Journey Won’t Stop Believing

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This morning I crawled out of bed to my alarm, which had been ringing in my ear for about eight minutes. Stumbled to the closet to get dressed (in clothes that I realized hours later did not match), brushed my teeth and rushed to work. It wasn’t until I said ‘good morning’ to a co-worker passing by my office that I realized I had seriously lost my voice. She was also kind enough to point out that my hair was a mess. After fixing my hair in the bathroom, I smiled and re-assured myself that these are signs indicating last night was a good night. I couldn’t help but write this review of the Journey show I attended last night at the Ford Amphitheatre!

Back to yesterday: I’m at my desk staring down the clock with an hour until I leave straight to the concert. The Weather Channel indicates that there is a 90% chance of rain. Did I mention that we had lawn tickets, which have nothing covering you overhead? Even if it didn’t pour the whole night, I’d never sat in the lawn section and was not looking forward to being so far from the stage and speakers. I have to admit I was doubtful at best that I would have a good time at this show. To make matters worse, I had just found out that Steve Perry, Journey’s original singer and songwriter, is no longer touring and that a new guy had replaced him.

My wife and I met up with two of our friends to drive together (although the parking ended up being free), and picked up our tickets pretty quickly. We all met up with the other couple joining us and found the closest open patch of grass to the stage we could. Luckily we all got there early enough to get a spot that wasn’t right in front of a giant pillar. We laid down our blankets and chairs, sat for a while, then I decided to buy a $13 cup of rum and Coke-I was ready for some 80’s pop/rock.

Natives to the Tampa area, Cheap Trick, opened the show as we were walking in. It sounded like they were a cheap opening act. I have to say I was really looking forward to hearing them almost as much as Journey, and that they have written a few of my favorite songs, but Cheap Trick was the biggest disaster I have ever heard. Granted part of it was that their sound guy had such a noisy, unclear mix you could only hear half of what was going on. The half that I could hear was sloppy and lackluster, almost like they had been playing the same songs for the last 25 years. At this point I was becoming very concerned that our lawn seats simply weren’t close enough to the speakers, and the whole show would be ruined by not being able to hear. I was amused with how they “finished” their set, received no encore, then proceeded to play more songs anyway. Big let down.

Next to take the stage was Heart. I had no expectations for them and could only have named two of their songs. I figured as long as they were better than Cheap Trick I would be happy. The moment they played their first riff I could tell that the sound was going to be pristine and clear. It was also starting to get dark, so the stage lights got cranked up which made it much easier to see the band. Things were starting to look up. Heart was excellent, almost as entertaining as the inebriated 40-year-old women who were attempting to dance to them. One of my favorite parts of their set was when they masterfully performed a Led Zeppelin song. I would say that I am now a fan. It wasn’t until Heart had finished their set that I noticed we had not had a single raindrop fall on us yet, amazingly. The weather was almost like a misty haze that kept the temperature comfortable. Everything was falling in place.

After a short wait, the stage went pitch black and crazy noises started blaring through the speakers. Everyone new that it was Journey, and when the lights came up the whole crowd went nuts. They came roaring out of the gate playing four consecutive songs without stopping. The first thing I noticed was that the new singer was about twenty years younger than the rest of the band, but actually looked similar to Steve Perry. It was clear that he sounded astonishingly like the voice of Journey we’ve always known and loved. The guitar solos were top notch, the synthesizer was full and huge, the drums were thunderous. Did I mention that the singer was blow-you-away-incredible? The whole show was awesome. The weather stayed favorable. I have to admit, unlike Cheap Trick, Journey sounds fresh as ever. They could have easily kept up with any group of 25 year olds. I can’t say that I had the privilege of seeing them in the 80’s, but Journey put on an incredible show that made for a late, but special night.