October 23, 2010: Hit Men All-Stars and NLCS Game 6

Lake Tahoe, NV
Harrah's South Shore Room

Saturday was a long day. It was fabulous, it was exciting, it was very memorable, but it was a long day.

Getting ready Friday night to head up to Tahoe and see Steve Augeri perform with a group of veteran session musicians, I discovered I had left my cell phone at work. Great. That meant getting up at 6:15 so I could leave the house by 7, drive to work, get my phone, and bring my car in for an oil change by 8. The 45-minute oil-change, turned into a three and a half hour brake job, thus wiping out any chance of taking care of a couple of errands before heading to a birthday party for one of my closest and oldest friend's 5-year old daughter not to mention not being able to make an appearance at the party at all. Guilt trip galore.

Once the car is ready to go, I have just enough time to fill the gas tank and grab some water and trail mix at the gas station so I have SOME kind of food in me before making the 4 hour drive to South Shore. I picked up Leslie around 12:30 and we were on the road. I had expected that on the drive up we'd be listening to my beloved Giants playing the Phillies in the National League Championship Series. The game was supposed to be at 12:30 local time, but because there was no American League game the start got pushed back to 5:00. Great. Won't be able to listen to it, won't be able to watch much of it. Sigh.

Leslie and I made pretty decent time up to Tahoe, only hitting traffic in Davis, and arrived shortly before first pitch... uh about a quarter to five. We quickly checked in, freshened up and headed up to Darryl and Jenny's room to meet up with folks and some pre-dinner cocktails. It was fantastic to see Lorraine in from KC with her sister Karyn along with some of the local Nor Cal gang. It was also fantastic to see the TV was on and I could catch the first couple of innings. I warned the Journey buddies that I was not the greatest of company when my Giants are in the playoffs, so my frequent distraction and minor panic attacks weren't going to alarm anyone during the course of the night. (Conversely, it turns out, hanging with the Journey buddies prevented me from having the several major panic attacks, two strokes, and heart attack I would have had if I'd watched the game as I normally would have.)

Teresa and Jenn joined us and we all headed down to Cabo Wabo for dinner. We were met by Matt and his girlfriend, but unfortunately we weren't able to reach Debbie, Krystal, and Renee before dinner so had to wait until show time to see them. We were waiting to be seated at Cabo Wabo long enough for me to catch another half inning of the game and see the Jonathan Sanchez meltdown and subsequent tough-guy posturing by both teams. Not long enough though for me to see how the inning turned out (from all reports, it was epic!) You see, our group was too large for the main restaurant area where the TVs were clearly visible, so we were seated in the larger group area where there were NO TVs. Argh. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one at the table who was interested in the game (though I suspect I was the most crazed about it) and by peeking through the glass wall I could at least see some of what was happening on one of the TVs. Couldn't tell the score, couldn't tell the inning, but got a sense of who was up and, since the whole casino was packed with Giants fans, could tell if anything critical happened by the response coming from the bars. It also helped that Chris's husband Charles went out once and a while and got updates and that Matt had his iPhone and could check updates. The game was tied at 2-2 when we arrived for dinner, and remained so throughout.

Showtime was 7:30, so we headed up to the showroom around 7. Everyone got separated a bit as some folks had to go grab their tickets or freshen up, and I found myself alone at the big projection screen TV outside the South Shore Room with enough time to watch the bottom of the 6th inning. Minor panic attack, but my Giants got through it, game still tied.

Inside the venue, the whole gang was seated in the first 6 rows on the same side of the stage, and it was like you would expect at any Journey show pre-2006. Hugs and laughs and picture taking and just a grand ole time. When we asked a fellow sitting near by to take the group picture he asked "What is this, a family reunion?" We said yes. I turned my mind off baseball (mostly) and focused on the gig.

Now, when the line up of the show was finally posted, I looked at it and thought "who?" Aside from Steve, the only guy on the bill whose name I recognized was Mark Slaughter, but the resumes of each member was impressive. Between the 7 or 8 guys they had played with almost everyone in rock and roll. I had no idea what the show was going to be like other than a bunch of guys covering classic songs -- should be fun, and I get to see Steve perform for the first time in 5 years (something that shocked me when I realized it.)

The band came out and everyone but Steve was on stage as they launched in to Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing." The Journey gang was up on their feet with applause while the other 250 or so people sat quietly. Yeah, looked like we were going to be the rowdy part of the crowd. As the band went into "Walk This Way," it was clear that each guy would be the featured singer covering songs from bands they had played with. Our little group was up and down singing and dancing along. As there were some vacant seats near the stage, people shifted around and just started having a grand ole time. We could see Steve sitting on a stool off to the right side of the stage waiting patiently for his turn to come out. Jenn, Teresa and Leslie, being in the front row could see the set list and gave those of us a few rows back a heads up when Steve was due out. Just before he was due out, Matt turned around and showed me his iPhone. Giants lead 3-2 in the 8th inning, Tim Lincecum on to pitch. Oh. My. God!

Steve came out about half way through the show and the Journey gang not already in the front row headed up to the stage screaming wildly. Matt showed me his phone again. Bottom of the 9th. One out. Giants still lead 3-2. AIEEEE! Steve and the guys launched in to "Separate Ways" and I started my series of concert calls to friends who couldn't make it. It was great to hear him sing again and our little group was joined by people further back in the crowd and we got the joint rocking. They followed up with "Lights" (good pick since Tahoe this time of year is filled with mostly folks from Nor Cal getting away for the weekend) and then finished his 3-song set with "Don't Stop Believin'." I made my way back to my seat in the 4th row and as "Sultans of Swing" began a guy in the front row and Matt both turned around and said "Giants win!" I responded by screaming wildly and completely out of context with what was happening on stage. Who cares -- joy and enthusiasm are great any time any where!

I did have to smile to myself at how fitting that DSB was the song I heard right before the Giants win. For those of you who haven't seen or heard, DSB has become a little of an anthem for the Giants. True, the White Sox used it first in 2005. True, the dreaded Dodgers play it in the 8th inning of every home game. But Journey is a San Francisco band and Steve Perry is a Giants fan and has led the crowd in DSB a few times in the last couple of weeks. Which has led to a GREAT DSB parody. It was great to hear it at such an appropriate moment.

The band rocked on, as did we, and more excellent covers were performed. These guys aren't big money rock stars, but they were rock solid musicians and did an amazing job covering everything. Steve came out again for the finale ("Any Way You Want It") which had everyone going nuts. A quick one song encore, and the show was over a little after 9. An early night to be sure. One of the guys (Mark Slaughter maybe?) said the band would be at Cabo Wabo after the show, so our little gang gathered together and headed back downstairs to the Cabo Wabo bar where we were periodically greeted with people randomly starting a "Let's Go GI-ANTS" chant. I made the appropriate hand clapping response every time.

We hung around the bar for a couple of hours and listened to the house band -- a fairly adequate group of guys and fine for what it was. One by one the "All Stars" made their way to the bar where they were greeted by a handful of folks (mostly our little group) for quick autographs and photos. The only fellow who didn't have a lead vocal during their show arrived just as the house band was starting a Tom Petty tune. He walked over to where we were sitting by a half wall behind the band, leaned over and said to the band "Lemme show you how it's done" and took on the first verse of the song. Steve took forever to arrive, but he finally did and most of our group got at least a quick hello. When the house band took a break, some of the "All Stars" took the stage and played a few songs. It was loud and goofy, but lots of fun.

When the house band came back, it was close to midnight, so we all headed back up to Darryl and Jenny's room for some more conversation. The party broke up around 2 and we made plans to meet for breakfast at 8:30 as Leslie and I had to hit the road by 10. Sunday morning came all too fast and it was nice to relive the night before heading for home. It was a wet ride and Leslie and I were pooped, but it was worth the trip. Steve Augeri and the Giants win the pennant all in one night. Yup, well worth it.

Set List:

Money for Nothing
Walk This Way
More Than a Feeling
Go Your Own Way
Amanda
Don't Tell Me You Love Me
Sister Christian
Separate Ways
Lights
Don't Stop Believin' (The Giants win the pennant!)
Sultans of Swing
Fly to the Angels
Tear It Up
Don't Stop
Sweet Emotion
Love in an Elevator
Any Way You Want It

Encore:
Smokin'

March 27, 2010: Another Night Out with Neal

San Francisco, CA
Fillmore Auditorium

Birthday Weekend Number Two! Last week it was off to Modesto for Darryl's birthday and a concert. This week it was up to San Francisco for Emerson's birthday and a concert. Awfully repetitive wouldn't you say??

Last night started with a dinner for 17 at Benihana at the Japan Center just up the street from the Fillmore Auditorium. It was great having friends from near and far join up for a birthday/pre-show dinner before Neal's show at the Fillmore. We weren't as loud or raucous as we were last week, but that was more due to the nature of Benihana than the crowd. It was great, however, to get a little while to catch up with Jenn and Valerie P. -- I hadn't seen either in several years which is simply MUCH too long. As a bonus, we got to sit in the room that was visible to all passersby and we had quite a few people peeking in looking at us having dinner!

We walked back down the street to get in line for the show and, naturally, ran in to more people we knew. As we filed in, the crowd was a bit sparse and I was thinking that it would look like the Soul Sirkus crowd -- maybe a quarter full theater. Most of the group made their way to the stage to be front and center for the show and were pleasantly surprised when Miles and the keyboard kid came out 15 minutes early for their opening set. It was the same set as in Modesto, opening with Miles playing a ukulele. This time, however, there were some fans of the Miles Schon Band in the audience who were hooting and hollering and singing along. I was asked straight off by a couple of people standing behind me who was playing. When I said "Miles Schon" I got a puzzled look. "Neal's son." More looks of confusion. After some explaining it turned out they are fans of Arnel's who'd come to check out the show. (At least that's my best guess, it was a bit hard to converse, but I did get a bit about Arnel and Journey.)

After Miles's set, the crowd started squeezing in and I was getting claustrophobic up front, so I bailed and went over to sit by the bar and watch from the side. Had a good view and could visit some with Karyn and Joe, Charles, and Darryl, and anyone else in the group who decided to stay out of the throng. By the time Neal took the stage, the place was looking pretty full. Not packed sell out by any means, but a pretty decent crowd overall. The set was much the same as Modesto, but there was at least one different song (no clue what the name of it was) when Neal brought out a double necked guitar. Hadn't seen that in Modesto. Forgot to mention last time that one of the covers was Led Zep's "Immigrant Song" and again confirming for me a preference for Zep with out Robert Plant singing. Yes, I know, sacrilegious, but his voice always sounds like screeching cats dragging their claws on a chalkboard for me. Add in that I can't hear "Immigrant Song" with out thinking of the Viking Kittens* and well, I was laughing to myself a bit.

Cameras were scattered around the theater recording the show for posterity. Whether or not it sees the light of day, who knows, but at least there was a good crowd and good sound (MUCH better than in Modesto -- could actually hear the vocals!) Saw Ross on our way out too, which was fun.

All in all, a fun evening out with friends and I really do miss the "ole days" of groups of people gathering before shows. Will have to find a way to do this again soon!

*It's getting harder to find this online as it's been blocked on YouTube for copyright issues. Too bad, it's one of the best and earliest viral internet items I can remember.

March 20, 2010: Night Out with Neal

Modesto, CA
State Theater

At some point Saturday night while sitting in the State Theater it dawned on me -- it had been EXACTLY 12 years since the very first time I saw Neal Schon perform. That night, I dragged my poor friend Mary with me. This night, I was in the second row with almost a dozen other Journey buddies. My how time has flown.

It was kind of the theme for the day -- how fast time goes by when you're having fun. My day started with picking up Cheryl and meeting Leslie for Telysa's shower. How is this kid I've known since she was 16 suddenly old enough to be a mom and get married? Where'd the time go.

After the shower, we made a quick stop at Leslie's for a change of clothes and a little down time. Cheryl checked in with Jenn to get a report on the previous night's show in Vegas. The end of the conversation I heard sounded like it was good, not great. Hmmm. Well now it was time to head out to Modesto and environs to meet up with Darryl and Jenny, Chris C. and her husband, Chris W. in from Connecticut, and Emerson for some pre-show dinner and laughs. On the way we talked about how we've all kind of grown beyond the crazy passions we had from 1998-2005 (or thereabouts) and tried to figure out what we might be hearing that night. All the while listening to Neal's Piranha Blues CD with me remembering liking it more when it first came out than I was in the car and wracking my brains who came with me to see the Piranha Blues band perform. (I think that was another show I dragged poor Mary to if only because I remember following Ross to the parking lot and Mary commenting on the fact he was carrying his guitar case to his car. I'm pretty sure that was the gig.) I was also laughing to myself that we particular three were less than enthusiastic about this upcoming show. We were looking forward to seeing friends and hearing what we were confident would be good music, but there wasn't that jazz of excitement that there once was.

We met up with the rest of the gang and headed for a dinner full of stories and laughs and just general good times with friends. Being that it was Darryl's birthday, he got a balloon hat in the shape of a guitar. We were loud and laughing and all in all having a great time. This is the thing I miss the most about not going to as many shows as I once did.

Over to the State Theater where the show was scheduled to start at 8. As I mentioned above, our little group took up most of the second row. We found Hope sitting in front of us (me specifically) in the front row. I had calculated that if the show started on time and Neal and company played for two hours as promised, I'd be back on the road by 10:30 and home a little after midnight. Whoops, so much for making assumptions!

At 8:00 Miles and the kid on keyboards (forgotten his name, but I believe he's a regular in Miles's band) came out for a 30 minute opening set. It's incredible how good Miles is -- and he keeps getting better. He came out playing what appeared to be a ukulele (my best guess as it was a small, 4-stringed, guitar-like instrument) and completely blew my mind. Being that close I could really see his finger work and it's impressive. A couple songs in he switched over to guitars and even sang a bit. All in all, he did papa proud.

Thus it was closer to 9:00 when Neal and company hit the stage. In addition to Miles and the kid on keyboards he was joined by Marco Mendoza on bass and Prairie Prince on drums and launched in to "Kohoutek." Well, okay, a song I recognize. (My big fear heading into the show was that though I have nearly all of Neal's solo work, I have a really tough time distinguishing his original solo material apart.) The band was then joined by a singer and I've completely spaced on his name (help! Leslie!) who was absolutely adorable. Pretty decent singer too, though the vocals were hard to hear most of the night. Not sure if that was a problem with being in the second row or just a wholesale problem with the sound.

The sold-out house (my guess about 500 people) was loud and enthusiastic through out the evening as the band went through obscure Journey tracks ("I'm Gonna Leave You" and "The Time"), covers ("Whiter Shade of Pale", "Gypsy Queen") and a variety of solo material. It was really fun watching Neal and Miles play off each other -- with Miles getting a few solos out front. Though I must say the blond doppelganger effect was weird -- Miles looks sooooooo like his dad it's scary.

The crowd generally stayed seated all night long (much, I suspect, to Hope's disappointment) but they weren't sedate. It's probably a little hard to get up and dance to stuff you don't really know all that well.

The show lasted about 2 hours as promised, and didn't disappoint. I don't have a set list, though Hope took a picture of it so maybe she can fill us all in. Leslie, Cheryl, and I said our hasty goodbyes and piled back into my car for the drive back to the Bay Area (uh, thanks Darryl for coming to lead us to the freeway -- I was too brain locked to do reverse directions!) I finally made it back home around 1:30 and crashed into bed after an exhausting but thoroughly fabulous day.

Get to repeat all over again this Saturday, though with only about a 40 minute drive into San Francisco. So, who's coming to the Fillmore?

January 13, 2007: Return to the Fox

Redwood City, CA
Fox Theater

So, two weeks, two benefits, two reports! The Nor Cal gang came to MY part of the bay and took in another great show by Gregg and his band at the Fox Theater in Redwood City. Now, unfortunately, it wasn't like the LAST time Gregg played a Voices of Latin Rock Benefit at the Fox -- where he was joined by Neal and several fellow former Santana members. Okay, so now I'm REALLY bummed I didn't grab a ticket to the show at Bimbo's on Thursday. Siiighh... Oh well, maybe next time! The show opened with a band called La Ventana that most of us missed as we were hanging out in the lobby of the theater yammering away as we always do at one of these gigs. When Malo took the stage we decided to go inside where it was MUCH warmer than the lobby which had an icy wind blowing through. (And while I know most folks live in places where it routinely snows during this time of year, we NorCals are NOT used to temps in the 30s and 40s as it has been lately and was again last night -- BRRRRR!)

Malo put on a good show which had people dancing all around. And despite only knowing one song myself (their big hit "Suavacito") I found myself dancing along as well. There's just something to those Latin rhythms that make you just want to move!

Gregg hit the stage about 9:45 or so and by that time we'd all worked our way down front. Anyone who's seen Gregg's band play knows just how good they are and how much fun they always seem to have on stage. The set list wasn't all that much different than any other time I've seen him over the last 6 years or so. More Santana stuff this time than Roots stuff, plus one new tune that he really needs to get recorded.

While they were playing I had the same thought cross my mind that I often have when I see Gregg -- all of those songs are nearly as old as I am. Gregg's time in Santana began before I was born (sorry Gregg!) and lasted until I was about 3 years old, but all those songs still sound completely fresh and exciting. Sure, I have literally been hearing them all my life, but there is a LOT of music I've been hearing all my life that hasn't held up over time.

The only downer of the show was it was general admission which means invasion of your personal space and all the general stupidity that comes along. Even with a more mature crowd, it's still annoying.

After Gregg's show was done, a couple of folks hopped next door to the Little Fox to catch the last bit of Evolution's show. I wasn't one, but did catch the end of "Faithfully" through the windows as I headed back to my car. The folks who caught that show will have to fill us all in.*

*I should have stuck around outside to listen from the street. Gregg joined Evolution for a few songs later in their set, including "Just the Same Way." My excuse -- it was below 30 degrees out! Way cold for the Bay Area!

January 5, 2007: ARF (Arf.. Arf...)

Walnut Creek, CA
Dean Lesher Center for the Arts
Benefit for the Animal Rescue Foundation

November 2014: I attended this benefit show for the Animal Rescue Foundation that was to feature "Neal Schon and Friends" as part of a multi act bill a few weeks after the formal announcement that Steve Augeri would no longer be the lead singer for Journey and he would be replaced by Jeff Scott Soto who had "filled in" during the 2006 tour. As with all things lead-singer-related in Journeyland, there was lots of hubbub and arguments, debates, and general uproar among the Journey fans, especially after a lot of the rumors, innuendo and general upheaval surrounding the 2006 tour. Personally, I was not thrilled with the choice and that influenced some of the comments that follow. Jeff was to be one of the "friends" at this show, so I went with some trepidation.

Well here we are with the first Rockin' Road Report for 2007 and I'm finding it difficult to put into words exactly what to say about last night's show. I mean, there's the general detail about the show, but there's also all the other stuff swirling around it. What should I say? What shouldn't I say? How does it all fit? I've been keeping fairly quiet these past few weeks, other than a few posts on the Journey Digest, I've not said much publicly about all that's transpired.

As with anything, it's probably best to look at the whole picture, so we'll start with recognizing that I've been a bit burnt out on Journey since even before this summer and all the drama and this past year only made things toastier. So, when I heard about this show in late November/early December I wasn't entirely sure I really wanted to go, but when I factored in the friends that were coming to see the show I figured that, at worst, I'd have a pleasant evening spent in the company of people I truly like and had missed seeing in 2006. What the hell, get me a ticket. Leslie made the trip over to Walnut Creek and scored 8 second row seats -- all right not bad at all.

And then The News, and here we go again. Now, I'm even less enthusiastic about going to the show than I was before and really don't know how I am going to respond to the show. But after having a wide variety of imaginary scenarios of how I could publicly express my disappointment in everything, I again focused on just going and having a good time with my friends.

So, last night I ducked out of work early and drove out to Walnut Creek to meet up with everyone for dinner before the show. Surprisingly while a lot of the conversation was about everyone's take on the current state of Journey and how we all feel about it, it was not ALL we talked about. That, more than anything, reassured me that I had made the right decision to come to the show.

Over to the show at the Dean Lescher Center, a small local theater. I'd been there once before when Jon performed solo at a previous ARF benefit, and I expected last night's show to be similar to the one I had seen then -- several acts before intermission and then Neal, Jon and Jeff in whatever combination they were going to do. That was mostly the case as the evening started off with the "All Star Band" headed up by Marc Russo and featuring Stef Burns on the guitar. They played a variety of tunes including a good cover of the Beatles "I Want You" and an odd cover of Santana's "Soul Sacrifice" which had me commenting to Cheryl "Well, at least we'll hear this played right next weekend at Gregg's show!"

They were followed by a comedian named Dennis Blair who started doing a bit on old rock bands that had all of us laughing, but when he went off on a riff about bands that are changing members and touring with out key members (e.g. the Doors) well, we all looked at each other and laughed about 10 times as hard. I mean, it was just too easy to start applying the jokes to what we'd all been talking about at dinner.

He was followed by Marty Casey and the Lovehammers. Since I do not watch any reality television if I can possibly avoid it, I didn't know until we got to the show that Marty Casey was the runner up for Rock Star: INXS. He and his band came out on stage and suddenly the area between the front row and stage is filled with little girls -- if any of them were over 16 I'd be shocked -- jumping up and down and dancing and just having the time of their lives. I stayed sitting in my 2nd row seat and enjoyed their enthusiasm, and when Marty pulled one little girl up on stage to dance with him well, I thought how cool that had to be for her and flashed on what I would have thought at that age to get pulled up on stage. The Lovehammers were pretty good despite not being a style I generally listen to. It did take me about half of the song to recognize their cover of "I Walk the Line," but only took about a verse of "Paint It Black" for me to recognize that cover.

Time for intermission and next up "Neal Schon and Friends" (as it was billed in the program.) Most of the crew I was sitting with (Cheryl, Leslie and her husband Todd, Darryl and Jenny, Barb, Jenn, Matt, and Kim) headed out to the lobby to get drinks and such, but I decided to stay in the theater. I'm glad I did as I ran into more of the local Journey crowd that I forgot (or didn't realize) would also be at the show and got to visit with them all a bit. Yes, this is what Journey and related events has really come to be about -- the many many friends I've made over the past 8 years. That's too valuable to give up for anything.

Intermission ended and we all made sure we were up at the stage to watch the show up close. After showing highlights from the 2006 World Series up on the screen, Tony LaRussa came out to make a small award presentation and then announce Neal and Friends. Out walk Neal, Jon, Marco Mendoza and a drummer I don't recognize. Hmmm... interesting. I'd seen Ross in the balcony earlier and the production schedule I happened to grab to write my notes on clearly said "9:40 pm Journey." I could see Jeff standing on the side of the stage, so we'll see what happens.

The guys kick off with an instrumental tune that I recognized as one of Neal's solo tunes but for the life of me couldn't identify. Thankfully, Neal back-announced it so I can report it was "Boulevard of Dreams" from Beyond the Thunder. Jeff came out after being introduced as "our new lead singer" and the guys launched into a string of cover tunes. It was amusing watching Jeff fiddle with his laptop that was sitting at his feet as he was using it as a TelePrompter for the lyrics to "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and a handful of tunes by Sly & the Family Stone for the medley they did of those songs. I had to laugh at just how technology has changed things as Jeff used his cordless mouse to scroll down the lines.

Since the guys were doing covers, I was really able to relax and enjoy the show. The sound wasn't that great, as it was a really low budget production (it is a fundraiser after all) but I enjoyed hearing the tunes. It reminded me of the Soul SirkUs gig a couple of years ago and how I enjoyed that. When "Purple Rain" morphed into the end of "Faithfully" though, I had to forcibly focus on the show and not my feeling that Jeff's the wrong fit. It did at least allow me to finally connect a comment I remember Jon making in some interview about Prince telling him "oh man I totally ripped you off" (or something like that) about a song of his. I could never figure out what song he was referring to -- either the Journey tune or the Prince tune -- and hearing the transition was such a "d'oh" moment that I'm shocked I didn't realize ages ago.

After closing the covers out with a tribute to James Brown with "I Feel Good", Jeff introduced the drummer as David something from his solo band and welcomed Ross to the stage. Marco headed off stage and 4/5ths of what is now Journey launched into "Don't Stop Believin'," and then things went seriously down hill. Ironically, I'm not saying this out of any displeasure, but out of actual disaster. Jeff couldn't hear and kept pointing off stage to turn on/up his monitors. Jon's rig went haywire about halfway through. From where I was standing (in front of Jon) it sounded like Jon's mic went goofy as his backing vocal was far too loud and didn't even sound right. There was all kinds of flurry as Jim and a couple of other techs tried to fix things. When the guys launched into "Separate Ways" the keyboards were completely out and Banana Alan came down from his seat in the balcony to try to help. That resulted in a loud pop that had me jumping back and Jon putting his hands on his ears. All in all, not so good. They struggled through it and then took their final bow.

After the show, it was more time to visit with friends and discuss all that went on. That was when more of the Journey talk that I had anticipated at dinner took place, but even then it eventually morphed into other subjects.

After all is said and done, while the music may not be connecting to me as it once did, the personal connections I've made are still there and will hopefully remain for a long time. Over the years, Journey's music has given me a lot, but the friends that it has given me trumps it all.

Shew... this is longer than I had expected and took me longer to write than I would have thought, but there's been a lot in my head of late and trying to express it properly is complex. Hope I didn't bore you too much.

Happy New Year!

Set List:

Boulevard of Dreams
Papa Was a Rolling Stone
Sly Stone medley ("I Want to take You Higher," "Dance to the Music," and one other I can't remember)
Purple Rain
I Feel Good
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways

May 21, 2005: Gregg Kicks Off the Summer Season

Santa Clara, CA
Avalon Night Club

Just in time to kick off the summer concert season AND appease my need for some live Journey music, Gregg and his marvelous band played another Bay Area gig. I've lost track of the number of shows I've seen since Roots was released in 2001, but it must be well over a dozen by now (maybe even 2 dozen??) This past Saturday's show was the first time he had a significantly different set-list than all the previous shows I'd seen. In the past, the shows have focused primarily on songs from Roots and the classic Santana tunes we all know and love. Thus, I was puzzled by the promotion I was seeing about "an evening of songs from Journey and Santana" -- Gregg seldom performs any Journey tunes. I had only heard him do any twice -- and that was when he was first out on the road with Roots and Dave Amato was on guitar and took the Perry vocals on a couple of tracks.

Once we got through the gawd-awful comedian who would have been booed off the stage if any one had bothered to even listen to what he was rambling about, the large contingent of Nor Cal Journey fans took to the floor for key spots. Gregg and the guys took to the stage and acknowledged all the familiar faces that were standing right up front. About four songs in to the set, I noticed an unfamiliar guy standing behind Michael Carabello and wondered who he was. Shortly after, he walked out on stage and Gregg introduced him by saying "How'd you like to hear some Journey songs?" That got a great response from the crowd and the band launched into a four song set of "Just the Same Way," "Anytime," "Lights," and "Any Way You Want It." The singer (Robbie something, no one seemed to catch his last name!) did an admirable job. While he's no Steve (Perry or Augeri) he did very well. Hearing someone who clearly doesn't have the range to cover the songs as originally written, really helped drive home to me just how difficult those tunes are to sing. When the set was over, Gregg looked down at Darla, who was standing right at his feet, and said "So, how was that?" -- I laughed to myself when I saw the exchange. Yep, Gregg's gotten used to us showing up!

After the show, the band stuck around for an autograph signing session. It was a bit of a mad house, but I was able to give Gregg his JPP star that the rest of the guys received at the luncheon in Hollywood. There should be a couple of pictures around soon -- just need to get them from the people who took 'em!

I'd hoped to have the set list, but since I didn't write it down and I've yet to get a copy sent to me, we'll have to skip this time.

April 24, 2005: Soul SirkUS

San Francisco, CA
Fillmore Auditorium

Rule #1 -- no more general admission concerts on a school night without a planned vacation day the next day.... gawd, I'm beat!

That said.... this groggy, not enough sleep, oh my whole body hurts haze I'm in today is totally worth it! What a great show last night! High volume, high energy, and man does Jeff Scott Sotot work up a sweat! Playing most of the tunes from World Play, with a Journey medley (that included bits of "People and Places" and "Patiently") and a few covers ("Purple Rain" and "Crazy" stand out) thrown in for good measure, this 2+ hour show was the best twenty bucks I've spent in a while.

As most of you know, this show at the Fillmore was being filmed for a DVD release.* This meant those of us up front and center had to do battle with the guy with the hand held camera and the official photographer -- made for an interesting dodge now and again. There were at least 3 other cameras that I saw (and with the size of the Fillmore, I don't imagine that there were more.) Hopefully this show will see the light of day as the 900 "seat" Fillmore was only about a third full. Show was great and the crowd that was there was enthusiastic, but it's been a long time since I've been to the Fillmore and had that much room to move around in. (Though somehow that didn't seem to keep the guy behind me from banging his head into mine -- yes, a literal head bang! Probably explains the headache I had after the show!)

*As far as I can recall, this is another DVD that never saw the light of day.

Most of the Nor Cal gang (and our visiting So Cal gang) had passes for the meet and greet after the show, so we all hung around for a while to say our hellos and get things signed. I was actually so exhausted that I barely moved from my table. I did get to chat briefly with Jeff and really just said hello and good bye to Neal (we'll see if my "allergy" flares up after such a short encounter) and headed for home.*

*My "allergy" is in reference to having come down with a cold on more than one occasion after meeting Neal. It had happened so often by this point in time, I was frequently joking that I was allergic to Neal since there had been a couple of occasions I'd met the other guys without Neal and hadn't gotten sick.

No set list noted, so pull out World Play and pick tunes you like, they were played.

February 23, 2005: Smitty's Sheer Genius

Oakland, CA
Yoshi's at Jack London Square

Okay... I just HAD to post after last night's show at Yoshi's... Wow wow wow wow wow. I always love the opportunity to see Steve Smith play and even more the rare chances to see Vital Information because they're just such an amazing group, and last night was no exception.

Unknown to me, Vital released a new CD last August, so lots of the stuff they played was from that new CD. (Off to buy another new CD!) The whole hour and 15 minute set was incredible, but of course the highlights were Smitty's solos. The first solo happened about half way through the set when he got up from his kit and walked over to the center of the stage, sat down on the stage, and started beating on a clay pot with his hands. From my vantage point, it was virtually impossible to SEE what he was doing, but it sounded amazing. The second solo towards the end of the show just reaffirmed why he is one of the most respected drummers in the world. He did a bit of the hi-hat solo he'd done the last time I saw Vital and then went on to do some serious gymnastics on his kit. Hands and sticks were just a blur.

Towards the end of the show, I was thinking about just how amazed I'd been in Hollywood when he joined the guys for three songs (that, according to his on-line diary, he played for the first time in years that afternoon in sound check!) and why it was so impressive. His performances with Vital are much more complex than those 3 songs were, but watching Vital is such sensory overload for me that it's hard to focus on any one thing. With Journey tunes, I know those backwards and forwards, so I know what I'm supposed to see and hear which therefore made it much easier to focus on Smitty's playing in Hollywood. THAT was what made it such a "WOW!!" experience.

Alas, only had enough time to say "Hi" and "Great show" after the set last night and REALLY wished Yoshi's wasn't a 45 minute drive from my house and/or that it wasn't Wednesday night or I would have stayed for the second set at 10.

January 8, 2005: Jon Goes to the Dogs

Walnut Creek, CA
Dean Lesher Center for the Performing Arts
"Stars to the Rescue" Benefit for the Animal Rescue Foundation

It was a dark and stormy night... well, okay, it was still daylight when I left the house and the rain had stopped for the moment, but it was a generally icky January day as I drove across the bay to catch a rare solo performance by Jonathan Cain. He was appearing at the 14th annual "Stars to the Rescue" show benefiting the Animal Rescue Foundation. The bill was eclectic with everything from ballet to country music to comedy to acoustic rock and roll.

I was at the show with one of my JPP partners in crime Leslie and her husband Todd, and we had very good seats in the center of the balcony. (Floor seats being a bit too pricey for our budgets.) We settled in to watch the first half of the show which opened with highlights of the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals season. Such things probably went over a bit better when ARF founder Tony LaRussa was the manager for the Oakland A's, but whoever put it together at least had the good sense not to feature any highlights that might have come at the expense of the San Francisco Giants. The show moved from there to a dance performance, country performer Julie Roberts, and a riotous performance by comedian Vicki Lawrence. The first half of the show ended with an acoustic performance by Kevin Cronin and Dave Amato who put a different spin on the familiar REO tunes.

Jon was to be the first performer up after intermission and the awards presentations to special ARF supporters. We stayed in our seats during intermission and watched as the crew brought out a grand piano for his performance (no, not The Whale, just a plain black Yamaha piano.) After the awards were given out, Tony LaRussa introduced Jon, and he came out on stage joined by a dozen girls from the San Ramon High School Choir. He opened his set with "Back to the Innocence" and then introduced a song he dedicated to "all the pet dogs that have passed" called "Man's Best Friend." During the song ARF volunteers came on stage with a number of dogs that are used in their Visiting Animals Program -- a program that brings dogs and cats to residents of assisted living centers. He followed that up with a medley of Journey tunes which were interesting to hear in slightly different arrangements than we are accustomed to. He closed out the 30-minute set with "Best of What I Got" backed by "The All-Star Band" that was used throughout the show.

Jon was followed by Anastasia Barzee, a Broadway actress, and the show closed with Vince Gill and Amy Grant. Not being a huge country fan, I was only vaguely familiar with their work (and Amy more so due to a cousin being a fan of hers) but they put on a fun, loose set backed by the All-Star Band. Vince Gill was particularly amusing saying he would have been a rocker "if I weren't so fat. Could you imagine my butt in spandex??" The highlight of their performance, however, was the Grammy-nominated song "It's Hard To Kiss The Lips At Night That Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long." It sounds like your stereotypical country tune, but is one of the funniest things I've heard in a very long time and the crowd loved it.

The show ended with all the performers returning to the stage and closing out the show with Vince Gill leading in a doubly appropriate performance of "Hound Dog" (Saturday would have been Elvis's 70th birthday.)

Jon's Set list:

Back to the Innocence
Man's Best Friend
Journey Medley:
-- Lights
-- Faithfully
-- Open Arms
-- Who's Crying Now
-- Separate Ways
-- Send Her My Love
-- When You Love a Woman
-- Don't Stop Believin'
Best of What I Got

Kevin Cronin/Dave Amato Set list:

Ridin' the Storm Out
Can't Fight This Feeling
Take it on the Run
Music Man
Roll with the Changes

January 15-18, 2004: Neal at NAMM

Anaheim, CA
Anaheim Convention Center and evnirons

Over the weekend of January 15-18, Cheryl, Leslie, and I went to Southern California to scout out hotels and restaurants in Hollywood for Journey Past & Present. We chose this weekend because it coincided with the 102nd NAMM show (a trade show for the International Music Products Association) in Anaheim that we wanted to check out as well. Although it is strictly an industry-only show, we were fortunate to obtain badges through connections made while planning the Bammies Walk of Fame event.

Cheryl arrived on Thursday and by a stroke of amazing good luck happened to run into Dennis Erokan (BAM Magazine and the Bammies Awards) at the hotel as she was leaving to catch the last hour of the trade show. Dennis was kind enough to offer her a VIP pass to the Guitar Player magazine party and show that evening which his daughter just happened to be coordinating. Once at the trade show, acting on a hunch based on what happened at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Cheryl went to the Gibson display area and found out that Neal would indeed be playing on Friday night at a Gibson Jam in Downtown Disney. Woo hoo! Wait until the rest of the gang hears about this!

Later that night while Cheryl was inside the Guitar Player party Roxanne from Back Talk, who is a music teacher and was at the show on official business, called Cheryl on her cell to say that Neal was right outside the venue. This was great news! Cheryl immediately grabbed Dennis Erokan and they rushed outside to see if they could convince Neal to come inside the party and play as a surprise special guest. After some pleading he finally agreed. Unbelievably, security would not let them in the show because it was too crowded! So unfortunately a wonderful opportunity was missed to have Neal play with Joe Satriani and several other well-known guitarists. The audience would have been thrilled by Neal’s appearance.

Not wanting to give up so easily, Dennis and Cheryl went back outside the show later and were able to persuade Neal to try again. They were able to get inside this time, but Neal choose not to play after all. He did take several pictures for Guitar Player magazine which hopefully will show up soon, possibly in the May issue.

When Leslie and I arrived on Friday, Cheryl informed us of Neal’s planned performance that night. Our original plan had been to see Steve Smith and Vital Information but he was scheduled to perform at the same time as Neal at a different venue. What a choice we had to make! Along with our partner in crime Roxanne, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to talk to Neal several more times at the trade show. On Friday morning we saw Neal outside the Gibson display area and we mentioned that Steve Smith was playing that night. Neal then asked if we could invite Smitty to his gig! We were all very excited at the prospect of seeing Neal and Smitty play together again after so many years. However, when we spoke to Smitty right before his show he told us that he would love to do it but because of his own performance he didn’t think he would be able to make it. As it turned out, the Gibson jam lasted so long Smitty probably could have been able to join them for a few songs near the end. What a treat that would have been! Barb (LAWoman) joined us to go to the Gibson jam, and we took a wild cab ride over to Downtown Disney and Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen where Neal was to play. With the help of Roxanne we were all able to get entrance into the show. When we arrived there were about 100 people in the room listening to an unsigned singer, JJ Appleton and his band, who were pretty good. This was followed by an awards presentation to store managers and sales reps for Monster Cable and Gibson. We were at a trade show event after all!

After the awards, guitarist Johnny A, took the stage. We couldn’t really see him through the crowd in front of us, but he sounded great. About 11:00 p.m. Neal was due up, so we left our seats to stand at the very front of the stage, which was about 6 inches off the floor and very small. We were standing so close the guitars and mic stands nearly hit us! Jeff Scott Soto and his band joined Neal on stage. They launched into a roaring 4-song set covering Led Zeppelin’s “Rock & Roll”, Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”, and two Journey tunes – “Separate Ways” and “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’.” During “Separate Ways” a member of the audience got up on stage and took over the keyboard parts from the bass player who was trying to do both. “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’” was one of the bluesiest renditions we have ever heard! The set was short, but full of energy and the audience was roaring for more.

When they finished their set, Neal gave his guitar to a 14-year-old prodigy, Nick Sterling, who was absolutely fantastic. He played a few covers for a while and made us all think that this must have been what Neal was like when he was jamming with Santana at that age. Johnny A was able to get on stage and join him, but Neal had a hard time getting his guitar back! At one point he stood in the back and pretended to play the keyboards!

Once Nick finally gave Neal his guitar back, Neal came out and jammed with Johnny A. That’s when the night got completely surreal. The two played for about 45 minutes just trading riffs back and forth, playing the guitars behind their backs and having a wildly great time. A third guitarist joined them about half way through and it was a contest to see who was the king of the stage. A very loose and fun performance with lots of joking around and “whatever he can do, I can do better.” What a treat for the fans.

When the show ended around 1 a.m., no one wanted to leave. After the show we talked to Neal for a while. He mentioned future plans with Jeff Scott Soto and possible new Journey music. It was definitely one unforgettable–and historic–night!

Tracey Downing joined us on Saturday night and we had a wonderful Mexican dinner as we people watched and listened to the music that surrounded us everywhere we went. Barb was not there that night, so most of the evening was spent on trying to find Neal to get him to autograph a painting Vincent had done of him for Barb's birthday in March. We literally had to grab Neal as he was leaving the hotel to get him to sign it on the fly. What a scene! It was a close call but we couldn't let Vincent down. Mission accomplished! We hope you liked it Barb. It was a group effort and a labor of love.

What a great weekend!!

April 27, 2002: Planet Us Debuts

Oakland, CA
Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium

As a life long resident of the SF Bay Area, I remember when the Bammies were a BIG deal. Alas, the luster wore off some time in the early '90s, and they became the California Music Awards about 4-5 years ago, further dulling the shine. That said, the 25th Bammies show was an enjoyable show with an AWESOME closing act.

While the show was well short of a sell out (something which NEVER would have happened in their prime) the crowd in attendance got some fun performances by a wide variety of mostly Bay Area based acts. The hosts for the evening were Jack Blades, Robert Hayes (the guy from the movie "Airplane"), and a comic whose name I've forgotten.

The first thing you realize when you attend the Bammies is that this is definitely NOT the Grammys. The technical glitches and production snafus made it look, at times, like a very sincere high school production.

The highlights of the first half of the show had to be the performance by Smash Mouth (I'm more impressed with these guys every time I hear them) and the jam with Joe Satriani, Ronnie Montrose, and Dave Meneketi. Most of the awards were handed out during the first part of the show, and I've got to admit, I felt like I was 102 years old -- I'd barely heard of most of the nominees let alone the winners. Thank god for Train and major radio airplay!

An intermission came along about 2 1/2 hours into the show, and as we filed out, we were told that after the break we would be treated to performances by Sammy Hagar and "a new super group."

When we returned from intermission, I noticed many of the already sparsely filled seats were empty. Too bad for those who left, because the best part of the show was yet to come. Throughout the show, I stayed seated at my table towards the back of the floor, but the minute the MC started to introduce Sammy Hagar, I was on my feet and moving towards the front. I had expected that I'd just be able to stand on the side of the stage in the aisle to to take pictures, but I noticed people were walking straight up to the stage, so I joined them. Sammy and the Waboritas rocked the house with two numbers ("There's Only One Way to Rock" and "Mas Tequila".) The Waboritas left the stage, and Sammy introduced a few friends... Michael Anthony, Deen Castronovo, and Neal Schon!

Planet Us took the stage and proceeded to blow everyone away! They played two tunes -- "Vertigo" & "Through the Peephole" -- and they were phenomenal! All four guys looked to be having a great time on stage. The crowd at the front of the stage doubled in size, and I spent most of "Vertigo" trying not to get squished and stepped on (failing on the latter getting some woman's spiked heel in the middle of my foot... you should SEE the bruise!) Of all the acts through out the evening, this was the act that got the crowd the most involved. Not bad for a bunch of "dinosaurs."

Both songs were, as Neal said, "kick-ass songs that f-ing rock." High energy, high volume. I was particularly impressed with "Through the Peephole," which Sammy introduced as being a song about child abuse. Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that both these songs make the final cut for the broadcast of the show next weekend!

November 30, 2001: Gregg Gets Back to the City by the Bay

San Francisco, CA
Slim's

Welcome home Gregg Rolie! What a fun show! The San Francisco crowd at Slim's was much more enthusiastic than the crowd in Palo Alto earlier this week, and the Nor Cal gang present had a blast!

The show last night was very much similar to the show on Wednesday -- nearly the same set list from what I could tell. The big difference last night really was the crowd. The show at the Icon had maybe 100-150 people. Slim's, while not at capacity (450) was pretty crowded. I'd guess 300 people or so. Among the crowd -- Ross Valory and Herbie Herbert. And everyone had a rollicking time! And, as on Wednesday night, "Just the Same Way" was wildly received, yet calls for "Look Into the Future" got a laugh out of Gregg.

While I personally didn't see Herbie, I did get to see Ross work his way to the front of the club and stand about ten feet away from me (again) for a few minutes.

After the show ended and I was leaving the club, I got to meet Chepito Areas who was there to see his son Adrian playing in Gregg's band. Very proud father!

November 28, 2001: Gregg Returns to His Roots

Palo Alto, CA
Icon Supperclub

I'm exhausted and can't hear very well out of my right ear, but it was so worth it! Last night a friend and I took in Gregg Rolie at the Icon Supperclub in Palo Alto and had a fantastic time!

The Icon is a fairly small club that has gone through a number of permutations over the years and has turned into a pretty nice little place. The show started about thirty minutes late, but it didn't seem to bother too many of the 150 or so people that were in attendance -- many of whom looked to be Santana-era fans. I felt like a kid! LOL!
 
The show kicked off with "Going Home" from Gregg's new CD Roots (for those of you who haven't gotten it yet -- what are you waiting for?!) Gregg and his band followed with a fantastic version of "Jingo," and the night proceeded with a great mix of new tunes and Santana tunes. I seemed to be the only person in the audience to actually KNOW the new tunes, which was rather amusing.

The band was unbelievable. You'd think they'd all been playing together for years. Dave Amato (from REO Speedwagon) handled the guitar duties and just blew me away. With percussion provided by Adrian Areas (son of Chepito Areas) on timbales, Ron Wisko on drums, and Michael Carabello on congas the beat was huge and full of energy!!
 
Gregg was fantastic and very loose on stage. A minor technical problem mid-way through his set had him joking with the audience until he and his tech could get his keyboards on the right setting.

There were a few guys in the back of the club that would periodically call out "JOURNEY," which I found amusing as I figured there'd be no way he could do any Journey with the set up. I was, therefore, pleasantly surprised when towards the end of the set they launched into "Just the Same Way." I'll give Dave Amato an "A" for effort in covering the Perry part, but he did a much better job on Neal's guitar than Perry's vocals! The crowd went nuts for it too.

If there was any doubt that there are still a large faction of Journey fans that prefer the pre-Perry material, I can tell you, last night I ran into a dozen! Between the cries for "On a Saturday Nite" (which got a laugh from Gregg and the comment "but it's Wednesday") and the woman next to me who commented to another fan "no, I want old Journey, when HE sang." there was a definite early-Journey presence among the crowd!

Looking forward to Friday night's show in San Francisco!

October 26, 2001: Trichromes Harvest Ball

San Francisco, CA
Fillmore Auditorium

What a long strange trip it's been...

So, just what happens when you take Bill Kreutzmann of the Grateful Dead, Neal Schon of Journey and throw in Sy Klopps, Ralph Woodson, and Ira Walker? About three hours of rocking blues!

What a fabulous show I got to see last night, and what an interesting experience overall. The Fillmore is always such an amazing place to see a show. This is the legendary Fillmore (not "Fillmore West") -- the original hall run by the late Bill Graham in the 1960s and was a launching pad for so many of the legendary San Francisco bands of that era. And, mercifully, since it has been taken over by SFX when they bought Bill Graham Presents a few years back, the corporate goons have left well enough alone! The Fillmore is a small dance hall-maybe 1,500 people tops-and just a fun and funky place for a show.

The night opened with a screening of "Sunshine Daydream" a ninety minute film of a Grateful Dead concert from 1972. It was... um... interesting. For you Deadheads out there, it's going to be digitally remastered with a remixed soundtrack and released next year. Personally, I'm gonna pass.

At 10:00 the Trichromes hit the stage... adorned with leis (I don't know why) and they launched into a 75-minute set of blues based tunes. There were a few covers that I recognized -- some Bob Marley, Dylan, and of course Dead tunes. While most of the tunes were instrumental jams, Sy Klopps (better known as Herbie Herbert) did step up in front to sing.

Sy Klopps (aka Herbie Herbert) on the mic

All I can say is WOW... Herbie can SING! His voice is definitely suited to blues, but I was very impressed. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I heard. I guess I had figured Herbie had a passable voice for singing and left it at that. His voice is definitely more than passable.

This band was having a blast on stage. Whether it was a contact high from all the dope being smoked in the crowd (these ARE Deadheads we're talking about here) or sheer joy of playing, it was obvious these guys were having a great time (I suspect it was a combination of both.) Neal and Ralph Woodson played off each other all night long -- two fabulous guitars.

There was a forty-five-minute intermission, and the crowd thinned out considerably. The place was maybe half full for the first set and by the time the band took the stage again at midnight, it had dwindled by half. My friends and I had decided we'd leave at 12:30 whether or not the show was over - we were all exhausted from a long day, and wanted to get home at a reasonable hour. Alas, that plan was foiled.

About twenty minutes into the second set, I looked over to my left and who should I see about twenty feet away, but Ross! I had seen him wandering around the place before the first set, but not later. I elbowed Darla and we decided to stick around and watch Ross watching Neal. (It was worth it!) Since the crowd had thinned, we moved a bit more towards center stage. A few minutes later, who should stand in front of me, but Ross! He and his brother Brett were having a great ole time... And Neal was cracking up whenever he caught Ross in the audience. At one point, Neal's guitar caught the lei that was draped on his mic stand (why he had a mic I don't know since he didn't sing at all) and it was only a matter of time before the mic stand toppled over. Ross and Brett were nearly doubled over laughing before Neal saw it and took the lei off and tossed it into the audience.

About 1:15 the band closed their set, and went off stage. The announcer for the night (I'm not sure if he was with the band or with the venue) came out and said a few words about Bill Graham and asked the band to come out and pay tribute to Bill. Thirty minutes of jamming, and it STILL wasn't over, and my friends and I decided to get our coats and head for the car -- especially since the garage closed at 2:30! We heard someone say "Thank you and good night." as we were walking down the stairs, so I guess we left just at the end, but for all I know, those guys are STILL playing!

April 14, 1998: Jon Plays San Jose

San Jose, CA
Guitar Center

As posted to the Steve Perry Mailing List.

Well, I see Liz and Debbie got their comments on Jon's show in last night. Now here's mine. Liz and I had been emailing back and forth all day because I wanted her to deliver your messages (Donna, I'd left the office before your message arrived, so it didn't get to him. I'm sorry!) in case I had another attack of brain lock like I did last time.

Anyway, I left work about 15 minutes early so I could grab a snack since I wouldn't be having dinner until after the show. I got to the Guitar Center really early (around 5:45) and since I was meeting my cousin Denise (at 6:15) I sat in my car in the parking lot listening to Body Language while I waited for her. I figured, what the heck am I gonna do in a guitar store for half an hour? Well, if I'd gone in I would have seen Jon warming up. I found out from someone else there that he was warming up until about 6:10 when he left for dinner. D'oh!

Jon finally arrived around 7:30 (he got stuck in traffic. Classic California for ya!) and played for about an hour and a half. As Debbie said, I jotted down the set list, and I'll add that at the end of this post. The feeling of this show was different from the one in Petaluma last month. It was more the "public" Jon than the "private" Jon, but I rather expected that. Most of what he played was from Body Language and For a Lifetime, and I think it's just amazing what technology can do. Jon was there with a baby grand piano and behind him was the electronic equipment (which wasn't very big at all) that had his "band" playing -- which really completed the sound.

Towards the end of the set he did a Journey medley. Jon sang a verse of each of the following songs -- "Who's Cryin' Now", "Separate Ways", "Send Her My Love", "When You Love a Woman", and "Don't Stop Believin'." This segment got a huge cheer, particularly DSB. Jon called these songs his "kids" and said "Hopefully there will be more stuff soon." -- which is what Debbie told me to write down. It was neat hearing these songs in an acoustic setting. A little slower, a little softer, but old friends. Of course, in my head I was hearing the missing instruments and filling them in where needed. It also got me thinking that Jon wouldn't be a bad substitute for Steve on lead vocals. I'm not sure if he could pull it off in a large setting, but he sure did a great job in a small one.

After he finished, Liz, Debbie, Denise and I were right in the front of the line for autographs. When Liz handed over the messages I'd printed out, he promised he'd read them later. I didn't really ask him anything much, just "How are you?" ("Burned out. I was up all last night with a sick kid.") but I was nowhere near as panicked as I was last time. No shakes, no heart pounding, no brain lock. If there hadn't been such a line behind me, I probably could have stood there and chatted all day! Guess this meeting heroes is routine now! LOL!

It was another fun evening of great music!

Set List:

Paradiso
Winds of Carnivale
Body Language
Moonlight at Marabella
Cry for Love
With Your Love
Faithfully (which he sang of course, big cheer from the crowd)
For a Lifetime
Open Arms
Loved by You (unreleased vocal. He did this one at the Petaluma show too. It's great.)
A Day to Remember
Song of Calabria
One Look
Precious Moments

March 20-21, 1998: Neal & Jon -- Compare and Contrast

San Francisco and Petaluma, CA
Maritme Hall and a Petaluma church

Here I am, as promised, with my report of my wonderful wonderful weekend. This is likely to get a little long, so be prepared.

We’ll start with Friday night. Actually, let’s start with Friday morning. For the previous few weeks my body had decided that 5 hours of sleep was enough, so I had been waking up at 4 and 5 a.m. for a while, which is not a good thing. That Friday morning was no exception. I woke up at 5, and despite my best efforts, couldn’t get back to sleep for the remaining hour & a half until my alarm goes off. All this meant was that by around 3 Friday afternoon I was getting quite tired, and was really wondering how I’d make it through the show. Sugar and caffeine helped, thank goodness.

I left work Friday night and drove to pick up my friend who had graciously agreed to go with me. We had dinner and got to the Maritime Hall around 8:45 or so, as the show was to start at 9. Now, remember, I had no clue who I was going to see or what kind of music, exactly, was going to be played. When we got into the hall, there were maybe 150 people scattered about, or in other words, more empty than full. We got a couple drinks (the worst margarita I’ve ever had in my life) and stood around waiting for the first band to hit the stage. I looked around at the sparse crowd, and realized that we rather stood out looking fairly like the white suburbanites we are. That’s when we knew for sure it was a reggae show.

Now, my knowledge of reggae can be summed up in one sentence. I have heard of Bob Marley. That’s it. So, I figured okay, something new. The first act hit the stage a little after 9, and they were pretty good. While my friend and I are kinda boppin’ along to them, I notice this kinda short, curly haired guy with a big nose walk in front of me. Before I get a chance to get a good look though, this big Rastafarian guy came up to me and said something, the only word of which I understand is “dancing”, and walks off. I look around again, but I can’t see him. I am 99.99% certain it was Neal. Damn. (After the show, I’m 100% sure.)

So the first band plays for about an hour. This was our first clue we are in for a looooooooonnnnnngggg night. The whole bill had 4 acts and Strictly Roots is act number 4. By this time the hall is getting fuller, and my friend and I don’t stand out quite as much and I notice a couple handfuls of people who don’t look like they’re there for the reggae either.

The second band got up and played their hour long set, and I’m beginning to tire out. My friend and I go into the ladies room where there’s a couch and an open window, so we can sit down and get some fresh air. (My throat was sore from all the smoke for days. It is really rare to go any place in California and have smoking of any kind, and this place was filled not only with the expected pot, but cigarette and incense. I reeked by the time I left.) We were both a little weary, and were wondering how on earth we would make it through two more bands.

We went back out for the third band, and managed to find a couple of the few chairs along the wall so we could sit through one. Both of us were kind of nodding off at this point. I’m tired, my eyes and throat are burning, and it’s 12:30 when the third band finally finishes their hour long set. Okay, this means, thank god, Strictly Roots and Neal are up next so we’re closing in on the end of the evening.

I got up to go stand near the stage, and my friend asks if I’d mind if she just stayed in the seats and I find her after the set. She was really tired and had come as a favor to me, so I told her it wasn’t a problem and walked over to the stage. About the same time I get in front of the stage, who should walk out, but Neal! He started setting up his equipment and, finally, at around 12:45 he began playing with a guy on the conga drums.* Neal played three or four songs of his own, that were really quite cool, and there I was standing about 10 feet away right in front of him. That was quite a thrill. Meanwhile, I started looking around at the crowd, and they looked very puzzled since MOST of them are there for the 4 reggae acts and these are definitely NOT reggae tunes.

*I now realize that Neal's conga player was Michael Carabello formerly of Santana, most recently of the Gregg Rolie Band.

I wish I could describe the songs Neal played better, but I was soooo tired that they didn’t register enough to be able to remember them. One was rather interesting as it sounded like he was playing ochestral strings, but that’s about all that I can remember about it. It was a little distracting since he kept walking over to the side of the stage to make adjustments to his equipment, so I wasn’t quite sure what he was doing. Well, he played for about 20 minutes, and then thanked the audience for allowing him to play “some experimental stuff” that he’d been working on.

Then Strictly Roots came on stage and I got to witness one of the stranger sights I have ever seen. Picture, if you will, Neal on stage with his guitar and wearing a denim overall kind of thing with a denim jacket over it. Now picture six guys with dreadlocks wearing sorta camoflauge pants and jackets. Very bizarre. So, the band starts playing and they’re doing their reggae thing and Neal’s playing along, but it’s not like Neal’s playing reggae. It’s more like he’s doing his thing and the band is doing their thing, and they just happen to be playing at the same time. It worked okay, but it was definitely Neal playing WITH a band as opposed to playing IN a band.

After about 20 minutes of this, I looked over to see how my friend was doing, but she isn’t where she’s supposed to be. I got a little worried, so I worked my way out of the crowd to go look for her. She had gone to sit on the couch in the ladies room because Neal was just too loud for her and she was half asleep. Since I was pretty tired myself, and four hours of reggae music was more than enough for my ears, I said “let’s go home”. As we left Neal was playing a very nice solo, which actually, was a nice way to head out.

Leap ahead in time now to Saturday afternoon. I had somewhat recovered from the late, smoky evening before, and my cousin Denise came over to drive up to Petaluma with me for Jon’s show. As we’re driving up I play For a Lifetime for her so she can hear it, and tell her about Neal’s show the night before. I was fully expecting that Jon’s show would be 180 degrees different than Neal’s.

The drive to Petaluma wasn’t as bad as I had expected, and we found the church easily. We had left in enough time to go have dinner first, so that’s what we did before heading back to the church. We got inside and noticed it was a fairly small church, which was good, and that the crowd has a lot of older folks (read, church members, not Jon fans). As we walk in, I notice an attractive brunette woman holding the hand of a little girl and another woman behind her holding the hand of a little boy. I figure this must be Jon’s wife Liz and their twins.

After chatting for a few minutes with a few fellow fans, Denise & I went to find some seats. Denise, who is a pianist & until recently was a music director at a San Jose church, wanted to be where she hoped she could see Jon’s fingering. Unfortunately the way the piano was set up didn’t allow for this. While we’re waiting for the show to start I look around at the clean white walls and notice the very intimate “church-y” feel of the place, and laugh to myself at how different it was from the smoky filled hall the night before.

The pastor of the church gets up and starts his introduction. He got a signal from someone in the balcony to stretch it a little, but while he was talking a door on the altar opened up and Jon looked out then walked out very quietly. The pastor concluded his introduction, and the show started.

He opened with “For a Lifetime”, and I sat there in awe and thought, “My god, I’m going to recognize all of these songs really easily!” I hadn’t had For a Lifetime out of my CD player since I bought it the week before! He finished that piece and then thanked the audience. He then introduced a “song I’m sorta famous for” and launched into “Open Arms”. He played a lot of tracks from the CD, which I just love to death, but he also sang “Faithfully”, “Little River” (which he introduced with the story of how he wrote and sang it for his daughter Madison’s baptism), “Distant Shores”, and did a slightly reworked version of “When I Think of You” which he dedicated to the pastor, who apparently is leaving. (I really liked it. His voice sounded better live than on recording. At least better than I remembered “Back to the Innocence” being.)

Throughout the whole show I was thinking how real he seemed. I’ve always thought Jon was the most down to earth member of the band, and watching him that night really solidified that opinion. It also brought home to me the fact that this person, whom I’ve idolized since I was a teenager, is really just a person and not a super-hero. You don’t usually think of a “rock star” as someone who goes to church or has a more spiritual side. You just picture this big flashy sign that says ROCK STAR, and forget that really, the rock star is just another human being.

After the show, CDs were available for sale and Jon was standing around signing autographs and talking to people. I bought another copy of For a Lifetime (heck, the money was going to charity, it’s the least I could do!) and Denise and I got in line to get our CDs signed. I was standing in line, and my brain was just going on overload, but basically the same thought is running through my head—“oh, my god. I get to meet Jonathan Cain!” So much for my rock star as a human being!

Denise and I got up to Jon and told him how much we enjoyed the show and his music in general. I really don’t remember what I said, but at least I’m fairly sure I didn’t make a fool of myself. When I handed him my CD for him to sign he asked “Do you want me to personalize this?” My brain did register that (barely), so I said yes and told him my name. As he autographed that and my ticket, Jon mentioned that he’d only played the little show in the city the week before, and that it would be a good idea to do this show too. I told him how great I thought it was he did the show, and thanked him.

It was really neat seeing him interact with the fans and the church members (which you could tell were two different groups), and I didn’t stop smiling for days. It was just such a great evening.

Driving home, Denise and I just rehashed the show over and over, and she thanked me for kind of nudging her to go. She’d hesitated for a bit when I asked her, since she wouldn’t be seeing her boyfriend at all that weekend if she went, but I think she kinda figured she could see her boyfriend anytime she liked, but Jon performing was rare. As an added bonus to the whole thing, Denise and I had more fun together than we’d had in years. When we got home, I pulled out all my Journey/Steve/Neal/Jon, etc. CDs, and we played a couple then watched the Raised on Radio documentary, and just talked and talked about the music and our lives for a few hours. Our friendship was a little strained for a while, and only in the last year or so have we been putting it back together. Journey was what helped us become good friends when we were kids, and it seems they’ve helped bring us back together.

Jon's Set List
(special thanks to Scott Cannon who sent this to the Perry List and to the gods of pack rats everywhere that made me save it on my computer!)

For a Lifetime
Open Arms
A Day to Remember
Faithfully
Precious Moments
Song of Calabria
Just to Love You
Distant Shores
From the First Look (combined with Blue Nocturne)
One Look
Bridal March
Living on Love (A unreleased song he wrote with a friend)
Olema Waltz
Loved by You (A new song with vocals, dedicated to his wife Elizabeth)*
With Your Love
When I Think of You
Little River
From Wings of Love

Encore:
When the Spirit Comes

* yes, THAT "Loved by You" -- same as appeared on Arrival three years after this memorable night!
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After Jon's show, I was floating on air for days. Here's a follow up to my original post.

I so so wish everyone on this list could have seen Jon's show. I feel a little guilty going on and on about it because I was one of a very select few. I haven't been able to stop talking about it for days. Literally. Virtually everyone I've talked to in the last three days has gotten some version of my weekend. (I keep saying things like "I had such a GREAT weekend!" or "Last weekend was the best couple of days in the world!" You know, comments intended to get people to ask "Oh really, what did you do?" That's all the opening I need, and I'm off!)

Actually, yesterday one of the women I work with arrived at work around 3 p.m. after a harrowing day. She's been taking a math class in the mornings and usually doesn't arrive until noon, but yesterday she called around 1:30 to say her car had gotten a flat tire and she was going to be later than usual. When she finally arrived in the office, she was just so stressed out I told her "I wish I could bottle the way I'm feeling and give some to you." I don't usually start talking about Journey or Journey-related topics with my co-workers since most of them are at least 15 years older than me and have totally different tastes in music, but I told her about going to see Jon and how wonderful it was, and when she heard the excitement and happiness in my voice she told me that it helped relax her. The feeling spreads!

Man I could make a fortune if I could just bottle it! LOL!