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.