Review
Credit goes to Gigi of AP' site.
Journey travels well at Rock Fest
http://www.leadertelegram.com/story-new ... &FORM=ZZNR
By Jennifer Schmidt
Leader-Telegram correspondent
CADOTT - The weather may have been cold, but Journey - Rock Fest's headline act on Saturday - was red hot.
The band had its audience cheering, clapping, dancing and singing throughout the entire 90-minute show. Not even technical difficulties midway through the set could keep the crowd from applauding for long.
"Separate Ways," "Never Walk Away" and "Ask the Lonely" were early crowd pleasers. A track off the band's latest CD dialed the energy level down a tad, though it immediately bounced back with the next number, "Lights." Longtime band member Jonathan Cain treated the crowd to an impressive keyboard solo following the song, and fans absolutely roared as he proceeded into the power ballad "Open Arms." At one point, the crowd's collective vocals were nearly as loud as lead singer Arnel Pineda's.
Pineda - the newest member of the band, joining Journey just about a year and a half ago -
won the hearts of many in the crowd with his high-energy vertical leaps, enthusiastic laps across the stage and audience-engaging hand claps. Although it was cold enough to see his breath, sweat dripped from the spirited rocker.
The powerful Pineda brought his own vocal style but kept the classics authentic-sounding, too. The natural born performer had no problem winning the crowd over.
"Good people of Wisconsin, sing!" he invited during the well-received performance of "Faithfully."
And the crowd obliged, cheering and singing along like it did for no others. Many couples embraced, swaying back and forth as if on a dance floor instead of a Chippewa County farm field, and clearly forgiving the earlier technical difficulties that briefly had them booing. (The band lost sound twice, once for about two minutes and again for less than a minute).
Also rounding out the second half of the show were "Don't Stop Believin' " and "Any Way You Want It," as well as an impromptu blues jam. The band ended with "Lovin,' Touchin, Squeezin" - song No. 16 for the night.
Journey's performance left no room for disappointment, treating fans to a sampling of their best-known songs from decades past while introducing some of their newest numbers. "Any Way You Want It" is indeed what Journey delivered.