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 by
Jacqueline Monahan
jaxn8r@msn.com
Photos by Jacqueline Monahan unless otherwise noted.
Journey
at Planet Hollywood – Still Worth Taking
On Saturday, March 8, a sold-out crowd descended on The Theater for the
Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood to experience the latest iteration
of the eternally prolific classic rock group Journey. They’ve been
through bad hair days, Perry-less adventures, questionable personnel
variations and have now found a new savior in as unlikely a place as can
be imagined: Quezon City in the Philippines. That’s why a large Filipino
population turned out to hear new lead singer Arnel Pineda, 40, channel
Steve Perry impressively and effortlessly. The excitement and screams
approximated that of an Elvis or Beatle sighting. Pinoy pride runs high
and almost ran over me a few times while waiting in the massive line to
see these guys.
Starting with the powerhouse Any Way You Want It, before the audience
was even fully seated (lead guitarist Neal Schon likes to start on time)
Pineda seamlessly transitioned into one of my personal favorites Only
the Young (from the 1985 film, Vision Quest). His voice transported me
back to a time when I didn’t worry about retirement accounts or vitamin
supplements.
Schon “discovered” Pineda performing Journey cover songs and original
music with his band, The Zoo, on YouTube and e-mailed him after being
blown away by Pineda’s rendition of Faithfully. A skeptical Pineda was
slow to e-mail back, in a fit of disbelief that quickly dissipated when
the two got in touch.
Arnel Pineda
There have been precedents for replacing the irreplaceable. Inimitable
Rob Halford was replaced by Tim Owens to front Judas Priest, much as Lou
Gramm, THE voice of Foreigner was replaced by American Kelly Hansen,
hardly a foreigner at all. Unlike those substitutions, Pineda actually
fills his niche as if he were made for it.
Original (and legendary) frontman Steve Perry was replaced in 1998 with
Steve Augeri who was forced to leave the band due to health problems.
Augeri’s replacement was Jeff Scott Soto. These two now seem like false
prophets, setting the stage for the real musical messiah that is Pineda,
who oddly shares the same first name as O.J. Simpson’s eldest daughter.
He does have an androgynous quality about him and can be described as
pretty rather than handsome or the ubiquitous “cute.” He appeals to both
sexes, a huge score for album sales and concert revenue. Make no
mistake; this guy’s money maker is stashed in his vocal chords.
Throughout the standards (Wheel in the Sky, Lights, Don’t Stop Believin’,
Escape, Faithfully, Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) and selected cuts from
the new album, the band performed as a cohesive unit, interlocking
pieces in a puzzle that ,when completed, gave great satisfaction to
fans, as if they’d just solved a Rubik’s Cube in record time.
Pineda has a bit of refining to undergo and he’s finding his stride
which hopefully will slow down with time. His pinball movements and
fast-track exuberance are a bit too high energy and a little frenetic
for some of the more thoughtful compositions he’s now charged with
maintaining. He’s too precise with pronunciation. Wanna and gonna become
want to and going to – much too formal – but he’ll catch on to the lazy
speech (song) patterns Americans use. My companion, a long-time fan and
Journey historian, remarked that Escape, his personal favorite, was
Pineda’s only off-beat misstep in an otherwise masterfully executed set.
Original members Neal Schon and Ross Valory comprise the guitar-based
ambience of Journey every bit as much as Perry once, and Pineda
currently, comprise the vocal stylings. Schon’s haunting solos can send
shivers through die-hard fans and newbies alike. Valory, pitch perfect
and unerring, elicits a five-string sound from a four-string bass using
an original and innovative positioning technique. The harmonies these
guys produce as background vocalists rival their debut album more than
30 years ago. Someone (or everyone) is doing something right.
Deen Castronovo joins a small but elite group of drummers who can also
master lead vocals (Phil Collins, Don Henley, Dave Groehl) with his
rendition of Open Arms and Who’s Cryin’ Now. I hope he didn’t mind that
no one in the audience had open arms while he sang; nearly every couple
I could see around me was in a clinch, the sentimental fools. Okay, I
was, too. Shut up.
Keyboardist/guitarist Jonathan Cain, a native Chicagoan, is a survivor
of the legendary 1958 catastrophic fire that claimed the lives of 92
children at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Elementary School. His
musical career as a solo artist, as well as stints with the Babys and
Bad English (with Schon) before and after Journey is too long to list.
Suffice if to say that audiences hope he’ll stay put for awhile. You’ll
appreciate the way he renders the first strains of electronic
recognition on Open Arms and Separate Ways.
Journey is currently working on a new album with producer Kevin Shirley,
(Trial by Fire was their first collaboration) which has an expected
release date of June 3. Revelation is a three-disc CD and DVD package
consisting of 11 re-recorded classics, 11 new songs and a DVD of live,
in-concert performances. Journey will take Revelation on tour beginning
July, 2008, with a stop back in Las Vegas this August, tentatively
sharing the bill with Def Leppard. Judging from this performance, that
one’s going to be out of control, sold out in no time, with even more
shrieking (though very happy and polite) diminutive people of all ages
in attendance. Someone even brought an infant equipped with her own
protective earphones.
Since this concert was being filmed and recorded as part of the June 3
Revelation release, a large steel camera arm swung out over the audience
periodically, trying to keep up with Pineda’s movements. Its critical
eye bought us three more songs, two do-overs including Faithfully, and a
surprise (or was it?) encore of Lovin’, Touchin’ Squeezin’. Timed
lighting in red, white, gold and strobe flash added to the psychological
excitement, making the audience scream with each new pulse.
Pinoys love their man, Pineda, and he loves them right back. What is
surprising is that I felt the stirrings of love for this guy myself,
after only one performance; that’s how awe-inspiring he is, totally
cognizant of the legacy that’s been entrusted to him for safekeeping.
Cain nailed it when he said, “With Arnel’s soaring tenor, Journey
returns to our heritage sound.”
Pineda is a Perry-prodigy, Castronovo is percussive perfection, Valory
and Schon are the original, evocative guitar gods, and Cain is very able
indeed. As Journey takes to the road yet again, all five are eager to
transport us to places, both familiar and new; I believe I will let
them.
For further information:
http://www.journeymusic.com
http://www.holyshrineofjourney.com
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