Wow. The story gets even more bizarre. When I read your post, my first reaction was that it takes a big ego to attempt a Star Spangled Banner solo at the Hollywood Bowl. Then I remembered that Schon had been dating the woman from the "Real Housewives" franchise that crashed a White House State dinner a few years ago. A quick google confirmed that not only was Schon involved with Michaele Salahi, he actually got married to her in December- complete with $14.95 pay per view coverage of the ceremony. Some people can't stand to not be in the spotlight once they get a taste of fame. IMO Journey had some singable top 40 songs years ago, but all in all, they were basically a prepackaged corporate rock band who really are no longer relevant.
It's official, there's nothing weirder than...
A Journey concert.
Apologies to any of their fans here, but this band is just odd.
So, last night my wife and I got roped into seeing Tower of Power, Steve Miller and Journey at The Hollywood Bowl with three other couples from our neighborhood. This is LA and the Bowl is both everything right and everything wrong about this place. It's a fantastic venue for a show, but the last two miles to the parking lot took us 40 minutes.
Hence, we missed Tower of Power, but caught the last 7 or 8 songs by the Steve Miller Band. I thought that four of them - The Joker, Keep On Rocking You, Jet Airliner, and Swingtown were good ol' rock n roll fun. The encore - Fly Like an Eagle - was a bit of a mess, but overall this was a good show. Then Journey came out.
In my view, never has so much talent had so much success in the service of so little. Everyone of these guys can play the sh*t out of his instrument (including vocals) and everyone gets a solo or 3 to show that off. Well, everyone except for the guy who played an inaudible (to my ear) 12 string on half the songs. He may not have even been plugged in.)
Other than the obligatory 5 songs in the middle from their new record - which no one wanted to hear and made for an excellent bathroom break - every song was a familiar hit. But...
Every moment felt, hollow, empty, and scripted to the last detail. Even when they rocked 'em up, these songs just get louder, not more exciting.
Neal Schon is a highly skilled player, but he broke the guitar players' first commandment: Thou shalt never solo to the Star Spangled Banner, unless thoust first name is spelled Jimi. His isn't.
I vaguely remembered that Journey had replaced Steve Perry with a Filipino singer they found on you tube. I didn't realize that it was a miniature Filipino half the size of the next smallest band member. There is IMO nothing weirder than hearing familiar, empty pop hits unsuccessfully rocked up by an expert band led by (effectively) a Filippino midget.
And that's what I saw last night. Highly recommended for those who enjoy the surreal.
Apologies to any of their fans here, but this band is just odd.
So, last night my wife and I got roped into seeing Tower of Power, Steve Miller and Journey at The Hollywood Bowl with three other couples from our neighborhood. This is LA and the Bowl is both everything right and everything wrong about this place. It's a fantastic venue for a show, but the last two miles to the parking lot took us 40 minutes.
Hence, we missed Tower of Power, but caught the last 7 or 8 songs by the Steve Miller Band. I thought that four of them - The Joker, Keep On Rocking You, Jet Airliner, and Swingtown were good ol' rock n roll fun. The encore - Fly Like an Eagle - was a bit of a mess, but overall this was a good show. Then Journey came out.
In my view, never has so much talent had so much success in the service of so little. Everyone of these guys can play the sh*t out of his instrument (including vocals) and everyone gets a solo or 3 to show that off. Well, everyone except for the guy who played an inaudible (to my ear) 12 string on half the songs. He may not have even been plugged in.)
Other than the obligatory 5 songs in the middle from their new record - which no one wanted to hear and made for an excellent bathroom break - every song was a familiar hit. But...
Every moment felt, hollow, empty, and scripted to the last detail. Even when they rocked 'em up, these songs just get louder, not more exciting.
Neal Schon is a highly skilled player, but he broke the guitar players' first commandment: Thou shalt never solo to the Star Spangled Banner, unless thoust first name is spelled Jimi. His isn't.
I vaguely remembered that Journey had replaced Steve Perry with a Filipino singer they found on you tube. I didn't realize that it was a miniature Filipino half the size of the next smallest band member. There is IMO nothing weirder than hearing familiar, empty pop hits unsuccessfully rocked up by an expert band led by (effectively) a Filippino midget.
And that's what I saw last night. Highly recommended for those who enjoy the surreal.