I have read….. so patiently……so keep posting, erwinrafael, we’ll respond (we just need time at times)
Portnoy: We go to see Queensryche in ‘03, and when we arrive, they’re almost done. WTW? After the set change, some band by the name of Dream Theater takes the stage. Another WTW? Never heard of them. I certainly remembered them afterwards, and the ‘front man’ drummer. Purchased ‘Six Degrees’ a week later. In spite of parts of Disc One, I became a fan. Disc Two just blew me away. Also, I’ve always been a ‘wannabe drummer’, going back to when my old man chose not to give me a message from a grade school band director that I was to be a drummer. So, instead of drums, I got the tuba.
[I sh*t you not]
What joy MP displayed! What I could write has already been written. How he would fire up the crowd. Walk in front of his drum kit and hit little cymbals before 'Trial of Tears'. What a great and odd beginning for a band's encore. The hidden fills such as Peart and Moon and Bonham (and less recognized Neal Smith of Alice Cooper, and Roger Taylor of the 70s Queen). And....'SORRY'...but, I love 'Never Enough' (I direct the lyrics towards supervision at work or blowhards in organizations). His play during the instrumental makes it frickin' difficult for me to drive my car when it's on. And he was such a nice guy! The backstage vids prove that point. I bought the ‘Score’ drumkit vid, just to watch him. If I’d only had ¼ the talent, and an 1/8th of the fun…………….
Now, to make you jealous:
Steve Perry: I saw his first three tours with Journey. He/they never disappointed. Hell, they were frickin’ great! He overdid it at times on stage, trying too hard to get the audience into it way more than necessary (drugs, maybe?) There is a moment that always stands out. It was during the ‘Infinity’ tour. ‘Winds of March/Something To Hide’ stayed in the setlist for years, but it became a bit rushed. Here’s the studio link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDdLg4o1HaE[For those not so ‘patient’….for the knockout part, start at 1:49…..at 2:18 he builds up, and….that night in Lansing, from 2:28 to 2:42……he belted it out without taking a breath. We’re all looking at each other spellbound. I mean, how in the F*CK !?!?!?]
(saw Journey with Steve Augeri in Grand Rapids…..had the voice, the temperament, but didn’t have ‘IT’).
The band lost me on the 'Frontiers' album. It did have more than a few great songs, but the saccharine became too much.
I also saw Steve 2x on his solo tour with my exwife (at a sold out Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, and at the Fox Theater in Detroit). I’ll never forget his lead guitarist, and women from Hope College handing them ‘Hope College’ sweatshirts.
‘For The Love Of Strange Medicine’ was not the greatest album by any means, but check out ‘You Better Wait’, ‘Stand Up (Before It’s Too Late)’, ‘Listen To Your Heart’, and ‘Somewhere There’s Hope
And then, let’s not forget ‘Wheel In The Sky’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpdz1xQxjQQI wish I could find a harder edged version, but…..this captures the man quite well (except of course…they cut the ending and crowd noise)
Or, you get a nice ‘Midnight Special’ performance of four songs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlADPUtoiKwHe did have a cross over ‘sexuality’ such as Freddie Mercury and Gary Richrath, that us Midwest guys didn’t seem to mind for some reason.
Oh, and he had Neal Schon (Santana knew a good 17 year old guitarist when he heard one (‘Everybody’s Everything’) and Gregg Rollie (another Santana alum). There was a fair drummer in Ansley Dunbar (Zappa, Bowie, Lou Reed, Herbie Mann, Nils Lofgren, Hagar, Whitesnake, Starship…oh, screw it, just google him). And Ross Vallory wasn’t the complete idiot as on TMS.
I still remember playing ‘Escape’ with a half a dozen friends upon its release. We really weren’t sure what to think. It was a softer band. At times, it was harder. The production and ‘sound’ was so much different from ‘Departure’, but better. Then we played it again. It still seemed too melodic and soft at times. Yup, ‘it wasn’t that good’. A couple of months later….it was played at every party, Side One early, Side Two near the end.
Admit it, the voice, the music, …….it is kind of the Bee Gees ‘Saturday Night Fever’ in the rock world. We have that ‘best of Journey’ we played at work or with our buddies. And then…..we have that expanded ‘BEST of Journey’…..with ‘Open Arms’, ‘Winds of March/Something To Hide’, ‘Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ (live), ‘Faithfully’, ‘Mother, Father’, ‘Still They Ride’, ‘Who’s Crying Now’, ‘Send Her My Love’, and most certainly ‘Only The Young’
My dear departed golfing buddy…though oddly tattooed, bald headed, and a biker mentality and looks…..SANG ‘Open Arms’ at his wedding reception twenty years ago (down an octave or two, of course, but he nailed itl).
Thanks to this post, I listened to side one of ‘Escape’ at work, and side two at home. Damn, what a great album!!!! Open arms, indeed.
[and thanks for reading]