Review: Journey at Raleigh, NC - Walnut Creek Amphitheatre - 05.29.2014

With my virtual Bic during "Lights."

First off, I wasn't sure that I was going to make this concert of my fave band because 1) I'm never sure how my rheumatoid arthritis will act up - nights out are a rarity for me these days, particularly a weeknight, and 2) I wasn't sure that I could snare decent tickets close to the stage, since I love to take pics and video.

But I'm a long-time fan of all eras of the band, so I wasn't going to let my chronic pain stop me. I was able to take the earlier part of the day to get some rest, load up on liniments and put on my knee braces, elbow sleeves, and wraps on my hands and thumbs and headed off with Kate to the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre to see Journey, with openers Tower of Power and The Steve Miller Band (both put on fantastic, energetic sets). A snippet of TOP:



Re: the tickets, since the date was on a Thursday night, I actually snared great seats at face value on Sunday. I was in Section 1 (Neal's side of the stage, 3 rows back).

***

The Review

Journey's set list at the Raleigh, NC stop didn't deviate from any of the other 2014 dates -- the Dirty Dozen (most hits people know), plus two tracks from 2011's Eclipse:

Be Good to Yourself
Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
Any Way You Want It
Only the Young
The Star-Spangled Banner
(John Stafford Smith cover) (Neal Schon)
Stone in Love
Mother, Father
(Deen Castronovo on lead vocals)
She's a Mystery
Lights
Piano Solo - (Jonathan Cain)
(Medley of Patiently, When You Love A Woman, Why Can't This Night Go On Forever, several other hits)
Open Arms
Ritual
La Do Da
Anytime
Guitar Solo
Wheel in the Sky
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Encore:
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

As I said in an earlier essay (A Journey fan's dream deep cuts setlist -- that means no DSB, peeps), I'd rather see the band do an "evening with" smaller tour where they change it up, marketed for the hardcore fans and cover ground in the vast Journey catalog of fantastic lesser-known hits and great "unknown" compositions.

But this tour is about the casual fans of the Greatest Hits, and so we have the above setlist; the house and lawn were packed, and enthusiastically singing along and cheering the band. I was particularly interested in how they would render the Eclipse songs - Ritual and She's a Mystery -- and how the crowd would respond. Those are the two songs that I recorded in full.

The good:
1) Tremendous energy this time around from all of the band members on stage (Arnel Pineda, vocals; Neal Schon on lead guitar; Jonathan Cain on keys, rhythm guitar, Ross Valory on bass, and Deen Castronovo on drums). When I saw them in 2012 in Greensboro toward the end of that leg of the U.S. tour, aside from Arnel and Deen, the others seemed quite tired and low-energy.

On Thursday they really revved up the audience.

2) Stagecraft and visuals -- multiple screens with interesting live shots of the band during songs (and fan-submitted photos during "Faithfully), alternating with other eye-catching images.

3) Arnel and Neal know how to work the crowd: Good interaction along with the energy is a huge plus that I have always enjoyed.

The could-be-better:
1) Sound: Tower of Power and the Steve Miller Band were bell-clear, and sonically right on point from where we sat. However, the moment Journey came on, people in my section were visibly in shock at the contrast -- a lot of distortion, with guitar too up-front, and even brief mic drop-off on several songs, not only Arnel, but notably Jonathan Cain during Anytime. The distortion on Separate Ways and the Star Spangled Banner in particular was almost painful. Mother Father seemed a bit better on this front. It's such a shame, really, and clearly it wasn't Walnut Creek's system at fault here. Hopefully this was an isolated issue; it remains to be seen if anyone else reports issues on the tour.

Of course, I can only speak for what it sounded like in my section; folks elsewhere or on the lawn may not have experienced what I did.

However, I managed to enjoy the show regardless, since I got great pics and vid. You can see my album here. (All photos and video captured with a point-and-shoot Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 with 21x zoom)

Videos:

She's a Mystery (had a camera glitch and missed a couple of seconds around :37):



This is a song with a non-traditional structure, it starts out straight mid-tempo ballad with simple guitar lead; people didn't quite know what to make of it in my section as it followed the pulsing "Mother Father" by Deeno. Most people stayed to listen and take it in, though. It appeared they thought the song was over when it transitioned abruptly to its scorching, amped-up rocker tempo; that indicated they didn't know the song, which is a shame; Eclipse is a great album, and a good showcase for Arnel's original voice and contributions to the band as it exists now.

Ritual

This great little rocker went over well; had the audience curious. Arnel and the band definitely looked jazzed doing something other than the Dirty Dozen.



***

The other "experience" at the concert

An aside about the concert experience as someone now experiencing increasing physical disability; I was completely spent and hurting after the Journey concert, but it was a rare night out that provided a couple of hours of time to get back to something that I enjoyed immensely -- taking pix and vids while enjoying my fave band. I've had to permanently give up so much to this disease, from my political blog, my weekends and evenings since the job saps what energy I have left, the ability to travel unassisted, etc. It's unrelenting.

The fantasy getaway of those few hours of fun at Walnut Creek came crashing down when that woman nearly pushed me down on the ground for "walking too slow" on the way out and that "it's not hard to just walk" (did she not see my knees braces or that I was limping/dragging my left leg?!), affected me profoundly. I just buried myself in editing the pix and vid since it was hard to sleep.

The fact is that this woman that nearly pushed me to the ground just moved on, unaware that she said or did anything hurtful or ignorant. She was simply blissfully unaware of all that could befall her one day in terms of infirmity. To some extent we all are blinded, since thinking about losing physical abilities is why we often avoid those challenged with disabilities (or, rather, render them invisible). I was just humiliated by this woman, who didn't want to or care to understand the obvious, since I was inconveniencing her. I get that elsewhere nowadays, limping on a crosswalk and stopped drivers impatient and gunning their engines to continue as if I'm purposefully robbing them of a few extra seconds of precious forward momentum. I can only imagine what the more severely challenged deal with from the general public.

Food for thought.

A Journey fan's dream deep cuts setlist -- that means no DSB, peeps

What kind of setlist would I like to see Journey play before the group stops touring? The band has a large catalog of hits, but there are a lot of lesser-known gems that you may not know about, and if you do, know them, in the last few years you didn't hear them in concert.

Journey, 2011, the Today Show / Pam Spaulding

The last several tours have been triple bills (2014 will feature Tower of Power and the Steve Miller Band opening for the J-Boys), and that means little more than the Greatest Hits (or "Dirty Dozen") will be played for the mass of casual fans that show up. This leaves a chance for one, maybe two lesser-known nuggets to make the setlist. I will not shed a tear if I don't hear the beloved Don't Stop Believing again. A few more from the band's rich catalog would be greatly appreciated!

This post is about a hope and dream that Journey will think about doing maybe 5 dates, in strategic locations in the U.S., that die-hard fans will be willing to travel to -- smaller, more intimate venues (I fantasize about them coming to the Durham Performing Arts Center; and how about going to The Apollo in NYC for the hell of it!?), where they can do a 2.5-3 hour single bill show. If it's just 5 dates, there's no dread about the endless, tiring road dates. They will have time to think about fresh arrangements/concepts for the concerts, and they will be well-rested and enthusiastic about traveling down memory lane to revisit songs that rarely or never saw play on the road, plus personal faves, etc.

Or, rather, MY personal faves. Since this essay is about a dream set list of deeper cuts from albums that I happen to love, I get to set the terms! There's plenty here to argue over, of course (such as leaving the pre-Perry albums off of my consideration list). I welcome comments, and it would be great to see others make their own fantasy setlists; it's all good.

Journey fans are opinionated die hards and there are definite differences as to which period in the band's history is "the best." The fact is that this band is much more than its "classic" period that most casual fans know about and love. (And for the haters? Why are you reading this? Move along.)

What isn't in question, as you sample some of the video clips, is that the band excels in the live environment. They come alive in concert when released from the constraints of the studio.

A couple of caveats about this fantasy --

1) It has to be grounded in reality. Steve Perry is not going to reunite with the band. Period. Done. If he ever turns up in a concert, it will be solo, one-night-only kind of deal, and it will be on his own terms. Or he'll remain happily retired and we'll possibly, one day hear new recorded music from him. Having lunch with The Voice is on my bucket list (I'd probably pass out if I ever did get to meet him), but there's no way a concert appearance going to happen in the context of a reunion tour -- I accept that; and

2) It is has to be plausible that a couple of the former lead vocalists could be convinced to show up at this handful of dates. I'm thinking Robert Fleischman (who's that, you might ask -- well, he wrote and performed in the band before Steve Perry, and is still going strong with his band The Sky these days), Gregg Rolie (the original Journey vocalist, now on the road with Ringo Starr's All Starr Band in 2014), and perhaps even Steve Augeri would say yes to an invitation to sing a couple of numbers from their chapters in the Journey catalog. While I'd love to see short-term frontman Jeff Scott Soto on board to handle a few of the hits that call for the considerable R&B swagger that he possesses I'm not sure things were left off in a place with the band (long story, for another day) where he'd say yes, given I set the "plausible" standard here. Oy.

So where to begin? I won't bother attempting a sequencing of the setlist. First I need to pick some cuts. My picks for the setlist will have 2 asterisks, runners-up, 1 asterisk.

Let's be counterintuitive and start from the most recent album and go backwards in the DeLorean ...

Eclipse (2011).

I saw the kickoff concert for this 2011 release, and they played 5 cuts from this CD, so I was quite fortunate. However, there are fantastic, very Journey-esque tunes on this guitar-heavy work that were never played in concert. Here are the ones I definitely want to hear live (two stars):

Current Journey frontman Arnel Pineda./ Pam Spaulding

City of Hope *
Edge of the Moment *
Chain of Love *
Tantra
Anything is Possible **
Resonate *
She's a Mystery *
Human Feel *
Ritual
To Whom It May Concern *
Someone **

For crying out loud, there was not a sane reason to leave Anything Is Possible off a 2011 set list. It was actually released and charted as a single! I heard it 3 times when I was randomly out in public, once in a grocery store, once in a Subway. I forgot the third venue. I also heard it on the radio a few times. But it was never played in concert by the band. Huh? It's pure, classic, Journey. Uplifting message, positive, it showcases Arnel's warm, rich tenor, great harmonies, and Neal's guitar just sings during the solo and outro.



Someone -- come on, boys, this is another sure-fire single that never was. It's has a great zingy, pop confection of a synth opening by Jon Cain, paired with ample classic piano keying. I would consider kicking the concert off with this one! Arnel's energy is infectious; so much fun energy!



Runner-up Human Feel was one of the songs played at the Las Vegas February 23, 2011 concert. It has a unique, fascinating syncopation, courtesy of skins master Deen Castronovo, and great pulsing bass on the part of Ross Valory. It threw a lot of concertgoers off beat as they tried to dance to it. It was hilarious. Interesting lyrics about the disconnect in this "digital ocean" of information make this one a winner live. I'd enjoy hearing this one again just to watch Deen go wild on the kit.

Deen Castronovo / Pam Spaulding

On to Revelation (2008):

Never Walk Away
Like a Sunshower **
Change for the Better **
Wildest Dream
Faith in the Heartland *
After All These Years
Where Did I Lose Your Love **
What I Needed
What It Takes to Win
Turn Down the World Tonight

Almost all of these got an airing in concert as it was Arnel Pineda's debut smash with Journey. The release also featured a CD with re-records of classic Journey hits. But what holds my interest are the original recordings -- Cain and Schon definitely wooed fans with a classic sound on this CD.

Like A Sunshower didn't see the light of day in concert, and it's a pity, so that's why it makes my cut here. Beautiful, slow ballad in an unusual time signature (Pandora says twelve-eight time signature; it's the same as the classic "Lights") and sonically pleasing chord progression that takes advantage of the J-Boys harmonizing. Win.



Change for the Better is a driving rocker, with a 80 synth + crunchy rhythm guitar style. My ears tend to tire of over-reliance on synthesizers that Jonathan Cain used to create the signature sound of the band in the 80s. Some songs simply don't age well (more on that later), or head directly into Cheez-Wiz land for me. However, this one perfectly matches up to the material and Arnel and Deen's energy. Neal's standard wailing solo fits as well. It's upbeat and has there's a nice pulsing bridge.

Also played in concert during this period is one of my favorites, Where Did I Lose Your Love, that clearly (to me) is a echo/tribute to Motown, written in a minor key, and it benefits from strong piano work by Jon, and great singing guitar work by Neal, and again, the harmonies make this song rise. Want to hear this one live again.

Let's step back into the Journey Wilderness Years after the jump....

Lesser-known Journey gems that deserve to be on a setlist

I was listening to Journey's Arrival (2001) last night. Talk about great songwriting. So many of the songs stand up beautifully over time -- Love Nothin' Comes Close, I Got A Reason, Lifetime of Dreams come to mind -- really glorious and timeless work that went unheard by the masses (their loss). Would love to see some of these gems resurrected on setlists on this tour; the same goes some of the work on Red 13 (2002) and Generations (2005). I'll talk about those albums a bit later.

The fact is that there are great songs on the albums that didn't feature the legendary Steve Perry (Steve Augeri was front man 1998-2006); popular music tastes had shifted when these albums came out, but what has not changed is that Journey put out songs during this period that have held up over the years. It's too bad that these albums never found an audience.

One of the reasons I love the band is that it has diverse musical influences that play out in interesting ways on its albums. Journey is best-known for 80s arena rock and power ballads; its RnB influences and performances, for instance (has the DSB crowd ever heard the jaw-dropping great 1978 King Biscuit jam live-in-studio boots?), are sorely missed now. And since the band is touring with Tower of Power this year, it's time to resurrect that collaboration for die-hards...please!

From the King Biscuit show:




Of late, the creative focus turned to a harder-edged, Schon-axe-based sound. I loved the guitar-heavy Eclipse (2011) by the way -- another album that the masses didn't favor -- because it adds yet another interesting stylistic feather to the band's cap. Honestly, who wants to see Escape/Frontiers repeated over and over (oh, yeah, the casual fans, sigh). From Eclipse, "Anything is Possible," a classic-sound that never managed to make it onto a setlist even though it actually charted.





My favorite creative period of the band varies with my mood; I love all but the first era (the instrumental heavy prog-rock phase; it has many devotees). I gravitate toward strong melodic vocals married with music. Journey's Steve Perry-Gregg Rolie phase (Infinity / Evolution / Departure / Captured / Dream After Dream), with shared vocals on several cuts, is a miraculous combination and transformation in the band's sound that is just catnip to my ears, and Rolie on the Hammond B3 and piano are an aural pleasure.





The Jonathan Cain era -- the most popular in terms of sales and concerts -- is chock full of classics that I love dearly as well. It's the one period -- heavily reliant on 80s synthesizers (I call it the "basement Casio keyboard sound") for a lot of songs that haven't aged as well. Exceptions with excellent synth work -- Separate Ways, Chain Reaction, Rubicon. Not so much -- Suzanne, Happy to Give (a vocally chills-inducing, wonderful song I actually love but would give anything for an arrangement with drums, piano and strings instead of synth). When the songs return to the base of the organic sound of the piano, they just soar in my book.





That leads to another wish -- that there was room for some smaller concerts that allowed for exploration of more than the dirty dozen favorites; there are a lot of fans that love the deeper cuts. We may not fill a stadium, but how about a few smaller gigs to showcase these tunes some love they deserve in a live venue.

Jon Cain and Neal Schon, 2011

It's kind of sad that the band itself doesn't seem to want to pursue an alternate path in live performance to give the back catalog of great songwriting a live airing these days -- regardless of whether some of songs ever charted. It's great music that a lot of dedicated fans listen to and appreciate and want to see performed live before the Journey boys decide to retire. I'm sure they have to be a bit weary of the dirty dozen by now; wouldn't it be gratifying to play their own favorites to a welcoming (if smaller) crowd in a few clubs around the country.

Journey during the Arrival-Generations period discussed here:

Steve Augeri: lead vocals
Neal Schon: lead guitar, backing vocals
Jonathan Cain: keyboards, backing vocals
Ross Valory: bass, backing vocals
Deen Castronovo: drums, backing vocals

(My fave songs below marked with a +, with ++ for outstanding)

Arrival (2001 U.S.)

Kevin Shirley: producer, engineering, mixing

This album has stellar writing on it; why did it suffer at release? No Steve Perry. Steve Augeri doesn't have the power or range (or that dynamic je ne sais quoi delivery) of The Voice, but he brings a style and bright, light ear-pleasing mid-tenor to this work with his own talented delivery. It was a terrible handicap to follow a popular and beloved once-in-a-lifetime voice; there's so much on this album to love. The production is less lush than Trial By Fire, but it's fine, indeed.

Upon listening during a rotation of Journey tunes from various times in the Perry era to this I found myself applying "I wonder how SP would vocally interpret this song?" to Arrival. You can't help it. But listening with an open ear to Arrival standing on its own, with repeated listens Augeri really owns this album in remarkable fashion, and Journey covers  a pretty wide berth of styles here, from outright rockers and ballads (the heart-tugging writing on "Lifetime of Dreams" stands equal to "Open Arms" quite honestly) to a return to some enjoyable bluesy pop-soul.

Perhaps the most unusual song on the album is the sensual "Kiss Me Softly" -- it takes on a quasi-Quiet Storm genre sound -- territory that the band has not ventured to before or since. It has gorgeous, sumptuous piano and guitar work and vocals. I imagine this wouldn't go over with the rocker crowd fan base, but I was smitten.

1. Higher Place 5:09 ++
2. All the Way 3:35
3. Signs of Life 4:54
4. All the Things 4:22 ++
5. Loved by You 4:02
6. Livin' to Do 6:24
7. World Gone Wild 6:00
8. I Got a Reason 4:18 ++
9. With Your Love 4:25
10. Lifetime of Dreams 5:29 ++
11. Live and Breathe 5:12
12. Nothin' Comes Close 5:41 ++
13. To Be Alive Again 4:21
14. Kiss Me Softly 4:48 ++
15. We Will Meet Again 5:05 ++

Red 13 (2002, EP)

Producers: Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain

Oh, lord, the production sucks on this EP. I guess you can charitably say it's got a rough, off-the-cuff style, but in my book it's just a crying shame because the songs deserve better. The drums and vocals sound like they are under water at times, barely audible, mushy.

Now the songs themselves reflect a more experimental side, without regard to being commercial, which was a pleasant shift. Neal Schon gets to shred, to use Augeri's vocal textures to create a new Journey sound.

My personal favorite is the closest to the classic sound -- "I Can Breathe" is just peaches -- great melody, bridge, harmonies, guitar solo -- and horns tossed it to great effect. I want to weep because the production is so poor on this one. It's hit-worthy and deserves some love. "The Time" is also a fantastic, driving rocker that one could easily imagine turning up on Eclipse.

1. Intro: Red 13 / State of Grace 7:26
2. The Time 7:09 ++
3. Walkin' Away From the Edge 6:16
4. I Can Breathe 4:19 ++

Generations (2005)

Producer: Kevin Elson

Another album with some fantastic compositions that deserve a remaster. This is the album where each of the band members contributed lead vocals to the tracks, with Augeri on the balance. The production is sub-par; too muddy, vocals way too far in the background on a lot of the tracks, and drums, well, poor Deen Castronovo's work on the skins is also unusually "disappeared" at times. You can still find several gems that are easily some of Journey's best. The album just couldn't find an audience.

"Faith in the Heartland," was remade with Arnel Pineda on Revelation, and the original version suffers a bit when compared in my book. The remake has better production, a powerful vocal, a tighter arrangement and drum work. But the song itself is a grand Journey rocker regardless of the version. The same goes for "The Place in Your Heart," also remade for the Japan release of Revelation. Better production, but it's up to listener preference on the vox and delivery.

Out of the band members, drummer Deen Castronovo, handles two tracks and his voice is a revelation. He always handles a couple of tunes on the road, but this was the first studio album that gave him the chance to shine. He's got a fabulous melodic voice -- just a touch of dirt in an otherwise bell-clear Perry-like tenor with a wonderful vibrato. Here is "Never Too Late" with Dean on vox :



I also found Jonathan Cain's "Every Generation" a yummy, soulful jaunt of a rocker that's outside of the usual Journey sound that is completely complementary here. Now I'm sure I'll get some flack for my next thumbs-up -- the Steve Augeri-penned "Butterfly." While Arrival and Generations have been criticized for having too many ballads (not unreasonable if you're in the rock-oriented camp), there were some stand-out ballads in the bunch. I think of "Butterfly" as a gentle, meandering, thought-piece that is quite wonderful. It takes time on its journey building to a crescendo that is satisfying. It's not a typical Journey ballad, but so what -- it works for me. (Giving it some thought, this song falls in much the same love-it-or-hate-it category with Journey fans as Eclipse's "Tantra," -- and that one I'm not a fan of, so it goes, lol. The good thing is that the band provides something for everyone in the fan base).

1. "Faith in the Heartland" 6:56 ++
2. "The Place in Your Heart" 4:20 ++ (original here; the remake w/Arnel was Japan-release only; can hear that here)
3. "A Better Life" 5:40 ++ (Deen on vox)
4. "Every Generation" 5:52 ++ (Jonathan Cain on vox)
5. "Butterfly (She Flies Alone)" 5:56 ++
6. "Believe" 5:41 ++
7. "Knowing That You Love Me" 5:21
8. "Out of Harms Way" 5:14
9. "In Self-Defense" 3:10 (Neal Schon on vox)
10. "Better Together" 5:05 +
11. "Gone Crazy" 4:04 (Ross Valory on vox)
12. "Beyond the Clouds" 6:54
13. "Never Too Late" 4:59 ++ (Deen)

"Pride of the Family" (Japanese-only bonus track) 4:00







That's all for now. I'm going to put the headphones and enjoy some more Journey from this period.

NOTE: Plan to return to this space soon for an essay on my dream set list for a Journey concert -- and, no surprise, DSB won't be on it. It will be the songs I want to hear the band play live again (or, in some cases, for the first time).

Related:
* How much do I love Journey?