Mountain View and Marysville, CA
Shoreline Amphitheater & Sacramento Valley Amphitheater
Shoreline Amphitheater & Sacramento Valley Amphitheater
Hello gang... I'm home for 24 hours before heading up to Konocti and then down to So. Cal for the last leg of the tour... I've had quite an amazing weekend so far...
First, to all the gang I met, saw, and chatted with at both shows—it was GREAT all the way around!
Second... WOW...
For those of you who recall a few months back, I sent a post inviting people to a little-fan gathering I was part of organizing for this weekend. We were only 15-people strong, but we had a FANTASTIC weekend of adventures. Of course, as with any such event, there were a few little snags...
First with Shoreline—Due to traffic problems, we wound up missing John Waite's set (bummer!) but we did hear about Neal's appearance at the end of it.
Frampton's set was as entertaining as always—he made a few jokes about the missing locks and several references to the fact that Frampton Comes Alive was recorded mostly at Winterland in San Francisco. At one point in his set, he sat down on the edge of the stage and just played an acoustic guitar. He's quite a guitar player I must say.
 |
| Journey Day in San Francisco Proclamation |
With the kind assistance of Journeycat, we were able to get the proclamations to the band, and the guys had it put up in the video! Talk about a very cool moment! I don't think I’ll ever forget that one...
 |
| Proclamation Part 2 |
The show was a typical hometown kind of thing—lots of friends and family in the crowd (and some how I wound up with seats in the middle of many of them!) And, as expected, the place went nuts when "Lights" was played (with shots of the Golden Gate bridge flashing on the video screen.) And for the first time in all the many shows I've seen the last few years, I actually started crying when it came on.
It was quite nice to finally see the guys play Shoreline. It opened in 1985, so they'd never played there before, yet this is where I've seen most of the concerts I've been to at home. I know that the acoustics of the place aren't always the best, but I like it better than our other "shed" in Concord—the vibe is usually better.
The show for Sacramento was actually an hour's drive north in Marysville at a new venue. A LONG drive from the Bay Area... and again hassles with traffic (and a missed exit and a few other adventures in driving...) meant arriving just as John Waite was starting his set.
I really hate missing a moment of his show because I really enjoy it. Neal came out again to play with him at the end of his set, so that was great. And that was also when I noticed Neal seems to be sporting an earring—when did that happen? I don't recall seeing that before.
Since the drive was so long, by the time Frampton's set started I was starving, so I decided that I probably should go grab something to eat and drink (especially since the venue had absolutely NO covering for the reserved section—this in a town where it's regularly over 100 degrees in the summer!) While I was getting food with my friends, we ran into a bunch of other fan club members and spent the majority of Frampton's set just chatting. We could hear the tunes, and if we wanted to see, there were TVs hanging in the food booths.
At one point, a person from the local radio station promoting the show was chatting with my friend and I and asked us what the general fan reaction was to this "Perry-less" Journey. Of course we raved about Steve and said that after 3 years the majority of fans we've encountered have come around to the "new" band.It was time now for Journey, so I headed back to my 3rd-row dead-center fan club seat (the first FC seats I've had this tour) and awaited the guys. I gotta tell ya, the fan club seats are awesome! Besides sitting with my pals, just chatting with the other FC members around me was terrific. The guys hit the stage and we were on our feet—except for most of the folks sitting in the two rows in front of me!!! Okay, I can understand some people want to sit through a show, fine, but, um... HELLOOOO!! If you have FRONT ROW SEATS you get off your butt! These people were sitting for MOST of the show! At one point Neal even commented on how they like it better when the front rows are standing.
Now, of course, the flip side of having the first two rows sitting, meant I had an UNBELIEVABLE view of the stage. I'm hoping my pictures all turn out. Oh... a funny little aside there... when we were coming in and going through the usual security check, I actually had to open my purse (with my Canon Rebel in the bottom) and show security. When the woman asked me to lift my wallet, I thought, "Oh damn, busted!", as my camera was right underneath it. I was even MORE sure I'd have it taken away when I realized as I lifted my wallet part way out of my purse that TWO rolls of film were in plain sight. The woman said "Binoculars are okay" and let me in!Set Lists
Shoreline:
Any Way You Want It
Only the Young
Neal Solo (Amazing Grace)
Stone in Love
I Got a Reason
Send Her My Love
Lights
Jon Solo
When You Love a Woman
Feeling That Way
Anytime
Higher Place
Chain Reaction
Don't Stop Believin'
Faithfully
Livin' to Do
Separate Ways
Escape
Neal solo
Wheel in the Sky
Deen solo (short)
Be Good to Yourself
Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
Sacramento:
Any Way You Want It
Only the Young
Neal Solo (Amazing Grace)
Stone in Love
To Be Alive Again (woo hoo!)
Lights
Still They Ride
Jon Solo
When You Love a Woman
Feeling That Way
Anytime
Higher Place
Chain Reaction
Don't Stop Believin'
Faithfully
Livin' to Do
Separate Ways
Escape
Neal solo
Wheel in the Sky
Be Good to Yourself
Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
Journeying through California for Journeydigest.com...
No comments:
Post a Comment