Reliving the glory years, fans in Rochester were treated to a night of classics as Journey blew the roof off the Blue Cross Arena, the eighth stop on the Freedom Tour. The February 22 show marked Journey’s seventh visit to the city, dating back to 1978.
Playing for little more 90 minutes, frontman Arnel Pineda jumped around the stage enough to make his Fitbit question his activity. While not original to the band, Pineda has been doing his best Steve Perry impression for nearly 17 years, and despite nailing a nerve wrecking interview, he has solidified his role as lead vocalist. The vocal range, the sounds and pitch, all of it are exactly what Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain were hoping for as they sought out Perry’s replacement.
Opening the show for Pineda and company was Toto. Not quite as tenured as Journey, Toto has just over 40 years of songs and 14 studio albums, and they chose a nice nine-song set for the Rochester crowd. As the lone original Toto member, Steve Lukather came out donning a floor length cloak and rocked out “Girl Good” Bye” and “Hold the Line.” Of course, the set ended with “Rosanna” and “Africa,” two songs that are synonymous with Toto and the 80s.
Fans were out of their seats as Lukather led the charge during their set, belting out a little “Hakuna Matata” and a cover of the Beatles “With a Little Help From My Friends.” A little mellow, a little sappy, and a lot of high energy rock prepped the crowd for what they were about to endure.
Hitting the stage shortly before 9, Cain and Pineda led Journey out before the Rochester crowd and opened up with “Only The Young,” a song about youth and the freedoms they encounter growing up. One of Journey’s best songs, it wasn’t originally released by them. Intended for the Frontiers album, it was a late cut and sold to Scandal. A few years later, it was on Vison Quest soundtrack and ultimately hit Number 9 on the charts and released as single by Journey.
Progressing through the set, Pineda did not slow down. Dancing around withe mic stand, flipping the mic, hopping on and off the speakers, he flawlessly delivered note after note pointing out to random area of the crowd. “Stone in Love” and “Don’t Stop Believin'” get the crowd up and dancing like they were 17 again, before all the back and knee problems took over.
About halfway through the set, Deen Castronovo delivers a powerful rendition of “Mother-Father.” Perched behind his drum set, Castronovo takes this song and makes it his own, delivering what I would consider the hit of the night. Powerful, serene, and thought-provoking performance from the former Bad English drummer.
Leading into “Open Arms,” Cain let loose on the piano as the band waited in the wings, pounding the keys as smooth and as delectate as possible. The piano sounds filled the arena with aging fans who once held lit lighters in the air, are now turning on their phones flashlights. The iconic Journey ballad commences as Pineda encourages the crowd to sing along.
Donning a hockey jersey from the hometown Rochester Americans, Cain continued the next song with some back story. In 1983, the band was looking to write a song that pays homage to loved ones at home with the band tours and is apart. Perry and crew decided to take it one step further and dedicate to the men and women of the Armed Forces who were also apart from loved ones. From this, we were given “Faithfully.” As the song played, the backscreen displayed band members with military personal, family members and fans alike. This was a dedication to anyone who is apart from their loved ones. You could quietly hear the tears being shed from those around me as the song began.
For a little more than 90 minutes, fans were taken back to a simpler time. Memories were brought back of proms, weddings, friends, and other loved ones. Fans young and old were celebrating 50 years of hits, B-sides, and deep cuts. 50 years of iconic sounds have been copied and covered but there’s nothing like originals.
Journey continues their Freedom tour through April, before hitting the road with Def Lepard.
Toto set list: Girl Goodbye/Hold the Line/99/Dying on My Feet/ I’ll Be Over You/Home of the Brave/ With a Little Help From My Friends (The Beatles cover)/Rosanna/ Africa
Journey set list: Only the Young/guitar solo/Stone in Love,/Don’t Stop Believin’/Lights/ Send Her My Love/Who’s Crying Now/Escape,/Mother-Father/Let it Rain/Lovin’, Touchin, Squeezin/piano solo/Open Arms/Faithfully/Girl Can’t Help It (Jason Derlatka)/guitar solo/Wheel in The Sky/Separate Ways/Be Good to Yourself/Any Way You Want It
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