by Liz22562 » Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:57 pm
JSS did well last night. After the second song, Jon Cain announced that Steve Augeri was not with them due to illness and that JSS was filling in. I heard a collective "awwwww" within the crowd around me. About half way into the show the only remark JSS made was that he was proud to be singing with Journey and happy that he was filling in for the summer.
There was absolutely no doubt that NEAL SCHON stole the show. All he had to do was hint at a solo and the crowd went crazy. The song of the night was Don't Stop Believin. As soon as they started, everyone stood up and began to sing. JSS may have been singing it but I couldn't hear him at all over the crowd! Very apparent that was the song they were waiting for. I was hoping anything from Generations would be played but it didn't happen. When Journey played Chain Reaction and Dead or Alive I was asked if I knew those songs (very young gentlemen sitting in front of me asked).
Other than a few converstations I had with some very friendly people standing in line waiting to purchase a t-shirt and on the trolly ride to the venue & back from the parking lot, it was apparent that the crowd wanted to hear the hits.
Did JSS sound good? Absolutely, yes he did - but he was not perfect. He messed up a line in the first song after Neals solo. No biggie. Did he hit the highs? Nope, not all of them nor did Deen fill in for them. No biggie. (I was not looking for a perfect concert either and was probably more critical than the average fan because of what I read on this message board). I personally felt that there was a little something missing to the sound. There is something about Steve Augeri's voice that adds to the Journey style. Did I have a great time? Yep, I sure did and it appeared that everyone else in the venue did also. Big range of fan ages.
Should be a good summer for Journey fans. Neal Schon did not let anyone down. NIG: NEAL IS GOD! lol...