September 21, 2018: The Prelude to 50 Begins

San Francisco, CA

AT&T Park

When the dates for Journey's tour were announced earlier this year, I took a look at the calendar and found that they'd be playing in San Francisco just a couple of weeks before my birthday. I shot off a message to Ana Marie who, like me, would be turning 50 within two weeks of the show. Ten years ago, we similarly celebrated a milestone birthday with a Journey show, but that one had a lot of mixed emotions to go along with our birthdays. This time, we could celebrate and be in a much happier place than we were for that show.

Like 39, 49 has been a year of a bit of turmoil for me. Unlike that year, however, the changes have been mostly for the better. When the tickets for this show went on sale, I was unemployed for the first time since I was 19 years old. I got the ticket anyway, figuring that I'd have a job by the time the show rolled around and would figure out the logistics of a Friday night show when it finally did. I did find a new job not too long afterward and the negative of 49 quickly turned in to a positive as I'm really enjoying the new opportunity. As the show approached, I arranged my schedule with my manager -- I'd work from home in the morning and take the afternoon off so I could meet Ana Marie and Mary Ann who was flying in from Memphis for the show.

Then I got a message from my mother. My uncle Will had passed away and his funeral was going to be the same day as the show. Will had been ill for a while, so his passing wasn't a surprise, but now I had to figure what I was going to do about the show. If I had been going by myself, I most likely would have skipped the show -- it would be a very long day to do both. Since I had planned to meet friends, I had to figure out the logistics of attending the services for my uncle and then getting back to the city in time for the show. So, I threw a change of clothes in my backpack and left it in the trunk of my car to change into at the end of the reception. That my family, and especially my cousins who had just lost their father, were all saying "Great! Enjoy the show!" made me feel better about the whole thing. In the end, I realized, that life is meant to be lived and even in sadness you can find joy.

I got to the show in plenty of time to meet up with Mary Ann and her son and soon Emerson and Nicole swung by and we all got to chat for a while before it was time to head to our seats for Foreigner who were opening the show. It was only 6:00, but I was already pretty wiped out from a long day so we mostly sat through Foreigner while they did their brief set. It's been a while since I'd seen them and, as often happens, I had forgotten just how much I enjoy their music. I need to pull out their greatest hits more often.

Def Leppard was scheduled to start at 7:30, so Ana Marie, her friend Leona, and I were up and on our feet as soon as the opening notes to "Rocket" started. Then the stage went dark. Hmm. That's not supposed to happen. There was some kind of power failure on stage and we had to wait about five minutes for things to get rebooted and start all over. Once things got rolling again, Def Leppard put on the kind of show I have come to expect from them. Big, loud, high energy, and just an all around rock show. I probably haven't seen them since the last time they toured with Journey 12 years ago, but the energy of their show is still great. While I never was a HUGE fan, I did always enjoy their music and seeing them again after a while was fun.

A couple of highlights from Lep's set included the acoustic "Two Steps Behind" which was fantastic, and I can't help but be enthralled by Rick Allen's drum solo. It really never ceases to amaze me that he has managed to remain a drummer despite only having one arm. It's truly mind boggling. Their main set closed out with everyone's favorite stripper song -- "Pour Some Sugar on Me" -- which is always great live. They came back out quickly for a two-song encore of "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph" which are probably two of my favorite songs of theirs. Having the crowd sing along with "Rock of Ages" is always a cool thing.

Another short break between sets and Journey came out around 9:40 to their hometown crowd. The second song of the set was "Only the Young", and at just two weeks away from 50 I can't really call myself young any more, but I definitely still feel young at heart when I hear that song. The chorus of that song has always put a big smile on my face. That I feel I'm in a good place in my life right now is also a good thing, and that song kind of reminds me of that. 

One thing I was wary of going in to this show was the memory of how Def Leppard totally blew Journey off the stage the last time they toured together. Their stage production just didn't hold up and the crowds were way more into the Lep's set than Journey's. This time around, Journey had a much improved production with a lot of animations of the old album covers that made for an interesting background. It wasn't quite as eclectic as Def Leppard's production, but it matched it fairly well I thought.

Ana and I were both surprised when Neal began his introduction to "Lights" fairly early in the set. We had both expected it to show up later for the home town crowd. As he has been doing recently, he dedicated the song to Steve Perry, which I can't decide is touching or amusing. Maybe a little of both -- I've spent a long time in Journeyland. AT&T Park lit up their cell phones and it's a pretty cool sight to see. I always love hearing "Lights" in my backyard, that it's the third time I've heard it sitting a little over a hundred yards from San Francisco Bay just made it more special. Jon's solo later in the set was nice and it was fun to hear snippets of "When You Love a Woman" and "Send Her My Love." Ana and I both held our breath when the opening notes from "When You Love a Woman" showed up. The last time we'd heard Journey perform it was at that show 10 years ago. I've been listening to Trial by Fire a lot lately in anticipation of Steve Perry's new album, so it would have been great to hear it live again.

I really love that Steve Smith is out on the road with Journey again. As much as I love Deen, there's just something special about seeing Smitty play and his drum solo was incredible once again. Some of the bits he included I've seen him do before in his solo shows, but that doesn't make his drumming any less spectacular.

The show wrapped up a little after 11:00 with "Faithfully" and "Don't Stop Believin'," and for all that DSB has gotten overplayed everywhere in recent years, I can't not love hearing it. It's given me goosebumps for 37 years now, so I don't expect that to stop anytime soon.

Ana, Leona, and I walked out of the show and parted ways a few blocks from AT&T Park as they headed to BART and I headed to my car. It was a very long day for me and I was completely wiped out by the time I got home (and took all of yesterday to recover, hence the Sunday RRR.) While the day started off sad, it ended in smiles and celebration and that's how life should be.

And this party's just getting started... a few more fun times coming up as the countdown to 50 continues. Stay tuned!

Set lists (courtesy of setlist.fm)

Foreigner:

Long, Long Way From Home
Cold as Ice
Feels Like the First Time
Urgent
Juke Box Hero
I Want to Know What Love Is
Hot Blooded

Def Leppard:

Rocket
Animal
Foolin'
When Love and Hate Collide
Let's Get Rocked
Armageddon It
Rock On
Two Steps Behind (acoustic)
Man Enough
Love Bites
Bringin' on the Heartbreak
Switch 625 (with drum solo.)
Hysteria
Pour Some Sugar on Me

Encore:
Rock of Ages
Photograph

Journey:

Separate Ways
Only the Young
Escape
Stone in Love
Be Good to Yourself
--Neal solo #1 --
Lights
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
-- Jon solo --
Who's Crying Now
Open Arms
La Do Da
-- Steve Smith drum solo --
Any Way You Want It
-- Neal solo #2 --
Wheel in the Sky
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'

October 15, 2011: Long Time No Journey

Mountain View, CA
Shoreline Amphitheater

Better late than never right?

This past Saturday I took in my one and only Journey show of the year. So different from the way things were a few years ago when my minimum Journey concerts per year was 4. But things change and we move on and I took in just my third show since Arnel joined the band.

In all honesty, I think I was looking more forward to seeing Night Ranger and Foreigner than I was to Journey. The new album has failed to capture me at all. The songs aren't bad, but there's nothing that jumped out at me and made me say "wow, I love this!" which has almost always been a normal response for me. So, both albums featuring Arnel sit on the shelf (Revelation more for too many bad memories associated with it than for the tunes, some of which I do like.)

The thing that I've missed most since I cut back my Journey touring is seeing the many friends I made over the 8 years I spent dashing from one end of the country to another (and even a couple of other countries!) So I was glad to spend some time before the show began with friends for dinner. I met up with Frank, Cheryl, Karyn and Joe, and Jebber (Jim) in all the way from the UK, plus a few of Frank's friends whose names I've forgotten and hung out over some tasty sandwiches and chatted before heading out to the show. Once arriving we met up with Emerson, Leslie, Debbie, and Scott and then found Hope when we got inside. It was great to see Debbie and Scott at the show -- they were two of the first folks I met way back in '98 when this whole crazy scene began and it was so nice to catch up a little bit. (Now if Kevin had joined us then it would have been a total '98 reunion!) Debbie brought her son along and the last time I'd seen him he was in elementary school and stood about waist high to me -- he's 20 now and much taller! Where did the time go?

I was actually sitting with Scott and we got really good seats about 7 rows from the stage near the center aisle. Debbie, Leslie, Cheryl, and Emerson had all bought 4-star seats for a nice amount more than we paid and were more or less in the same spot we were, just more center stage. I forgot to ask just what they got for that extra $$$!!! We made it inside with a few minutes to spare before Night Ranger hit the stage about 10 minutes early. A fun but too short set followed. I really wished they'd played longer.

Set change and Foreigner took the stage. Or I should say the best Foreigner tribute band I've ever seen took the stage. I knew going in that Mick Jones was the only original member left in the band, but not even he was there Saturday night! They were good, but still, no original band members??!! I wondered how many folks there knew what they were seeing. Kelly Hansen, the new singer, was quite good and climbed out in to the audience a couple of times -- once stopping almost dead in front of Leslie and Cheryl. I know Leslie enjoyed that!

On to the Journey set. I loved the stage set up -- very slick and headline material. Was surprised to see Arnel had cut his hair (you can tell how much I've been following the band lately that I hadn't noticed that on the CD sleeve!) He definitely looked more "rock star" than the previous two times I've seen him. I would have had a great view of the stage all night if not for the guy in front of me who felt that every moment of the show was a Kodak moment and had his camera up for large chunks of the show. I like that you no longer have to come up with creative ways to smuggle a camera in to shows these days, but when you had to be discreet about photography you didn't have to deal with obstructed views. Anyway, this meant I didn't see much of Arnel between the combination of his shortness and MY shortness and CameraMan. Saw a lot of Ross and Deen. Ross looked much better than the last couple of times I've seen him, so that was good. Still hate Deen's hair. Jon and Neal were mostly obscured by either my seat angle (Neal) or CameraMan (Jon.) Kinda defeats the point of having a "good" seat doesn't it?

The set list was mostly the "dirty dozen" with only one new tune thrown in. Cheryl told me they had done more earlier in the tour. I know that story well, but honestly, unlike years past I wasn't too disappointed. There were no huge highlights for me, though when they played "Escape," with the eponymous album cover flashing on the screens behind the stage, I couldn't help but think how much I love that album, even 30 years later. A lot of the magic of a Journey show has gone out of it for me, but there is always the music I've known and loved for the better part of my life and it will never go away. So Saturday I reflected more about all the joy and friendships I have made since that fateful day 15 years ago when Trial By Fire was released (yes Journey fans, can you believe it we are just days away from the 15th anniversary of the failed reunion that started it all?) and I discovered the amazing online community of fellow Journey freaks. Wouldn't trade that for anything.

OH! How could I forget! There was a "highlight" of sorts. I knew from friends reports that Neal had taken to giving away guitars at some shows. Saturday was no different. Though instead of the guitar going to a kid as has been the case most nights, this guitar went to someone entirely different. I didn't actually notice when Neal went up the wings during one of his solos (and I honestly can't remember which song -- "Wheel in the Sky" maybe?) until Scott nudged me to look over. There, eagerly awaiting Neal, was his new girlfriend. For those of you buried under a rock, Michaele Salahi, notorious White House crasher/reality show "star" has run off from her husband and hooked up with Neal. So there she stood and Neal hands her the guitar and we got to witness an overly enthusiastic PDA. YUCK! Can't unsee that no matter how much I'd like to. Oh the foolishness.

As always, the night ended much too soon and we all said our goodbyes and headed home. Until the next time...

September 18, 2007: An Unplanned Review

Concord, CA
Sleep Train Pavilion at Concord

Normally, I probably wouldn't bother with a RRR for this show, but there were sufficient things happening last night in Concord I thought I'd shoot out a quick report.

A Tuesday night show in Concord is not the greatest plan to have as it's a 50+ mile drive through the worst traffic in the Bay Area and ends with an 8-mile stretch of road that is always seriously congested before a concert. Miraculously, it only took me a little over two hours to get there -- including stopping for gas and to grab a sandwich! Gobbled down my dinner and met Leslie, Darla and Emerson at the show and headed on in.

I had expected Foreigner to open and they were really why I had decided to pick up a ticket for this show since this year I had planned to only see groups I'd never seen before (or haven't seen in 20 years), so I was quite surprised to see Styx take the stage shortly before the 7:00 start time! Just as they were taking the stage, Leslie tapped me on the shoulder and pointed out Mary Valory entering the show. Styx kicked it in gear and I looked around at the sparse crowd -- I'm betting a lot of people were expecting Foreigner to open -- and who should I see strolling down the aisle one section over from me, but Jonathan Cain! My turn to nudge Leslie and point. Guess he headed over after his little performance in San Ramon!

Styx blazed through their set which was a condensed version of every other show I've seen of theirs in the past 5-6 years. It was pretty good, though I think I've seen them better. Of course I was distracted quite a bit between people watching, checking in with friends via text messages, and getting interrupted by a call from work, so my inability to really get into the set may have been entirely my fault.

Between Styx and Foreigner, Darla and Leslie decided to go say hi to Jon, so I made a mad dash after them and tallied another "god I'm a geek" moment. Didn't really get to chat at all -- it was just a quick "hi, good to see ya" kind of thing. Was cool to see him in his seat through all three sets though!

I was really curious about the new Foreigner line up and was completely blown away when they took the stage. They kicked some serious ass! Truly incredible performance. Their new singer (whose name I've forgotten) was unreal and, in a truly surreal moment, looks like a young Steven Tyler including having a very compelling stage presence. They blazed through their hits and gave Jason Bonham some "rehearsal" time when they played a bit of Led Zep in the middle of "Jukebox Hero", once again confirming for me that so long as Robert Plant isn't singing, I like Led Zep. (I know, rock god, hero to millions, yadda yadda yadda... he sounds like a cat screeching while clawing a chalkboard to me.)

Def Leppard took the stage around 9:30 and, much to my relief, played a somewhat different set than they played last year. It was nice to hear some different tunes and the two-song acoustic set they had was fantastic. I'd heard they had a catwalk this tour and was wondering if they'd be able to use it at Concord -- forgetting that the seats in the pit are removable. They're about the fourth or fifth act I've seen use a catwalk in the last couple of years and I've gotta say, it really does add to the show. It's nice having the performers out in the crowd somewhat. Bolted from my seat as the last note of "Rock of Ages" played and miraculously was in my car and out of the parking lot in 20 minutes! (Last time I was there it took me well over an hour.)

Didn't bother to track set lists since I wasn't planning on making a report, but there wasn't anything too obscure performed. Did have a chuckle when Joe Eliot was introducing something from "High N Dry" by way of introducing Vivian Campbell and saying "he wasn't in the band then but he can play the fuck out of it" as I thought "Well, Phil Collen wasn't in the band then either...."

October 4, 2003: Arrowfest

Irvine, CA
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

Some birthdays are just better than others. Five years ago, I celebrated my 30th birthday by going insane and hopping a red-eye to Detroit and seeing Journey live for the very first time. Five years and 40-something road trips later, I was spending my birthday tooling down I-5 from the Bay Area to Irvine to catch the last show of the year for Journey. Not a bad way to celebrate.

Arrowfest was a day long concert put on by one of the LA area classic rock stations and featured a line up of Eddie Money, Cheap Trick, "Foreigner" (Lou Gramm and his band is more accurate), Yes, and Journey. Originally, I thought that the main acts started at 2:00 -- it wasn't until I got to So. Cal that I learned that Eddie Money wasn't scheduled to hit the stage until 4:00. Well, heck, that gave me a bit of extra time and I could watch the baseball playoffs. (Woulda been better if the concert had started earlier so I wouldn't have had to witness the complete and utter failure of my beloved Giants, but I digress...)

Cheryl, Rose, Tracey and I headed out to lunch before the show and then went and did battle with the parking lot at the amphitheater. Two words -- never again. The nimrods "directing" traffic kept directing us to places that were already FULL. So, after driving around in circles for 15 minutes, we parked about 10 days from the entrance and hiked up to the venue. Thus, we missed the first part of Eddie Money's set. It was enjoyable and he covered most of my favorite hits, so that was covered. Eddie was followed by Cheap Trick -- a band I am relatively unfamiliar with so I sat through their set watching the antics and puzzling over the on-stage chemistry. I was not overwhelmed by their set and Rick Nielsen's (sp?) changing guitars between every song was rather distracting.

"Foreigner" was up next, and as I mentioned above was really Lou Gramm and his band rather than Foreigner proper. But they did play mostly the hits. Lou sounded better than he did back in '99 when Forgeiner toured with Journey, but he looked much worse. Hopefully his health is good, because he didn't look it. I wound up missing the last part of their set due to a looooooooooooooooooooooooong line for the ladies room.

Yes hit the stage about 8:00 and I sat in my seat trying to figure out why they were on the bill with the other acts -- they just didn't fit. I had thought that when the bill was announced and their show solidified that opinion. Their musicianship was incredible (though they did have some problems with the low end sounds being a bit fuzzy, as had all the previous bands) but again this was a band I was only passingly familiar with and I just couldn't get into the set. (I actually began dozing off in my seat!) I caught Steve Augeri watching their set from the side of the stage -- very obviously enjoying what he was seeing. The most exciting part of their set was when security walked in to my row and started talking to some people about half way down the aisle. All of the sudden I look over and one of the security guys is falling back over the row in front of me. I jumped out of my seat (mercifully on the aisle) and into Rose's seat behind me and just in the nick of time -- the FIVE security guys were carrying out a woman who was kicking and punching and throwing an absolute fit. It took a while to subdue her and she was finally cuffed and carried out.

Once Yes ended it was time for yet another run out to find friends and fellow fans and to make a pit stop in the ladies room and grab something cold to drink. I paid for my drink and suddenly heard cheers coming from the amphitheater -- ACK the guys were taking the stage and I was on the complete OPPOSITE side from where my seat was. I made a mad dash back inside and got to my 2nd row orchestra seat in front of Jonathan just as the first verse of "Separate Ways" was starting. This is when the birthday started getting good -- Jonathan was in black leather pants.

The crowd for Journey was fantastic -- on their feet from the first note until the last as far as the eye could see. They were the only band to get this reaction. The guys were on fire. The sound problems that all the other bands had endured did NOT happen for our boys, and I was pleased. After another amazing rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" by Neal, I got my next "present" -- the guys launched in to my favorite song from Arrival and current personal theme song "To Be Alive Again." WOO HOO!!! I had more or less expected that due to this being a multiple-band show that Journey would be playing the same kind of set they had for the Main Event featuring the Greatest Hits and no Arrival.

Two songs later, WHAM, another "present" -- Steve introduces Deen to sing and it's "Mother, Father," my all-time favorite. Since Deen's mic had cut out when he performed this at Konocti, it was the first time I got to hear him sing it in its entirety. Once again, my knees got weak and I was crying. That song will always get me every time, and Deen did an amazing job. I do need to remind them to post warning signs when this song is in the line-up so that I can be prepared with Kleenex.

The set went on and was just flawless. Jonathan dedicated "Feeling That Way" to his daughter Madison who was celebrating her 10th birthday. Madison and Liza and a whole crew of girls (including Liz Cain) came out on stage to do the "Na na"s in "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" -- that's some kind of birthday party!

After the show ended a group of us made our way back to the Doubletree Hotel (some of us getting more lost than the others -- "near the Spectrum Center" is not specific enough direction!) for one last drink and farewell until next year. Everyone was very sad that this was it for a while, but as I was making the six-hour drive back up I-5 today I was reminded just what a great blessing we've had. It's been another amazing summer, and we're looking forward to another one next year. That's pretty great. We've had 5 years of this band back on the road doing what they love to do and allowing the fans to enjoy incredible music. We've gotten to meet fellow fans from around the globe and we can throw the biggest and best parties. So instead of being sad about what's ended, be happy about what we've gotten to enjoy.

Until next time... we will meet again.

Set List:
(thanks to Jay since I forgot my pen and paper this time!)

Red 13 Intro
Separate Ways
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Star Spangled Banner (Neal's solo)
To Be Alive Again
Dixie Highway
Mother, Father
Lights
-- Jonathan's solo --
Open Arms
Precious Time
Feeling That Way
Anytime
Chain Reaction
Ask the Lonely
Don't Stop Believin'
Escape
Be Good to Yourself
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

Encore:
Any Way You Want It
Faithfully

Oh.. P.S. -- on an amusing note, the chick from Journey's "Blind Date" episode was sitting in the row behind me (thanks again to Jay for identifying who she was, all I noticed was that she looked familiar!) Ladies and gentlemen, she is even scarier in person than she was on that gawdawful show. EEK!

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!