Sunday, January 09, 2005

Journey Tribute Band Experience

We (Laurie, Terry, Bonnie, Dan, Steve, Alfa) went to Antone's last night and saw a Journey tribute band. After further investigation, I've found out that this tribute band is actually a sideline for a band from Houston called Stride (http://www.strideonline.com).

I have a bad habit of prejudging bands before they play their first note. Before they even started, I noticed a lot of posturing by the lead singer (very Steve Perry-ish) and I also noticed that the lead guitarist was wearing leather pants. I immediately decided I'd be ragging on these guys all night long. It's not nice, I know, but that's me.

I can't remember what song they opened with but within about three bars, I decided lead guitarist guy could perform butt-naked if he wanted and lead singer guy could posture his ass off with the best of them. I never saw a Journey concert but this guy's voice was amazing. The lead guitarist, keyboard guy and drummer were all, individually, great musicians. Sorry to use a worn-out cliche but, they rocked.

When you listen to music with Dan and Steve, it's like having your own little VH-1 Behind the Music episode presented just for you. I had no idea that Journey was the result of two former Santana members (Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon) forming a band. The bass player also had an amazing voice and, according to Dan, he was singing the Journey songs that Gregg Rolie sang. I remember in the 80's that people would criticize the Steve Perry version of Journey saying that Journey had become nothing but a Steve Perry backup band and now I know what they were talking about. I still love the Steve Perry version though.

To make the night even more perfect, there was a group of 20-something people there who I imagined as my own personal "Brat Pack" placed in front of me for my entertainment. They weren't annoying or irritating so I enjoyed spying on their little dramas. These guys must have been kids when Journey was rocking on MTV but they were loving it. I'm sure some of the love was chemically enhanced but it was fun to watch nonetheless.

By the way, Carly, in case I forget to tell you, A. J. was there and he says hi.

2 comments:

Lorna said...

Oh damn, now I've got to get on the net and find some music by Journey; I thought they were a big hair small talent band but obviously, I got it wrong. Oh well, retired people get to spend their time in these rewarding ways....

Unknown said...

I love the song "Faithfully". Thanks for sharing, I fee glad because there are blogs like this which update me with the Journey Tribute Band. Thanks for sharing.

Journey Tribute Band