October 22, 2002: Sir Paul Makes My Life!

San Jose, CA
HP Pavilion

I've waited a few hours to share this, so I'm much calmer now than I was last night, but I thought you'd all like to hear this little tale... I had a ticket to go see Paul McCartney last night in San Jose. With the World Series going on, I was tempted to sell it to get a ticket to the Series. I had just seen him 6 months ago, and thought, briefly, "Well, I don't need to see him AGAIN." Fortunately, such thoughts were fleeting and I kept my ticket and went to the concert last night (thus missing the shellacking my poor Giants took!)

The set was similar to the one I'd seen in April, but about half way through the acoustic set (a couple of songs after he did his John Lennon/George Harrison tributes which had me in tears, again) he started talking about growing up with John and how their age difference of a year and a half was a big deal when they were teenagers. He started talking about these parties they'd go to and his attempts to appear more sophisticated, so he said he would wear a black turtle neck sweater and sit in the corner with his guitar and pretend to be French and make up these songs in French.

This is when I started holding my breath as I'd heard a variant of this story. Could he be about to sing what I think he's going to sing?? He finished the story (something to the effect of John saying one of those silly French songs was good) and he did it, he launched into the song.

HE SANG "MICHELLE"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, I was a complete and total wreck and just SOBBED through the whole song. My entire body was shaking. I don't remember what the next couple of songs were 'cause it took me that long to recover. This is the 4th time I've gotten to see Paul McCartney, but this is the first time he'd ever performed the song I was named for. I still can't believe it. The crazy thing is, "Michelle" isn't even my favorite Beatles song, but OMG it was so powerful to hear it live. I'll never forget it.

And now, I'm outta here, I've got tickets to game 4!!!!!

September 14, 2002: Mississippi?? Really??!!

Tunica, MS
Horsehoe Casino

The places I travel to see this band! Never in a million years did I ever expect to voluntarily go to Mississippi, but there I was, a California weather wimp in the humid south.

While the weather sucked most of MY energy dry, it sure didn't affect the band or the 1500 people in the tiny Bluesville room at the Horseshoe Casino. When I first arrived at the venue I was amazed that they had managed to fit all their equipment on such a TINY stage. Deen looked to be a little more boxed in than usual, but it worked.

While there were very few bad seats in such a tiny venue, I was in seventh heaven with my 5th row center seat -- very close. My only complaint being that the seats were tied together so you were very cozy with the person sitting next to you! I thought I was going to luck out when the 6 seats to my left didn't fill up immediately, but, alas, the latecomers arrived about 3 songs in to the set!

The set was the same as they've been playing this whole tour, and when the lights went down and the intro to the show the crowd was on their feet screaming. This was the first show I've been to at a casino that the front rows weren't all filled with the "high rollers," but actual fans who were on their feet cheering! Everyone was on their feet for the entire night (at least in the front section -- friends reported the second section was a bit more sedate.)

About 30 minutes into the show, security allowed people up to the front of the stage. Well, you don't have to tell me twice! Once I freed my purse from the tangle of the chair, I was down at the stage front and center. And man, this is the closest I've ever been to the guys. The stage, as I said, was tiny. It was also LOW -- probably about 3 feet from the main floor. Steve and Neal were right in front of me all night, but one of the more amazing things is that I was able to actually watch DEEN for a change. He's usually so hidden in the back that I can only see the top of his head. It was cool getting to watch him go to town on the drums.

I realized I've been to a LOT of shows when Jon started his solo intro to Open Arms -- he's changed it!

After the show was over my friends and I saw the tour buses waiting out side, so we went over to see if the guys were coming out. Deen was already outside and signing autographs. He was looking around too see if there was anyone he missed talking to when I walked up and when he saw me, he pointed and said hi. Then he came over and gave me a big hug. (Woo hoo, personal thrill!)*

We hung around for a while and Deen was finally dragged off by one of the road crew. The crowd had grown a bit, and after about 30 minutes or so security started shooing everyone off saying "they're not coming out, they're staying the night and leaving in the morning." Uh... yeah, really? Then why are the buses still sitting here with their engines running??

Eventually we were shooed off to the hotel lobby where, lo and behold, Steve, Neal, Deen, and Jon were walking through a small crowd of people! We got to chat with them briefly. We never did see Ross, but we had passed him at the hotel buffet, so that was good enough.

All in all, another all-to-short trip to see Journey and of course the wonderful Journey fans! A very SPECIAL thank you to Mary Ann for all her southern hospitality -- you went WAY beyond the call of duty -- I'm so glad we got to spend some time together!

Set List:

Intro/State of Grace
Separate Ways
Ask the Lonely
-- Neal Solo -- Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Only the Young
Send Her My Love
Lights
-- Jon solo --
Open Arms
Feeling That Way
Anytime
I'll Be Alright Without You
Trial By Fire (acoustic)
Liberty (acoustic)
Higher Place
The Time
Don't Stop Believin'
Chain Reaction
Faithfully
Escape
-- Neal solo --
Wheel in the Sky
Be Good to Yourself

Encore:

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

*Still one of my favorite Journey memories!

August 23, 2002: Journey Past & Present 2002

Kelseyville, CA
Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa

This report is going to be somewhat different than my previous ones. It is also going to be longer than usual, but there is a lot to cover.

As some of you know, for the past 8 months, Darla Ellis, Leslie Forsythe, Cheryl Simien and I have been organizing a fan gathering called Journey Past and Present 2002 (JPP2002.) The focal point of which was Journey's concert at Konocti Harbor in Kelseyville -- the closest home town date.

Way back in January, we began brainstorming ideas to make the event special. What could we do to make it an event the attendees would never forget? Cheryl suggested a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, but that idea died on the vine when we learned that a fee of $15,000 was required along with a long bureaucratic process. That's when I suggested that we focus on the Bay Area connection and see what we could do to get Journey a plaque on the Bammies Walk of Fame. Darla, Cheryl, and Leslie looked at me with complete confusion. There is a Bammies Walk of Fame??! I guess I'll attribute it to being the only Bay Area native of the bunch, but I was the only one who knew of it's existence.

Dennis Erokan, the founder of BAM Magazine started the Bay Area Music Awards -- better known as the Bammies -- in 1977 as a reader opinion poll and it grew into an annual extravaganza. Back in the early to mid 1980s, the Bammies show was one of the hottest tickets in town. Bay Area bands were all over the radio, and many of the performers would regularly appear a the show -- including our beloved Journey. In 1997 the first selections for the Bammies Walk of Fame were chosen and bronze plaques were embedded in the cement in front of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. When BAM Magazine went out of business in 1999 the Walk of Fame fell to the wayside. (The Bammies continue, but now are known as the California Music Awards.)*

*2014 Update: The Bammies no longer exisit, but BAM Magazine has returned as an on-line magazine. You can check it out at http://bammagazine.com

 *2018 Update: There was a "Bammies Reunion" concert held in March 2018 which included Neal Schon on the bill of performers (I believe he played with Sammy Hagar.) It's possible the Bammies may resurface in some form in the future.


Currently there are 7 members of the Bammies Walk of Fame -- Bill Graham (1997), Carlos Santana (1997), Jerry Garcia (1997), Janis Joplin (1998), John Lee Hooker (1998), Jefferson Airplane (1999), and Metallica (1999.) We wanted to see if we could get Journey included as part of our JPP2002 event. Cheryl set off on path to find out how this was done, the cost, and any other issues that might need to be addressed. We soon learned that this would be possible, but not in the time frame we were hoping. Cheryl was eventually put in contact with Dennis Erokan, who was extremely pleased with our idea and eager to help us get the process started.**


**2018 Update 2: As part of the Bammies Reunion Concert mentioned above, two new inductees were added to the Bammies Walk of Fame -- Sammy Hagar and local DJ, Steven Seaweed. (For those who attended JPP2003, "The Weedman" was one of the featured speakers inducting Journey.) I believe these were the first inductees since Journey in 2003.

Having gotten that ball rolling, we turned our attention to the rest of JPP2002 with the intention of having Mr. Erokan announce Journey's soon to be induction to the Bammies Walk of Fame at our luncheon. As we thought it over, we realized that the timing had actually worked out in our favor. By not having the plaque done this year, it meant that it was going to happen in 2003 -- the 30th anniversary of the foundation of Journey!

Then we learned that Mr. Erokan would not be able to make the luncheon as we had hoped, but would arrive in time for the concert. That set off a series of events that still leaves me dazed and confused. The details of how the following came about are too numerous and confusing to mention here, so I will skip ahead to what happened today.

The JPP2002 gang had a pre-show luncheon that flew by much too quickly. We had heard rumors of some special guests for the show, and when we had a brief visit from Neal's mom and step-dad they brought along one of them - Michael Carabello (the former conga player from Santana and currently playing in the Gregg Rolie Band.)

Then it was off to the show where there were two major highlights. One being the Latin set, where Journey was joined on stage by Michael Carabello (congas), Chepito Areas (timables), and Adrian Areas (timables.) They played "Black Magic Woman" with Neal doing dual duties as lead guitar AND lead VOCALIST. That was followed by an extended version of "La Raza del Sol" and then "Everything is Everything" with Jon on vocal. After the acoustic set, came the other major highlight.

While they were preparing for the Latin set, Dennis Erokan appeared on stage and announced that next year in honor of their 30th anniversary, Journey would be getting their own plaque on the Bammies Walk of Fame. After praising the band and announcing the award, which got an enormous response, Dennis told the football players (there for a golf tournament) in the front row to sit down because the JPP2002 committee which had originated this idea were sitting in the third row! (We learned later, we were on the video screen!)

Due to the chaotic nature of my evening, I was unable to obtain a copy of the set list, much less jot one down!

In closing, thanks to the attendees for making the event what it was, and special thanks to Mary Ann Bohne and Emerson Dong for their assistance in planning this event and to Caryn Sinagra for all of her work on our behalf.

July 4, 2002: Somewhere in Canada

Orillia, ONT Canada
Casino Rama

It's been a loooooooooong day, but have laptop, will travel.

Canada has been invaded by Journey fans. Starting yesterday, fans from across the US, Canada, and the UK arrived in the small town of Orillia, Ontario, about an hour's drive north of Toronto for the first show of the "Under the Radar" tour. There were many gatherings of friends old and new, and far too numerous to mention, but just a reminder to folks planning on hitting a show this summer, try to hook up with your fellow fans for a time you will never forget!

Most of today was spent with the everyone doing their own various things -- going to the casino, shopping, taking a jog around the lake. Folks gathered for a small pre-show meal at the casino sports bar, then took off for a little pre-concert gambling.

The show started off right on time, despite the fact that a good number of the seats weren't filled yet (from what I could tell, they did fill in quickly.) As usual, I was on my feet immediately, and I noticed that most of the other fans I'd been spending time with had migrated down to the front of the stage. Since everyone ELSE was sitting down (and would remain so for most of the show), I grabbed my things and spent the night up against the stage at Neal's feet.

One of my criteria for how good a show is or isn't is based on the crowd reaction. The group of dedicated die hards at the front of the stage were having a GREAT time. The rest of the crowd seemed pretty sedate, not getting on their feet until Steve asked them to during "Escape." Again they opened with "State of Grace," and this time I got to pay more attention to it since I didn't have to guess what it was! All I can say is, wow! When does Red 13 ship???

Steve flubbed a few lines tonight, but recovered quickly. There also seemed to be some kind of monitor problem (??) during the acoustic set. Neal had to get off his stool and step back a ways from the rest of the guys to play. Those were really the only "glitches" of the night.

A quick wardrobe report -- Steve in blue suede pants and black shirt. Neal was sporting a blue vest with white stars (a la the US flag) that he said his mom made for him. Neal's looking great, by the way, and seems to have lost some weight.

OH! I nearly forgot! Prior to the show, I noticed a song over the PA that sounded like Steve singing and after conversing with a few fellow fans, we agreed it was one of the new tracks. Then, AFTER the show, they played "Walking Away From the Edge" over the PA. THAT sounded fantastic!!! (again, when does Red 13 ship????) 

All in all another fantastic show!

Set list:

State of Grace
Separate Ways
Ask the Lonely
Neal solo -- Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Only the Young
Send Her My Love
Lights
Jon solo
Open Arms
Feeling That Way
Anytime
I'll Be Alright Without You
Trial By Fire - acoustic
Liberty - acoustic
Higher Place
The Time
Don't Stop Believin'
La Raza del Sol
Faithfully
Escape
Neal solo
Wheel in the Sky
Be Good To Yourself

Encore:

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

...back on the road for Journeydigest.com