by Michael Hurcomb - club.kingsnake contributor
The Molson Amphitheatre. Toronto, Ontario
Friday September 5th, 2008
I've always liked Journey. I'll admit it. In fact I think everyone likes Journey. Those damned catchy, sappy songs with great guitar solos. They've certainly received more press in the last few years thanks to the use of "Don't Stop Believin" in the Sopranos series finale and the hiring of the You Tube sensation Arnel Pineda from the Philippines . Before the show I checked out the footage of Arnel singing with his old cover band The Zoo. Arnel can sing exactly like Steve Perry but you'd be surprised to hear how well he can impersonate other singers. He nails Bon Jovi, Boston, STP, Queen and lots of others.
The big test would be hearing him live, especially after Journey canceled the prior night because Arnel had a cold. Well, he was perfect. Journey put on a fantastic show with lots of energy and great interplay, as did their openers Cheap Trick and Heart. It's refreshing to hear great live singers in this era of "Auto Tune". The crowd loved every minute of it - especially the large Filipino crowd! Hopefully Journey can keep Arnel longer than their past few singers. They start another leg of their tour in November so check them out if they're headed your way.