Journey -- Allentown, PA -- August 31st, 2011

[Maiden33]

Well last night the Journey + Foreigner/Night Ranger tour rolled through what I basically call my "home town" - Allentown, PA. I have to admit, I was very excited for this, as I consider myself a pretty big Journey fan and I definitely like Foreigner as well. I actually waited in line the day the tickets went on sale in order procure 3rd row seats, which were quite a steal at the mere $52 I paid for them.

We got into the place around 6:15, and Night Ranger hit the stage at around 6:50. The sound was pretty good, they put on a pretty good show. Despite not really being a FAN, I enjoyed them, especially the guitar playing. Journey drummer Deen Castronovo sat in on "Sister Christian", allowing drummer/vocalist Kelly Keagy to concentrate fully on singing the song.
Set list:
01 Lay it On Me
02 Sing Me Away
03 High Enough (Damn Yankees cover)
04 When You Close Your Eyes
05 Don't Tell Me You Love Me
06 Sister Christian
07 (You Can Still) Rock In America

Foreigner hit the stage around 8pm, and as with other shows lately, the only original member, guitarist Mick Jones - sat out the show, so in essence this was a Foreigner tribute band, with Night Ranger's Joel Hoekstra on guitar. Vocalist Kelly Hansen absolutely stole the show - what an incredible voice and an incredible live performance. Great frontman and he can absolutely sing his ass off. Anyone crying: "It's not the same without Lou Gramm" can kiss my ass after last night. Overall a really entertaining and well-played set. Very impressive.
Setlist:
01 Double Vision
02 Head Games
03 Cold as Ice
04 Waiting For a Girl Like You
05 Dirty White Boy
06 Feels Like the First Time
07 Urgent
08 I Wanna Know What Love Is
09 Hot Blooded
Encore:
10 Jukebox Hero

Journey hit the stage around 9:30, and sounded absolutely fantastic. I don't think I spotted a single note that sounded off or out of place in anyone's performance, the band was just completely tight and professional. Was very cool to be so close to Neal Schon who is absolutely one of my favorite guitarists. I'm completely disappointed in the band for such a boring, pedestrian setlist - but for my first time seeing them, I guess it's no big deal - the show was fantastic nonetheless.
Setlist:
01 Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
02 Ask the Lonely
03 Send Her My Love
04 City of Hope
05 Faithfully
06 Stone in Love
07 Edge of the Moment
08 Lights
09 Wheel in the Sky
10 Open Arms
11 La Do Da
12 Be Good to Yourself
13 Any Way You Want It
Encore:
14 Don't Stop Believin'
15 Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

Now, onto a few rants... I just wanted to isolate these so it didn't seem like I was complaining about the show itself.
1) Apparently the venue decided it would be a good idea to blow up like 10 gigantic beach balls and throw them into the audience right as Journey came on. TERRIBLE idea. I had to spent the majority of the first song worrying about getting whacked in the head with a gigantic beach ball instead of enjoying the show. Also, this was all fun in games until some asshole knocked one onto the mixing console on the side of the stage, at which point the band's crew yelled at the venue staff to stop it.
2) I wish I had the spare cash people seem to have. It infuriates me that I have to pass on the opportunities to see bands I LOVE and know their entire discography - but apparently the world is filled with tons of people who can afford to drop $85 to see a show and only care about a total of 8 songs between all 3 bands. What is the fucking point of these people? I mean, I know we're talking about bands that appeal to radio-friendly people here, but come on. The Journey set was practically ALL hits, but yet people still looked around dumb-founded during songs like "Ask the Lonely" and "Send Her My Love". Seriously pathetic.
3) Lastly, if you're going to do nothing but spend the entire night running back and forth from the bathroom and the concession stands - do me a favor and stay the fuck home and stop ruining my good time. I seriously had to move to let this one guy and his girlfriend in and out about 9 times through the course of the night.

[powerslave_85]

It's so bizarre that I'm not a Foreigner fan, have never bought any of their records, and yet I still know more than half of that setlist. Fuckin' classic rock radio

Also, some of it is because of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. "Every time I hear 'Urgent' on the radio I think of that chick's boobs, covered in vomit."

[Sanitarium78]

Originally Posted by Maiden33

2) I wish I had the spare cash people seem to have. It infuriates me that I have to pass on the opportunities to see bands I LOVE and know their entire discography - but apparently the world is filled with tons of people who can afford to drop $85 to see a show and only care about a total of 8 songs between all 3 bands. What is the fucking point of these people? I mean, I know we're talking about bands that appeal to radio-friendly people here, but come on. The Journey set was practically ALL hits, but yet people still looked around dumb-founded during songs like "Ask the Lonely" and "Send Her My Love". Seriously pathetic.

This has been my biggest pet peeve with concerts for many years now. Trust me, as you get older and the more shows you go to it just infuriates you more and more when you see it. I'll never understand why people will pay top dollar for a band that they don't know much from. If i'm gonna get top priced tickets for an amphitheater show it would be for a band that I at least know three quaters of their material. Otherwise I just don't see the point. A lot of the time tickets up close are purchased and given away by local radio stations, which doesn't help either. So even if you're up in front you're not always gonna be with the educated fans.

I remember when I saw Rush in 2002 and I was in like the tenth row. After they played Vital Signs they guy in the row in front of me turned around and asked me "what song was that?" I didn't say anything for a few seconds because I was stunned by the question. I had never been asked that before or since at a show. I told him the song and the album it was on. I know Vital Signs isn't one of Rush's big hits but it is on their biggest selling album. You would think anyone going to see them would at least have Moving Pictures in their collection.

There's always gonna be people like that at concerts. That's why when I write a review I always make it a point to tell what the crowd was like if they were into everything. Because it's always a breath of fresh air when they are.

[The_jman]

that's a good foreigner set. Very predictible in the fact that I know every single song on that set because they're all on the greatest hits album...but if I saw it live I'd enjoy hearing it.

journey set... its missing some hits I'd enjoy seeing but that's ok.

thanks for the review.

I agree with your complaints too. I'd not get front row seats for the fact that I don't know some of that journey set, and I know 2 songs off the night ranger set, and one of them isn't even their song... for that reason I wouldn't see the point of shelling out that kind of money or taking a ticket from someone who knew more.

hell I felt stupid enough when I saw metallica and didn't recognize leper messiah... in my defense I was new to metal, but still pretty embarrassing, and I wasn't even anywhere near the front. Its always pretty embarrassing to not know a song that you feel like you should know, but... that's pretty pothetic for the couple you mentioned for journey.

[NickLed19]

Metallica is the worst as far as shitty crowds go. When they played Battery, the crowd had no idea what it was. 80% of people at Metallica shows go for the Black album.

[tenchimyo]

Originally Posted by Sanitarium78

This has been my biggest pet peeve with concerts for many years now. Trust me, as you get older and the more shows you go to it just infuriates you more and more when you see it. I'll never understand why people will pay top dollar for a band that they don't know much from. If i'm gonna get top priced tickets for an amphitheater show it would be for a band that I at least know three quaters of their material. Otherwise I just don't see the point.

Yeah I mean I feel like kind of a douche when I feel like people are poseurs when someone says they like a band, but they only like 3 of their songs. I mean there is nothing wrong with liking songs that you like or going to a show and enjoying yourself, hell that is what going to a concert is all about! But I don't see how people who know 3 songs enjoy themselves at such a show.

I sure as hell don't know every song by every band I go to see (well ...most of them tho), but wouldn't one's hard earned cash be better spent elsewhere-on a logical level? I really don't know


nice review btw!

[PlaysWithKnives]

Originally Posted by Sanitarium78

This has been my biggest pet peeve with concerts for many years now. Trust me, as you get older and the more shows you go to it just infuriates you more and more when you see it. I'll never understand why people will pay top dollar for a band that they don't know much from. If i'm gonna get top priced tickets for an amphitheater show it would be for a band that I at least know three quaters of their material. Otherwise I just don't see the point. A lot of the time tickets up close are purchased and given away by local radio stations, which doesn't help either. So even if you're up in front you're not always gonna be with the educated fans.

I remember when I saw Rush in 2002 and I was in like the tenth row. After they played Vital Signs they guy in the row in front of me turned around and asked me "what song was that?" I didn't say anything for a few seconds because I was stunned by the question. I had never been asked that before or since at a show. I told him the song and the album it was on. I know Vital Signs isn't one of Rush's big hits but it is on their biggest selling album. You would think anyone going to see them would at least have Moving Pictures in their collection.

There's always gonna be people like that at concerts. That's why when I write a review I always make it a point to tell what the crowd was like if they were into everything. Because it's always a breath of fresh air when they are.

Yep. You and Maiden covered it. Those are a lot of my frustrations with the general concert goer. A lot of people just like to go and hang out with their friends and drink beer, or to just say "Hey I was there". I don't drink at concerts, for the simple fact that I would be running to the john and missing parts of the show. And I would be bothering other people. Gee, you know where else you can do that? Your house. A bar. Someplace that isn't as expensive as a concert. Man people are fucking dumb. I understand and I don't expect every person to know every word to all the songs, but don't look like idiots when it's a song you don't know. Enjoy it. It just seems to get worse. Nice review by the way, Maiden. That would have been a good show to see.

[rjturtle9]

Dude, I went to this tour last month, and although the actual show was amazing, the concert experience as a whole was one of the worst I have ever been apart of. The majority of the crowd were sitting down for most of the show! In my whole section of the amphitheater, besides me and my lil bro, there were only two other people standing throughout the whole show. Yup, whole section. Not row, SECTION! You could literally see everyone in the amphitheater sit down almost in sync after a big hit, and even worse, when the band announced the newer songs, hordes of people left for the restroom/beer stands. Pretty damn disrespectful to the musicians on stage busting their asses.