Journey 7/15/08

Journey

I have a picture of Marvin, Sam, Macy and myself at this concert. I look super baked which was nothing new for me at a concert but to actually see a picture of myself in that state is comical. Cheap Trick was opening and I was fairly upset that we could not drag ourselves from drinking beer in the parking lot in time to see them. I was never a huge Cheap Trick fan outside of “I Want You to Want Me” and “Dream Police” but c’mon these guys are a solid piece of rock and roll history.

Thankfully we did get in to see all of Heart’s set. I had never seen any of the three bands at this concert and Heart was the one I was most excited about. I lived through Heart’s “80’s MTV phase” where they were pumping out hits for the masses but the real Heart to me has always been their stuff from the 70’s like “Crazy On You,” “Magic Man,” “Barracuda,” “Kick It Out,” and “Straight On.” Quite simply Heart fucking rocked. I was blown away by Ann’s vocal performance. She poured her all into those songs like the songs were brand new even though she had been singing them for decades.

Journey was one of those mega bands you just could not avoid growing up unless you were living under a rock. They had so many hits showcasing a great mix of slow songs and heavier songs but they were never quite the same once Steve Perry left the band (just like nearly every other band that loses their vocalist). Enter Arnel Pineda, a Filipino singer that had just been appointed Journey’s singer about eight months prior to this show. Watching this incarnation of Journey was an absolute mindfuck. If I closed my eyes Steve Perry was singing but when my eyes were open I saw a tiny Filipino man with a shit ton of energy flying around the stage singing his heart out. He was clearly enjoying himself and I think it is safe to say that all of us in attendance were also enjoying ourselves.

Journey:Heart:CheapTrick