Journey’s New Lead Fits in Seamlessly

By JEFF MAISEY

By Jeff Maisey

Correspondent

VIRGINIA BEACH

If you closed your eyes, crossed your fingers and hoped Arnel Pineda lived up to the hype as Journey’s new lead singer, you probably weren’t alone Tuesday evening as the band took the stage at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater.

Well, hearing is certainly believing, and without a doubt Pineda is the best replacement Journey has ever had for its most famed vocalist, Steve Perry.

As the story goes, Journey guitarist Neal Schon was scouting for a new singer last year and came across a video posted on YouTube. The clip featured Arnel Pineda of the Filipino band The Zoo. Impressed by Pineda’s voice, Schon had the singer flown to America for an audition.

In December, Pineda was announced as Journey’s new frontman. He immediately joined the band in the recording studio for a new album, “Revelation,” which sold 196,000 copies in its first two weeks.

For Filipinos around the world, Pineda has become a hero. “It’s a Cinderella story,” said Jay Sanchez, who was shooting video Tuesday of the performance. “He’s an inspiration.”

Over and over, Pineda wowed the Virginia Beach audience. His voice had an uncanny resemblance to that of Perry, and it soared, hitting the high notes with ease, which was a challenge on passionate ballads like “Faithfully” and “Open Arms.”

Journey’s repertoire included most of its biggest hits ranging from the high energy radio staples such as “Stone in Love” and “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” to midtempo favorites that included “Wheel in the Sky” and “Any Way You Want It.”

Throughout the performance, Journey’s longtime members Schon, Ross Valory (bass), Jonathan Cain (keyboards) and Deen Castronovo (drums) delivered effortlessly. After all, they’ve been doing these songs for years. The real focus was on Pineda, who, unlike most of the members, was full of energy and acrobatic jumps. Journey couldn’t have been better.

Pineda was not the only exceptional singer on this night. Heart vocalist Ann Wilson raised the roof several times, including on “Alone” and “Crazy on You.” Sister Nancy Wilson (guitar) and the rest of the musicians kept the music fairly true to the original recordings, most noticeably on “Magic Man,” when the synthesizer and guitar licks were note for note. The harmonics parts on the guitar made “Barracuda” a pure delight.

Michael Cox, 45, brought his 15-year-old son, Jonathan, to the concert, his first ever.

“He’s amazed,” said Cox, a proud dad. “He knows good music when he hears it.”

Cheap Trick was first to hit the stage. The quartet wasn’t as mobile as it used to be, but still, Robin Zander hit all of his notes perfectly and guitarist Rick Nielsen was, as always, the consummate showman. Cheap Trick’s best of the night: “”Dream Police,”"Surrender” and “I Want You to Want Me.”

Jeff Maisey, (757) 222-3934, jmaisey@pilotonline.com

concert review

Journey with Heart and Cheap Trick performed Tuesday night at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater.

Originally published by BY JEFF MAISEY.

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