I'm not sure where that is coming from but I was at that show. It was the first time in several years we went to watch Journey. The show was as half step down which was disappointing. However, Arnel has blossomed into a good front man. He's not scared anymore, bounced around the stage all night, had the crowd amped up, and he sounded really good! The over vibrato is gone and the dude owned those songs. I was pretty impressed.
Here's a quick summary:
1. Arnel was much better than expected
2. Show was 1/2 step down
3. Cain smiled and had some energy
4. Ross was a clown as usual
5. It was super cool to see Steve Smith on the kit. He's much more of a technical player. His solo was awesome. I hate to say it but I think I like Deen better as a drummer for Journey, he's a lot more rock n roll.
6. Schon had energy and can still play great. His guitar tone SUCKED on several song and the distortion was so high you couldn't tell what notes he was playing. This is coming from a guy that plays a Wolfgang Special because a Wolfgang has a tone knob that's a waste of time. A lot of his solo's were wank fests so much it was hard to tell what he was playing, some were not recognizable as the original solos. Just because the playing is technically difficult does not make it good.
7. Place was packed and looked sold out
8. Schon paid a tribute to Steve Perry before playing Lights have the crowd light up cell phones. It was a nice touch.
9. Schon and Cain seemed to get along ok on stage
10. Only deep cuts were "Edge of the Blade" and "La Do Da", rest was standard list we've all heard a 1000 times.
11. Asia was good as well. Billy Sherwood taking over lead vocals from Wetton was fine. He sounded good and as it should on all songs. There was a nice tribute to Wetton during the set as well.
Overall the show was enjoyable.
Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 7:53 am
