I got VIP suite tickets thru work, so I went.

Just a quick review of last night's show in GSO:

Loverboy - good, clean fun. They played well, Mike sounded good and seemed happy to be there. Piped backing vocals, par for the course I suppose. No new songs. Solid...not a lot else to say. The crowd sang along enthusiastically.

Pat Benatar - I want to be Pat Benatar when I grow up! The woman is a flat out badass! Straight, 4-piece Rock all live. The only "canned" bit was the "We Belong" synth loop and Neil at least led into that with piano and started it himself. Neil Geraldo is awesome, their interaction on stage was fluid and comfortable and Pat was amazing vocally. She sang with such guts and passion! When she came in with the "whoa-whoa-whoa WE ARE STRONG!" I got chills! Deen came out and played drums on "Hit Me With Your Best Shot". I would love to see a full headline set from her. She owned the crowd and there was so much sing-along with her that you would have thought she was the headliner...she acted like she was. Flawless.

Journey - well executed, well rehearsed. Not a lot of passion. Deen always acts like he's having fun. Arnel was like a caffiene-overdosed chihuahua running all over. Backing vocals obviously canned (more voices than people singing). Cool nuggets (for me) in the set. Hearing BGTY and KOR was pretty awesome. The opened w/ FITH which was also cool. I enjoyed hearing NWA live too. Deen sounded great on KOR and MF.

Arnel's voice was strong and clear. But, up until last night I could never quite put my finger on why I don't like him. Now I know. He has not a single ounce of Rock And Roll charisma in his body. Perry, Augeri, Soto - all 3 had rock swagger and soul to go with their voices. Arnel has none. He's very talented, has a strong voice and a big range...I also have no doubt that he's a super nice guy. But all that does not replace swagger/charisma. He has no rhythm (no rhyme or reason to his movements) and sings very mechanically...hitting the notes without making me feel them. Also, there's things about his phrasing in some songs I just don't like (personal nitpick, I know). He barely said 3 words to the crowd all night, and didn't speak at all until like 9 songs in (could be precautionary, I know).

Also, the band just looks disjointed. Arnel bounces around like crazy like he's the only one on stage...Ross & Jon move very little and act very business-like...Neal & Deen try to look/act very "rock star"...there's no connection...nothing tying them together. All that said, the songs were the stars and all the songs I mentioned already plus "ESC4P3" were all highlights...so just hearing the songs was cool enough...even thought it did not feel like it was actually Journey playing them.

Overall, an enjoyable evening w/ Pat Benatar being the main highlight for me. She just kicked all kinds of ass. I think at this point, I am done w/ Journey. I just can't get into this line up. I'll always have the Perry/Augeri eras but, barring a reunion with one of them, last night marks my final Journey show.

Side note - the crowd during Journey's set was disappointing. Way too many people SAT DOWN during lesser known songs (including Anytime, Mother Father, Keep On Running, Never Walk Away, Be Good To Yourself)...SAT DOWN like they did not know the songs. But of course, stood/danced during Lights, LTS, AWYWI, Open Arms, etc. Then, of course, the entire place lost it's collective sanity when DSB finally came around. But how do you sit down during Anytime or Be Good To Yourself? Sheesh...

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LINE OF FIRE
American Melodic Rock

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