Concord and Sacramento, CA
Concord Pavilion and Hornet Field
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!
