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 27, 2008: The Hardest Show Ever

Mountain View, CA
Shoreline Amphitheater

Hi all. It's been a long time since I posted my last Rockin' Road Report. I'm just back from my first Journey show in over 2 years. That seems so weird to say. And so much has happened since I was last at a Journey show, it's really hard to know where to begin.

I guess I need to go back a few months in time first. When the show was first announced, I looked at the date and thought "oh cool, the weekend before my birthday." I expected a fun filled night with my Journey buddies from near and far which would lead into a kick ass week that concluded with the big 4-0. That's what I got, but just not the way I had expected -- not by a long shot.

Hard as it is to believe, but it's been nearly 4 months since the world turned upside down and I lost my dear friend Darla. In a cruel twist of fate, the tickets for tonight's show went on sale on her birthday -- the day before her funeral -- and I got assigned to pick up 12 tickets for her family and close friends. With that many tickets to buy, we wound up with seats in the back section and I had to laugh -- no way would those seats have been acceptable in the past, but being with friends was more important.

After I bought the tickets, I pretty much put the show out of my mind. It was a day in the future that I would deal with when it came. Thinking about it took me to a place I didn't want to go, so I didn't. When we finally reached September, I couldn't block it out any more and the numbness of the summer faded and I began missing my friend more and more. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. This past week has been especially emotional for me. Co-workers asked me if I was going to the show, and I told them I was, but I fully expected it to be a weird experience.

Which brings us to tonight. Got ready for the show as I normally do, but got more phone calls and text messages than normal as we tried to get the logistics worked out who had which tickets and so on. Met up with Cheryl, Charles, and Emerson and headed over to the pre-show party. Thanks for organizing it Frank -- sorry I'll miss your party tomorrow. It was nice to see some old familiar faces among the quite a few unfamiliar ones.

Headed over to the amphitheater in plenty of time, which was good since getting to the parking lot took forever. The band had left after-show passes for Emerson and Telysa (Darla's daughter) so we headed over to will call to pick them up. We were expecting two passes, but when Emerson came back not only did he have four passes, but four tickets! So a HUGE thank you to the guys for that. Cheryl, Charles, and I joined Emerson at the new seats. Unfortunately it mean that two of our friends were sitting alone in our original seats.

So, we headed in and I spent all of Cheap Trick's set visiting with friends. I'm not a huge CT fan and the last time I saw them I didn't enjoy their performance, so preferred to sit it out. Could hear it from where we were and I will say they sounded better than they did the previous time.

I did, however, REALLY want to see Heart. So headed over in plenty of time to get to my seat. As I was heading in, I noticed there was a line for a Meet and Greet for Journey. Uh-oh... what time were our passes for? Emerson had them and he was waiting to meet up with Telysa. Lots of text messaging and calling trying to make sure everything was OK. (Yes, our passes were for after the show.) Unfortunately, this meant I missed the first couple of songs of Heart's set. BIG BUMMER! In any case, in my next life I want to be Nancy Wilson. They were absolutely fantastic. Ann Wilson has one of the greatest voices in rock and roll EVER and she sounded fabulous.

The weird thing about Heart's set, however, was that I started getting choked up at different points. Okay, the brain has definitely gone somewhere else tonight. "These Dreams" nearly had me in tears. So did "Alone," though I suspect that one was more about remembering where and when I was when that song came out. Definitely a sentimental favorite of mine. And once again proving that I like Led Zeppelin songs as long as Robert Plant isn't singing (yes, I know, but ugh his voice grates) I absolutely loved their cover of "Going to California."

Their set ended and now it's time for Journey to take the stage. Lots of thoughts crossed my mind -- not the least of which was that there would be a handful of songs I really wouldn't know the lyrics to. Try as I might, I haven't been able to listen to Revelation much since I got it. Unfortunately right now it's a victim of seriously AWFUL timing and has absolutely nothing to do with the CD itself.

I knew the warm up song was "Back in Black," so when it started I took a deep breath and said to myself "here we go." The guys took the stage and I was on my feet, but oddly weak kneed. Deep breath. They kick into "Never Walk Away" and I'm singing along -- it's the only song I know all the words to due to an insane amount of airplay on KFOG (which is seriously weird!!) But, uh-oh... there's a lump in my throat and I think "Darla would be laughing so hard at me right now." Into "Only the Young" and the tears start welling up. Sigh. That song and "Still They Ride" are ones that have been reminding me of Darla a lot this past summer. Breathe and tell myself to pay attention -- this is the first time you're seeing Arnel and you need to form an opinion not have an emotional breakdown. Still, I wonder if I'll make it all the way through the show.

Thank god for the "Star Spangled Banner." No emotional connection to that beyond the basic patriotic vibe. Have they been playing that all tour? I'm so out of the loop I don't have a clue, but laugh to myself and think "Neal saw the Chronicle yesterday that listed his as one of the best versions of our national anthem!"

I'm able to focus on the show now, and I have to say I was very impressed by Arnel. He's got a fantastic stage presence (though I do wish he'd taken off the hoody way sooner than he did -- he looked like he was rehearsing or a roadie.) The hometown crowd ate up the show and were on their feet through out -- even for some of the new ones. Wow.

I enjoyed the show, though I will admit I wasn't as into it as I have been in the past. Part of that I know is adjusting to another change in the band (they GOTTA paint Jon's piano... black is just WRONG!), but a bigger part is where my head was at through out the show. I couldn't not think of Darla through out and missed being able to lean over and say "he hit that note" or "hey, they're playing 'When You Love a Woman'!" I will say a personal highlight for me was hearing Deen on "Keep on Runnin'." Couldn't believe it when he held the high note! (Though, really, he needs to change the hair!) "Lights" as always got a great reaction and the glow of cell phones waving lit up the night. Laughed to myself at the reaction to "Open Arms." As personally tired as I am of that particular tune, you can't deny the enthusiasm of the crowd. Couple of cool video moments for me included the Sopranos style Journey after DSB and the video they played on the screen during "Wheel in the Sky" was really fascinating.

The after-show was a bit weird as we got shuffled from one place to another and basically it was "here ya go, mix and mingle and see if you find anyone you know." We did get to see Ross and Neal and chatted a bit with Les, Barb, and Miles before being told it was time to leave. Did wish I'd had the opportunity to tell one of them thank you. Escape has been in heavy and frequent rotation in my car these past four months. It's always been that candle in the darkness for me and has now proven it's bullet-proof and can withstand any dark time for me. There aren't enough words to express how important that is. Amazing that 27 years on it still provides that emotional lift I need when I need it. I will forever love this band for that, regardless of any thing else that may happen over time.

On the drive home I thought a lot about the past 10 years. Almost 10 years ago to the day I flew off to Michigan to see Journey live for the first time. Then as now I was seeing a new singer. Then as now I got an opportunity to go backstage and meet the band. A lot has happened in between though, and I have so many incredible memories that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I just wish Darla had been here to share this one.

July 15, 2008: Here Come the Police!

Mountain View, CA
Shoreline Amphitheater

Spending the morning recovering from last night's Police gig at Shoreline. What a fun night!

When this final leg of the tour was announced, I shot an email off to my Police-obsessed cousin in LA to see if she wanted to come up here or me to head down there to catch the show as we'd chatted about catching them together should they come back to California. We decided to do the Bay Area gig, and I picked up a pair of tickets through the Fan Club. Wound up with pretty good seats -- about 15 rows back on the far aisle (stage left). When we got to our seats my cousin was totally thrilled. I done good!

So my cousin arrived yesterday afternoon and we hung out and visited until it was time to head down to Shoreline for the show. We timed everything perfectly, arriving in our seats a few minutes before Elvis Costello took the stage. He actually came out a few minutes before the 7:30 start time and played for about an hour alternating between familiar hits that I knew and other tunes I wasn't familiar with. When he started up, we were nearly blasted out of our seats. Shoreline did something to their sound system about two years ago and now the low end of the sound is just physically assaulting. You can feel the bass and drums in your spine. I'd hoped they'd fixed it since I was last there, alas they hadn't so it was a bit of challenge to sit through. He put on a pretty good show and I was impressed with his guitar playing, though there were a few points when the sound system just made it hard to listen to. When he got to "Allison" there was a sudden rumbling in the crowd and I looked up and out walks Sting to sing along. Took a moment to recognize him as he'd grown a beard since I'd last seen them. Uh... not a good choice!

We ducked out after that for a break between sets and to meet up with a good friend of my cousin's. We stood around chatting for a bit thinking we had a while before the Police took the stage, so we were caught by surprise when at 8:45 we could hear the opening of "Message in a Bottle," and it was a mad dash back to our seats to make sure we didn't miss anything else.

After seeing the Police reunite last summer and catching two of their earliest gigs, I was really curious to see how the show had changed in the intervening 13 months. Add in that the two shows I saw last year were extremes in size (about 4,000 people at the fan club show and about 60,000 people at the Oakland Coliseum) having a more "normal" size of 20,000 people was something I was looking forward to. The crowd vibe was average, and at least everyone was on their feet throughout the show. The guys, however, wow... could really see the difference a year's worth of touring had made. While both the shows I'd seen at the start of the tour were excellent, there was still a little bit of that "well, it's been 25 years since we last played together so let's see what we're doing" vibe. There was a lot more conscious interaction. This gig... it just flowed from one thing to the next.

As with the previous two shows, I was completely blown away by the sheer musicianship and that such an incredible sound can come from just three guys. Amazing. The set list was slightly different from the ones I saw last year, but I think only "Demolition Man" was added. There were a few missing, but I'd have to look at the set lists from last year to remember what the differences really were. Trying to pick a highlight of the evening is tough because, honestly, there wasn't a bad song among them. It was a real treat to get to see this band again and worth every penny of the ticket price I paid (and ouch what a ticket price!)

The show ended much too quickly -- about 10:15 or so -- and it was time to head back out, tired and stone deaf. Totally worth it! I brought my camera in hoping that 15 rows back would allow for some decent pictures. Eh, they've turned out so-so (and no where NEAR as good as the ones I took at the Fan Club show last year.)

August 26, 2006: Journey Hits the City by the Bay, Night 2

Mountain View, CA
Shoreline Amphitheater

WARNING!! Author is EXTREMELY TIRED. Typos likely.* Incoherence possible.

So for starters it sure as hell looked like Shoreline was SOLD OUT.... I swear I've only seen crowds that big for MAJOR shows... Better yet, much like last night's crowd, everyone was on their feet for nearly the entire nite! Woo hoo!

Jon and Ross joined the opener again tonite as did Phil Collen (who proved he DOES own a shirt) which makes the 15 minutes of sitting through an opening act that doesn't really have the right vibe for this particular tour worth it.

Stoll Vaughn hit the stage around 7:15 -- 15 minutes before the stated start time, so the crowd was a little late getting to their seats for Journey's set, but most people had arrived by the end of "Ask the Lonely" three songs in. I think overall, last night's show was better than tonight's for both acts. I generally prefer shows at Shoreline over Concord due to the differences in each amphitheater, but something was missing from tonight that was there yesterday.

Got a shock of the night when, during "Keep on Running," I looked across the bowl and saw a HUGE sign being held up by three or four people that said "WHERE'S STEVE PERRY?!" I was absolutely flabbergasted -- I haven't seen anything like that since 98/99! One of my partners in crime didn't notice the sign but did notice Neal's one finger salute...

Deen did another amazing job on "Who's Crying Now," "Open Arms," and "Faithfully." He always looks so sincere when he's singing those that I have to smile...

By the time the band got to "Chain Reaction," we noticed that the bass and drums were just rattling our bones. Earlier in the month Darla experienced the same thing at the Sammy Hagar show, so we think something has been done to the sound system at Shoreline because it's never been like that before. It was actually painful.

A few other bits and bobs -- someone threw a light stick on the stage during Jon's solo. It bounced and wound up between Deen's bass drums. Thank goodness no one was in the line of fire, but I gotta ask -- they allow those glow sticks but take the tops off the water bottles.. WTF?! During LTS, Kelly K. handed JSS a bouquet of roses caused him to say "I think these are for you Jon" instead of singing the last bit of one line.

Still not sure how I feel about JSS. He's definitely more rocking and a magnetic front man -- you can't help watching where he goes and what he does -- and with the more rocked up set list he is well suited for it. Vocally, he's not doing it for me when he's on the more mid-tempo songs. I'm not sure if it's because I'm really tired, but I had a hard time getting into the concert tonight. I know I've been this tired at shows before, and usually by the time the music kicks in, so does the adrenaline and I've got the energy to rock out. Not so much tonight.

Def Leppard's set was also more low-key tonight compared to last night -- they still put on a great show, but it was lacking in comparison to last night. They switched out "Promises" for "Rock Rock Til You Drop" tonight, but otherwise their set was the same as last night. Sav's bass solo did nearly kill me from the body rattling vibrations. I do think I need to listen to my DL CDs some more before Reno so I can get the lyrics down when I'm singing along -- I hate mumbling to my self...

Perhaps the highlight of the evening came at the end of the show as we were leaving -- in among the rows of now empty seats, there was a guy with his arms crossed, passed out in his seat. Unlike most people who pass out he wasn't completely slumped over, just had his arms crossed on his chest with his head down.

Finally, my sister-in-law and her sister and a friend were at the show with me tonight. They were having a GREAT ole time, but oddly enough I actually missed my brother who had originally said he was coming when the show was announced. Now, my brother and I have very different personalities and we NEVER do the same things for entertainment -- at least not together. But back in the day it was the fight over the stereo -- my Journey records versus his Def Leppard records, and it would have been a fun thing to have him at the show with me.

Until next weekend...

Set List:

Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Ask the Lonely
Wheel in the Sky
Keep on Runnin'
Edge of the Blade
Who's Crying Now
Chain Reaction
Lights
-- Jon solo --
Open Arms
Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'
Escape
Dead or Alive
Jon mini-solo
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Any Way You Want It

Encore:
Separate Ways

*One of the benefits of posting 8 year old stories, is you can correct all the typos, and boy were there a LOT of typos in this one!

August 8-18: Michelle's Adventures in Journeyland (part 3)

Friday was our busy day. It began rather hectic, but smoothed out quickly. Our first problem was that Toni’s flight, originally due at 10:00 a.m. had been canceled, and she wouldn’t be arriving until 2:00 p.m. Bummer! She was going to miss most of the pre-concert events! Most of the rest of the group gathered in the lobby of the Holiday Inn in preparation for our tour of the Plant Studios in Sausalito. This is the recording studio Journey had used to record Raised on Radio in the mid-80s and returned to late in 2000 to record the additional tracks for their new CD Arrival. We were all ready to go, but Emerson and Val hadn’t arrived yet. They were driving up from San Jose, and we didn’t know where they were. It was getting late, and we had made an appointment to be at the studio by 9:30 so we loaded up the cars and headed out and tried Emerson on his cell phone. Turns out, he had gotten lost driving to the hotel! Terrific! So here I am driving a bunch of people to Sausalito in the lead car, pointing out the Golden Gate Bridge, and trying to figure out where Emerson is and how to get him to where we were! Thank goodness I’m a professional multi-tasker!

We all arrived at The Plant safe and sound, with Emerson only a few minutes behind us! (Wow! I guess I do know how to get people around The City!) The Plant is located in a very weird little spot—it’s not actually on the street that is indicated on their address, but off in a little gully with no real streets. I was grateful we had scoped out where it was in our planning or we would have never found the place. We all went up to the entrance, and Darla rang for Barbara—the manager who would be giving us the tour. It’s really hard to describe what the place was like other than to say it was really cool. It’s fairly famous recording studio where such huge albums like Rumours by Fleetwood Mac and Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder were recorded. More recently, it was used by Carlos Santana for some of the Supernatural sessions and Metallica is a regular client.

Our first stop was Studio A, which is the studio Metallica uses. It’s a huge room and the ceiling had been raised specifically for Metallica so that they could get a more live sound, particularly with the drums. The next stop was Studio B—the oldest room in the studio. This is where the “old timers” go to record. Carlos Santana uses that studio and there was a blanket with pictures of Bob Marley hanging in the booth that he had given to the studio. This is where Journey recorded for Arrival.

The last studio was the Garden Room, which is used mainly for mixing. It was a very interesting, very modern looking room and quite different from the other two studios we had seen. While giving the tour, Barbara told us various stories about the history of the studio. Alas, I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to many of them as I spent considerable time gawking at the various Gold and Platinum records that were adorning the walls. We headed out into the garden (replete with requisite hot tub) and buried poor Barbara in cameras for a group picture.

Back to the Holiday Inn for lunch, games and surprises. As the master of ceremonies for the games (well, I made ‘em, soooo) I set up Cheryl’s computer for the grand show. Alas, I do think our attendees now think I’m cruel. The games weren’t that hard and they had been told to listen to all of their Journey and Steve Perry records before coming...

Fully brain fried and finally fed, it was time for the surprise of the weekend. The committee (minus Mary Ann who knew what was coming but hadn’t seen it) gathered our guests on to the two beds in the room in front of the tv, then sat off to one side as we popped in a video tape Emerson had made. Everyone watched in enjoyment as still photos from various recent Journey concerts appeared on the screen and video clips from past and present. Emerson did a terrific job, but the coup de grace was yet to come, and the 4 committee members, plus Emerson, waited eagerly to see the reaction.

With camera ready, I zoomed in on our guests as the video cut to the guys in Journey hanging around a non-descript room. It took folks a moment to realize that this was not archival tape, but new, recent footage. There on tape were Ross Valory, Jonathan Cain, Steve Augeri, Neal Schon, and Deen Castronovo. I think the look on everyone’s faces when Ross said “Hi we understand you’re having a convention for Journey Past and Present” is something I will remember for the rest of my life. The tears and gasps from the attendees as each member got a personal hello from one of the guys were unforgettable. When the tape was over, we handed out the goodie bags, which included a copy of the tape for each attendee.

By now, it was time to start getting ready for the concert. Since I needed to pick up Stacy as well as the pictures I had been waiting for, I took volunteers to leave early. Michelle A., Angie, and Leslie F. piled into my car and we headed south to Mountain View for dinner and the concert. We arrived at Chevy’s on time, and were shortly joined by Denise. The rest of the crew took a bit longer to arrive since they left a bit later than planned and got stuck in some traffic.

Dinner for 25 people is always tricky, especially when people get lost and stuck in traffic, so it was a mad dash from the restaurant to my office where we were parking the cars since it’s a fairly easy walk to Shoreline from there and helps avoid the post-concert parking lot traffic. This later turned out to be less convenient than normal. We lost Rose in the process of departing the restaurant, so I sent everyone else off in the general direction of the amphitheater and waited with Ana Marie and Toni for Rose to arrive. She made it at last, and we trekked over to Shoreline, alas, not in time to see John Waite. Ana Marie and Toni went to collect their fan club seats and Rose and I headed inside. I wanted to get to my seat to make sure Denise and Stacy had gotten settled okay since I felt I had rather abandoned them to their own devices while I was busy playing den mother to the JPP attendees.

When I got to my 8^th row seat, Stacy was there, but Denise had run off to find a friend who was sitting in another section. I started filling Stacy in on the various adventures I’d been having and pointed out a woman a few rows in front of us who was wearing a Journey Fan Club T-shirt. As I was pointing, I realized I knew her! She was a fan from San Jose that I had met several years earlier in Grand Rapids Michigan (of all places). I went over to say hello, and lo and behold, there was Cat, taking a break from her Fan Club duties. She was thrilled to see me—she told me she had given our proclamations and T-shirts to the guys and that they loved them. She also told me to find everyone and make sure they were in their seats for the opening video sequence because the guys had “done something.” Off I raced to find as many folks as I could!

Naturally, as I’m racing up the steps I hear someone call out my name. It’s Les, Neal’s step-dad. He’s sitting on the aisle about 4 rows behind me! We chat briefly before I tell him I need to dash and find my friends. I had no idea where most people were sitting so was trying to figure out how to find 15 people in a crowd of 22,000. Fortunately as I got to the top of the steps, there were Darla and Cheryl. I raced to their seats and told them what Cat told me and told them if they saw anyone else to spread the word! I knew some of the group had volunteered to help with the BrightStar foundation booth, so I went looking for them that way. As luck would have it, Mary Ann, Michelle A., and Leslie F. were working the walkway for the backstage pass raffle. I grabbed them and told them what was going on, and then got the second shock of the evening. Ana Marie had gotten backstage passes with her fan club seat! Wow! How cool was that???

I dashed back inside, and found Darla and Cheryl again and told them the happy news. They told me that Dale was sitting on the opposite side from where they were, so I raced over there and told Dale all the news. I couldn’t find anyone else, so I hoped the word would spread. I was back in my seat in plenty of time to catch Peter Frampton, and I told Stacy what was going on. I kept looking for Ana Marie to arrive since her fan club seat had to be somewhere near my seat...I didn’t see her until after Frampton’s set was over and she was off to the side talking with Cat, Michelle A., and Angie. By this time the excitement was really getting to me, and I was actually nauseous and shaking. Cat relieved some of that tension by telling us that the guys were putting the proclamation in the opening video! I gave Ana Marie a big hug and congratulated her on her passes...Could this night get any better??

I went back to my seat since my knees were getting wobbly and I needed to get a grip before the concert started. When the opening video came up and went through the sequence that I had seen several times before of the freeway signs for San Francisco/San Jose/Santa Cruz and other local signs I grabbed my camera.. I wasn’t about to miss this. Boom! Up comes “Proclamation” in big bold letters...straight off the Proclamation we had given the guys. A quick scroll down to the words “Journey Day in San Francisco” and the roar from the crowd was unbelievable. I nearly burst into tears. We did that! Months of hard work putting together this little fan-gathering and it had paid off in a huge way!

The concert began and ended all too soon, and the next thing I know the group is sitting outside Shoreline waiting on Ana Marie and Toni to return from their after show meet and greet. Being the hometown show, we figured the meet and greet would go even quicker than usual. So we stood and waited...and waited...and waited...We saw people coming out, but no Ana Marie or Toni....20 minutes...30 minutes...45 minutes...wow...now it’s nearing midnight, and people are getting cold and tired. So Darla and I decide since the parking lot is empty to go get the cars and pick people up rather than make them walk back to my office. Stacy and Denise came with us so Denise could give Stacy a ride home (which was a huge help to me!) About half way to the car, my cell phone rings...it’s Ana Marie...she’s finally working her way out and is so excited that she can barely speak. I get a quick run down of what happened which I relay to Darla. We learn later that Ana Marie had been sent to the wrong place. Instead of the normal fan meet and greet, she got sent to the friends and family area...no wonder it took so long...she had to wait until the guys finished the meet and greet before she even saw them!

to be continued...

August 10-11, 2001: Journey Past & Present 2001 (JPP2001)

Mountain View and Marysville, CA
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

When Journey's set started, they showed the now standard "arrival" at the venue video, but this one had something else that will make it forever memorable to me and the little group we had at the show. One of my co-organizers came up with the idea to have the day of the concert declared "Journey Day" in San Francisco. So, we contacted the mayor's office and got the paper work done and got a formal proclamation done.

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...