April 26, 2003: JPP2003 and the Bammies Walk of Fame

San Francisco, CA
Warfield Theater

I'm dead on my ass tired right now, but this weekend in San Francisco was totally unbelievable. If you haven't seen the highlights from the Journey Forums yet (which I've barely glimpsed myself so far)...

Bammies Walk of Fame Induction -- probably 300 people on the street in front of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium to watch the boys (including Aynsley Dunbar, Gregg Rolie, & Herbie Herbert) receive their plaque! In a light rain no less!

Journey and Friends concert -- Indescribable! Aynsley Dunbar took over Deen's drum kit for "Wheel in the Sky" three songs in and it just kept getting better. Set list included "Mother, Father", "Precious Time" (with Jon on harmonica!) a medley of "La Do Da", "Dixie Highway", and "Line of Fire"... and that's just the beginning -- I heard more songs that I HADN'T heard them play before than songs I had!

First encore -- "Where Were You" and "We Will Meet Again"

Second encore -- SANTANA SET -- the guys were joined by Chepito Areas and Michael Carabello and performed "Black Magic Woman" (Neal on lead vocals), "La Raza del Sol" (with a triple drum solo -- Carabello first on congas, Chepito next on the timbales, and then Deen goin' wild on what looks to be a much larger kit than he's had in previous years!) and "Everybody's Everything" (Jon on lead vocals)

THIRD encore -- Sammy Hagar joined the boys for a final blow out and took the lead on a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll."

When I regain consciousness I'll try to fill in some of the gaps here, but man this was the most unforgettable weekend!

Set List:
(cribbed from multiple sources, may not be 100% accurate)

State of Grace
Separate Ways
Wheel in the Sky (Aynsley Dunbar on drums)
Stone in Love
Medley: La Do Da, Dixie Highway, Line of Fire
Lights
Open Arms
Mother, Father
Precious Time
Rubicon
National Anthem
Don't Stop Believin'
Higher Place
Faithfully
Escape

First Encore:

Be Good to Yourself
We Will Meet Again

Second Encore
(joined by Michael Carabello & Chepito Areas of the original Santana band):

Black Magic Woman [Neal on lead vocals]
La Raza Del Sol
Everybody's Everything [Jon on lead vocals]

Third Encore
(joined by Sammy Hagar):

Rock 'n' Roll [Zep cover]

November 23, 2002: The End of the Road Again

Reno, NV
City Center Pavilion

The Under the Radar Tour has officially come to a close, but what a spectacular close it was! The day began fairly early when Cheryl and I went downstairs at the Silver Legacy for a late breakfast when we ran in to Deen in the lobby. He had recently arrived from Vegas where, he reported, they had a great show.

A little later in the day, we ran in to Jon in the lobby, and he mentioned he was getting over a bug and wasn't feeling all that great, so they probably wouldn't be doing "Feeling That Way" and "Anytime" but would find something else to fill that slot.

A group of folks from the Back Talk forums had organized a pre-show dinner at the Brews Brothers, and I must compliment all their hard work. It went of beautifully! They had a raffle of a wide variety of items for the Carousel Foundation. Some very cool prizes were won. In addition to the raffle there was an auction for a few "special" items. One of these was a copy of Red 13 with the new cover autographed by Neal, and the GRAND item -- the shirt off Steve's back! One of his white shirts, complete with sweat stains, a stain from the red leather pants, and autographed by the band was auctioned off for a whopping $550!

Then it was off to the show where we found that the hall was configured differently than it had the last time Journey performed there in 2000. This was a bit of a surprise to me since the last show there had plenty of space down in front where the crowd could head up to the stage unimpeded. Alas, this time the configuration didn't allow for that and the security in my section was adamant about checking tickets, so heading down front was a near impossibility.

There seemed to be two different crowds at the show. There was a large group clustered down in front of Neal (where, apparently, security wasn't quite as stringent about going up to the barricade) and reports from friends who survived the section said it was a bit wild in there with several near fights breaking out. Back in the 16th row, where I was sitting just off the center aisle, it was more subdued. About half of the people near me sat through most of the show, which, while somewhat disappointing in the enthusiasm sense, allowed me a GREAT view of the stage all night long! Color me happy!

Deen's drumkit appeared to have been eaten by Spongebob Squarepants (who apparently has mastered cloning as Spongebob was also spotted over by Jon's keyboards.) The set was incredible, though going from "La Raza del Sol" into the acoustic set was a little disjointed to me. The guys played quite well, but both Jon and Ross looked a bit weary. (Ross must have the same bug that Jon picked up.)

There were a few interesting moments during the show. The first occurred during "Chain Reaction" when a woman climbed up on stage and started dancing next to Jon. She dashed off before one of the road crew and/or security could get her, but I think she was detained after she was back on the floor. At the very end of the show, while the guys were taking their final bow, a guy ran out on stage and grabbed one of the Spongebobs in front of Deen's drums!! He was nearly tackled on stage by the stage manager, and was grabbed by security. (So, it seems I was sitting in the only section with effective security!)

During the show, a few thoughts ran through my head. At one point I looked over at the cluster of people by Neal and saw a good dozen red glow sticks waving back and forth in time with the music. I knew these were folks from the pre-show dinner since the glow sticks were available there. Watching the glow sticks move back and forth among a mass of arms waving I thought "it's like a cult." And of course it is... a mass of worshipers at the Holy Shrine of Journey. While this certainly could be a bad thing, in the context of the show, it was a very positive experience. Looking particularly at the 50 or 60 people who had gathered before the show I saw many friends who had been brought together by the love of this music, and now, during this final show of the year, celebrating that music with boundless enthusiasm. It never ceases to amaze me.

A bit later, during "Escape," it crossed my mind how glad I was that they kept "lesser known" songs such as this one in the set. With the number of hits in their catalog, songs like "Escape" and "Chain Reaction" could easily be set aside in favor of better known songs like "Who's Crying Now." It particularly hit me during "Escape" because, by coincidence, that happened to be the song on my CD player when I hopped in the car after work on Friday afternoon for the drive to Reno. I've always associated that song with liberation and possibility. I've played it often during those transition times in my life to help celebrate the changes (even the ones I've been less than enthusiastic about.) It also works wonderfully on a smaller scale, like taking a Friday afternoon off after a hard couple of weeks to hit the road to a Journey show. So, for the final show of the tour, this was the song that hit me most.

And so, we head in to the holiday season to spend time with our family and friends, and wait again for the coming of summer and the next round of shows. This Thanksgiving I will once again be thankful for the cherished friends I have made through our common love of Journey. May you and yours have a pleasant holiday, and I will see you on the road in 2003!

Set List:
(may not be 100% accurate, I forgot to write it down since they haven't changed it much this year, so I cribbed it from the website and made a few changes that I remember.)

Intro/State of Grace
Separate Ways
Ask the Lonely
-- Neal Solo -- Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Only the Young
Lights
-- Jon solo --
Open Arms
I'll Be Alright Without You
La Raza del Sol
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'

November 2, 2002: Bone Bash III

Concord, CA
Chronicle Pavilion

Hello one and all, your intrepid roving reporter here, stone deaf after last night's Bone Bash. The Bone Bash is an annual concert sponsored by one of the local classic rock stations -- 107.7 "The Bone" (known to those who pay attention to call letters as KSAN.) This was the biggest show they've sponsored to date with 4 bands on the lineup -- Montrose, Y&T, Joe Satriani, and, of course, our beloved Journey.

I got to Concord about 4 so that I'd have time to visit with fellow Journey fans before Montrose hit the stage at 5. I spent some time visiting with people, and when Montrose hit the stage some went in to watch and I went to grab something to eat. (I'd seen Montrose recently and once was really sufficient.)

Y&T hit the stage about 6:05, and I wanted to see them so went in and grabbed my seat in the third row. To be honest, I thought I knew Y&T better than it turned out I did, so I left about halfway through their set to use the bathroom and check out the swag table. They had T-shirts from the Hawaii show and a new pin I hadn't seen before (a winged scarab) so I picked that up.

I definitely wanted to see Joe Satriani, so when Y&T ended, I swam upstream back towards my seat. Visited with more friends between sets and then Satriani hit the stage. He's just amazing to watch. I really must go see him again.

Finally, around 9:15 Journey hit the stage. I knew they would be playing a shortened set since there were 4 bands and an 11 pm curfew. Plus the Bone had been advertising a "guitar god encore," so Journey was going to be a bit squeezed between all of that. They took the stage and launched right into "Red 13/State of Grace," and the place went wild. The Chronicle Pavilion is fairly strict about who gets to the front row -- you must have a wristband to be in the front row and up against the stage. This makes it next to impossible for people to come down the aisles and into the front, but it doesn't stop chair crawling. So there was a bit of clamoring the first few songs as people tried to get closer to the stage.

The set turned out to be even shorter than I had expected it to be, so when they started in on "Wheel in the Sky," I was surprised! During "Be Good To Yourself" I noticed several members of the road crew running around, and when the song ended, Deen didn't come up front to take a bow with the rest of the guys. When the band came back on stage for their encore, Neal said that Deen had the flu and couldn't finish the encore. Deen's drum tech, Jim, filled in for "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'."

They left the stage again about 10:45, and the road crew brought out a couple of monitors for the grand finale. A few minutes passed and the guys (with out Deen) came back out on stage and were joined by Dave Meneketi (Y&T), Joe Satriani, the guitarist from Testament (a metal band that had played on the side stage before the main show) and the drummer from Y&T. They launched into a rockin' cover of Led Zepplin's "Rock and Roll."

The show ended and I was exhausted and had a loud ringing in my ear... a good night!

[Short]Set List:

Intro/State of Grace
Separate Ways
Ask the Lonely
-- Neal Solo -- Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Only the Young
Lights
Feeling That Way
Anytime
The Time
Don't Stop Believin'
Chain Reaction
Faithfully
Escape
-- Neal solo --
Wheel in the Sky
Be Good to Yourself

Encore:

Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

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!!!!!