Journey @ KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY 6-10-26

Journey has been around for over 50 years. With longtime member Johnathan Cain wanting to retire from Journey, the band decided to venture out to do what they are calling the ‘Final Frontier’ tour. Right now they have 60 dates on the schedule for 2026 with 40 more about to be added sometime in the near future. Those will be scheduled for 2027. For now, Cain and founding member Neal Schon are leading Journey on what looks like their last tour. Rounding out the band for this final run of dates are Arnel Pineda on vocals, Jason Derlatka on keyboards, Todd Jensen on bass and Deen Castronovo on drums. They stopped at the Key Bank Center this past Wednesday night for an evening of Journey.

The band took to the stage at 7:45 for an evening with Journey. There were no openers. It was all about Journey for this concert performance. The band went back to the ‘Raised on Radio’ album to start the show off with the feelgood tune “Be Good to Yourself.” One of my favorite songs the band does was next in “Stone in Love.” It’s where Schon shines on guitar. This was no more evident as he showcased why he remains one of the most successful rock guitarists of all time. For the song, Cain came out from behind the piano/keyboard to play guitar along side of Schon for a portion of the song. It was good gesture considering that the two had a few feuds in the past. This move set the tone for the rest of the show I believe. Pineda has been with the band for over 19 years now. He has never quite got the recognition he deserved for stepping into singing for Journey. Which, I believe is one of the most difficult spots to fill in rock music due to the legacy that Steve Perry left behind. Pineda usually crushes it but on this night he showed he is human too. I did notice for the first quarter or show of the show that Pineda’s voice seemed as bit hoarse at times. As the show got along, Pineda’s voice grew stronger and stronger. “Who’s Crying Now” he crushed it, along with a few others. He went into the crowd to slap hands with everyone during “Who’s Crying Now.” He also went into the pit for for “Don’t Stop Believin.” He usually moves around and about and didn’t disappoint. Castronovo and Derlatka sang leads on a few tracks too, which entailed helped keep Pineda’s voice strong for the duration of the show. Castronovo is really Journey’s secret weapon. His drumming and amazing lead vocals really help propel the band throughout the show. I was so glad to see the band add “Chain Reaction” back into the set. I love that song as well and Journey really did dig deep for their setlist. “Suzanne” off of ‘Raised on Radio’ and “Of a Lifetime” off of the self titled ‘Journey’ album were also played. The production overall was maybe the biggest they ever done. The stage was pretty massive along with the 3 video screens they used as well. The show lasted for about 2 and a half hours. There were no intermissions or breaks.

Even though this is the 3rd time the band has played the arena in the last 9 years with dates in 2018 and 2024. Regardless of that, the fans still come out in droves to see them. 13,000 plus strong showed up to wish the band off. If this truly is the last time, the band did go off on high note!

Setlist:

Be Good to Yourself

Stone in Love

Ask the Lonely

Just the Same Way (Johnathan Cain and Deen Castronovo on lead vocals)

Girl Can’t Help It (Jason Derlatka on lead vocals)

Only the Young

Lights (Deen Castronovo on lead vocals)

When You Love a Woman

After the Fall Deen Castronovo on lead vocals)

Of a Lifetime (Jason Derlatka on lead vocals)

La Do Da/ How Many More Times (Led Zeppelin cover-snippet)