October 9, 2005; Last Generation

Los Angeles, CA
Greek Theater

Well, here we are gang, once again at the end of the official tour. Sure, there are dates being added in November and December, but last night's show in LA was the end of the summertime fun. And what a fun time it was...

I took off for So Cal yesterday morning after having spent all of last week battling the Journey flu I had acquired LAST weekend. Saturday was the first day I had felt semi-human in a week, and when I took off Sunday morning, I was wondering how on earth I would make it through a 3-hour concert on zero reserves.

I got to my hotel around mid-day and decided to rest in my room until it was time to pick up Leslie at the airport and head to the pre-show picnic. Cheryl called me just as I'd settled in and said "where are you? we're all in the lobby!" So, I abandoned my plans for a nap and headed downstairs to meet Cheryl, Teresa, Lori, Deb, Jenn and Barb. Imagine my surprise when we walked into the lounge and Caryn (aka Journeycat) popped out from behind a pillar! It was so great to see her at the end of the summer and get a chance to talk to her live and in person. Kudos to Cheryl and Teresa for dragging her outta Texas for the last show of the summer!

I visited with the gang for a bit then headed over to the airport to pick up Leslie and then over to the Greek for the picnic. A very nice, casual affair attended by many. I had been sworn to secrecy about Cat's appearance, but finally had to pull Vincent off to the side and say "stop trying to organize a group photo -- Cat's in town and will be here!" When Cat finally arrived, she was showered with much love as she so well deserves. Above and beyond all the wonderful things she's done for Journey fans over the years, she's just one of the most all-around special people I've met. Journeyland is poorer for her moving on...

Shortly before the picnic broke up, the band's bus pulled up and into the parking lot right across from where we had all gathered. The crowd of 50 or so people cheered and waved as they pulled in. Everyone went their separate ways to kill the few hours between the necessary 5:00 end of the picnic and the 8:00 start of the show.

By the time Leslie and I returned to the Greek, we had just enough time to grab a quick snack and briefly visit with folks as we walked to our seats. I wasn't holding out much hope for my seat as I remembered my previous experience at the Greek in the same section -- I was on the far aisle on Jon's side and was obstructed by the stage construction the whole night and hardly ever saw Jon or Ross. I lucked out this time as my seat was further away from the stage, but also further in so I had a very clear view. Whew!

My energy level still wasn't up to normal, so I intended to sit through most of the first set thinking that, well, everyone else around me will be sitting. Wouldn't you know it, they were up for the first two songs! Top it off, the first set was shorter than usual! Great! So much for taking it easy! Once they hit "Just the Same Way" I was up on my feet and never sat again.

Intermission came and it was time to present the bike to the 17-year old winner. Out on stage walks Matt LeBlanc (aka Joey from Friends) to make the presentation. That was kind of interesting, if somewhat haphazard. I visited with folks during the intermission, and sighed in jealousy at all the familiar faces who had purchased 5-star packages and wound up in the front row.

Heading back to my seat I stopped to chat with Leslie who was sitting in the first row of the same section I was in (Section A, behind the pit) and she said the seat next to her was empty, so I wound up staying there for the second set, and wow, what a good plan that was!

Shortly after the second set began, a crew of security walks out with Matt LeBlanc and his family, and they sat in the last row of the pit, right in front of Leslie and me (and next to Journeypals Diana and Carol!) Gotta say, from that point on it was very difficult to know where to look during the show! I'm pleased to say the whole LeBlanc family was on their feet and having a great time all night long which included singing along to nearly all the songs and a slack-jawed, bug-eyed Matt when Neal hit the "Star Spangled Banner." The only downside of having a celebrity in front of us was at the very end when security came in and stood in the aisle between our section and the pit -- completely obscuring my view of the stage during Jon's harmonica intro to LTS! Someone needs to be slapped!

The guys were really loose on stage and having a great time -- you could tell they knew they've got a few weeks off to be normal and so were just having a blast. Steve nearly took out Neal when he spun and dropped his mic stand. From where I stood, it looked like it nearly hit a few of the die-hards in the front row (and boy, do THOSE folks have some tales to tell!) I think my personal highlight of the show, however, came mid-way through the second set when as "Lights" ended Neal teased us with the opening of "Stay Awhile" (I about had a heart attack when I thought they were going into that) but instead it morphed into Deen singing "Still They Ride"! While Deen wasn't in perfect voice, it was GREAT to hear that song for the first time in several years. It's long been a favorite of mine and it just felt so right last night.

Once again the end of the show came all too soon, and somewhere along the line I got a burst of energy that can only come from a Journey concert -- I was surprisingly NOT tired and ready to crash. Lots of long and lingering goodbyes and hugs on the way out before heading back to the hotel and trying to find some place for a cocktail as the bar in our hotel closed at 10!

Up at the crack of dawn this morning for a farewell breakfast with Jenn, Barb, Cheryl, Teresa, Leslie, and Cat. As always, rehashing the night before. Leslie gets the gold star for recognizing a Neal instrumental over the PA (and 30 wet lashes for Barb who missed it!) My favorite part of my annual Journey road trips is visiting with and making new friends. There is never enough time to visit as much as I'd like, especially when we know that the next visit will be months and months away, but it is always cherished time. To ALL my Journey pals from around the globe -- it was GREAT seeing you last night, visiting for a short time, and having a wonderful rock and roll experience. Here's hoping we will meet again before the end of 2005 (Reno?? Anyone?? Hint hint hint...) and if not, back on the road somewhere in 2006 (Europe?! Major ROAD TRIP!)

Set list:

People & Places intro
Of a Lifetime (Jon)
I'm Gonna Leave You (Jon)
Mystery Mountain (Jon)
In Self Defense (Neal)
Walks Like a Lady (Ross)
Just the Same Way (Jon/Steve)
The Place in Your Heart
Any Way You Want It

-- Intermission/bike presentation --

Intro
Be Good to Yourself
Ask the Lonely
Only the Young
Faith in the Heartland
Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Chain Reaction
Lights
Still They Ride (Deen)
Every Generation
Jon Solo
Open Arms
Escape
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways

Encore:
Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'

October 2, 2005: Happy Birthday to Me!

Concord, CA
Chronicle Pavilion

Wow.. Whatta birthday party!

I'm exhausted, and as it's just turned midnight, I'm officially another year older and feeling every bit of it. Gonna start tonight at the end of the show.

Another birthday means another time to reflect on what has been and what will be. Tonight when the guys launched in to "Don't Stop Believin'" I thought to myself "look how far you've come since you were 13." I then promptly burst into tears and cried through the whole song. I never cry during "Don't Stop Believin'." "Lights", sure, but that's about it. But as soon as Steve sang "Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world" I was whipped back in time to when that was my lifeline. That I'm still here, happy, healthy, and relatively sane at 37 is a testament to the power of music. At 13, I couldn't imagine surviving so long as to see 37 years old. Hell, at that point in time, 18 was light years away. But I found something to hang on to, to see me through those rough years when the last thing I wanted to be was me living the life I was having. And now, all these years later, that dim light I saw at the end of the tunnel is a bright spot light shining for everyone to see. There will never be enough words or ways to say thank you for that. Ever.

Looking ahead, I know I'm in for some challenging times. I have several family members battling cancer right now, and the future is very uncertain. As in times past, though, I seem to have this new Journey CD to listen to and to keep my spirits up. Funny how some things just don't change as much as you'd think they will.

As for the rest of the day and night, well, it was pretty incredible. After taking in a Giants game with my mom, I headed over to the East Bay and the pre-show party at Matt's. Wasn't sure I'd make it in time, but the game was quick and the drive short. It was great seeing everyone and thanks to ALL of you for making my birthday memorable.

I treated myself to an ILAA 5-star ticket tonight, and was rewarded by having Jon and Steve pop in to the pre-show party. Woo hoo! Thanks guys! I wound up with a 4th row, center seat, which was actually even better than I expected. Most of the 5-star folks in rows 1-3 were over towards Neal's side of the stage which, while perfectly fine seats, seemed a little odd.

One of the nice things about having a bunch of people with high priced tickets, is you KNOW they're gonna be on their feet as soon as the music starts (if not sooner -- lots of us were up when the intro from Ross began!) Fortunately for me, the two seats in front of me were empty for the whole first set and then the two guys who finally arrived for the second set showed up, they sat most of the night! Works for me, no one blocking my view!

Nothing new in the set list, and Deen didn't sing again (probably should have told him it was my birthday party! LOL!) Deen did rock the house on "Faith in the Heartland" though -- absolutely awesome! The new tunes got a pretty decent response though, considering the majority of people haven't heard them before. As always, "Lights" was a huge highlight in front of the home town crowd. While the place was probably only about 2/3 full, every one sang every word at the top of their lungs for that one. There really is no place like home.

Once again "Every Generation" made me feel older than I usually do -- that Frontiers and Beyond footage just slaps ya in the face with the passing of time! "Open Arms" got a huge response, and for all that I'm personally tired of hearing it, there is a lot to be said for the bombast it generates. "Faithfully" falls along those lines as well, but there's still the 15 year old girl in me who would have loved to have a song like that written for her. Ya can't not love it.

All too soon, it was time for the encore, and lo and behold we had a special guest! Yes, Miles Schon came out again tonight to play with papa and the kid absolutely shone. Neal was beaming from ear to ear while Miles strutted on the stage like it was his. The kid is a rock star in the making!

And then it was over... To all my friends who got to share the day, thanks so much for making my birthday extra special. It's always great to spend it with friends. I wish we could have sat and talked for hours and hours, but it never seems to work out that way.

The tour is winding down, just one more date for me in LA. Can't believe how quickly summer has flown! Time really does fly when you're having fun!

Set list:

People & Places intro
Kohoutek
Of a Lifetime (Jon)
I'm Gonna Leave You (Jon)
Nickel & Dime
Mystery Mountain (Jon)
Walks Like a Lady (Ross)
In Self Defense (Neal)
Just the Same Way (Jon/Steve)
Feeling That Way (Jon/Steve)
Anytime (Jon/Steve)
Place in Your Heart
Any Way You Want It

-- Intermission --

Intro
Be Good to Yourself
Ask the Lonely
Only the Young
Faith in the Heartland
Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Chain Reaction
Higher Place
Lights
Every Generation
-- Jon solo --
Open Arms
Escape
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways

Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' (with Miles Schon)

PS! Almost forgot -- they pulled the raffle winner for the bike during intermission. Some woman from Ohio won, so everyone else, you can go to bed now.

October 1, 2005: Rock & Blues by the Lake

Novato, CA
Stafford Lake Park

Yes, believe it or not, two reports in one day. This is what happens when Journey plays a gig at 5 p.m. 50 miles from my house!

So, let's start at the beginning. Back in August I got a tip about a Journey benefit show in Novato for the Novato school district. Of course, a few days later it was posted on the official site, so so much for my inside scoop! For those of you who don't know California, Novato is in Marin County, about 30 miles north of San Francisco. Marin County is the most expensive place to live in the Bay Area and as of a few years ago was the wealthiest county in the entire United States. That the Novato School district has to have a major fundraiser for their schools speaks volumes for the lack of sufficient funding for our schools. At least Novato can afford to throw a big fundraiser like this -- other school districts make due with rummage sales and car washes. A million years ago when I was in public school, California schools were among the tops in the country. Now they're near the bottom. It's disgraceful and infuriates me to no end. A well rounded education is the single most important thing we can do to ensure a better and more prosperous future, but it always seems like the schools are the ones getting the short end of the stick. Siiiiggh... okay, rant off, on to the show...

Well, perhaps a bit about Marin County first... It's an interesting place where you find Deadheads and million dollar homes, San Quentin and Skywalker Ranch. It's the home of most of the celebrities in the Bay Area (including a few guys we know and love.) It's a pretty county with lots of hills and trees. The concert today was held at a county park by Stafford Lake. I'd never been there before, but it looks like a very nice place for a hike and picnic. Hard to know for sure though, since when I arrived (via school bus from the free parking lot down the street) the place was crawling with people of all ages, booths for food, raffles, rides, two stages for music. There was a jam band playing on the main stage when I found Darryl, Jenny, and Hope who had arrived when the park opened at 10 and had successfully snagged a pretty good sized spot in front of the stage for everyone they knew was coming. After sitting through the jam band (obviously I've forgotten the name) we were treated to the "Unofficial Rolling Stones." A fairly decent cover band with a lead singer who looked more like Steven Tyler than Mick Jagger, but he had the strut and swagger down so they were entertaining. And as part of a $35 ticket a much better deal than the ACTUAL Rolling Stones.

Journey finally took the stage about 5:00 and the crowd, which had been relaxing and lounging on the lawn all day, surged up and packed in. I am DEFINITELY getting too old for the insanity of general admission. Actually, I suspect if the crowd had been mostly the "typical" age of Journey fans it wouldn't have been quite so nuts. The number of kids, however, made for an interesting experience down by the barricade. The younger ones, for the most part, were pretty well behaved. I kept worrying they'd get crushed in the crowd though -- definitely not the place you'd want your 8 year old to be! The teenagers, on the other hand -- well, they were teenagers. We had kids climbing on the shoulders of their friends (and then falling down on top of the people around them.) At one point there was even a girl body surfing the crowd! When was the last time you saw THAT at a Journey concert??!!! And the beach balls -- oh man the beach balls. There were dozens of them being tossed around in the crowd. Only problem -- the wind was blowing right to the stage so EVERY beach ball wound up flying to the front and most of them wound up on stage, many more than once. I know Steve had to dodge one that was flying at his head at one point. And I'm still not sure who was throwing bras on stage. It was kind of nuts.

While the day was cool and breezy, down in front with the crowd, the heat was fairly intense. I was grateful early on when Ross soaked me with the squirty baby. (THANKS ROSS!!!) Alas, I only got the full brunt of the squirt once -- could have used a few more!

We all knew going in that it was going to be a short set, thus the famous "dirty dozen" and a few friends. I was pleased that we got a couple of Generations tunes though -- "Faith in the Heartland" and "Every Generation." Those were the only two songs that the crowd of about 5,000 people were NOT singing along to. It was crowded, hot, and generally uncomfortable, but the crowd REALLY got into the show, so not all bad.

The highlight, however, came at the end of the show when the band came out for their usual encore of "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'." While the band was off stage, Deen's tech Jim brought out this small white drum kit from the side of the stage. When the band came back on stage they had two new members with them. Neal's son Miles on guitar and Jon's son Westin on drums. First off let me say Miles can PLAY. Wow, he was up there on that stage and acted like he owned it. Pretty impressive when you think of how many people there know just how well his dad can play. Westin did a damn fine job keeping the beat. Deen and Jon were watching him the whole time with big smiles on their faces (as was Jim from behind the stage.) And, as we've seen before, the "Na-na Girls" popped out at the appropriate time -- Jon's two daughters and some friends. A fitting way to end the show for the local kids.

Two down, one to go. (God, I need sleep...)

Set list:

Intro
Be Good to Yourself
Ask the Lonely
Only the Young
Faith in the Heartland
Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Chain Reaction
Lights
Just the Same Way
Every Generation
-- Jon solo --
Open Arms
Escape
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways
Any Way You Want It

Encore:
Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' (with Miles Schon and Westin Cain)

September 30, 2005: Three Days, Three Shows -- Day 1

Marysville, CA
Sleep Train Amphitheater

So, have you ever had one of those days at work where you spend all your time putting out one fire while two more erupt behind you?? Well, I've had two straight weeks of that. The only things that kept me sane were popping Escape in the CD player, a bottle of wine, and repeating to myself "Just a few more days until your Journey weekend" over and over and over.

When I finally cut out of work around noon yesterday it felt like the last day of school -- woo hoo! I'm FREE! Off to have FUN! Now tell me, how many people think driving 150 miles in an afternoon (and then 150 miles BACK a few hours later) is fun??

But fun it was. After a rest stop at Roxanne's for an early supper, it was off to Marysville and show one of three in a row. For those of you who've never been to Marysville, it's about 40 miles and a million years away from Sacramento -- talk about the middle of no where! One two lane road leads to the amphitheater and you're quite sure you're lost by the time you actually find the place.

As I said, I REALLY needed a Journey show last night, and wow, did I ever get one. I think this was the best show I've seen so far. (Though Irvine still wins for best set list!) Leslie and I were sitting up in the first section behind the pit on Neal's side. Fairly decent seats overall, but we're both used to being spoiled with great seats. The nice thing about it was we really were able to take in the whole production -- staging, performing, etc. You miss some of that when you're up close and personal.

Of course, the down side of being further away from the stage is that you wind up in the (cue music) No Standing Zone.... Other than a few die-hard folks (me, Leslie, Roxanne and her gang, Hope...) not a whole lot of people were standing out by us. At least no one made us sit down either, so that was cool. The crowd was, as always, a bit confused by the first set, but I've really grown to love those tunes. Last night in particular, just letting the sounds of "Kohoutek" and "Nickel & Dime" wash over me was just the antidote I needed for all my stress.

They've changed the first set up a bit since I've seen them last in early August, and included two Generations tunes in the set. "The Place in Your Heart" (so great to hear that again live!) and "In Self-Defense" (much better live IMO) made for a nice change with the early years. Ross took on "Walks Like a Lady" in the first set, and when I looked around there were 3 teen-aged boys who were just going completely nuts over it. Don't know if they were going nuts just to go nuts, or if they were really into the song, but they sure looked like they were having a blast!

After dashing back to my seat from intermission, I found the crowd much more responsive to the second set. Again as expected. Still, the folks around me only stood for about half the set. While I would normally say WTF to that, having the two 6 foot plus guys in front of me sitting down was quite helpful! The guys were absolutely solid for this set. Everything sounded just spot on. There was no one particular highlight for me as everything went extremely well. The only disappointment being Deen not taking a lead vocal.

When they came out for the encore, Steve's intro to "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" was just incredibly sexy. Leslie and I just looked at each other and said "Wow." The show ended about 3 hours after it began and it was off to do battle with the parking lot and to make the long haul back home and try to get enough rest for today's show. (Didn't quite happen, I could use about another 2 hours of sleep, but must leave for Novato in about an hour...)

One show down, two to go...

Set List:

People & Places intro
Kohoutek
Of a Lifetime (Jon vox)
I'm Gonna Leave You (Jon vox)
Nickel and Dime
Mystery Mountain (Jon vox)
Walks Like a Lady (Ross vox)
In Self Defense (Neal vox)
Just the Same Way (Jon/Steve)
Feeling That Way (Jon/Steve)
Anytime (Jon/Steve)
The Place in Your Heart
Any Way You Want It

--Intermission--

Intro
Be Good to Yourself
Ask the Lonely
Only the Young
Faith in the Heartland
Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Chain Reaction
Higher Place
Lights
Every Generation
-- Jon solo --
Open Arms
Escape
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways


Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'