My Review of the Phoenix Show - LONG!

[JRNYMAN]

Below is my review of the amazing show here yesterday.


Dateline: Phoenix, AZ, July 24, 2011
Venue: Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion
Capacity: 19,648 (including lawn area)
Event Status: SOLD OUT!
Temp. at show time: 101F with sky threatening rain (and it did!)
House lights out: 21:03

In the past decade, I have attended several concerts by bands whose tenure has reached or exceeded some 30+ years: Journey, Chicago, Foreigner, Earth, Wind & Fire and a few others. These seasoned veterans of Rock/Pop music et al have at least one thing in common which is noticeable the minute you step foot from your vehicle upon arriving at the venue: they have become an all ages, whole-family event. It has become the rule rather than the exception to see middle-aged couples accompanying their adult children and in some cases their grandchildren. As a middle-aged husband and father of two (one’s and adult and the other is almost there) and a 30+ year fan of Journey, I represented that demographic as my family and I attended the concert together. I’m always excited when I see Journey’s fan base being represented by the next generation rockers, it reminds me and solidifies my belief that the music of my generation is/was something special. And that fact was never more true than tonight as nearly 20,000 Grandfathers, Grandmothers, Fathers, Mothers, and kids from toddlers through late-teens faced the world famous Arizona summertime heat head on, packing the venue and bringing with them a supercharged attitude with a thirst and perhaps even an expectation of the best this band had to offer. And why not? They did their part by turning out en masse for a 3.5 hour concert, outdoors, in Phoenix, in July! I think they/we earned it! And apparently the band felt the same way as they delivered the best overall performance I have witnessed with the band’s current lineup. “Is it possible they’re getting better at playing the same songs they’ve been playing for decades?” I asked myself. Not only is it possible, it’s true. Every facet of tonight’s show was tight and polished. They, like most bands, play to the level of enthusiasm and appreciation displayed by the audience and trust me when I tell you there was no shortage of either tonight.

When the house lights went out, the crowd went nuts – not the regular “nuts” that we’ve all been a part of at the start of any given show, I mean these people lost their minds! I saw women hugging each other while jumping up and down, I saw guys hugging and high-fiving and yelling at the top of their lungs. I even saw a couple of women break into full-on crying brought on by their love for the band combined with their first time seeing them live.

The show opened with a mini-jam of random chords and drum rolloffs which lasted a little over a minute before breaking into SW. The crowd was screaming and yelling and whistling so loud that they didn’t even realize it when the opening riff segued into SW. About 15 seconds into SW, it hit everyone simultaneously that they were now playing SW and they lost it even more. I knew right then this crowd was different than any other I had been a part of for this band at this venue.

Having my daughters with me was a genuine treat. While they’ve known who Journey is and the importance they have in my life, and know most, if not all of their songs, they have never seen them live (other than the live performance DVD’s, but that doesn’t count.) As SW progressed, I scanned the audience to watch their collective body language and throughout the entire song there was fist-pumping and air guitar for as far as the eye could see. At one point I glanced over at my daughters and my wife, all 3 on their feet, and all 3 singing at the top of their lungs with my daughters knowing every single word. Forgive me while I wax sentimental for a moment but that was one of the proudest and coolest Journey moments of my life. Seeing them singing along and dancing to a song I first heard when I was my youngest daughter’s age brought the entire thing full circle for me, which produced a lump in my throat the size of a golf ball and quickly had tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. All I could do was smile and sing along with them.

I’m not going to include the setlist as it’s the same as it has been so far this tour. Instead, I’ll touch upon the highlights of tonight’s show.

As the night pressed on, the skies grew more and more ominous. About halfway through the show, thunder began to roll across the valley as did the appearance of lightning which, if you’ve never seen a lightning show here in Arizona, is surreal and even mesmerizing! The lightning is nearly always a combination of heat/sheet lightning and the bolt type and often both will take place at the same time starting at one end of the horizon and shoot completely across to the other in less than a second and is always followed by intense thunder. Tonight was no different. The Gods put on their own show for us which was every bit as good as the one taking place on stage.

The storm conjured up images and memories of the Tucson show near the beginning of the Revelation tour at which it absolutely POURED continuously and the band played on. Every time Deen would hit a cymbal there would be this huge splash of water, which made for its own sorta special effect. The band did eventually have to stop playing due to the damage the equipment was getting – including what became irreparable damage to Jon’s new baby, his Fazziola “The Faz” piano which had replaced The Whale on tour. The rehab “The Faz” had to endure and the cost associated with it is a story all its own!

Anyway, back to tonight’s show… the crowd present tonight wasn’t interested in anything new and damn sure didn’t want to have the already abbreviated setlist littered with anything that wasn’t going to make them yell and scream with appreciation even louder. But, that wasn’t to be as this is, after all, a tour supporting the new album and as such delivers a setlist which includes new material. There were groans of disapproval each time the band started one of the new songs.

Contrary to the groans were HUGE roars of approval and delight as each and every classic hit began. And as the night progressed so too did the crowd’s energy and so too did Arnel’s command of the stage as well as the audience. I have to tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever heard them sound as good as they did tonight. I think they FINALLY got the sound dialed in (yeah right, like there are any “dials” left in today’s technology!) Yes it was loud as you’ll hear once the vids make their way onto YT but it was loud in a good way. The vocals were strong and pronounced, the harmonies were full and rich and not washed out. Neal was loud at the right times and Jon and Ross were consistently even, carrying the rhythm perfectly and Deen… God love Deen! Bombastic as always and without a doubt doing everything in his power to destroy his kit, his volume level was perfect. Then above everything you heard Arnel – crystal clear and powerful from start to finish.

One of the biggest events of the night was during WITS. First of all, Arnel grabs the crowd by doing a “repeat after me” thing with some vocal runs which culminates into him belting out, “the wheel in the skyyyyyyyy…. turnin’, turnin’, turnin’,……… “ Very Perry-esque. And as with every song so far tonight, the crowd was there to help the band out with the lyrics should they forget for some reason. We knew every word and we were proud of it. So proud, we shouted them out loudly, song after song. It was during WITS that the sky opened up! It poured HARD! Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the desert southwest of the US, we rarely get rain. Our annual rainfall is roughly 7”. Some places get half that in a single storm! Phoenix had to have gotten 1/2” in 5 mins. tonight. I was fully expecting everyone on the lawn to quickly depart but instead, they roared and sang even louder.

The stage lighting and the use of the giant monitors really classes things up. The lighting bathes the stage in brilliant colors and the addition of motorized on-stage spots creates a very cool ambience and atmosphere.

They ended the show with DSB, which I along with many others was sure had run its course, but as all of you attending shows this tour will soon see, that clearly isn’t the case whatsoever. When Jon hit the first chord, I swear the crowd collectively had an orgasm. It was like they knew what was coming and as soon as it started, it was received like it was the only thing that would soothe them, but it didn’t. The band came back out for AWYWI which had everyone, young and old dancing and singing along. I swear it was like a revival and I was just waiting for the snake charmers and the offering plate to appear!

Journey and their music still claims a very special place in the hearts and the lives of their fans. For those of us who were teenagers when Infinity came out, their music has in many ways truly provided the soundtrack to our lives (I know, I know… cliché but it’s true.) And for those who became fans sometime between then and now, they did so undoubtedly because of the way the music makes you feel and the passion that exists within a diehard Journey fan. It’s that passion that my daughters have witnessed in me that tonight they finally got – even if just a little bit. Several times I would catch them out of the corner of my eye gazing in wide wonder at the energy and the passion being displayed by the 20,000 people and at how “their dad’s band” could possibly appeal to such a broad audience: young, old, men, women, rednecks, motorheads, etc. By the time Jon began DSB, they had a much better understanding of just why their dad as well as 20,000 of my closest friends have a deeper passion for Journey than most other bands that have come and gone and even most who are still around today. It’s about the music. It’s always been about the music.

The music we, the 40-somethings, listened to when we were teenagers, is still played on a regular basis on hundreds, if not thousands of radio stations around the world. And although each and every song released back in the day, our day, can be claimed by someone, somewhere and has a special attachment to some life event, the music is timeless. It has stood the test of time and weathered well.

Regards,
Steve

[steveo777]

Glad you posted it here .... Great review, Steve!

Much appreciated.

[escapefan]

This was my first Journey show and it was freakin magical! I am a big Perry fan, but tonite I didn't miss him at all! Arnel commanded the show with confidence! I couldn't have put the description of nite into better words!

[JRNYMAN]

This was my first Journey show and it was freakin magical! I am a big Perry fan, but tonite I didn't miss him at all! Arnel commanded the show with confidence! I couldn't have put the description of nite into better words!

Your first Journey show...??! Wow! Congrats on that and now that you've experienced the magical atmosphere that exists at their shows, you'll be kicking yourself for not seeing them sooner. Yup, Arnel has definitely come into his own in terms of working the crowd and manipulating the electricity in the air generated by the polished and perfected musical performances of each band member. His vocal abilities grab hold of you as soon as he belts out the first word to the opening song with a "WHOA!!" reaction. I always, always enjoy watching the reactions of those who are hearing him for the first time or for the first time live. You know instantly who these people are just by the stunned looks on their faces. Then, later in the show when he does one of the ballads which really showcases his vocal skills, the comments run the gamut from "DAAAAAYUMM!" to "NO WAY!" to "UNBELIEVABLE!" to my favorite, "FUCKIN' A!"

Thank you for the kind words. Yours is a compliment I take to heart given this show being your first and how special it was for you.

Regards,
Steve

[Saint John]

This wasn't really a "review," so much as it was a personal account of what Journey, and being a Journey fan, means to you. Regardless, it was a pretty cool read.

[JRNYMAN]

This wasn't really a "review," so much as it was a personal account of what Journey, and being a Journey fan, means to you. Regardless, it was a pretty cool read.

True, but if I would have titled it, "My personal account of what Journey, and being a Journey fan, means to me" it would have made it seem rather gosh and self-serving dontcha think?

Thanks Dan, glad you enjoyed it.

[escapefan]

This was my first Journey show and it was freakin magical! I am a big Perry fan, but tonite I didn't miss him at all! Arnel commanded the show with confidence! I couldn't have put the description of nite into better words!

Your first Journey show...??! Wow! Congrats on that and now that you've experienced the magical atmosphere that exists at their shows, you'll be kicking yourself for not seeing them sooner. Yup, Arnel has definitely come into his own in terms of working the crowd and manipulating the electricity in the air generated by the polished and perfected musical performances of each band member. His vocal abilities grab hold of you as soon as he belts out the first word to the opening song with a "WHOA!!" reaction. I always, always enjoy watching the reactions of those who are hearing him for the first time or for the first time live. You know instantly who these people are just by the stunned looks on their faces. Then, later in the show when he does one of the ballads which really showcases his vocal skills, the comments run the gamut from "DAAAAAYUMM!" to "NO WAY!" to "UNBELIEVABLE!" to my favorite, "FUCKIN' A!"

Thank you for the kind words. Yours is a compliment I take to heart given this show being your first and how special it was for you.

Regards,
Steve

Have always had regrets for not seeing them live! Big regrets at never seeing Perry live! Have seen a lot of other bands live and NO ONE comes close to the magic they have at a concert. Hope they understand how blessed they are to have such loyal fans!