Looking Back at 1999

February 5, 2014

As I've been going through the tales of 1999, I realized that they only glossed the surface of an important year. I first entered the world of on-line fandom in 1996 when Journey's brief reunion with Steve Perry produced their first new album in 10 years -- Trial by Fire. Circumstances changed and it wasn't until 1998 that a new Journey, now with Steve Augeri on lead vocals and Deen Castronovo on drums, went back out on tour and fans got to attend concerts and begin to put faces to the names from the various message boards, mailing lists, and news groups that were the virtual meeting places of the time.

I'd met a few of my on-line friends in 1998 at various shows and events, but 1999 was the year I met on-line friends that became off-line friends as well. Early in the year, some of the NorCal contingent of the Steve Perry mailing list decided to get together for lunch as some of the Atlanta based contingent had. While we managed to miss Liz somehow, Carla, Darla and I met for lunch and instead of meeting new people it was like meeting with old friends. Many other lunches and what can only be best described as grown up slumber parties were to follow. Somewhere along the line Ana Marie joined us.

In June, Journey kicked off their summer tour with Foreigner in Chicago. A group of fans from the Journey Digest mailing list put together a gathering of fans for the show. The night before the concert, many of the attendees met at a bar to see Kevin Chalfant, who had been the lead singer for The Storm with several former members of Journey. I rode to the show with one of the organizers and 5 other women and again those these were people I had just met in person, it was like a girls night out with friends I'd known for a long time. The day of the concert, those folks attending Journeyfest were allowed to attend sound check. I volunteered to help check people in and in doing so, I handed a name tag to Leslie Forysthe and noticed she lived in the Bay Area. We chatted a bit before and again after the show and so would begin another friendship that carried beyond the virtual world.

That meeting with Leslie led to her hosting a pre-show barbeque at her home before the Bay Area Journey show as she lived near the venue. Other than a brief introduction to Darla when we purchased the tickets and another brief meeting at Journeyfest with Jeff, another Journey Digest member, who'd flown up from Southern California, Leslie hadn't met any of the other guests. I'm still amazed that she trusted my judgement that these folks weren't totally insane (though Scott smashing the hornet that had decided to eat Jeff's chicken might have made her question that.) I can still remember hanging out in the parking lot after the show talking with Jeff and Janet and watching both of them battle in air-guitar.

November brought another San Francisco show and a gathering of the NorCal contingent that had grown from the 5 fans who'd met in 1998 at the first Journey Fans Convention (Debbie S., Janet, Scott, Kevin and me) to about 20 people from the Bay Area and Sacramento areas. That's when I finally met another Perry List member -- Cheryl -- and another virtual friend became a real life one.

A lot of friends have come and gone in the intervening years. Some have remained mostly virtual friendships or have faded away entirely as time and distance intervened. Others are seen few and far between, but it's always like picking up where we left off the next time we meet. Carla got married and moved out of state, but we've remained in touch through the years. Leslie left the Bay Area and returned and Cheryl's in SoCal now. And sadly, Darla passed away in 2008 -- a loss I still feel every day. So even though the tales relayed about 1999 are thin, the memories and friendships made in that year are still strong and valued.

November 12, 1999: Reason to Live Concert: A Benefit for Suicide Prevention

San Francisco CA
Warfield Theater

On November 14, I got an email saying... "Benefit Show 11/12..tell me more!" My reply follows: 

LOL! Okay girl, hang in there... As always, the show was fantastic. Nothing new in the set list -- in fact I was ready for the start of some tunes before the band! LOL! I think I've been to a few too many shows. (not!) Though I was pleasantly surprised to hear Steve sing "in my city" during "Lights."

The balcony looked to be filled to capacity, which was good to see. The floor, however, was set up a little differently than most shows at the Warfield. The floor section actually has two sections -- one part being the "dance floor" right in front of the stage, and then a slightly tiered "restaurant" kind of section behind. When the boys played there last December, all the tables and chairs were taken out of the "restaurant" section and it was jammed packed. Friday night, though, it was pretty segmented. The front floor was where the $500 seats were, so tables and chairs were set up there, as well as tables and chairs in the back section -- for the lovely price of $150. Naturally this meant the floor was fairly empty -- at least compared to most shows I've seen there.

When Firefall played, everyone pretty much stayed in their seats, but when Journey hit the stage, those of us in the $150 seats rushed the stage. If I'd paid 500 bucks to sit in front, I'd have been pissed off, but over all there weren't that many people on the floor, so it was cool.

The really cool thing, for me, was turning around at one point and looking up in the balcony and seeing all these people I knew waving at me! I swear there must have been a dozen people scattered around (and not just the folks I'd had dinner with). These shows are coming more and more about meeting friends than going to hear some great music.

An amusing moment occurred at the end when Firefall came back on stage to perform a song that they had written specifically for the suicide prevention cause.  The guys in Firefall were in the lead playing the song. Jon had either rehearsed the song before, or had the music and words in front of him on the Whale, because he seemed to know what was going on. Neal, on the other hand, was standing back by the drum kit with this look on his face that had me doubled over laughing. It was a cross between "what the heck is this?" and "man something smells baaaad." He did manage to get in the swing of things, but the look on his face said "I'm playing a Firefall song???"

The floor seats included after show passes for a champagne reception. It was a bit of a mob scene, and I spent much of the time taking pictures of my friends and the whole scene rather than actually talking to the guys. They were all in a great mood though, and very pleasant to everyone. I never did see Deen, so I'm guessing he didn't come out.

So, all and all, another fantastic evening (even if RawkDawg did neglect some of his ravaging duties...guess I just need to pick up some electric blue nail polish...)

August 14-15, 1999: No Place Like Home

Concord and Sacramento, CA
Concord Pavilion and Hornet Field

There's no place like home.... 

Took the day off to recover (rejoice, reflect) from back to back to back shows this weekend. Friday night a friend and I went to see REM, and I never thought I'd see the day when REM had more lights on stage than Journey. Making a mental note for future tours, don't schedule a non-Journey show the same week as a Journey show... it just pales in comparison.

So on to the true reason for this post... Journey was home in the Bay Area once again. What a marvelous weekend. For starters, I want to publicly thank fellow-Joureyfester Leslie and her husband Todd for hosting a mini-fest BBQ in her back yard! She took me on my word that the various and sundry Journey-ers that I've met over the past year or so would not trash her home and welcomed the seven or eight of us with open arms. And it was so nice to see that the RawkDawg was housebroken.

After our lovely BBQ, we made the quick drive over to the Concord Pavilion for the evening's festivities.  This was a hometown crowd for sure -- we were told it was a sell out shortly before the show started (woo hoo!) When Foreigner hit the stage maybe 5% of the crowd was on it's feet dancin' and singing along. A "yo-yo" crowd if I ever saw one up/down/up/down.  They sounded better than when I heard them in Chicago, and Lou looks to have lost a few pounds in the intervening two months.

Then our boys hit the stage and the whole place was on it's feet screamin' and cheering. This was actually one of the older crowds I've ever seen at a Journey show. Or at least where I was sitting -- I felt like a babe in the woods compared to most of the folks sitting around me! Anyway, everyone was having a grand ole time, and stayed on their feet most of the night (sitting only for the intro to and part of "Open Arms" -- don't ask me why.)

As with all shows, there was the good, the bad, and the ugly. In reverse order:

The ugly: The Nazi ushers who were checking tickets every ten feet, which made it difficult to go visit with friends in other sections. Relax people, we're here to have a good time not live in a police state!

The bad: Jon had guitar problems early on and they continued off and on through out the show.

The good: Just about everything else. I knew Neal would be playing "Amazing Grace" beforehand, but was still knocked out when I heard it -- it brought tears to my eyes. That new verse to "Don't Stop Believin'" is great. We all know Steve's been singing "in your city" during "Lights" at every show, but damn it's so much MORE when it's the Bay Area show... Deen was amazing, and showed no signs that he'd hurt himself just 2 weeks ago. The banner for the Ross Valory Fan Club that was unfurled in one of the 2nd tier seats. Steve rubbing Neal's head as he walked by. Ross and his lighter for "Faithfully."

Sacramento was the next night and, I will have to admit, the Sac crowd for the SECOND time in a row was an even better crowd than the SF (area -- Concord's about 40 miles out) show. I like to think that's because all the folks who were born and raised in the SF Bay Area have moved to the less expensive Sacramento area. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.)

Sac was as enjoyable as Concord, with much the same good, bad and ugly as above. This time Jon had a problem with one of his keyboards and spent half the night fiddling with it when Neal was doing solos. The organizers of this event should be shot for poor planning for parking and gate entry. And more Nazi ushers... sheesh...

One of the highlights of both nights was Steve's intro to "Faithfully." He made a comment about how there are obstacles and changes of direction in every journey and that change isn't always easy and thanked the fans for welcoming him. That was classy, and I applaud him for that.

Over the last year or so, I've met so many nice folks from our virtual world.  From the gaggle of people I met at the convention last summer, to the various concerts, to e-pals from all around. And seeing that all those die hard fans were in the first 10 rows in Sacramento last night, well that was just awesome!

Now, just a few more shows before the guys get in the studio and get out that new CD!

June 4, 1999: More Tales from the 'Fest

Tinley Park, IL

New World Music Theater 

Prior to the start of the 1999 tour, a couple of folks from the Journey Digest organized "Journeyfest" which took place at the opening show of the tour in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park.  This is my post to the Digest about the weekend's events, which included a show by Kevin Chalfant, lead singer of The Storm. 

I can't believe it's over and I'm back home.

I know everyone's heard what a GREAT time we all had this past weekend... it was so sad to see it end.

Dan and Moni -- thanks once again for getting us all together. You put a lot of work into making a really terrific weekend for a whole slew of folks.

Jas -- yep, everyone signed your shirt... I helped Moni check folks in and that was part of my instructions to everyone as they walked on thru... "sign the t-shirts...one for Moni, one for the band, and one for Jas!" Wish you could have been there with us!

Carol -- I'm with ya girl! I can't think of a better bunch of ladies to ride to a biker bar with than the seven of us piled into Mary's van. Only next time, Mary doesn't have to drive, and I don't have to navigate!  (THE 294 to THE 290 to THE 90....see I can learn!) LOL!

Mary Ann -- next time I'm having YOU book my hotel room!

For the curious, no cans of whoop ass were opened, and -- hate to disappoint the Mikes, but no mud wrestling either! (Though I will admit I about fell over laughing when I passed a woman standing in line for food who was wearing a t-shirt with, I kid you not, a CAN OF WHOOP ASS on the back! I swear if I didn't think the woman would have thought I was totally insane, I would have snapped a picture!)

The show was amazing... and in the words of the other new song... we were "having a good time... such a good time" (catchy and very appropriate for the weekend!) Rocked from beginning to end, with people on their feet for nearly the whole show (why anyone sat down during the new songs is beyond me, but they did...)

I only have one complaint. I didn't realize that the word "Journeyfest" on the back of my t-shirt translated to "I'm a world renown expert on Journey, please ask me as many stupid questions as possible." I had SIX people ask me what happened to Steve Perry. Including a fellow who decided "Open Arms" was the appropriate time to pepper me with twenty questions about the last three years in Journey-land. (Where'd they find this guy? Was Tall Stories a cover band? What happened to Steve Smith? Who's on drums?) Fortunately, at the end of the show, all six of these unenlightened folks were converted, and the word "awesome" was uttered more than once. So a suggestion to you Dan, for any further t-shirts you sell, include a little note that reads "wearers of this shirt must be able to explain the current state of Journey in a hundred words or less and be able to refrain from thumping morons on the head."

To all the folks I met -- it was amazing to get to put some faces with the names. Wish I could have spent more time with some of you, and really wish I could have said good bye to the rest of you when it was all over. (And Pam, you're not nuts -- Convention 2000! the more the merrier!)* Journey fans are a GREAT bunch of people!

Set list:

Separate Ways
Stone in Love
Ask the Lonely
Having a Good Time (New)
Send Her My Love
Lights
Open Arms
Just the Same Way
Anytime
World Gone Wild (New)
Escape
Wheel in the Sky
Be Good to Yourself
Any Way You Want It
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

Encore #1: 

Don't Stop Believin'
Faithfully

Encore #2:

Only the Young
Chain Reaction

*2014 addendum: Pam you were nuts. After organizing all those JPPs, I was certifiable!

December 30-31, 1998: How I Spent My New Year's Eve

Sacramento, CA and Reno, NV
Memorial Auditorium and Reno Hilton

Steve Augeri and me after the San Francisco show Dec 29.

Okay folks, I'm sure you're all just dying to know how my New Year's Eve went. Well, you're gonna have to wait a minute, because I have TWO DAYS worth of stuff to tell ya! LOL!

December 30 -- this was the Sacramento show. I left home at 3:00 which would have given me plenty of time to get to Sacramento to meet up with Debbie S. and others for dinner at 6:00. Well, I forgot to grab the directions, so had to turn around and go back to my apartment (thank goodness I was only a few blocks away when I realized this.) Then I had to go drop off my rent check and get gas. Next thing I know I'm running about 20 minutes later than I had planned. So naturally, this is when I get stuck in traffic and it takes me an hour and a half to get TO the Bay Bridge (about a 15 mile drive). By the time I'm across the bridge it's 5:45 -- when I was supposed to be in Sacramento! I finally arrived in Sac at 7:00 -- highly stressed from the traffic and trying to read my map in the dark. Got to the Hard Rock and met up with Debbie and Katherine and the others. Had a glass of wine to settle my nerves and gobbled some Buffalo wings for dinner (I've been eating miserably lately!)

We head over to the show where we've got about 12th row seats over on the far aisle (Neal's side, again.) When we walk in we see signs that say the show is being filmed! Okay, so my mission in life now is to get a copy of that film. If the show wasn't sold out, it was pretty darn close. Loud raucous crowd. Another amazing show.

I spent the night at Debbie's and the next day we trek on up to Reno. After Debbie drops me off at my hotel, I catch a quick nap while listening to one of the local radio stations doing a "Best Albums Ever" countdown. Escape came up around number 20, naturally, this was just as I was leaving my room because Debbie's husband was picking me up.

When I got to the Hilton, I immediately ran into Kevin, which was quite fortunate since we'd forgotten to make plans to meet up and I had his ticket! (D'oh!) We grabbed some dinner (the first actual meal I'd had in days) and started to the pavilion around 9:15 or so.

We met up with Debbie and her kids and went inside about 9:45. Third row, seat 3. Oh yeah. Saved the best for last. Awesome seats. We wound up sitting right behind the couple from San Jose that I had met in Grand Rapids! Perfect -- they'd be standing so I could too! Plus I could tell them to move right or left if I was trying to take a picture!

The show started around 10:15 and was just awesome. At one point I look over at Debbie, who is sitting a row in front of me and a few seats over, and her daughter has a VIP badge on! Cool for her!

Towards the end of the show, the aisle started getting crowded with people coming up to the stage (security had been clearing the aisles pretty well up to that point) which made my view a bit more obscured. So naturally I went into the aisle and finally wound up standing on a chair for the last 20 minutes of the show. (I never do stuff like that!) They finished the main set about 11:55 and instead of going off-stage as they normally do, they stayed on stage and asked what time it was. After they determined that there were 5 more minutes until midnight, they launched into "Can't Tame the Lion," which I hadn't heard since Detroit/Grand Rapids! When that ended, the various wives/girlfriends/kids came on stage with glasses of champagne. We did the countdown thang, balloons dropped, confetti spilled. They played "Auld Lang Syne" and everyone sang along. They finished up with "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully" -- bringing some of the road crew up on stage at the end for a round of applause for them too.

After the show Debbie managed to sweet talk the security guy
to let all of us backstage with her and her daughter (who had the VIP pass).
I got my picture with Jonathan finally.

We hung around the casino for a while later and kept seeing various folks around -- Neal's step-dad Les came by a few times. Saw Neal talking with his mom and Les a little later and as we were leaving, saw Jonathan carrying his daughter over his shoulder to the elevator to (presumably) put her to bed. (There is a part of me that finds it very scary that I actually know what the family members of my favorite band look like!)

It's been an incredible few days. Well worth this flu I've gotten! LOL! (Heck, I'm actually feeling a WHOLE lot better right now!)

Set Lists:

SACRAMENTO:

Separate Ways
Girl Can't Help It
Lights
Of a Lifetime/Jon solo
Who's Crying Now
I'll Be Alright Without You
Open Arms
Love Theme from Spartacus
Fillmore Boogie
Just the Same Way
Anytime
Escape
Wheel in the Sky
Be Good to Yourself
Any Way You Want It
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

Encore:

Don't Stop Believin'
Faithfully
Ask the Lonely

RENO:

Separate Ways
Only the Young
Stone In Love
Remember Me
Girl Can't Help It
Lights
Of a Lifetime/Jon solo
Who's Crying Now
I'll Be Alright Without You
Open Arms
Love Theme from Spartacus
Filmore Boogie
Just the Same Way
Anytime
Escape
Wheel in the Sky
Be Good to Yourself
Any Way You Want It
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
Can't Tame the Lion
Auld Lang Syne

Don't Stop Believin'
Faithfully