Living the Dream…..

Lots of folks have dreams of being in a rock band, playing music in front of thousands of people, and living the rock & roll lifestyle; if you know what I mean……  On September 13, I got to see the living and breathing definition of living the dream – Arnel Pineda.  Don’t click off here and go to Google; hang on and keep reading.

Once again, the oldest teenager (Will), life-long friends Joe & Shannon, and I took off to catch another concert.  We did have one additional passenger on our ride back to the 80’s – youngest son KYLE!  This concert with Night Ranger, Foreigner, and Journey would be Kyle’s first big-time concert.  He was pumped about seeing Journey, as was Will.  I continued to be amazed at how the music from my youth captivates my boys.  Well, most of it – still haven’t gotten them to like “Kiss Me Hello” or “Lonely School”.  I, too, must admit that I was looking forward to this show, since I had never seen Foreigner and the last time I saw Journey, it was the Escape tour and I was in high school. Once we got the “been there and done that” t-shirts for Will & Kyle, we made it to our seats just in time.

Night Ranger was the first on the bill and was ready to rock or needed to hit the road quickly, because they came out 10 minutes early!  Luckily, I was in my seat and ready.  Like most fans, when I go to see concerts, especially older acts, I really want the old stuff vs. playing new stuff that I will never buy.  Night Ranger’s opening song Lay It On Me was new and rocking.  It actually convinced me to go snag the new CD.  This was about the fourth time that I have seen Night Ranger and they continue to impress me.  They are high energy and great musicians with Jack Blades playing the ultimate rocker by having the talent, as well as the rocker looks.  Nashville’s own – Kelly Keagy did a great job playing drums and singing their signature song – Sister Christian.  Even with the short set list – Jack treated the crowd to Damn Yankee’s High Enough.  It was interesting to hear Jack sing Tommy Shaw’s parts in the song since their vocal ranges differ just a bit (sarcasm!).  On that subject, Damn Yankees is one band from the 80’s that needs to get back together for a few shows, if not a new album and tour.  Gentlemen, the time has come for this to happen.  Anyway, here is Night Ranger’s set list -

·         Lay It On Me Sing Me Away

·         High Enough

·         When You Close Your Eyes

·         Don't Tell Me You Love Me

·         Sister Christian

·         (You Can Still) Rock in America

Foreigner was scheduled to come out next.  This was one that I could put a checkmark by, having never seen them before.  I really liked the early Foreigner – so early that I had Foreigner, Double Vision, & maybe even Head Games on 8-track (Google it if you are under 35).  The latter stuff was too much pop-leaning for me.  Foreigner basically has had two known members through the years – Lou Gramm on vocals and Mick Jones on lead guitar.  The other members could have been plug & play.  Lou Gramm left the band a few years ago and was replaced by Kelly Hansen; so that left Mick Jones.  Well, Foreigner came out and commenced to run through their list of hits.  About halfway through the set, Kelly Hansen was talking to the crowd and said that Mick Jones sends his best and that he would rejoin the tour soon.  Huh?  I hadn’t realized that Mick Jones wasn’t there since I wouldn’t know him if walked out of my bathroom.  My friend Joe summed it up best by saying “...so we are watching a cover band?”  That about sums it up.  Nothing against Kelly Hansen who worked his ass off, but if no original members are up there – pull-eze.  Here is their set list which reads like a K-tel record from the 70’s & 80’s:

·         Double Vision

·         Head Games

·         Cold as Ice

·         Waiting for a Girl Like You

·         Dirty White Boy

·         Feels Like the First Time

·         Urgent

·         I Want to Know What Love Is

·         Hot Blooded

·         Juke Box Hero

Last and certainly not least, Journey came out.  As I mentioned, the last time I saw Journey was years ago and there were a couple of personnel changes since then.  First, Steve Smith retired and was replaced by Deen Castronovo.  Deen was in Bad English, as was Journey’s (and Nashville resident) Jonathon Cain.  The most obvious personnel change since the 80’s was Steve Perry’s departure and ultimate (2 swings & misses) replacement by Arnel Pineda.  If you don’t know Arnel’s story, he was in a Journey tribute band in his home country of the Philippines.  Journey was looking for a replacement (after Steve Agulari and Jeff Scott Soto) and someone suggested they get on YouTube and watch video of his band.  Well, bing, bang, boom – Neal Schon & company hire him.  The thing about Arnel is his voice and the resemblance to Steve Perry.  Most folks say that when you close your eyes (Night Ranger reference), you wouldn’t know that Steve Perry had left.  He is full of energy and was running all over the place, including a couple of laps around the floor of the arena.  Journey has a new CD out, so they did the obligatory two cuts off the new disc.  The best way I have found to describe Journey’s sound is a “wall of sound”.  It is just this large and loud backing sound with Neal Schon’s lead guitar licks and Arnel’s voice coming through.  Neal Schon and Jonathon Cain’s intro’s and extended jams got a little old, but all in all, they still have their chops.  They pulled one oldie out of the rectal database – La Do Da.  Joe & I theorized that this song was done because of the range in this song and it gave Arnel a chance to show his talents.   Here is their set list:

·         Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)

·         Ask the Lonely

·         When You Love A Woman

·         City of Hope (new)

·         Faithfully

·         Stone in Love

·         Edge of the Moment (new)

·         Lights 

·         Wheel in the Sky

·         Open Arms

·         La Do Da 

·         Be Good to Yourself

·         Any Way You Want It

·         Encore:

·         Don't Stop Believin'

·         Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

Throughout the show, Kyle kept smiling and would occasionally squeezing my arm and saying how great it was.   At one point while Arnel was running around the arena and high-fiving the crowd with this huge grin on his face, I leaned over to Joe and said “this guy is living the dream”.  Just a few short years ago, he was in a tribute band playing in a nightclub and now he was in THE band he was emulating and playing to sold-out arenas.  So whether it was Kyle at his first concert or a guy from the Philippines singing with his idols, they were living the dream.

Zach, a Tennessee Squire living the dream

Styx/REO Speedwagon/Night Ranger – November 15, 2009 – Sommet Center

Yes, it was the ‘80’s all over again in Nashville on Sunday night as these bastions of the arena rock era were on a single bill. Contrary to my old college roommate’s question, I did not wear my Jordace jeans or Members Only jacket. Yes, I know these folks are getting long in the tooth and haven’t have any commercial success for a while, but it was an opportunity to see some of my favorite bands, on the same stage, and relive some old memories.

Right off the bat, you noticed that the crowd was older, like uh middle age. Yikes – that’s me. Going into the show, I wondered how these three could fill Sommet’s 15,000+ seats. Well, with a little bit (ok, a lot) of strategically placed curtains, the arena was now about a 6,000 seat arena. The stage was set directly under the jumbotron with curtains blocking off the half behind the stage. Also, the entire upper level (300 section) was curtained off. One thing I will give the bands, they know how to keep a show moving. Night Ranger came out right at 7:00 and except for an issue with Styx’s keyboard, the time between bands was right at 15 -20 minutes. They know that most of the folks there were out past their bedtime and had to go to work on Monday.

Night Ranger – Ironically, the first (and only) time I saw Night Ranger, they opened for KISS in Huntsville, AL, so it was kind of like déjà vu. They powered through a 45 minute set with the energy that Jack Blades is known for. I mean, the guy never stops moving. NR’s drummer, Kelly Keagy (who lives in Nashville) had his drum kit set out front on the main stage (vs in the back) with it turned with the front of the set facing stage right. This worked well since Kelly has lead vocals on some songs. The highlight of the set was when Jack Blades invited Tommy Shaw (Styx) out and they sang Damn Yankees’ HIGH ENOUGH. Granted, only half of DY was present, it was good to hear the song live & plugged again. Do you realize it has been 20 years since Damn Yankees was released? Wow.

REO Speedwagon – Having seen REO numerous times before, my expectation was set kind of high. Sadly, I would say this was the least of the three bands. While they performed all the songs they were supposed to, it just didn’t have the energy that it once had. Even the songs sounded about a half a beat slower. They did do ROLL WITH THE CHANGES which happens to be in my top five songs of all times. They were joined on the chorus by Martina McBride and Brad Paisley. Lead singer Kevin Cronin mentioned that when they were starting out, they played every club they could, including a “…skanky rock & roll club called the Exit/In.” With that reference they dug way back to REO T.W.O. (recorded in Nashville) for Golden Country. The one most vivid memory of prior REO shows evidently has been taken away by the fire marshal – the flash pots at the end of RIDIN’ THE STORM OUT. I recall the heat from those things as they exploded at the end of the song. Now, it is a laser light and a small jump by the band. The price of age…..

Styx – If you don’t know the band’s history, Dennis DeYoung left the band a decade or so ago due to “internal tensions”. Tommy Shaw has taken the mantle of band leader and run with it. He was quoted at one time as saying “If I have to do another song about robots, I will go crazy.” Well, obviously dude outside the Sommet saying “They didn’t do MR. ROBOTO or BABE” didn’t get that word. There were numerous other songs for them to choose and they did. They still have the high energy and put on a great show. Original, now part-time, bassist, Chuck Ponozzo, joined the band about halfway through the set. They also dug back into the archives for classics like Loreli and Suite Madam Blue. They closed their set by inviting REO and Night Ranger back out for a Volunteer Jam style play along. Members from all three bands came out to perform the Shaw/Cronin penned CAN’T STOP ROCKIN.

All in all, it was a good walk down memory lane last night. It also seemed that each band mentioned the hard times we are facing; we know we have people to pick up, etc. Just two thoughts – regardless of political beliefs, I came to listen to music, not a political speech and the people that have lost jobs, etc., probably (at least hopefully) aren’t spending their money on concerts.

Thanks for the memories and hopefully, these guys can still ROCK IN AMERICA for several more years.

Zach, an '80's rockin Tennessee Squire

Set list:
Night Ranger:
This Boy Needs to Rock
Sing Me Away
When You Close Your Eyes
High Enough (with Tommy Shaw)
Don't Tell Me You Love Me
Sister Christian
You Can Still Rock in America

REO Speedwagon:
Don't Let Him Go
Take It on the Run
Keep Pushing
Golden Country
Can't Fight this Feeling
Son of a Poor Man
Time for Me to Fly
Back on the Road Again
Keep on Loving You
Roll with the Changes (joined by Martina McBride & Brad Paisley)
Riding the Storm Out

Styx:
Miss America
Too Much Time on My Hands
Grand Illusion
Loreli
I Am the Walrus
Blue Collar Man
Suite Madam Blue
Foolin Yourself (Chuck Ponozzo joins)
Come Sail Away
Renegade
Can't Stop Rockin