The classic rock tour of the mid to late summer with 80’s rock icons Journey, Pat Bentar and Loverboy brought out a near capacity crowd this past Wednesday night. Canadian born and bred, Loverboy, started off the show and played a small but powerful set that included “Turn Me Loose and “Everybody’s Working for the Weekend.” Still with an all original lineup (minus original bassist Scoot Smith who perished in 2000), the band sounded terrific and were ready to rock. Drummer Matt Frennette teased the crowd a little with a prelude solo into “Turn Me Loose” where the crowd finally started getting into their set. It was the first time I saw Loverboy in almost 10 years so it was cool to hear those radio friendly songs played live again.
The small but powerful Pat Benatar, with her guitarist/husband Neil Giraldo, were up next. Dressed in all black, Pat came out and played the appropriate “Fired Up” where she kept the crowd on their feet her entire set. Still with an amazing voice, Benatar sounded crisp and fresh on songs like “Promises in the Dark” and “You Better Run.” Her husband went back and forth between his guitar and playing the piano on songs “We Belong,” “Promises in the Dark,” and the encore “Let’s Stay Together.” A nice little story was told on how Pat and Neil left New York City for Los Angeles on a whim 28 years ago and had a record done in 10 days called “Tropico,” then the band went into “We Belong” off of the album.
The band that continues to draw amazingly well, even after longtime vocalist Steve Perry exited the band, is Journey. Arnel Pineda, who has now been with the band for five years, has kept the crowds coming without missing a beat. Is he Steve Perry? No, but he is the closest you can get vocally. He also shows tremendous amount and passion for the music and delivers it with fire and energy! That’s important when you’re playing with a guitar legend such as Neal Schon. Schon, with original bassist Ross Valory and longtime member Jonathan Cain, delighted the crowd the entire night with their interactions and playing. A drummer who doesn’t get enough pub either is Dean Castronovo. He plays hard and fits perfectly into what Journey is and will be going forward.
Schon showed off his skills while playing the “Star Spangled Banner. It’s hard to come up with new ideas for this but Schon’s version was fresh and different. A good idea for a guitar solo. About 30 videos screens accompanied the backdrop for their set and a montage segued while the song “Faithfully” was being performed. Journey also played an elongated version of “Wheel in the Sky” as well. Cain spent the night going back and forth from his guitar to behind the keyboards.
When watching how well Journey still performs live one thing comes to mind. How Journey or even Neal Schon’s contributions to the world of music have not been recognized in the annals of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yet is a travesty!
Setlist:
Journey:
Any Way You Want It
Never Walk Away
Ask the Lonely
Only the Young
Send Her My Love
Faithfully
The Star-Spangled Banner (Neal Schon)
Stone in Love
Lights
Wheel in the Sky
Escape
La Do Da Do Day/Anytime
Be Good to Yourself
Open Arms
Don’t Stop Believin’
Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
Encore:
Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’
Pat Benatar:
All Fired Up
Invincible
Promises In The Dark
We Belong
You Better Run
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Love Is A Battlefield
Encore:
Let’s Stay Together
Heartbreaker/Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash cover)
Loverboy:
Queen of the Broken Hearts
Lovin’ Every Minute of It
The Kid Is Hot Tonight
When It’s Over
Hot Girls In Love
Turn Me Loose
Everybody’s Working For The Weekend
We would like to thank Shannon Struzik at Dixon Schwabl for setting up the credentials so BackstageAxxess could cover the show.
