Review from the SPAC concert.
http://blog.timesunion.com/reviews/jour ... 9209/1333/
JOURNEY/HEART @ SPAC, 9/2/09September 3, 2009 at 12:24 am by Michael Eck
By Michael Eck
Special to The Times Union
SARATOGA SPRINGS - Neal Schon and Nancy Wilson were both born in 1954, seemingly with guitars already in their little balled up baby fists. Both of them have been onstage since they were teenagers, and both of them have performed at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center for virtually half their lives. So, Wednesday night must have felt a little like a homecoming.
Schon, of course, is the six-string engine behind Journey’s platinum sound, and Wilson has been strumming along beside sister Ann Wilson in Heart for over 35 years.
Both bands rocked the house at SPAC on Wednesday, pouring out a veritable hit parade of classics ranging from Journey’s “Stone In Love” to Heart’s “What About Love.”
In their heyday the bands both fused hard rocks elements with smooth singing to define the power ballad. And gosh, if you wanted power ballads, you could sway with your sweetie to “Alone,” “Open Arms” or “Faithfully.”
Conversely, if you wanted to rock, you could shake your stuff to “Anyway You Want It,” the still anthemic “Separate Ways,” the hard-riffing “Magic Man” or “Keep On Runnin’” (sung by Journey drummer Deen (CQ) Castronovo).
There’s a reason Schon’s a guitar hero. He can squeal, bend and whammy with the best of them – never losing his distinctive tone. Even though he was clearly suffering from difficulties with his monitor system at SPAC, he never let the crowd down.
Wilson is more the rhythmic heart of Heart (pun intended), but she also tossed out some flash, especially with a cadenza that kicked off the surging “Crazy For You.”
Wilson also added mandolin to “These Dreams” and a sweet reading of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California.”
Schon stole the night’s top honors, along with Journey bandmate Jonathan Cain, in a preface to “Wheel In The Sky.”
Schon played a high-strung Gryphon guitar – created by Woodstock’s own Joe Veillette – in a drop D tuning and snaked out some funky blues while Cain blew some mighty fine harp.And “Wheel” was turned into a near-metal experience that magically morphed in an old school San Francisco ballroom swirl at its close.
Journey vocalist Arnel Pineda was phenomenal in his recreations of Steve Perry’s original vocal tracks – even if he didn’t quite catch Gregg Rolie’s lower register runs in “Lights.” He’s as fine a frontman as the band has had.
And Ann Wilson, well, she’s still the bomb as far as hard rock female vocalists go. Her dramatic pause, followed by a triumphant scream, at the close of The Who’s “Love Reign O’er Me” was just ridiculous – in a good way.
It’s true that Journey offered a few tunes from their recent album “Revelation” at SPAC, but you can’t really say there was anything new about the show.
It was just a sold summer night of classic rock aimed at folks who haven’t forgotten the 80s, much less the 70s. Oh, and their kids, too.
JOURNEY/HEART
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Spa State Park, Saratoga Springs
Length: Heart, over an hour; Journey, almost two hours.
Highlights: Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain’s wicked vamp leading into the fiery “Wheel In The Sky.”
