Heart, Reign O'er Me

The big show has come and gone. We dressed up, we hit concert traffic, we rocked out, and we drove home. What happened while we did all this was an outstanding show, and it deserves a recap.

Cheap Trick

Honestly, none of us really knew too much of their stuff. I have "at Budokon" but I'm really stumped after "I want you to want me" and "Surrender". We weren't the only ones there who weren't too savvy with our Cheap Trick, but I think we all were impressed. He busted out this five-neck for "Goodnight", but only played on two necks, as far as I could tell (from my seat in the grass). The guitarist tried talking a lot to make up for the lack of audience interest, but he sounded pretty bitter through it all was all. They sounded good, though, but that's all I can say.

Heart

Now, I know they have some really rockin' hits, but I never would have guessed, going into the night, that this would be such an amazing part of the show. They started the show with "Straight on to You" and shredded the guitar on "Magic Man" to really put the crowd in a good mood. They slipped into some softer stuff, playing "Dog and Butterfly" and "These Dreams", but then went into a synthesizer solo. I recognized the chords and went wild when I realized they were going to perform The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me". I went wild, and felt like the only one as I screamed the opening blood curdling "Love" with Ann Wilson. It was a great cover that did the real thing justice and rocked like it should.

They ended the set with "Barracuda", but of course came back for an encore. I was expecting them to play "Crazy on You" and go home, but Nancy came out with a mandolin and started plucking out Led Zeppelin's "Going To California". Great cover. Ann Wilson can sing like a man, and it's okay. It's awesome, actually. Those two covers really made the night for me. I was impressed.

Journey

Now for a band with a lead singer who's a man that sounds like a woman. Although the great Steve Perry may be done with the outfit, their new addition, Arnel Pineda, nailed the vocals all night long. It sounded like the greatest hits CD--but it wasn't. No, since Pineda's return the group has put together a newly released album, and played a few tracks from that. The new stuff actually didn't sound that bad, and I'm seriously considering buying it.

Aside from the promotional tracks, every song was a hit. From "Don't Stop Believing" to "Any Way You Want It" Journey rocked as the audience sang along, but my favorites were deep tracks "Stone in Love" and "Escape". Journey doesn't get enough credit for their rock-out abilty, what with ballads like "Lights", "Open Arms", "Faithfully" and "Send Her My Love", but Neal Schon can play that guitar. They certainly proved to be the main attraction, but left me a little miffed when they left without playing "Lovin', Touchin' Squeezin'". If not for their great altogether show, I would have left so angry. But I'm okay. Just not as good as I could have been.

Overall, I give the show 4 out of 5 guitars. Good game.