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...."

December 2004: Another Rockin' Roll Report

Somewhere in the Caribbean Sea
Carnival Cruise Ship Triumph

In addition to the "Rockin' Roll Report" I filed, I wrote this piece for JourneyDigest.com using my notes from the cruise diary I kept.
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Come sail away, come sail away…

Okay, Styx had the most popular song on the Rock and Roll Holiday Escape Cruise, but Journey had the biggest group of screaming fans. From the cheers when Journey’s name was mentioned at the first cocktail party, to the lines that formed hours before their show began, it was clear there were lots of Journey fans aboard the Carnival Triumph.

When I first heard about this cruise to the Western Caribbean back in June, my first thought was “What a great opportunity! How can I possibly do it?!” After having spent a considerable amount of my vacation time the past 7 years trotting around the US seeing Journey shows, I could actually go on vacation with Journey! How much better could it get – 7 days in a tropical paradise and three excellent rock bands providing the entertainment!

The Friday after Thanksgiving, I hopped a plane to Miami to meet up with my roommate Janice and a whole slew of Journey pals for a vacation I will never forget. We knew going in that the bands wouldn’t be on the ship the whole time, but a week long party with so many friends was something to enjoy. Once we set sail Saturday afternoon, the “Rock and Rollers” had a private cocktail party to meet the other fans on board. We managed to round up a bunch of Back Talkers for a group photo, despite not being able to find any of the contingent that had traveled from the UK. I felt rather sorry for the poor woman who volunteered to take our picture – she and her husband wound up with about 12 cameras, and we were all blind from the flashes.

Our cocktail party was held in the Rome Lounge – the main showroom for the ship that held about 1,400 people. It was one of the smallest places I’d seen Journey in and the idea of seeing the band perform in such an intimate environment was exciting. It was also unlike any venue I had ever seen any rock concert. Instead of individual seats bolted together, there were rows of soft couches with small cocktail tables every few feet and lots of room between the rows – suitable for waiters to walk through bringing drinks.

We cruised from Miami to Cozumel where Styx and REO Speedwagon boarded the ship on Monday. Styx was the first performer of the trip and their Question & Answer session set the tone for the ones to follow and gave the “Rock and Rollers” a sense of what the week to come would be like. Fans from around the world got the opportunity to ask questions and were greeted with warm and enthusiastic responses. This was something that would occur with each successive band, and made the trip feel like a shared conversation with old friends. This was followed later the same night with our first concert, and finding places for the 1,200 or so people to line up for the general admission seating was an interesting challenge on a cruise ship.

Styx left the ship after their show, which left fans to spot members of REO Speedwagon and Journey’s crew around the ship. Journey’s crew was a lot easier to find and so they became some of the most popular people on the ship! A day just didn’t seem complete with out a Rocko sighting or a chat with Jim (with his one red and one green shoes.) I even had the opportunity to chat with a couple members of the crew on a snorkeling excursion in Grand Cayman!

Journey finally boarded the ship when we docked in Ochos Rios, Jamaica on Thursday. We were scheduled to pull out of port at 3:30, Journey’s Question and Answer session was at 5:00, and people were in line waiting to get in before the ship pulled out of port. Not many people took part in the day-long shore excursions if they wanted to get in line!

Journey entered the Q&A session and sang “hello” as they sat down, and we were off. The questions ranged from the familiar (How do you choose the songs to play in your set list? How did Neal join Santana?) to the curious (Who were your influences? Have you ever had an embarrassing moment on stage?) to the silly (Boxers or briefs? Where did the pissing baby come from?) The guys answered all of the questions with grace and a good sense of humor – there was a lot of laughter on the stage.

When we left the Q&A session, we had to battle getting in the elevators with the crew who was bringing the band’s gear in to the Rome Lounge. It was a bit surreal seeing all of the equipment cases sitting between the elevators and trying to get to the stairs. It felt like we’d all snuck backstage!

Friday was our last day of the cruise, and, finally, Journey would be performing! When we got up Friday morning, after a late night chatting with Neal and Ross in one of the bars, Janice and I headed over to the Rome Lounge for the “debarkation” talk. We arrived in the lounge a little early – just at the end of yet another round of Bingo – and found a seat. Bingo has gotten a lot more sophisticated than the last time I played – these games were played with a computer and the called numbers were projected on a screen. Because of the need for a screen, the curtains on the stage were pulled back, and the screen was lowered most of the way down to the stage. It couldn’t quite reach the stage since there was Jon’s piano blocking its path!

Around 3:00 that afternoon, I stumbled in to the balcony of the Rome Lounge looking for a restroom only to discover that the crew was on stage running through some songs – sound check was starting! Fans were kicked out of the balcony area before the band arrived around 4:00, but there were people coming in and out, so eavesdropping on sound check wasn’t too hard.

Going down to the main floor where eavesdropping would be easier, I discovered that the “platinum package” concertgoers were already in line and waiting for the show – and had been in line since noon! The concert wouldn’t start until 10 p.m., yet there were about 15 people sitting in chairs dragged from the lobby bar waiting outside the Rome Lounge. I hadn’t seen this for Styx or REO Speedwagon – I was amazed. These folks were already the first group allowed in and had access to the seats in the first three rows before anyone else, but they were going to sit in line for hours to get in and get that perfect seat in front.

After a quick check of the line up location for the rest of the concert-goers revealed that, no, there wasn’t a line yet, we were off to enjoy the farewell cocktail party. We had finally found the UK crowd on Thursday before the Q&A session, but alas, never got a chance to re-take the photo of Back Talkers. With the cocktail party, we got a great slide show of pictures from the Styx and REO shows. Since Journey hadn’t performed yet, all we saw of them in the slide show was a group shot taken on the deck of the ship.

The cocktail party ended around 7:00, and it was time to make a decision – get in line or go to dinner?? Janice and I got in line with several of our friends and dined on pizza from the 24-hour pizza bar on the Lido deck rather than eat in the formal dining room. I’m not entirely sure why we bothered to be among the first in line, since we wound up in virtually the same seats for every show, but there’s just something about “general admission” that makes you get in line hours before you ever thought you would.

By the time the concert started, the captain also decided to crank up the speed of the ship, so in addition to rock and roll, we were rocking and rolling! Since I had been asked to take photos, I was able to move up to one of the “platinum” seats next to Caryn (Journeycat) and had a prime seat on the aisle in front of Neal. I only wish I were as good of a photographer as some of our fellow Journey fans!

The two-hour plus show went faster than I could imagine, and soon I found myself balancing on a couch on a moving ship trying to take a picture of the final bow. The show was over, and in a few hours we would be docking in Miami and heading back to reality. We left the Rome Lounge and worked our way past the equipment cases once more as the crew began the load-out. Our wonderful week long vacation was ending. After a couple of drinks at the bar – mobbed with fans chattering about the show and cornering several of the band members for a photo op – it was back to our cabin and reflecting on a wonderful week in the Caribbean.

December 3, 2004: Rockin' Roll Report – Journey on the High Seas

Caribbean Sea
Carnival Cruise Ship Triumph

Hello all – I've arrived safe and sound in Clearwater, Florida after a week sailing the Caribbean with some rock and roll pirates! I'll start at the end so not to keep everyone in suspense…. Journey Rocked the Boat!

Okay, there are going to be a few lame puns.

Our Journey boys didn't join the cruise until our last port of call – Ochos Rios, Jamaica – on Thursday afternoon, and nearly from the minute they hit the ship, they were the busiest 5 guys on board not working for Carnival Cruise lines! The ship set sail around 4:00 as all the rock and roll cruisers were getting in line for the hour long question and answer session that was to begin at 5. The questions ranged from the familiar – how do you pick which songs to play? To the silly – boxers or briefs? To the entertaining – what was your most embarrassing moment? Throughout the session the fans were very responsive and the band was very relaxed and seemed to be enjoying themselves. A couple of my favorite responses included Neal saying "We're only as good as you are." When asked if the crowd makes a difference in their performances. Neal also said he wants to "get bold" next year and do an extra long set – 90 minutes of new stuff including Arrival and Red 13, take an intermission, then do 90 minutes of the classic Journey.

From there the boys went off to the meet and greet for the platinum package people. I was not among them, but reports from my fellow cruisers say it went fairly well considering the number of people involved. Then it was time for the second formal dinner and my fellow cruisers and I went off to yet another delicious meal. Alas, none of the band was in our dining room. We had hoped we might get lucky since there had been a couple of guys from Styx (Chuck Panazzo and Ricky Phillips) at the Captain's dinner on Monday night, but alas, while we were dining in Paris, the boys were in London.

I did get an opportunity to see Ross, Steve, and Deen after dinner since they were dining a little bit later than we were and we happened to be in the bar outside their dining room when dinner was over. Really quite cool to run in to rock stars at random.

Friday night was waited for in much anticipation by most of the rock and roll cruisers – unlike Styx and REO no members of Journey had been on board, and everyone was eager to see them. (Though Journey's crew got lots of attention in the meantime!) People with the platinum package (the prime seats in the first few rows) had begun lining up as early as 12 noon!! Those of us with the "cheaper" seats would wait to line up around 7:00 – this was for a 10:30 show! Around 3:00 Friday afternoon, I was strolling around the shops on the promenade deck and needed to make a trip to the restroom. Not wanting to go all the way back to my room on the 1st level, I looked for the nearest restroom. It just happened to be in the Rome Lounge, which was were all the concerts were being held. Just as I opened the door to the lounge, I heard the opening notes to "Separate Ways!" Sound check was starting, and the crew was on stage running through a few tunes. A fun little treat.

Back down in the lobby about an hour later, and here comes the whole band marching through on their way to sound check. It was closed to everyone, but the sound bled through the doors pretty well and with the catering crew going in and out setting up for our cocktail party we could hear snips of songs as they ran through them.

After our farewell cocktail party it was off to line up for the access to the better seats. This is probably my only true complaint about the whole trip – the general admission seating was nuts. Cruise ships aren't used to having over 1000 people wanting to get into their shows all at the same time so they don't have a good way of accommodating them or to properly handle the seating. Each show was a different challenge to obtain seats.

Thanks to Jenn and Cat, I was able to squeeze down to the third row off the main aisle on Neal's side (from about the sixth row off the side aisle on Neal's side) so I had a great view of the stage all night long. This was one of the best shows I've ever seen. The Rome Lounge was very small and intimate, seating about 1400 people, and there were few truly bad seats in the house – some in the back corners may not have been optimum, but not awful either. The show was about 2/3 full – as had all the shows. The crowd was on their feet the instant the lights went down and the intro started to play.

It was truly Neal's night – he shone front and center all night long. With the size of the venue and the stage, everyone was very close. People were right at the foot of the stage and the guys would play right up at the edge – it was pretty incredible. At a few points during the show the crowd was so loud as they were singing along, Steve would get drowned out and just let us take it. The first time it happened was during "Lights," which was a highlight for this Bay Area girl! "Open Arms" and "Any Way You Want It" had similar responses. Jon introduced a new solo piece complete with a pre-programmed backing beat. Was quite cool!

No real surprises in the set list – Neal played a little of "Joy to the World" before the "Star Spangled Banner," Deen took part of the chorus to "Escape," which I hadn't seen him do before, and there was a cool new intro to "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'." Otherwise it was the same set list they'd played most of the summer. I did surprise myself when I nearly came unglued when Deen launched in to "Mother, Father" – I thought I had gotten used to hearing it live to the point where it was just a lump in the throat and a single tear trickling down my cheek. Nope, nearly as sobbing as I was the very first time I heard Journey perform it live! Ah well, it's my favorite song, what can I say? My one little, teeny, tiny gripe about the set list is that it didn't include "The Party's Over" – that would have been the absolute perfect song to end a week of surreal parties!

A few quick notes on the Styx and REO portions of the trip (I'll have more later when I can decompress and reorganize my notes!) Styx was up first – Monday night in Cozumel. Only Ricky Phillips and Chuck Panazzo were on the ship – the rest of the band hopped on in Mexico and played the gig while we were still in port, then they hopped right back off. Their Q&A session was very cool with the whole band launching in to their Christmas tune (alas, I don't know the name) a cappella after someone asked if it would be in the set list. They also sang happy birthday to another one of the folks – in six part harmony. VERY cool.

Their concert was amazing – I enjoy each opportunity I get to see them perform live. They've got such a high energy show, I'm constantly amazed that they can keep it at that level every time.

The guys from REO all got on board in Cozumel as well, and they actually stayed through the end of the cruise – I had thought they might get off in Grand Cayman or Jamaica as they would have finished their responsibilities by then. It was great that they didn't, and I kept running in to Kevin Cronin all over the ship – of course usually with out my camera or if I had my camera it was out of film! Such luck.

Their Q&A session was delayed because sound check ran long, but they graciously allowed everyone in for the last 10 minutes or so of sound check, so that was a nice surprise. Their Q&A went fairly well until one fan got rather rude and obnoxious when they didn't answer her exact question. They were all very gracious, but I know I and several other folks would have helped tie her up and toss her overboard. It was really uncalled for behavior. Perhaps the most surprising part of this was that Kevin Cronin didn't do all the talking. Neil Dougherty displayed a very quick wit and answered a lot of the questions.

Their show was a little more sedate than either Styx or Journey, and unfortunately had a bit of a lull to it when Kevin's monitors blew out 4 songs in to the set. While it was mildly entertaining to see Kevin have his shirt torn off by the roadies to replace the monitor, it meant that Kevin got to talk… and talk… and talk. This time instead of talking about the Playboy mansion, we got to hear him talk about the migration pattern of dolphins! The punch line of this tale was that Kevin's vocal warm-ups were scaring the dolphins. Out of this tale came another tale to introduce a new song they've worked up for an upcoming CD. It was really quite good and got a decent response for a new song. I believe it was called "Hard to Believe."

The show kicked in gear again after a set of Hi Infidelity songs and closed out strongly, despite the fact that the crowd had thinned out considerably as the show had started at 11 p.m.!

Lots of late nights, lots of rock stars, LOADS of fun. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone and would go again myself. There were some pretty major kinks in the whole operation, but for the most part I really think I got my money's worth out of the trip. One thing I would suggest to the Journey boys is to get on the ship earlier. During the course of the whole week I rarely saw any of the musicians on board get mobbed by people unless it was during a related event like the Rock & Roll slot tournament that Dave Amato won. Journey was on board for such a short time and was scheduled so tightly during that time that any time they were seen walking the halls or at one of the bars and restaurants, they would get mobbed by people wanting autographs and pictures. I hope that experience doesn't turn any of them off since I would imagine that would have been one of their biggest concerns.

Set list:

Intro
Be Good To Yourself
Only the Young
Joy to the World/Star Spangled Banner – Neal solo
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Keep on Runnin' – Deen vox
Higher Place
Suzanne – Deen vox
Lights
Walks Like a Lady – Ross vox
Chain Reaction
Voodoo Chile – Neal vox
-- Jon solo --
Send Her My Love
Open Arms
Mother, Father – Deen vox
Just the Same Way – Jon/Steve vox
Rubicon
Edge of the Blade
Escape
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways
Any Way You Want It

Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

November 28-29, 2004: Rockin' Roll Report -- Cruise Diary, Day 2 and 3

The Caribbean Sea and Cozumel, Mexico
Carnival Cruise Ship Triumph

While on the Rock & Roll Holiday Escape Cruise in 2004, I made sure to keep a diary on my laptop to record the events of the 7 day cruise so that I would be able to do a complete write up for my anticipated "Rockin' Roll Report" upon returning to dry land and available Internet access. Here is what I journaled and later used as basis for my two reports on the cruise.

Cruise Day 2 and 3.

Sunday was a quiet day at sea… spent mostly relaxing, eating, and just truly vacationing. Kept up with our cast and crew on board – must have spotted members of Journey's crew every half hour or so and Ricky Phillips and Dave Amato every 2 hours. Spent some time with Cat and Jenn – discussing some of our Journey Past & Present issues. Got our dinner table reassigned so that our whole group – Darla and Emerson, Janice and me, Cat and Jenn, and Debbie and the kids were all at the same table.

We also had our first formal night and the Captain's Dinner – it was great seeing everyone all dressed up.

We arrived in port Monday morning about 7:30 (I think… we were still in our cabin having breakfast) and Janice and I headed out for the Highlights and Shopping tour of the island. Got to see a few small sites, not hugely impressive, but it was a pleasant tour. We got dropped off in the downtown shopping district where we were accosted by vendors left and right. I had the brilliant idea to check out one of the side streets – MISTAKE!!!! We couldn't walk past a shop with out someone literally blocking our way and turning us in to the store. I did manage to bargain down a hair clip from 18 to 10 dollars, but "Cheapo Philipo" was quite a hard sell! I also got two pairs of very small diamond studs for $100 – another relative hard sell, but in a less seedy shop.

Back to the ship by mid-day for lunch and a nap – which meant no wandering around and running in to oh, say, Tommy Shaw, who (we learned later) several people ran in to and got their picture taken with. Figures! We got ready for the Q&A and headed up to the Rome Room about 5 to hang out for the doors to open. Turned out we really didn't need to be there that early since there were maybe 200 people in the room. We did get good seats front and center, and the boys from Styx were having a grand old time laughing and joking around. As the Q&A started there were several opportunities to win things – photo with the band, an autographed guitar, and upgraded seats. Darla and Emerson lucked out and got the upgraded seats and were sitting in the pit for the whole show. What a perfect prize for the honeymooners!

There were a couple of interesting questions – How did you meet your current wives (Todd – his wife is a singer and met at a gig, JY – was at a party with another woman.) What bands influenced you (JY – the Who.) One person asked if they were planning on singing their Christmas song and I saw Tommy's eyes kind of unfocus as he was trying to remember the words then the whole band launched into it acapella! Very fun. We also got a five-part harmony rendition of "Happy Birthday" for a woman who was celebrating her 40th birthday on the cruise.

After the Q&A, we dashed over to line up for the show. Since there were 4 of us (Cat, Jenn, Janice, and me) we took turns in line while the rest of us ran back to the room or grabbed something to eat. We stood in line for a good 90 minutes before we were finally allowed to go to our seats. Luckily for us Butch and Val had VIP seats and there were seats near them, so we wound up a couple of rows from the front of the stage, over on Tommy's side. Woo hoo!! I had my camera with me, but since we'd been TOLD no "professional" cameras, I didn't bring any extra film. Since there was absolutely NO security checking bags or walking around, I was able to use my camera to take a few shots. Unfortunately I only had about 8 shots left on the roll! They should turn out pretty well since I was so close. Darla and Emerson should have gotten GREAT pix and we'll be swapping.

The show started a few minutes after 9, and the second the intro music started, people were on their feet and cheering – and stayed that way all night long. Tommy welcomed us to "the most unusual show Styx has ever done" – and I gotta say, it's the most unusual show I've ever been to. Styx kept up their stellar track record with just an amazing show with such great energy. They closed the main set with what Lawrence called "the most appropriate song" – "Come Sail Away." Naturally the crowd went nuts since nearly everyone has been singing that song on ship since we left Miami – most often off key and very drunk!

Set list:

Blue Collar Man
Grand Illusion
Lorelei
One With Everything
Lady
Too Much Time on My Hands
Snowblind
solo – Laurance, rag time
More Love for the Money
medley
These Are the Times
Crystal Ball
Foolin' Yourself
Miss America
Come Sail Away

Encore:
What I Say
Manic Depression
I Am the Walrus
Renegade

After the show and a quick bite to eat, we went downstairs and ran in to Kevin Cronin who was looking for the Hollywood Bar, so naturally we offered to walk him to it! Too damn bad I was all out of film!

A quick drink at the casino, check the email at the Internet Café, then it was off to bed and another night at sea. Tomorrow will be a "fun day at sea" to relax and do nothing. I could get used to this!

November 27, 2004: Rockin' Roll Report -- Cruise Diary, Day 1

Miami, FL and The Caribbean Sea
Carnival Cruise Ship Triumph

While on the Rock & Roll Holiday Escape Cruise in 2004, I made sure to keep a diary on my laptop to record the events of the 7 day cruise so that I would be able to do a complete write up for my anticipated "Rockin' Roll Report" upon returning to dry land and available Internet access. Here is what I journaled and later used as basis for my two reports on the cruise.

Cruise Day One.

Flew in to Miami yesterday and met Janice at the airport. We caught a cab to our hotel then dashed across the street for dinner at the Hard Rock Café. Weather in Miami wasn't too bad… mid 70s both in temperature and humidity – humid enough for this California girl to notice.

After a late nite of gossiping and getting to know each other, Janice and I headed down for the breakfast buffet. The elevators on cruise day were an interesting challenge. Frequently full of guests and luggage. By the time we were ready to check out, it took us about 15 minutes to get downstairs. All the elevators were full, and when I finally got on one, I went down 2 floors before going all the way back up to the 8th and then back down – stopping at every floor. Once we finally got to the lobby and met Debbie, Krystal, and Krystal's boyfriend Andrew we got ourselves checked out and into cabs to the port.

The port was an absolute zoo with cabs and shuttles and buses going every which way for the half dozen or so ships making ready to set sail. Janice and I lost Debbie and her crew in the cab shuffle, but arrived at the dock right behind Journey's road crew. While waiting to board, we did see one of our "celebrity" passengers – Ricky Phillips from Styx boarded the ship shortly before us. A pleasant surprise since we'd heard Styx would not be on board at all. Turns out only SOME of Styx would not be on board. Later in the day we saw Chuck Panazzo (Styx), Dave Amato (REO), and Bruce Hall (REO.) None of the Journey boys were on board, and they aren't expected until Thursday in Jamaica.

The ship is a total maze and god knows if we'll ever find our way around, but we managed to find our room successfully and drop our bags off. We explored the ship looking for people we knew and kept running into Rocko Ready – Journey's stage manager. We found the check in desk for the Rock & Roll Holiday Escape (R&RHE) and to get our registration materials – passes to the concerts and a T-shirt – but they had just gotten in themselves and weren't ready for us, so we headed up to the Lido deck for a quick snack (encountering more Journey crew members in the process.)

We hadn't seen any of our friends since boarding the ship, so kept exploring. When I pulled out my cell phone to call Mom, however, I discovered I'd missed a call from Darla – she and Emerson were on board an up at the Lido deck with Cat, Jenn, and Debbie and the kids. We headed back up and visited for a few minutes before the whole crew of us trooped back down to the Promenade deck and the registration for the R&RHE. The line was amazingly long, so we got to hear the story of how Cat got a call from Steve Augeri on Monday asking her if she wanted to go on a cruise. Lucky girl!

There was lots more exploring to do, but first we had to pass the muster – our drill should we need to abandon ship! Standing around with bright orange life vests – oh so attractive! We killed some time after muster by picking out our shore excursions. I really only wanted to go snorkeling, so I signed up for snorkeling at the reef with the stingrays in Grand Cayman. Cozumel and Jamaica will be improvised. Janice signed up for an island tour, and the rest of the gang signed up for various other activities.

The R&RHE cocktail party was at 7 and there we ran in to Styx fan Sharon and her Journey pals Julie and Judy. Sharon reported that Tommy Shaw was on board ship – WOO HOO! A full day tomorrow to see if I can find him. The cocktail party was quite nice and we met up with a bunch of other Journey fans and got our official "group photo" – my camera and about 35 others! LOL! A couple of nice people volunteered to take pictures and it took a good ten minutes to get them all done! Hopefully they'll turn out. We did find the couple from the Netherlands, but none of the UK folks unfortunately.

Then it was off to dinner, which was delicious, but the ship was a little wobbly around then. Fortunately I felt fine – don't think the motion of the ocean is going to be much of a problem. After dinner, it was off to kill some more time checking out the shops which had finally opened before meeting up again with Darla and Emerson for the "welcome aboard" night which was an enjoyable comedy show. A little cheesy, but fun.

Then it was back to the room to finally finish unpacking and getting ready for the next 7 days at sea. Tomorrow is a "fun day at sea" – so basically I plan to hang out at the pool and get some sun! (I hope! It was a little cloudy when we pulled out of port with showers in the distance.)

September 30, 2004: Styx in Journeyland

Saratoga, CA
Mountain Winery

When Journey went out on tour with Styx and REO Speedwagon in 2003, I subscribed to mailing lists for each band. I didn't post often, but I had met a few members of the Styx list, including some from the Bay Area. I remained on the list after the 2003 tour, so when I came out of lurking to let the Bay Area contingent I'd be at the Styx show at the Mountain Winery, I was asked to report back my perspective. This is what I wrote.

It was a great show! I'm going to start my rave at the end because that encore was just amazing! My mom listened to Ray Charles a bit when I was a kid, so to hear such a wonderful tribute was just incredible. And for the second time in two weeks, Jimi Hendrix was resurrected I'm not sure which has amazed me more Neal Schon's cover of "Voodoo Chile" or JY's cover of "Manic Depression." Holy cow! If I'd closed my eyes I woulda sworn Jimi was on stage! Then the cover of "I Am the Walrus." Okay, I am a HUGE Beatles fan and if someone is gonna cover a Beatles song they'd better do it right or just not do it at all. All I can say is John Lennon would be proud. I really think it's incredible when performers pay tribute to their heroes in this manner!

Okay, so as for the rest of the show.... My friends and I arrived just as Styx hit the stage and were pleasantly surprised when the whole crowd was on their feet immediately. Winery shows can be kind of dead sometimes with that whole "wine and cheese" enthusiasm that comes along, so to have the 1200 or so people on their feet that quickly was a treat. Even more amazing, they STAYED on their feet through "More Love for the Money" (which I was grateful came early in the set so I could do a quick duck out for the restroom -- I really like Cyclorama, but if I have to miss a tune those are the ones I'm gonna choose. Sorry folks!) Though I can't figure out quite why everyone then sat down for "Snowblind." From that point on the crowd was a bit of what I call a "yo-yo" crowd. Up, down, up, down... Considering how cold it was, you'd have thought people would have stayed on their feet and danced just to stay warm. (I was almost as cold as I was at Journey's show at Konocti last week, and if there had been a wind in Saratoga last night, I probably WOULD have been! Getting too cold for outdoor shows now. Bummer!) The crowd was pretty awesome though, singing along with loads of enthusiasm. I wish the Journey crowds would sing along as well! That sound of a thousand voices is just such a rush, I can only imagine what the band feels when they hear that kind of response!

The guys really were having a great time on stage, which always makes for a great show. Tommy and JY doing a do-si-do while Lawrence played a little ragtime piano was absolutely hysterical. The stage was pretty low, so JY came out into the crowd at one point and there was a very obvious die-hard Styx fan right there in the front row, who looked to be in 7th heaven! She was having a GREAT night.

The Mountain Winery is really a fun place to see a show, small, intimate, good sound. My only complaint is that the stage is too low for the folks on the floor since the incline of the floor isn't very steep.* This meant that all I really could see well throughout the whole show was the top of JY's head! LOL! Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but Tommy was darned near impossible to see from where I was. (And could someone mention to Ricky Phillips that he needs to cut his hair... from the 19th row when all anyone can see are two dudes with long blonde hair covering their faces and white shirts on their shoulders it makes it a little hard to identify who's playing. A couple of times I said to myself "what the heck is Tommy doing on THIS side of the stage and how'd he get there so fast??!" Thank goodness Ricky took off his jacket about half way through the show so I knew if I saw a flash of blonde hair and a black sleeve I knew who I was looking at! LOL! (And as long as I'm in this non-sequitur ramble, man has Tommy's hair gotten long since last summer!) Okay, where was I? The venue, right... I sure wish I could see more shows there, but alas, they put their full slate of shows on sale all on the same day! That means buying tickets months in advance and since they're always $50+, it's a pretty expensive proposition when you want to see 6-8 shows! Of course, it also means I've been waiting SIX MONTHS to see this show!

*The Mountain Winery remodeled their concert venue in about 2008 and it's laid out MUCH better now than it was then. Still a great place to see an intimate show, despite being a hassle to get to and from.

Shew... that's a lot from a lurker isn't it?? In closing, I'd like to say how glad I am that I've rediscovered Styx the last few years and that I've finally had the opportunity to see them by themselves after having seen them 7 or 8 times with my Journey boys. I'd forgotten how much I loved this band back in the day and how due to the vagaries of being a typical impoverished teenager meant picking up the Journey records instead of the Styx ones when forced to choose that ONE album to buy for the year. Now, if only November would hurry up and get here so I can get a full dose of concert fun while cruisin' the Caribbean!

Oh, and before I forget, I'm sure I've seen it posted before but I've never really paid all that much attention to it -- what are all the songs in the medley?* Other than the really obvious, I didn't recognize much and neither did my friends. It was great, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was more sure what I was hearing!

*I never did get an answer to this question, so I still have no idea what the medley contained other than parts of one song from each album. The only one I remember now is "Mr. Roboto."

July 19-20, 2003: Loopfest

Tinley Park, IL
Tweeter Center

What can be said -- two days, 8 bands, and 13 hours of rock and roll! Wow, what a weekend! First off the sheer number of Journey fans that descended on Chicago was amazing it was great to see so many familiar faces among the crowd of 17,000 -- including our Journey Digest owner and fearless leader Dan Stacy! (A true treat after 4 years! Really Dan, you've gotta get out more!)

My trip kicked off on Thursday with a bang -- a big ole mid-western thunderstorm erupted just as I was picking up my rental car. This California girl sure as heck had never seen anything like that before in her life! (Golf ball sized hail! Good grief that's insane!) Gotta admit though, all that lightning was really cool! (We just don't get that out here!)

Fortunately, the weather cleared up for a fairly mild Friday that was very pleasant. After joining the contingent of Back Talkers for a huge pre-show BBQ (my head is still spinning from all the people, especially the ones who seemed to know ME that I'd never seen before in my life!) it was over to the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park.

This was my second trip to Tweeter (the first being the famed 1999 "Journeyfest" show with Foreigner) and I didn't remember things being quite as annoying as they were this time. I should have known this would be an annoying venue as I was walking up to the entry gate to the sounds of "Welcome to the Tweeter Center. Don't do this. Don't do that. Management reserves the right to not let you in. Enjoy your stay." YIKES. It's the stupid little things like "I'm sorry, while the contents of your bag are fine, the bag is too big. You have to check it" and "No, you can't have the top to your bottled water. People might throw them on stage." that just make a venue very unfriendly to the customer. The layout and the lines were insane and criss-crossing everywhere. Very poor design for crowd flow. And then there was the smoking. Okay, I realize I'm a California girl where the only place anyone is allowed to smoke is in the privacy of their own home, but come on people -- there are 17,000 people crammed together SOME of whom are allergic to cigarette smoke! I wasn't sure I'd make it through Journey's set my lungs were burning so bad from the smoke!

Icky venue issues aside, it was a fantastic show. 38 Special kicked off Friday night and were terrific. I'm not a huge fan of theirs and really only knew two songs from their set -- "Hold on Loosely" and "Caught Up in You" -- but they were very entertaining. Wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to see them again, but wouldn't mind if they teamed up with some one else I was interested in.

Sammy Hagar came out next. No doubt about it, Sammy flat out kicks ass. This was the third or fourth time I've seen him and I've enjoyed his high energy show every time. Yeah, it's a little bit juvenile best suited for hormonally challenged teen-age boys, but it just works and is so Sammy. (Amazingly his "waitresses" who bring him Waboritas throughout the show were the most clothed I've ever seen!) And he's got such an amazing catalog of songs with an incredible backing band (particularly the hell on wheels bass player, Mona) he just rocks the night away. Add in his amazing interaction with the crowd (including the handful of fans who stood on risers at the back of the stage) and he's just someone I will continue to see when I get a chance. Anyone who's never seen him really should -- if for the set list alone, everything from his days in Montrose to Van Halen to solo past and present.

Sammy's set ran longer than I had expected, when Journey took the stage around 9:30, I doubted any special treats of Planet Us or even Sammy joining for an encore would happen.

Journey got off to a rocky start when Steve's in-ear monitor wasn't working during "Separate Ways" when the show opened. This was resolved fairly quickly, but it was apparent through most of the song Steve was having trouble hearing what was going on. Given a 90-minute set rather than the 75-80 minutes they've had all summer enabled Journey to add a few more songs to the set list, but nothing that hasn't otherwise popped up over the course of the tour. I was pleasantly surprised when they pulled out "Dead or Alive" towards the end of the set. Never having heard this song live, I wondered if they could actually pull it off -- it is such a FAST song. Not only did they pull it off they NAILED it. My eyes were popping out of my head watching all the frenetic activity on stage. "State of Grace" has made it's way back into the set, but with out the Intro it just sounded a bit odd to me and I'm not sure how well it worked over all. One other memorable moment from the night was during "Be Good To Yourself" when Steve shouted to the crowd "If you're having a good time say YEAH!" and stuck his microphone out towards the crowd -- only to have it fly out of his hand and ka-thud on the front of the stage (thank goodness for the cord!) Steve started cracking up on stage, but soon regathered himself (and his mic) and said "Let's try that again -- if you're having a good time say YEAH!" I've seen elsewhere people comparing this show to the Warfield show in April and while it was a good performance from the guys, it didn't come close to the magic of that night.

Saturday was another long day -- 5 bands from 3-11 -- so I'll just do a quick run through for ya. Night Ranger opened the show at 3 and despite my best efforts, I didn't get to my seat until 3:15 (the line at the gate to get in was incredibly long) which was rather disappointing since I'm a fan and really wanted to see their whole set. Jack Blades is seriously hyper on stage. I did enjoy the 30 minutes of their show full of their classic hits.

Shooting Star was the second band. Can't really say much about 'em. I had never heard of them before the show and when they hit the stage my seat was directly in the sun, so I ducked out to find some shade and half listened to their set from the side.

Heart came out third and WOW. One of the reasons I decided to make the trip for this two day event was to see Heart. Incredible. Ann and Nancy Wilson are just queens of rock and roll. Their set was a mix of the old and the new and got a predictable response -- old songs people on their feet rockin' out, new songs people sitting down in wonder. The new tunes sounded pretty good to me and were pretty rocking, but I'm going to have to hear them a few more times to really form an opinion. In my next life, I'm coming back as Nancy Wilson.

REO was up next, and I held my breath. Kevin Cronin had 10 extra minutes to talk or sing, which would he choose?? Amazingly, it was singing. They added two songs to their now familiar set list ("Music Man" and "Golden Country") I've gotta say, this was the best performance I've seen from them all summer. I'm sure it had to do in part to being a (near) hometown crowd. The crowd was absolutely wild during their set and I was amazed hearing the crowd singing back to the band -- it was so loud! This was the kind of energy every concert should have.

Styx closed out the weekend and despite playing for the hometown crowd, they just didn't grab the audience as well as REO did (which shocked me completely.) Part of it had to do with having four songs from Cyclorama in the set list. Unfortunately as good as the new tunes are, they just suck the life out of the crowd (with the usual exception of the stadium running "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye") and following up "Fields of the Brave" with a medley of Styx tunes just didn't work. The medley was good -- per Tommy Shaw containing parts of one song from each Styx record -- but it didn't bring the crowd back into the show after the new tune. So the Styx set was mixed and I didn't feel the same energy as I usually do during their set.

I did note at least parts of all the set lists (except 38 Special & Shooting Star due to complete unfamiliarity) but will only post the Journey one below. If anyone is interested in any of the other set lists, let me know and I'll shoot it off to ya.

This is my last "Main Event" tour stop for the summer, so everyone enjoy the remaining shows. Up next for me -- an evening with Journey in Konocti!

Journey's Set:

DVD opening intro
Separate Ways
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Star Spangled Banner
Only the Young
Dixie Highway
Lights
-- Jonathan's solo --
Open Arms
Precious Time
Feeling That Way
Anytime
State of Grace
Chain Reaction
Be Good to Yourself
Dead or Alive
Don't Stop Believin'
Ask the Lonely
Escape
Any Way You Want It

Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
Faithfully

June 21, 2003: Main Event in the Mid-West

Kansas City, MO
Kemper Arena

Another month and another road trip to catch "The Main Event." This trip started out just a little different than most. Meeting up with fellow JourneyDigest.com staff member Leslie White in Kansas City Friday night meant I would be on hand to assist in the interview of Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain. We spent an hour Saturday afternoon talking with Neal and Jonathan about a variety of subjects.*

*The interview was published some weeks later on the now defunct website, JourneyDigest.com. You can read it starting here.

Before the show Mark and Lorraine Naster (front)
hosted fans at their house for a wonderful pre-concert barbeque.

Meanwhile, on to the show. This being my fourth show of the tour, I pretty much knew what to expect, but there is always something a little different about every show in every town. It may be a subtle difference, but the differences are there. The Kemper Arena looked to be about 3/4 full, with mostly the high nosebleed seats being vacant. Overall I'd say the crowd was average, not wildly energetic for the entire four and a half hours, but not unenthused either.

REO was up first and went through the same set and the same stories as they've been doing all tour. Other than Kevin Cronin slightly modifying his "Playboy Mansion" story there was nothing new or particularly different in their set. I love their songs and the crowd did too, so the show kicked off in enthusiastic style.

The more I see Styx, the more I enjoy their show. I am extremely glad that they are out on the road with Journey this year and that I am getting the opportunity to see them so often. The energy those guys put out on stage is unbelievable and I have to remind myself I need to conserve some of my energy or by the time Journey hits the stage I will faint from exhaustion. As has been happening all along, the response to the tunes from Cyclorama get a fairly lackluster response since they are so unfamiliar (with the exception of Glen Burtnik's running through the audience "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye" of course.) And for the second time in the four shows I've seen, Styx was joined for a few songs by original bassist Chuck Panazzo. (This puts Glen Burtnik on guitar and I tell ya, having 3 guitars going for a couple of songs is amazing.)

Time for Journey to come on stage. They've changed the opening and now instead of coming on stage to the Red 13 Intro, they are using the intro from the DVD. This works better going in to "Separate Ways" than Red 13 did, but it's a bit of a bummer that now there is nothing from the EP in the set at all. I was able to move up from my 12th row seat to the 4th row about halfway through the set and so experienced the phenomena of having totally different sound during one set. It may be a little easier to see in the fourth row, but it was definitely easier to hear in the twelfth! (Just a reminder for those who find the sound a problem -- take a note of where you are sitting and how it relates to the building and the set up, it DOES make a difference!)

There were a couple of treats for me in this set list -- all of "Dixie Highway" and "Where Were You" (woo hoo! more songs I've never heard live before!) both of which rocked! The only down point in the show was when Jonathan's monitor died right after he introduced "Feeling That Way/Anytime." The show came to a halt for about a minute while his rig was put back on line. (Yikes!) Ross, ever the clown stepped up to his mic and said "We are experiencing technical difficulties, please stand by." A good move to distract the audience momentarily while the road crew fixed the problem. Once back underway, the pace was quickly regained. During "Feeling That Way" I noticed someone was handing Steve a Bammies Walk of Fame pin -- since I had brought some of the extras I had from that weekend to the fan gathering before the concert I was amused to see it now pinned to Steve's jacket. (BTW ladies, white leather jacket, no shirt!)

The show ended all too quickly (even though Journey did run a little long due to the technical difficulty) and soon it was time to say good bye to most of the KC crowd I'd met during the day. This looks to be my last "regular" Main Event show... next stop, Chicago and Loopfest...

Set Lists:

REO:

Ridin' the Storm Out
Keep Pushin'
Can't Fight This Feeling
Don't Let Him Go
Keep on Lovin' You
In Your Letter
Take it on the Run
In My Dreams (acoustic)
Time for Me to Fly
Back on the Road Again
Roll with the Changes

Encore:
157 Riverside Avenue

STYX:

Too Much Time on My Hands
Grand Illusion
Waiting on Our Time To Come
Lady
These Are the Times
Blue Collar Man
Kiss Your Ass Goodbye
Foolin' Yourself (w/ Chuck Panazzo)
Miss America
Come Sail Away (w/ Chuck Panazzo)

Encore:
Renegade (w/ Chuck Panazzo)

JOURNEY:

Separate Ways
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Star Spangled Banner (Neal solo)
Dixie Highway
Lights
-- Jonathan solo --
Open Arms
Where Were You
Feeling That Way
Anytime
Don't Stop Believin'
Ask the Lonely
Escape
Be Good to Yourself
Any Way You Want It

Encore:
Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'
Faithfully

P.S. The video for "Faithfully" is fantastic -- they're using pix of the band's and crew's families. Wonderful!

May 22, 2003: Last Minute Madness

Sacramento, CA
Arco Arena

Okay, I lied, but can I help it when a floor ticket pops up on Ticketmaster two days before the concert??? Yep, a fairly last minute decision to make the two hour drive to Sacramento for last night's show. Unfortunately, the drive actually took THREE hours since there is no good way to get from the SF Peninsula to Sacramento with out having to go through Oakland and the traffic disaster that is the East Bay. So despite leaving work at 4:00 I was a tad late for the show. Not too late though -- I pulled into Arco's parking lot a couple of minutes before the 7:00 show time, and by the time I parked, picked up my ticket at will call, and got inside I found I had only missed one and half songs arriving in the middle of "Keep Pushin'" (Gonna have to admit here I'm glad REO hasn't changed their set list yet -- didn't have to worry about notes for their set!)

REO was really on last night, though the bass was overpowering. My poor ears were REALLY ringing when they finished their set and that's the first time that's happened this tour! Perhaps it had to do with the venue or that there was a speaker suspended directly over my head, but my bones were rattling through their whole set! Kevin's mic sounded a little distorted too (though that may be a factor of "Echo Arena"), but overall it was an enjoyable set. And Kevin's talking was more amusing last night than before -- it's the same shtick, but it was livelier and I actually laughed at the Playboy mansion story!

Styx came on second, and I've gotta tell ya, the more I see these guys the more I enjoy them. (Thank goodness they're touring with Journey or I might wind up going broke trying to travel to Styx shows too!) They switched their set list up a bit and got me all confused! JY usually spends a little time chatting with the audience before "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye" to give Glen Burtnik time to get out in to the audience, so when he started talking after "Lady" I jotted down "Kiss Your Ass" in my notebook and started looking around to see where Glen would pop up. Imagine my amazement when I notice Glen was still on stage and JY launches in to "These Are Times"! (Yikes... scratch out the notebook...) This was followed up by "Blue Collar Man" and about mid-way through the song I notice someone doing the "duck run" out from back stage and I think "oh man someone's having equipment problems, here comes the roadie!" The "roadie" stands up and it's Kevin Cronin joining in on vocals. The crowd went NUTS -- people who had been sitting down (yes hard to believe) were on their feet and going wild. Got me wondering if anyone would show up later during Journey's set. (No such luck.)

Journey of course was next and they hit the stage right on time (they had me a little worried after San Jose!) and opened with the Red 13 Intro then went in to "Separate Ways." Deen was just slamming on the drums during the intro -- amazing power there! I gotta say that the opening was a little disjointed to me, though "Separate Ways" got a much better response than "State of Grace" usually does. Still, keep "State of Grace" if the Red 13 Intro is being used -- it just sounds weird otherwise! Like the show in LA, the set list has changed from the first shows of the tour. Gone are "Precious Time" (waaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!) and the medley of "La Do Da/Dixie Highway/Line of Fire" (waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!) And in their place are "Chain Reaction" and "Higher Place" (okay that's cool) The reaction of the crowd to "Chain Reaction" and "Higher Place" isn't that much different than "Precious Time" or the medley though. I was the only person in my row (or the row in front of me) standing for "Higher Place" and a some of the die hard Nor Cal crew in the same row a section over were the only ones standing in THEIR row! I think I mentioned in the San Jose report that Jonathan's solo before "Open Arms" has changed -- another beautiful piece of work.

The show closed off in an energized fashion and when Jonathan pulled out the harmonica for "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" I was amazed. The fun part of watching him on the harmonica is the look in his eyes -- he is really concentrating on what he's doing! That was a very nice treat to add to an old favorite.

During the set I was amused by the little things that ran through my mind. It's funny what you notice after so many shows -- Neal making a face and cursing during "Don't Stop Believin'," Jonathan with an "oops" look on his face at another point, Ross standing with his neck askew looking like a deer in the headlights.... It's interesting noticing these subtleties. The show ended about 11:30 (which also threw me off since the shows I've been to so far all started at 7:30 and ended around midnight!) and it was time for the 2 hour drive home (accomplished in about 90 minutes due to some violations of the local speed limits!) For the ride home I popped Escape into the CD player and it hit me that there's one song that hasn't been played in AGES that needs to be rotated into the set list -- can anyone remember the last time "Who's Crying Now" was played??? My best recollection is the 1998 tour! That is really just too long!

Okay, this is really it for a while, though odds are there will be another show squeezed in between now and Chicago (I just can't seem to stay away....)


Set Lists:

REO:

Riding the Storm Out
Keep Pushing
I Can't Fight This Feeling
Don't Let Him Go
Keep on Lovin' You
In Your Letter
Take it on the Run
In My Dreams (acoustic)
Time for Me to Fly
Back on the Road Again
Roll With the Changes

Encore:
157 Riverside Avenue

STYX:

Too Much Time on My Hands
Grand Illusion
Waiting for Our Time to Come (new)
Lady
These Are the Times (new)
Blue Collar Man
Kiss Your Ass Goodbye (new)
Fooling Yourself
Miss America
Come Sail Away

Encore:
Renegade

JOURNEY:

Red 13 Intro
Separate Ways
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Star Spangled Banner
Chain Reaction
Lights
-- Jonathan's solo --
Open Arms
Higher Place
Don't Stop Believin'
Ask the Lonely
Escape
Be Good to Yourself
Any Way You Want It

Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
Faithfully

May 16, 2003: The Main Event Comes to Nor Cal

San Jose, CA
HP Pavilion

Well the second of my 3 shows for the summer has come and gone. (Heavy sigh) I must say after having the boys play "at home" towards the end of their tour every year for the last 5 years, I'm a little disoriented by this first week -- Home Town gig!

The show started right on time with Styx in the opening slot, which is an interesting switch from having REO open. Personally, the order of REO-Styx-Journey works better just because the excitement level increases (though anyone following Styx has a tough task -- they are just so blazingly energetic.) As was the case in Vegas, the auditorium was only about half filled when Styx took the stage with people trickling in throughout. The set list was exactly the same as it was in Vegas, and once again, having Glen Burtnik out in the audience for "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye" was a brilliant move. These guys know that new material isn't going to get the same response as "classic" material, so finding a way to get the audience in to it is vital. After their set I nearly got hit in the head with a flying drumstick that some guy 3 seats over dived on and trotted off with. (Hey, I'm the one that nearly got killed....)

Time for the 20 minute change over (so a mad dash to find some water and visit with people -- it's getting ridiculous, every Journey show I go to feels like a high school reunion!) and we made it back to our seats with about 2 minutes to spare. (Boy, that timer sure comes in handy!)

REO took the stage and proceeded to perform the same set list as Las Vegas (with the same stories...) I thought they were a little tighter this time through, but I was able to recite Kevin's Playboy mansion story almost word for word with him -- after having only heard it once before! ACK! Their set is a bit more mellow than Styx, which is due to the different styles of the bands. I realized that I am forever going to get a lump in my throat during "Keep on Loving You." The last time I saw REO (prior to this tour) was during the "Volunteers for America" show in October 2001, and they did an acoustic version of "Keep on Loving You" that they dedicated to the wife and new born child of a member of the road crew for the Backstreet Boys (I think) who was killed in one of the airplanes on 9/11. I sobbed my way through that song that night, and that is the first thing that pops into my head now every time I hear it.

REO closed their set out (a minute early!) and on came the road crew for the next 20 minute change over. I went off to find my cousin somewhere in the crowd and spent most of the intermission chatting with her. When I figured there was about 3-4 minutes left, I headed back to my seat to have some water and sit down for a few minutes before another 80 minutes of standing. Took a look at the timer, and it read 5 minutes and counting. So I waited... and waited.... and waited... Yep, our boys were late! We noticed some members of the crew hovering on stage near The Whale and guessed there was some kind of technical problem with the keyboards.

Journey finally took the stage about 5 minutes late (which during a 4.5 hour show that started at 7:30 can be a big deal -- it was nearly 11:00 by that point!) A couple of songs in Steve apologized for being late though, which I thought was pretty cool. The set list was switched around a little from Las Vegas (including trading out "Rubicon" for "Ask the Lonely" -- as much as I like "Ask the Lonely" I wish "Rubicon" had stayed...) The crowd was definitely packed in for Journey -- seats near me that had been vacant for either Styx or REO were filled for Journey. As always "Lights" got a great response from the home town crowd -- there really is nothing like Journey singing that song in the Bay Area!

The 80 minutes flew by and there we were singing "Oh-Oh-Oh-OH" at the end of "Faithfully" as the guys left the stage (a la the 2001 DVD) and everyone wanting more. With nearly the entire Journey Past and Present committee was at the show together (we really missed ya Mary Ann!) we were able to get to visit with the guys for a little while after the show and finally have a chance to TALK to them a little about the Bammies Walk of Fame weekend. (We were all so busy that day we barely even got to say hello to them!)

JPP Committee & Journey
Back Row: Steve Augeri, Cheryl Simien, Neal Schon, Emerson Dong, Leslie Forsythe, Deen Castronovo
Michelle Murray.
Front Row: Ross Valory, Todd Forysthe, Darla Ellis, random dude who hopped in [Need to photoshop in Mary Ann!]

It was a pretty small group in the after-show, and we were about half of it so lots of time to visit, and we managed to get the ONE thing we wanted from the Walk of Fame weekend -- a picture of all us with the guys. Not totally complete since Mary Ann was missing and Jon ducked out on us [guess we'll just have to add them digitally!] but mission accomplished!

A quick fashion report (since it's been requested): Steve -- white leather pants, chocolate colored silk shirt; Neal -- Journey hockey jersey (very nice, must save money and purchase!) with a bandana tied around his head (a little weird); Jon -- tan suede (?) jacket (that was removed early) black and white shirt, black pants; Ross -- orange shirt over a black shirt with shoes to match; Deen -- red hockey jersey and an interesting pair of long black shorts that appeared to have buckles all over them!

Other notes -- The lobsters are multiplying around Deen's kit already -- including a huge one that was sitting between the bass drums. The arena was probably at about 75% capacity with only about half of the upper level being filled. Disappointing, but I would have been more surprised if it had been sold out -- an unfortunate reality I suppose.

Set Lists (in order of appearance):

STYX:

Too Much Time on My Hands
Grand Illusion
Waiting for Our Time (new)
Lady
Blue Collar Man
-- Lawrence Gowan solo --
Fields of the Brave (new)
Kiss Your Ass Goodbye (new)
Fooling Yourself
Miss America
Come Sail Away

Encore:
--bluesy intro
Renegade

REO:

Riding the Storm Out
Keep Pushing
I Can't Fight This Feeling
Don't Let Him Go
Keep on Lovin' You
In Your Letter
Take it on the Run
In My Dreams (acoustic)
Time for Me to Fly
Back on the Road Again
Roll With the Changes

Encore:
157 Riverside Avenue

JOURNEY:

State of Grace
Separate Ways
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Star Spangled Banner
La Do Da/Dixie Highway/Line of Fire medley
Lights
 -- Jon's solo (sounded a little different!) --
Open Arms
Precious Time
Don't Stop Believin'
Ask the Lonely
Escape
Be Good to Yourself
Any Way You Want It


Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
Faithfully

That's it for me until Chicago in July, so can't wait to hear from everyone else how the rest of the tour progresses!

May 10 2003: ...And Now The Main Event

Las Vegas, NV
Aladdin Casino 

WOW! That's the first thought that comes to mind, just WOW! Last night opened the "Classic Rock's Main Event" Tour featuring REO Speedwagon, Styx, and our Journey boys. I've got to say this is probably the most impressive FIRST show of a tour I've seen. The glitches were basically non-existent, which was amazing. All three bands put on excellent shows, and I had a WONDERFUL night.

REO opened the night and had the most reserved response of the night -- most people sat through most of their set. (Personally, I was up and down as of the three bands REO ranks 3rd for me.) The show didn't start "right on time" as promised by Kevin Cronin in the recent Rockline interview (which I didn't expect anyway) -- they took the stage at 7:30, a full half hour past the stated start time. They had a very cool opening video sequence before they came out which features pictures from all eras of the band and was a good energizer before they hit the stage with "Ridin' the Storm Out."

As I expected, Kevin talked WAAAAY too much. Just shut up and sing dude! But that was probably my only complaint on their set. And folks, be prepared... he's got a looooooooooooooooong tale about the Playboy mansion that since the video screens behind him were showing pictures going along with the story, it will be there the whole tour. (My personal favorite was the "blah blah blah" screen!)

Before the show started I noticed a red digital clock back by the soundboard and didn't think much of it until about half way through REO's set when I was surveying the crowd and noticed the clock was reading 45:15 and counting down. Yes folks, they've got a TIMER on all three bands!

So after about 80 minutes and 4 shirt changes for Kevin, REO wound up their set. (Of course, the timer had run out and they went about 2 minutes long... once again, shut up and sing!)

Then out rushed the stage crew and I gotta tell ya the fact that they actually were able to switch stages from REO to Styx in 20 minutes was VERY impressive. Both Styx and REO had risers behind the drum kit where various members of the band would appear through out the set. (Kevin Cronin and Neil Dougherty taking turns on a piano mostly for REO, and everyone but the drummer for Styx.) Though their stages were similar, they made enough changes that the look was different.

9:00 -- a giant carrot appears on the video screen (what is up with that Cyclorama cover anyway??) and the boys from Styx all appear standing on top of the riser and take the stage. The crowd kicked in gear when they started their set -- most everyone was on their feet for "Too Much Time on My Hands." As I think everyone knows, Styx has a new CD out (which I bought last week so I'd have some clue of the new songs and recommend -- it's quite good) so they played three tracks from Cyclorama which got a fairly lackluster response, though having Glen Burtnik out in the audience singing "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye" was an inspired move and got the audience into a song they had never heard before. (And damn is that man energetic, he was running all OVER the place.) Chuck Panazzo joined in for a few songs -- coming out towards the end of the set during "Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)."

Styx actually finished their set with about a minute and half left to go on the timer, and spent that time tossing picks and "Styx" beach balls out into the audience. (I think Tommy Shaw even signed a few things.)

Time for another 20 minute set change and Journey would hit the stage! The last time I'd seen Journey and Styx on the same stage was at Junefest in 2001 and that time Styx just blew Journey out of the water with their set, and after the high energy show Styx put on last night, I kept my fingers crossed that our boys would be up to following that set.

Out comes the crew and the set changed yet again. Deen's drum kit looks much bigger than past years and WOW the artwork on the bass drums looks great -- good job Christopher! Also looks like Deen's "mascot" for this year is some kind of stuffed lobster, which I noted was sitting on one of the drums towards the back of the kit.

10:27 -- the Red 13 opening starts and the video screen starts showing stars and galaxies and I'm on my feet in an instant! We know by now, of course, that "State of Grace" is the opening song and in my opinion is probably the best place to stick a new/unfamiliar song. The crowd stayed pretty well on their feet through most of it (though I did notice folks sitting yet again -- ah well.) Everyone was back on their feet for "Separate Ways" and stayed that way for much of the night. Unlike Styx and REO, Journey didn't utilize the wings of the stage as much. A little disappointing for me since I was sitting right next to the wing on Jon's side. The configuration of the Alladdin's theater is VERY strange -- all the seats are in a semi-circle so that the ones off to the sides are actually facing the middle of the theater and NOT the stage. Of course, if they were facing the stage, you wouldn't be able to SEE anything. Not a typical view.

They played a very tight set, which was fairly similar but not exactly the same as the show they just did in San Francisco. There are some fun moments in the video projection behind the band that I won't ruin for everyone, but there are a few cool things that I wanted to mention. For one, there was a camera SOMEWHERE above Deen and periodically the screen would show shots looking down at the top of Deen's head and (of course) his kit. (I noticed at least 4 video cameras going from where I was seated, so hopefully they'll save a lot of this footage and put it together in some form of DVD.) Another personal favorite moment of mine with the video was during "Lights" -- they had some SPECTACULAR shots of San Francisco and "the sun shine on the bay." I tend to forget sometimes just how pretty my hometown is!

During the "Star Spangled Banner" I happened to notice the shirt Neal was wearing (yes, you're gonna get a minor fashion report, but it is relevant) It was a Journey shirt with the current scarab version (the one with the Golden Gate Bridge in the body) but instead of the blue/red/yellow wings it had the stars and stripes as wings. I didn't take time to check out the swag table at all, but hopefully this is something that will be available for sale -- it looked GREAT!

The audience overall was pretty good, though the response on some of the less familiar songs in the set ("Rubicon", "La Do Da"/"Dixie Highway"/"Line of Fire") was pretty weak -- it was apparent that a good chunk of the audience didn't know these songs. Too bad, because they rocked!
 
Journey finished up their set about 11:45 (yes, also about 2 minutes over the 80 minute allotment!) and I was in that "good tired" mode after a good concert -- ears ringing a little, back and feet a little weary, but bubbling with that buzz you get from a good show.

Set lists in order of appearance:

REO:
(thanks to Cheryl for helping w/ song titles)

Riding the Storm Out
Keep Pushing
I Can't Fight This Feeling
Don't Let Him Go (following the Playboy mansion story)
Keep on Loving You
In Your Letter
Take It on the Run
-- exit for wardrobe change by Kevin Cronin --
-- more talking --
In My Dreams (acoustic)
Time for Me to Fly
Back on the Road Again
Roll With the Changes

Encore:
157 Riverside Avenue

STYX:

Too Much Time on My Hands
Grand Illusion
Waiting for Our Time (new -- I love this one)
Lady
Blue Collar Man
-- Lawrence Gowan solo --
Fields of the Brave (new)
Kiss Your Ass Goodbye (new)
Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man) w/ Chuck Panazzo
Miss America
Come Sail Away (w/ Chuck Panazzo)

Encore:
Renegade

JOURNEY:

State of Grace
Separate Ways
-- Neal Solo -- Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Medley: La Do Da, Dixie Highway, Line of Fire
Lights
-- Jon Solo --
Open Arms
Precious Time
Rubicon
Don't Stop Believin'
Faithfully
Escape
Wheel in the Sky
Be Good to Yourself

Encore:
Any Way You Want It
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

[Note how many more songs Journey was able to play than Styx or REO in the same amount of time!]

Until San Jose.....

October 21, 2001: Volunteers for America

Dallas, TX
Smirnoff Music Center

 

I'm not sure where I got this photo from the close of the concert.
I know I didn't take it as I was closer to the stage and off to the right.

Hello one and all, your intrepid roving reporter has returned from her second trip to Texas in less than six months (yes, I do believe I am crazy.) I am warning you up front that this will be a LONG post.

I swore I'd never go back to Texas after my week-long drive through in June, but when the Volunteers for America shows were announced, I knew I had to find a way there. An offer from a friend for a place to crash for the weekend, and a calculation that my tax refund should be able to cover the trip, and I was off again. After a hellish week at work, I was never more eager to get out of town than I was on Saturday. Paying attention to all the travel advisories, I planned to arrive at the airport 2 hours early. Imagine my surprise when my father dropped me off at the Continental terminal at SFO and there was NO need to double park -- the curb was clear for most of the road! No line at the ticket counter either, and I was in shock. This is the 5th busiest airport in the country, and no waiting! Well... not exactly. Getting through security took much longer than usual and I quickly learned to just stick my drivers license in my pocket as I was asked for ID at the counter, the metal detectors, and again boarding the plane. It was heartbreaking to see the armed National Guardsmen at the security check -- I've seen soldiers with rifles in airports before, just never in this country. That was the first sign how things had changed. The second was the few people at the gates -- no one seeing people off, just passengers. The third -- my flight was about 1/3 full. I had a whole row of seats to myself, as did many passengers. It was a powerful reminder of what this concert was about.

Sunday evening came quickly, and after battling the fair traffic, the group of us who'd met in Dallas were at the Smirnoff Pavilion for the 5:00 start. The schedule posted at the box office said that the color guard and National Anthem would begin at 4:45, but as is fairly normal at concerts, things were running late. The show began at 5:15 with the Dallas Police Honor Guard presenting the colors and the singing of the National Anthem, and then we were off!

After a quick stand-up bit by Drew Carey, the show opened with the "Volunteers for America All-Star Band." First up -- Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw and a fantastic version of "You Can Still Rock in America," which set the tone and energy level for the entire night.

Two more songs by Jack and Tommy before the first change in the All-Star Band. Edgar Winter came out and was joined by Mark Farner from Grand Funk Railroad. I gotta admit, these were the two I was the least interested in seeing (and least familiar with, which makes sense) so it was an energy conserving rest for me. Two songs from this duo and it was John Waite's turn to hit the stage.

Waite's set was the first of several that triggered new meanings to songs I had heard before. After opening with "Change," he launched into "NYC Girl" from his new album. I'd loved the song this past summer, and now it had a new layer of meaning applied to it. He closed out with "Head First," and we experienced the first slow down in the change of acts. I was hot with the sun setting behind me so ran out to get a drink, and when I returned Mark Farner and Edgar Winter had returned to the stage and were doing a Grand Funk Railroad tune I recognized ("I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home".) Jack Blades and Drew Carey joined in on backing vocals (the first of several interesting guest appearances.)

Survivor followed with two songs, and as I have already apologized to Cheryl Ann for my blunder, I have to relate the tale of Jimi Jamison walking out on stage. He was dressed all in black and his access badge was clearly showing, and I was quite surprised when the guy I thought was a roadie started singing! Eddie Money closed out the All-Star set with three songs, and then it was time for the first intermission.

A black curtain came down, but there were several stools and microphones set out in front. A few minutes later, Styx came out with Jack Blades and performed an acoustic version of "High Enough." Fantastic! The intermission continued for a while after this, and I headed for the ladies room. When I returned, Kansas had hit the stage (which took a mental calculation from me as I had no clue what these guys looked like) and were performing a song I didn't recognize. Their set was fairly short -- only 3 songs by my notes, but I may be missing one -- and they too were joined by Drew Carey for backing vocals on "Carry On Wayward Son."

A quick change and Peter Frampton came out next sporting an FDNY T-shirt. Being the daughter of a retired firefighter, I was touched. In his interaction with the audience, Frampton announced that he had been living in the US since 1974 and was planning on becoming a US citizen now in wake of September 11 -- a huge cheer ensued. The most surprising aspect of his 3-song set was that "Do You Feel Like I Do" didn't last for 15 minutes like it had all summer! It was perhaps half as long.

Our next intermission followed with a few jokes from Drew Carey and an acoustic rendition of "Missing You" from John Waite.

By now it was after 8:00 and time for the "headliners." Styx came on first, and once again familiar songs took on new aspects. "Grand Illusion", "Come Sail Away", and "Renegade" stand out most in my mind. When Tommy Shaw tried to introduce "Fooling Yourself" he was drowned out by the chant of "USA-USA-USA" which began slowly in the back, and swelled hugely. The energy of the night and the show of patriotism caught my attention once again reminding me that this wasn't just another concert.

The curtain came down on the stage and our next acoustic set was up. Out comes Journey for the first time. This was the only point of the night that I was disappointed with my seat. I was in the 2nd row on the outside aisle on Neal's side of the stage. Great for the whole show EXCEPT for watching Neal play an acoustic guitar at center stage! Steve said a few words about the impact of September 11 on New York and mentioned he has a few friends in the fire department who have lost colleagues. This was the introduction to "Trial By Fire." Words really can't describe what this was like live -- Neal and Jon on acoustic guitars, Ross on his electric bass, and Deen with a silver tube he shook for percussion. The song brought tears to my eyes. Perhaps the highlight of this song was Deen showing off his impressive backing vocals -- it was very clear in such a simple setting. They followed TBF with "Liberty" -- an absolutely perfect tune. If this was ALL Journey did the whole night I would have gone home perfectly happy. It was a truly rare opportunity, and I'm glad I was witness to it.

Bad Company followed with a 7 song set that had a great deal of audience participation. At one point (during "Rock & Roll Fantasy" I believe) someone in the front row handed Paul Rodgers a cell phone and he kept on singing -- right into the phone! I can only imagine what the person on the other end was thinking!

Another set-change intermission with Peter Frampton doing his acoustic bit, and out comes Drew Carey to introduce "a new band" -- REO Speedwagon. Mercifully, Kevin Cronin kept his talking to a minimum (I thought he talked far too much the only previous time I've seen REO, which was last year in Las Vegas) and focused on the 6-song set. They closed with a raucous version of "Roll With the Changes" and were joined on stage by Styx and Drew Carey (once again -- and, yes he actually can carry a tune.)

Our final intermission of the night, and the most poignant. First we were greeted by Eddie Money who spoke briefly about his family of NYPD and then introduced two officers from the New York/New Jersey Port Authority. The line of his introduction that hit me in the gut was "these are the guys who were rushing in when everyone else was rushing out" -- a line my father has used many times describing his experiences as a fireman. One of the officers read a statement telling of their experiences and of the 37 Port Authority officers who lost their lives in the World Trade Center, and by the time he was finished, I felt as if someone had taken a hammer to my stomach. I've been identifying all too readily with the families of the NYPD and FDNY who have lost someone. I know that in a different time and place, I could be the one to have lost someone and that is not a comforting thought.

This emotional moment, as difficult as it was, was immediately followed by another one. REO Speedwagon came out once again, and Kevin Cronin told a story of a carpenter who had worked for the road crew of many musicians in recent years, and on a break from the Backstreet Boys tour, was on the plane from Boston to LA that crashed into one of the towers. He was on his way home to see the birth of his daughter, who was born two days later. A video of his wife and daughter appeared on the video screens that flanked each side of the stage. When the story was finished, REO launched into an acoustic version of "Keep on Loving You." I was a complete wreck, with Journey minutes away.

Thankfully, the intermission stretched on for longer than expected. From my vantage point, I was able to see behind the curtain somewhat, and it appeared they were having some kind of technical problem with the monitors. When Journey finally hit the stage it was about 12:30 a.m. You would think that at that hour the 15,000 or so people in attendance would have dwindled. The concert had gone on for nearly 8 hours at this point and the next day was a work day, but while there were a smattering of empty seats, the place was still packed.

Unlike the previous night in Atlanta, there was no "World Gone Wild" in this set, just a standard hits package. Neal's rendition of "Amazing Grace" set the place on fire. An absolutely huge roar. About half-way through the set, Steve changed from his standard-issue white shirt to a form fitting white T-shirt that said "I (heart) NY." They closed their 8+ song set with "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'." After the first round of "Na-na's" I see Tommy Shaw leading a charge of people running behind Deen's drum kit, and Styx, REO, Drew Carey, the police officers, Eddie Money, and some members of Bad Company & Kansas all joined Journey on stage for the long "na-na" waving section. It was great to see all these guys on stage at once. A better highlight was watching the two police officers taking pictures of themselves with as many people as they could!!

When LTS wrapped up, there were a few words of thanks to all the crew, and everyone sang "God Bless America." It was 1:20 in the morning, and the concert was over.

A few parting thoughts before I list the Journey set-list... While I am glad I was able to attend such a memorable concert, the reason I was attending this show was not lost on me. The quantity of death and destruction left in the wake of September 11 is not something any of us will soon forget. These shows raised a lot of money to benefit the people of New York, and I hope that point was not lost on the people in attendance. It is naive of me to think that those who scalped tickets to this show donated their profits to the Red Cross or some other worthy charity, but I can hope a few did. (The bootleggers out there still have an opportunity to stand up!)

And now the Journey set list (I do have notes on other set lists, but as I'm horrid with titles of some songs -- and some I didn't know -- I will not post those, but anyone interested may contact me privately and I'll be happy to give ya what I've got.)


Set list:

Separate Ways
-- Neal solo -- Amazing Grace
Stone in Love
Lights
Don't Stop Believin'
Faithfully
Escape
-- Neal solo --
Wheel in the Sky
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'