Any way you blog it.
Jason Pettigrew, stop reading this blog immediately.
Okay, now that he's gone, I can say the following: I saw Journey last night with 20,000 other people, and they kinda sorta totally rule. Their massive tour rolled into town with Heart and Cheap Trick opening, and amazingly, I was able to get myself on Journey's guestlist (finally, something I can impress my mom with!) so my good friend Josh and I ventured out into the great arena classic-rock unknown, having no idea what to expect.
We initially left my house at 5:30, and the outdoor venue hosting the show, Blossom, is roughly a 40-minute drive. Cheap Trick were scheduled to go on at 7, so I figured 90 minutes was plenty of time, right?
This is the traffic jam we became entangled in less than five miles from the venue right around 6:15. Totally awesome.
When we ended up alongside this minivan, we did honk enthusiastically. The driver was not amused.
The windows were tinted, so unfortunately, we really had no idea what was happening in that Jeep.
We finally made it onto the off-ramp -- roughly 1/4 of a mile from where we were initially stopped in traffic -- around 7:15.
This is the license plate of the asshole in an SUV who flew by all of us on the shoulder of the highway, wedging himself in at the top of the off-ramp and cutting about 500 or so other cars in the process. You, sir, are an asshole, and I hope someone reading this recognizes your license plate and eggs your car. Dickwad.
By this point, we'd completely missed Cheap Trick, and were wondering if we'd even get to our seats before Heart started. After lots more traffic-jamming, we finally parked our car at Blossom (of course, we were put into the farthest lot from the entrance -- about a half-mile walk -- and of course, there were no shuttles or anything). We finally got to our (surprisingly close) seats about three songs into Heart's set:
The people-watching at this show was completely out of control (we think the singer of Disturbed was sitting a row ahead of us -- or maybe he has a twin brother who looks like just as much of a douche?), but what was truly fascinating was how they were all brought together by this music. The response to Heart was overwhelming, especially considering they were technically an opening act. Here's a video I shot as people were cheering for their encore. In case you ever wondered what 20,000 people sound like, here you go:
After a half-hour set change, Journey took the stage, surprising much of the audience as they had absolutely no sort of "intro music" or anything. AC/DC's "Back In Black" was playing over the PA, people were waiting in line for $8 beers (or peeing in the woods), and then next thing you know, Journey's onstage, jumping right into their first song without even saying a word. Strange, especially for a band of that size and stature (and in a venue that large), that you wouldn't tease the audience a little bit to get them hyped up again.
Not that it took much to get the crowd hyped once Journey dove into their hits. "Only The Young," "Lights," "Open Arms," "Faithfully," one after another -- these dudes lined 'em up and mowed 'em down like the seasoned vets they are. Here's a clip of I shot of "Separate Ways," my personal favorite Journey jam; it's only a portion of the song, as I was accosted by a security guard and told that if I didn't turn my camera off, it would be confiscated. Whoops!
We expected "Don't Stop Believin'" to close out the show (or even be their encore), but the band threw it out about 45 minutes in, with the place exploding in response. The best part? When it ended, they threw up a clever graphic on the big screens of the word "Journey" in a Sopranos-style logo, as sort of a shoutout. (It got a laugh from me, at least.)
Does it kind of bum me out that Journey draws 20,000 people in Cleveland when, say, Weatherbox probably would draw 20? Yeah, but at the same time, it's undeniable that Journey, love 'em, hate 'em or really hate 'em, have penned some absolute classics when it comes to '80s rock (and I'd take them over lite-FM Cheez-Whiz like REO Speedwagon any day). There's something entirely strange about watching a massive crowd groove to 20-year-old hits they've heard a thousand times before, but going nuts for each note just the same. Sometimes, I feel like I've lost that feeling for the "classics" in my collection in favor of a constant search for new music, just so I can be the first on my block to say I was listening to them way back when. But sometimes you just need to belt out some cornball classic rock and let yourself go, without caring who's watching you or how many scene points you may lose in the process.
Okay, now that he's gone, I can say the following: I saw Journey last night with 20,000 other people, and they kinda sorta totally rule. Their massive tour rolled into town with Heart and Cheap Trick opening, and amazingly, I was able to get myself on Journey's guestlist (finally, something I can impress my mom with!) so my good friend Josh and I ventured out into the great arena classic-rock unknown, having no idea what to expect.
We initially left my house at 5:30, and the outdoor venue hosting the show, Blossom, is roughly a 40-minute drive. Cheap Trick were scheduled to go on at 7, so I figured 90 minutes was plenty of time, right?
This is the traffic jam we became entangled in less than five miles from the venue right around 6:15. Totally awesome.
When we ended up alongside this minivan, we did honk enthusiastically. The driver was not amused.
The windows were tinted, so unfortunately, we really had no idea what was happening in that Jeep.
We finally made it onto the off-ramp -- roughly 1/4 of a mile from where we were initially stopped in traffic -- around 7:15.
This is the license plate of the asshole in an SUV who flew by all of us on the shoulder of the highway, wedging himself in at the top of the off-ramp and cutting about 500 or so other cars in the process. You, sir, are an asshole, and I hope someone reading this recognizes your license plate and eggs your car. Dickwad.
By this point, we'd completely missed Cheap Trick, and were wondering if we'd even get to our seats before Heart started. After lots more traffic-jamming, we finally parked our car at Blossom (of course, we were put into the farthest lot from the entrance -- about a half-mile walk -- and of course, there were no shuttles or anything). We finally got to our (surprisingly close) seats about three songs into Heart's set:
The people-watching at this show was completely out of control (we think the singer of Disturbed was sitting a row ahead of us -- or maybe he has a twin brother who looks like just as much of a douche?), but what was truly fascinating was how they were all brought together by this music. The response to Heart was overwhelming, especially considering they were technically an opening act. Here's a video I shot as people were cheering for their encore. In case you ever wondered what 20,000 people sound like, here you go:
After a half-hour set change, Journey took the stage, surprising much of the audience as they had absolutely no sort of "intro music" or anything. AC/DC's "Back In Black" was playing over the PA, people were waiting in line for $8 beers (or peeing in the woods), and then next thing you know, Journey's onstage, jumping right into their first song without even saying a word. Strange, especially for a band of that size and stature (and in a venue that large), that you wouldn't tease the audience a little bit to get them hyped up again.
Not that it took much to get the crowd hyped once Journey dove into their hits. "Only The Young," "Lights," "Open Arms," "Faithfully," one after another -- these dudes lined 'em up and mowed 'em down like the seasoned vets they are. Here's a clip of I shot of "Separate Ways," my personal favorite Journey jam; it's only a portion of the song, as I was accosted by a security guard and told that if I didn't turn my camera off, it would be confiscated. Whoops!
We expected "Don't Stop Believin'" to close out the show (or even be their encore), but the band threw it out about 45 minutes in, with the place exploding in response. The best part? When it ended, they threw up a clever graphic on the big screens of the word "Journey" in a Sopranos-style logo, as sort of a shoutout. (It got a laugh from me, at least.)
Does it kind of bum me out that Journey draws 20,000 people in Cleveland when, say, Weatherbox probably would draw 20? Yeah, but at the same time, it's undeniable that Journey, love 'em, hate 'em or really hate 'em, have penned some absolute classics when it comes to '80s rock (and I'd take them over lite-FM Cheez-Whiz like REO Speedwagon any day). There's something entirely strange about watching a massive crowd groove to 20-year-old hits they've heard a thousand times before, but going nuts for each note just the same. Sometimes, I feel like I've lost that feeling for the "classics" in my collection in favor of a constant search for new music, just so I can be the first on my block to say I was listening to them way back when. But sometimes you just need to belt out some cornball classic rock and let yourself go, without caring who's watching you or how many scene points you may lose in the process.
posted by Scott Heisel at
2:28 PM
1 Comments:
Glad you got to see the show. I've always liked Journey, no matter how much heat I feel from people who hated them when they were really popular back in the late 70s/early 80s and still hate them now. I even like the post-Steve Perry albums. And I don't mean this ironically or with a tongue in my cheek.
Of course, in the near future, I think I might hear from somebody who claims to love Creed as much as he or she loves Jawbox.
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