Last night I saw Journey in Madison with my fellow 80s music lover, Rachel!
Oh! And let’s not forget that Asia opened for them. Ha. I had actually completely forgotten. Bonus?
Kind of… we all know one Asia song – “Heat of the Moment.” They saved that for the end, naturally, so I spent most of the time wondering what I was listening to (I did get “Sole Survivor” stuck in my head) and hoping Journey didn’t sound as bad as them (mostly just the set up… and a little bit of the singing, ha).
But Journey came on and sounded AMAZING! They opened with “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” (here’s the complete set list) and played all their hits and only one song (“Chain Reaction”) I’d never heard before.
I’m someone who enjoys concerts the most if I know the music* so seeing my favorite “older” bands is perfect for me! And I also like that it means that the audience is older, and people are less likely to be on their phones the whole time! It was nice to look down at the audience and see only a few people recording/taking pictures the whole time, compared to Milky Chance, where almost EVERYONE was, and the musicians asked people to stop. At this concert, they actually asked us to bring our phones out for “Lights,” to use our flashlights in place of lighters. Ha. That was fun.
The whole thing was fun! There were three screens so you could see close-ups of the musicians, which I appreciated during the guitar solos. They also had some wacky 80s graphics they would overlay with the musicians on the screens, too, which made me laugh! Journey puts on a great show, and I would totally see them again! Although I do imagine Rachel and I will be keeping an eye out for the next 80s band to come by…
*it’s rare I like a song after hearing it just once, but if I do, it means it’s one I will be obsessed with and play on repeat for awhile!
JOURNEY!!!!! That was my very first concert!!!! Ahhh, what memories – a naive 15-year-old, going with a cute boy and his older sister and friends, and seeing drugs being used out in the open…I was shocked! One of the girls took a pill and passed out and was carted away by the ushers and apparently I didn’t give a shit because I stayed and enjoyed the hell out of that concert. How fun to hear that they are still performing, and doing such a great show at that!
Awesome that it was your first concert! And what an experience!!!! Whoa. Ha ha. Do you think you would go see them again?! (I am guessing… yes?!)
OH HECK YES!
!!! Just a short drive… http://www.journeymusic.com/pages/tour/584 🙂
I TOTALLY agree that concerts are way more fun when you know the songs. Whenever I’m going to a show, I usually spend the week or so before listening to music by whoever’s playing (which generally means the openers, since I’d say nine times out of ten, I go to a show because I like the main act and already know their music) so I’m “prepared” for the show. I think it’s much more enjoyable to be able to sing along that just stand there hearing the songs for the first time.
I think I am going to do that the next time I go to something with an opener! Great idea!
When you go to Lolla, do you have to do a ton of prep before for this purpose? (I know there is a lot of other prep, like deciding which stages to go to!)
Yes! I actually almost mentioned that in my initial comment! Haha. I usually have a couple of artists I already know I want to see, but then I need to fill in the gaps in my schedule. I’ll look up the artist first to see if I think I’ll like them (like I’d probably be more interested in seeing an indie artist than a rapper, for example). Lolla usually puts up a song for each artist on their site, so that makes that part easy. I think I might be, then I’ll listen to more of their music to get a better feel for their sound. Then, after I’ve decided who I like the best and finalized my schedule, I usually dedicate one day of the week leading up to Lolla to each artist–one group on Monday, one group on Tuesday, etc. I don’t mess around with these things! Haha. It’s a silly amount of prep to do for a festival, but with how much it costs to go, I’d rather spend a ridiculous amount of time getting ready for it than just wing it when I get there and not enjoy it as much.
I think that’s smart – you’ll truly maximize your experience that way!
That’s the only Asia song I know too! I mean, I’m assuming they had other hits? Maybe?
Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) is my all-time favorite Journey song. I have it on one of my running playlists. I would have gone nuts hearing them open with that!
I’m glad you two had such a fun time! Makes the late night worthwhile 🙂
They must have, right?!
That’s one of my fave Journey songs too. Have you seen the rebooted Tron? I really like how they used it in a scene in that.
Terry would probably know other Asia songs. That’s right up his alley.
I watched that movie on a plane right after it came out, so yes I’ve seen it, but I don’t really remember much. I’ll have to look that scene up!
I had so much fun! Journey was so amazing and getting to share the night with you (and part of it with Kevin and Steven) was the best part.
Kev sent me this article: http://www.channel3000.com/news/pedestrian-hit-by-vehicle-after-concert-at-alliant-energy-center/422334914
It’s not funny that someone was hit, but check out the comments.
Ditto! Can’t wait to do it again!!
OMG, people!!!! Ha ha ha! Guess we really missed the worst of traffic thanks to our speedy legs and lucky parking! But seriously, those comments, LOL!
I know it’s not Asia or Journey, but I wanted to tell you that I put on a classic rock station on Pandora for my gym workout today and it played “Thunderstruck”…which always reminds me of you 🙂
Although, my workout started with “Separate Ways” so they definitely didn’t forget the Journey 🙂
Aww! Love it! That is still my power song! Sounds like that’s a good Pandora station!!!
Great concert review. Was this the first time you’ve seen Journey? Such a great band live. I saw them last summer here in Utah and they were so great. Arnel Pineda (the current lead singer) makes all of the songs his own, even if he does sound a lot like Steve Perry.
I’ve seen them live 3 times since 1983 (once with each lead singer) and they’ve never disappointed.
It was the first time I saw them! That is awesome you just saw them (and have seen each lead singer!!!) – I thought Pineda was great too. The story of how he came to be the lead singer (if wikipedia is right, ha ha) is pretty cool!
Yes, the Wikipedia is right. He was signing Journey songs in Philippines. And he’s been with the band for over 10 years now.
Awesome that was your first time.