique journey.

The band was originally formed in San Francisco in 1973 under the name Golden Gate Rhythm — not really a name that rolls off your tongue. So, in that same year, the band held a radio contest to re-name the group. However, this contest was unsuccessful and then roadie John Villaneuva suggested the name 'Journey.' The name change and the crucial new members fuelled their fire for success.

It was not until late 1977 that Journey-hire Steve Perry, their new frontman, brought with him a new sound that propelled them up through U.S. charts. Journey transitioned to a new popular style shared by other successful bands at the time such as Boston and Foreigner. This pop style brought the band an entirely new fan base and so began the journey of greatness for the band known as Journey.

Throughout their musical career the band has seen numerous members come and go, but this has not deterred them from their path. Today, Neal Schon (lead guitar/backup vocals) and Ross Valory (bass/backup vocals) remain as Journey's original members. They are joined by Jonathan Cain (keyboard/backup vocals), Deen Castronovo (drums) and Arnel Pineda (lead vocals). In 2007, Pineda caught the attention of Schon who discovered videos of him masterfully covering songs of some rock greats (The Eagles, Aerosmith, Survivor, Air Supply and Journey). The band didn't waste any time and flew Pineda to San Francisco to audition for the band. In December of that year, he became Journey's new lead singer.

On Saturday evening, Rogers Arena was packed with baby-boomers sprinkled with a few hundred Gen-Xers. Surrounded by fans who truly grew up listening to rock, it was awe-inspiring being in the midst of true fans.

The night began with the lights dimmed. The band entered the stage unbeknownst to the crowd. Pineda took the stage with video camera in hand and directed towards the crowd, the huge screen behind the stage lit up with rowdy fans. After turning the spotlight on the crowd, Pineda started the set with the hit 1983 song, "Separate Ways" leading into one of Journey's most popular songs, "Any Way You Want It."

Pineda stands 'tall' at a whopping five-foot-four, his height defying his voice that packed quite a punch and echoed loudly throughout the arena. Schon and Valory showed technical prowess with their musical instruments, shredding their way easily through each song. Pineda did his best to engage the crowd, high-fiving superfans in the first row, holding his mic out to the crowd, leaping off the speakers, and moving swiftly throughout the stage. Despite his best efforts to bring some energy to the arena, the band seemed to lack that special something. No matter; the crowd did not seemed deterred by their performance and Journey received a standing ovation to end their set.

I can't stop, and won't stop, believing in Journey and wish them the best on the rest of their world tour.

Evening setlist:

1. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
2. Any Way You Want It
3. Be Good To Yourself
4. City Of Hope
5. Open Arms
6. Only The Young
7. Stone In Love
8. Lights
9. Opened the Door
10. Who's Crying Now
11. Escape
12. La Do Da
13. Wheel In The Sky
14. Faithfully
15. Don't Stop Believing

Encore:

16. Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

[FamilyMan]

Journey's packed concert reveals 'boomers can't — and won't — stop believing


http://www.vancouverobserver.com/cultur ... -believing

Craig Fleisch

Jul 15th, 2015


With over 90 million albums sold worldwide, and still going, the band known as Journey has gone on their own unique journey.

The band was originally formed in San Francisco in 1973 under the name Golden Gate Rhythm — not really a name that rolls off your tongue. So, in that same year, the band held a radio contest to re-name the group. However, this contest was unsuccessful and then roadie John Villaneuva suggested the name 'Journey.' The name change and the crucial new members fuelled their fire for success.

It was not until late 1977 that Journey-hire Steve Perry, their new frontman, brought with him a new sound that propelled them up through U.S. charts. Journey transitioned to a new popular style shared by other successful bands at the time such as Boston and Foreigner. This pop style brought the band an entirely new fan base and so began the journey of greatness for the band known as Journey.

Throughout their musical career the band has seen numerous members come and go, but this has not deterred them from their path. Today, Neal Schon (lead guitar/backup vocals) and Ross Valory (bass/backup vocals) remain as Journey's original members. They are joined by Jonathan Cain (keyboard/backup vocals), Deen Castronovo (drums) and Arnel Pineda (lead vocals). In 2007, Pineda caught the attention of Schon who discovered videos of him masterfully covering songs of some rock greats (The Eagles, Aerosmith, Survivor, Air Supply and Journey). The band didn't waste any time and flew Pineda to San Francisco to audition for the band. In December of that year, he became Journey's new lead singer.

On Saturday evening, Rogers Arena was packed with baby-boomers sprinkled with a few hundred Gen-Xers. Surrounded by fans who truly grew up listening to rock, it was awe-inspiring being in the midst of true fans.

The night began with the lights dimmed. The band entered the stage unbeknownst to the crowd. Pineda took the stage with video camera in hand and directed towards the crowd, the huge screen behind the stage lit up with rowdy fans. After turning the spotlight on the crowd, Pineda started the set with the hit 1983 song, "Separate Ways" leading into one of Journey's most popular songs, "Any Way You Want It."

Pineda stands 'tall' at a whopping five-foot-four, his height defying his voice that packed quite a punch and echoed loudly throughout the arena. Schon and Valory showed technical prowess with their musical instruments, shredding their way easily through each song. Pineda did his best to engage the crowd, high-fiving superfans in the first row, holding his mic out to the crowd, leaping off the speakers, and moving swiftly throughout the stage. Despite his best efforts to bring some energy to the arena, the band seemed to lack that special something. No matter; the crowd did not seemed deterred by their performance and Journey received a standing ovation to end their set.

I can't stop, and won't stop, believing in Journey and wish them the best on the rest of their world tour.

Evening setlist:

1. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
2. Any Way You Want It
3. Be Good To Yourself
4. City Of Hope
5. Open Arms
6. Only The Young
7. Stone In Love
8. Lights
9. Opened the Door
10. Who's Crying Now
11. Escape
12. La Do Da
13. Wheel In The Sky
14. Faithfully
15. Don't Stop Believing

Encore:

16. Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

No wonder Jon appears bored. They have to mix up this set list. It's virtually indistinguishable from the Augeri era. Maybe they're really limited now with Omar on drums. He probably doesn't know any songs but these.

[tater1977]

Evening setlist:

1. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
2. Any Way You Want It
3. Be Good To Yourself
4. City Of Hope
5. Open Arms
6. Only The Young
7. Stone In Love
8. Lights
9. Opened the Door
10. Who's Crying Now
11. Escape
12. La Do Da
13. Wheel In The Sky
14. Faithfully
15. Don't Stop Believing

Encore:

16. Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

No wonder Jon appears bored. They have to mix up this set list. It's virtually indistinguishable from the Augeri era. Maybe they're really limited now with Omar on drums. He probably doesn't know any songs but these.

NS on FB

Snapshot.jpg (36.08 KiB) Viewed 5297 times

Snapshot(2).jpg (54.78 KiB) Viewed 5297 times

Snapshot(5).jpg (50.98 KiB) Viewed 5295 times

[tater1977]

Snapshot(6).jpg (38 KiB) Viewed 5294 times

[FamilyMan]

YIKES!
Now Neal sounds like the miserable one itching to get out. This doesn't sound good.

[Archetype]

The problem with Journey is they're a victim of their own success. There are songs that people simply will riot over if they're not played. In Journey's case, this is about a dozen songs. Bands like Rush and Iron Maiden can radically change their sets from tour to tour because their fan base listens to them for the albums (that rarely charted particularly well in their heydays), not for the singles they heard on the radio 10x per day in their youth.

I saw Iron Maiden in 2010; of the 16 songs they played, 10 of those were from of their post-2000 releases. They didn't play classics like "Run To The Hills" or "The Trooper." Still, the very vast majority of the 20,000+ people in attendance were going wild the whole night and left very happy. Journey's radio and single success has made that impossible for them.

[scarab]

Journey should quit playing if N America. Play overseas where new music still matters.

[JourneyHard]

What is Chains (Someday love will find you)?

Separate Ways? Or Chain of Love?

Sometimes, people call Don't Stop Believin' by the title Small Town Girl.