Journey
with Foreigner
Cruzan Amphitheatre
West Palm Beach, FL
September 18, 2011
Review and Photos by Aura Altamiranda
For a concert-goer more accustomed to the usual crowd of fans in their 20s jamming out to today’s rock, the Journey concert on September 18 was in a sense, a culture shock.
With Night Ranger and Foreigner opening for Journey, the combination of the three acts produced a surge of 80s music that brought together three generations of music lovers.
Night Ranger took the stage first but didn’t manage to entice the audience nearly as much as the following acts because of all the latecomers and their short set. Their stage presence and theatrics were minimal, which is usually one of the pitfalls of being the opening gig at a concert.
About 40 minutes into the show, Foreigner took over and warranted more attention from the crowd. Their entrance was highlighted by the band’s name in giant white lights behind them on an otherwise dark stage as they began their opening song, “Waiting For A Girl Like You.” They also played their other hits including “Dirty White Boy” and “Feels Like the First Time.” Foreigner definitely escalated the energy of the show.
The guitar solos between songs were phenomenal, but as a band mostly known for their ballads, couples slow danced in the aisles to such songs as “Faithfully” while the crowd sang aloud and waved their hands in the air with lead singer, Arnel Pineda.
Journey
Journey emerged onstage, commanding the most attention. The crowd went insane as they sang in unison to most of their songs, with the exception of new tracks such as “City of Hope,” which came off their new album, Eclipse. The guitar solos between songs were phenomenal, but as a band mostly known for their ballads, couples slow danced in the aisles to such songs as “Faithfully” while the crowd sang aloud and waved their hands in the air with lead singer, Arnel Pineda. Pineda joined Journey in 2007 after Steve Perry left the band.
For most Journey fans, nothing compares to the Perry days, many fans not giving Pineda enough credit. While Perry’s voice cannot be duplicated, Pineda does a great job of keeping the essence of Journey alive. His stage presence was exceptionally wild, as he threw himself into the music and engaged the crowd. Before you knew it, the lights shut down and the venue was calm. Suddenly you heard the all-too-familiar verse “Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world…” and the audience roared.
As confetti filled the air and the show came to a close, the crowd was left with an incredible feeling of concert bliss. After almost 40 years of making music, Journey is still going strong.
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