12th: 07/27/08 Superpages.com Center Dallas, TX

Post your review only if you actually attended the concert.. or postreviews from any websites (mainly Journeymusic.com) , not to forget mentioning the source in your credits!

Thanks!

martys2pennies
Unregistered

It is around 2:00 in the morning and we just got home from an intimate concert for around 20,000 at the Superpages.com Center in Dallas. Tonight’s concert was billed as the most important musical event of the year as three major bands from the 70’s & 80’s combined forces to provide a monster show that rivaled the legendary line ups of Rock & Roll’s distant past.

First up was one of my favorites of all time, Cheap Trick. Their music was really good, they played a solid set of all of their biggest hits peppered with a few lesser known numbers. The obligatory Kiss album was thrown into the audience as they sang Surrender and the crowd was excited when I Want You To Want Me started up. All in all, they put on a decent show, the time between songs seemed a little long but what do you expect with all of Rick‘s guitar changes (it takes a little time to lug a 5 neck guitar on stage). One thing that was new, at least to me, was Tom Petersons 12 string bass guitar, very cool. The crowd was rather thin at the beginning of their set but was steadily filing in towards the end. I have seen Cheap Trick when they were the headliner and was a little disappointed (not much) in their performance tonight.

After the Cheap Trick set was scratched it was time for the Wilson sisters to grace the stage with a powerful performance. I have never seen Heart in a live show and was not disappointed. Dreamboat Annie was in tip top condition to belt out the tunes with her trademark lungs, that girl can whale! And then there is Nancy, sweet Nancy, absolutely one of my top teenage crushes, alive and in person. There was just something about such a pretty girl who can pound an axe the way she does that just set the pre-pubescent hormones of a little redhead into overdrive. But I digress, these ladies still have what it takes to bring down the house in short order. Their band was spot on and ripped through almost all of their greatest hits with ease. The only downside that I saw was the fact that they played two cover songs, one from The Who and the other from Led Zeppelin. Both songs were perfectly executed , but it just seemed to me that they have a large enough library of hits that they shouldn’t have to rely on covers to get the job done (I like to pick nits).

And then we witnessed what is arguably one of the most exciting and power packed performances that I have ever seen, when Journey took the stage. If you haven’t heard yet, Journey is making a comeback that will blow you away, if you are a fan. They have struggled over the years trying to find someone to fill in the gap left in the band after Steve Perry left. They have had some really good front men, but it just didn’t seem to jive. Well, after the last singer took his leave, Neal Schon (lead guitar) decided to start cruising the You Tube pages to see if there was anyone out their that would catch his eye. To make a long story short, his eye got caught and put into a massive eye lock. He came across a little cover band from the Philippines named the Zoo. Their front man was a young man named Arnel Pineda who had mastered Steve Perry’s voice to an almost eerie perfection. He was brought to the US where he auditioned and was given the chance of a lifetime, to front the band Journey. Well, needless to say, the crowd was pumped to see Journey and was not disappointed in the least. They managed to get in most of their major hits in the hour and a half set and added a couple more in their 30 minute ovation to boot. These guys were on fire, Neal is tighter than I have ever heard him before and Arnel is a mad man, the Tasmanian Devil for some reason comes to mind while watching him work the stage. If you don’t get the chance to see them live, pick up their latest release, Revelation, at Walmart, it has two CD’s and a DVD of this concert tour. We had real problems finding our way out of the theater because we had our faces rocked off, this was one of the best shows that I have ever seen, hands down, but that’s just my two pennies.

#142453 - Today at 04:26 PM Re: 7/27/2008 Superpages.com Center Dallas, TX [Re: Argus]
fanofjourney fanofjourney Offline
Next
Registered: 28/02/08
Posts: 96
Loc: The Alamo

Just got back from the show. The traffic getting out of the venue and on the I30 was horrendous. But now I have to throttle down from this emotional high so I can go to sleep. I figure I'd post my review before I go to bed.

Well folks, what can I say. The concert is truly amazing. I wasn't expecting it to be that good. Of course I'm referring to Journey's performance. I can't really describe my experience in words and even if I could I don't think I can do justice to what I have seen tonight. Even the videos that will be posted later will not do justice to this band's awesome live performance. I kind of liken my experience tonight with Journey to seeing the Grand Canyon for the very first time. I've read about it and have seen pictures and have seen it in movies. But I didn't fully appreciate it's grandeur until I went to see it for myself. So my friends, you can read all the reviews, blogs and see all the Youtube clips you want of Journey, but unless you see them live, you are missing the BIG PICTURE!!!

Well, my wife and I got to the venue at around 5:00pm. We parked inside then proceeded to walk out the venue to find a place to eat. We found a barbecue place across gate six. The food was okay but I make better ribs. The collard greens was excellent though. We got back an hour later and the parking lot was full. We picked up our tickets at the gate then entered on the west side. We purchased three T-shirts. Each shirt cost an effin $35.00. Although the shirt is a tad on the expensive side, I didn't mind paying it. My only gripe is that the shirts themselves are low quality. It doesn't look like they'll survive several washing. Use Haines or Fruitoftheloom shirts. Better yet, just sell us IRON ONS. We also got a $13.00 margarita swirl on a fancy cup. It tasted like a 711 Slurpee with a hint of lime. Couldn't detect any sign of Jose Cuervo.

When we got to our seats, Cheap Trick was ready to play. The place was about half empty at this point. I'm not much of a CT fan but when they started playing, their sound was not very good. The vocals were kinda muddy. I could not hear the lyrics at all. I don't know if this is normal for them. Just didn't think they sounded good at all from my vantage point. My wife concurred with me on this as well.

When Heart started to play after CT, the crowd had started to fill the many voids. By the time Heart got to their third song, the place was packed...I mean packed. You couldn't see a hint of green on the Lawn...Oh the mass of humanity. I couldn't believe people were out there braving the heat. Anyways, HEART was fantastic. It's true, Ann Wilson can still belt it out. I'd see them again in a heartbeat. One notable event, Nancy performed "These Dreams" which she dedicated to Arnel Pineda.

Getting very sleepy...have to finish. There was long wait for the set change after Heart. The anticipation was killing me. Then the light dimmed; the crowd erupted; then you hear the Majestic intro...right into...Never Walk Away were Arnel walks in casually and starts the song all the while the crowd is going nuts. A fantastic start. I started to video the moment. Then I realize and asked myself what the heck I'm doing. I can't enjoy this while doing video duties. So I put my camera away and lost myself in the moment. I jumped, dance, sing and yelled my a$$ off. They rocked the house especially during Separate Ways. Arnel you Da MAN! I think I must have liberated, from my body, enough energy to power a small city tonight. It was just fantastic. All the guys were spot on. Their sound was just crisp and clear. Arnel's voice was simply powerful. He did not miss a note and I think he sang a couple notes even higher. This is amazing considering this is their 3rd straight night. He sang all the songs effortlessly while running, jumping and dancing(really no kidding). I think Arnel can probably run a Marathon. His vocal range is unbelievable but more so his stamina. I'm a fit person. I do fifty miles bike ride easily but after a few songs, I'm spent and had to take a break. This guy is a freak. Believe it folks and don't buy in to these posts about Arnel looking tired or his voice being stressed. He is after all a PROFESSIONAL!!!

Anyways, I'm spent and I'm ready to fall assssssleepp. I think I've said my peace...no my piece. I went, I saw and love it. I'm sure there will be video clips as there were alot of people taking them. Just one advice to would be fans on future concerts: Don't Miss This Show. It's worth every cent unlike the beer, margarita and the shirts, yikes!

GOOD NIGHT and GOOD LUCK...Oh Shite(not the opposite of Sunni) it's already morning! If I made any error in grammar or spelling please forgive me. I'm tired and sleeeeeeeppy...thud!

Re: 7/27/2008 Superpages.com Center Dallas, TX [Re: Anonymous]
Anonymous Anonymous
Unregistered

I have one word for you all! ASTONISHED! I was invited by family to go last minute and said yes but had my doubts about it. Regardless of how many 9 dollar beers I sucked down I am here to tell you if you missed this show I am sorry about your luck.I am so glad I said yes. I was quite impressed with Heart, the Wilsons sisters are still rocking and sounding better than ever. I was totally blown away by how Journey made my night one I will never forget. Steve Perry has nothing on Arnel, he is electric and is so full of life its just amazing. His voice is top notch! I was not at all suprised to know that the band behind him still had alot of life. I would pay out of my pocket to see them again tomorrow if I had to. I had so many old memories come back to me that I will be forever a fan for life. Thanks so much guys it was a blast.

Re: 7/27/2008 Superpages.com Center Dallas, TX [Re: Anonymous]
TXJourneyFan TXJourneyFan Offline
Look Into The Future
Registered: 23/02/08
Posts: 38

Awesome concert!! Exactly what everyone was talking about. Arnel sounds so much better in concert. I say compared to the Revelation CD and DVD. The first thing I noticed was the high notes, WOW!!! You just have to watch it live. I have the Chile DVD, Revelation CD, DVD and from watching all the Youtube videos. You will never experience all those high notes from Arnel till you see him now. It's worth all the $$. Heart was great, Nancy dedicated as song. I missed some of it; she said “this song is dedicated to the new singer of Journey, Arnel”. Somebody can probably chime in about exactly what she said and the song title. The end of the concert Arnel introduced all the band members and actually stood next to each one as he introduces them. Last he introduced himself, he said “and I’m Arnel Pinoy”. He was really funny, he purposely said “Arnel” in a very heavy Filipino accent. Somebody might want to chime in on that, I was expecting him to say his last name “Pineda”, but I swear he said “Arnel Pinoy”.

If you really want to see the band really close, you’re going to have to spend more money to get closer or better yet get the VIP if you're really a die hard fan. Oh, one more, please never gets a seat on the outer area at Dallas Superpages Amphitheater. We were on the 102 left side, total disappointment. The hanging speakers are blocking the big screen; it's blocking the view from neck to head and I can't get any clear photos due to the fog machines too.

Noise level- My ears are still ringing. If you’re a real rocker then the noise will not bother you from Cheap Trick till to the end, but if you consider yourself, “if it’s loud you’re old” type of listener now then I highly recommend getting some ear plugs.

This is a must concert to watch !!!

Re: 7/27/2008 Superpages.com Center Dallas, TX [Re: Anonymous]
Rick Rick Offline
Journey
Registered: 30/01/08
Posts: 8

Journey flat wore Superpages.com amphitheater out! I haven't seen them this good since the early '80's. I was at the Las Vegas show back in March, and this concert tonight was better than that in every aspect where Arnel is concerned. He's really starting to get into a groove and man is he fun to watch.

I liked how they played Open Arms and Faithfully back to back. They got the sappy stuff out of the way so they could rock. And they did rock. I had a great time watching them, again.

I didn't get to see Cheap Trick because of traffic, but Heart was just incredible. I saw them in the early '80's also, and they're just as good, if not better, now than they were then. Ann Wilson has still got a great set of pipes. There's not a better female rock singer alive.

FROM MELODICROCK

Rick
Label Big Wig
Joined: 23 Dec 2006
Posts: 8196
Location: Somewhere between Dallas and Fort Worth

I got to the venue just as Cheap Trick were finishing up. Traffic was a nightmare.

I don't have setlists and have a monster of a headache, so this will be brief.

What can I say about Heart? They were unbelievable. There's no way that women that age should be able to sing that good. Ann Wilson sounds as good now as she ever has. Nancy also. I was truly blown away. I loved their version of Reign O'er Me. They do it better than The Who. 10/10 Excellent show.

Journey put on the best show I've seen since the early '80's. They rocked that shed to pieces.

They played 4 of the new tracks. They started off with Never Walk Away, and of the new tracks, they also played After All These Years, Change For The Better and Wildest Dream. Not many people were standing for those songs, but dammit, I was. Laughing

Arnel just keeps improving. Everything about this show was better than the Vegas show in March, where he's concerned. He was just great, and this was his third night in a row singing. I can hear some road wear, but I'm pretty sure that's to be expected.

Deen didn't sing any songs tonight, but he sure wasn't unheard from. Holy shit that guy can bring it on the drums. He's excellent.

Ross was there. Laughing I love watching him screw with the crowd. He's a trip.

Neal was off the charts great about 95% of the time. He dicked up a solo that got painfully off key, but other than that, he was on fire. I saw him do a 720° spin on stage. He and Jon look like they've been reborn or something. They were fun to watch.

As has been said in other reviews on this tour, Cain spent a lot of time out front on the guitar. He was trotting around, going from one end of the stage to the other. He played a solo leading into Open Arms that I hadn't heard before. Was great. He and Neal did a little diddy with a mandolin and harmonica that was great as well.

One other thing I liked, they played Open Arms and Faithfully back to back. That got the sappy shit out of the way so they could rock! And rock they did! Did I say they rocked? They rocked the Superpages.com amphitheater to the ground!

It was hot as a bastard, the place was sold out, traffic sucked, and the beer was $8 a bottle. You take those three negatives away, and it was a perfect day. Can't really call a sold out venue a negative. Laughing

T-Time made some custom shirts, and I was lucky enough to get one. So was Arnel. Rip Rokken handed him one during the show. That was cool. Thanks T-Time.

I got two 7th Heaven CD's from Rhiannon, courtesy of Keith from 7th Heaven. Thanks to both of you. Was so great to see Rhibilly again. Very Happy

I got a Dokken GH CD from Rip Rokken, thank you sir, I intend on giving it a spin tomorrow. Was great to see you again as well.

Got to party and hang out with the coolest of the cool at txfirefighters get together, and had a great, great time. Thanks T & G for putting up with us today, and thanks for the great food and drinks.
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Rip Rokken
John Kalodner: John Kalodner
Joined: 01 Oct 2007
Posts: 4188
Location: Standing on the outside, looking in...

footprints wrote:
Rick or anyone who watched the show,

Is it true that Nancy Wilson dedicated, "These Dreams" to AP? I read it somewhere.
Would appreciate confirmation.

Thanks everyone!

Welcome, Footprints, and to answer your question -- Hell's yes they did! Nancy said something very close to, "We'd like to dedicate this next song to our new friend... who sings for Journey (pause followed by huge applause from the crowd)... This is for you, Arnel!" We looked at side stage and saw some of the Journey band members, including Deen (and I'm sure Arnel)! It was GREAT!!!
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Rip Rokken
John Kalodner: John Kalodner
Joined: 01 Oct 2007
Posts: 4188
Location: Standing on the outside, looking in...

Here's the ROKKEN REPORT!!!
First, pre-show, we had a get together at La Villa Del Txfirefighter -- a beautiful and sprawling estate in the country, where Mr. Tx had served up a perfectly executed BBQ -- grilled chicken, hamburgers, and BBQ sausage -- DELICIOUS!!! The sides were killer, too, and Rhiannon made her famous banana pudding, which I ate way too much of... LOL! And to really add to the love TX put into the event, she had a chilled out set of Rokken's signature green-bottle brew ON HAND and waiting for me! I think she remembered my poison from Vegas, and it's extremely rare to see anyone drink that stuff, so TX -- MUCH LOVE!!! MUAH!!!! And give Mr. TX a big pat on the back -- he's super-cool and fully as heck! Oh, and LOVED YOUR CAR, BTW!!! GIMME!!!

All three band kicked total A, and I wasn't sure how much I'd be into Cheap Trick, but they were excellent! Man, Rick Niesen still puts on a great show, and brought out just about every custom guitar he's made famous over the course of his career, from the yellow square one, to the Niesen caricature axe, to the 5-necked guitar! WOW! And Robin Zander sounded OVER THE TOP! Great show, and I caught a pic from Nielsen!

Heart -- OMG!!!! YIKES, can Ann Wilson sing!!! At so many points my friends and I kept looking at each other with distorted faces of disbelief at the notes she would hit and hold out. I think most of us made the comment it was single-handedly the best female rock vocal performance we'd EVER heard. And during "Alone", the musicians really geared back to really showcase her vocals, and all I can say was... W O W ! ! ! I'd see them again in a "Heart"beat, and Saint John even made the comment that Heart should not be opening for anyone -- EVER! Nancy, too was incredibly fun to watch, and she's sexy as hell! Looks great, moves great, plays out of this world, and every time she spoke, she kinda had a playful way of talking that just made you want so badly to, umm... give her a hug! My new dream girl!!! Let me tell you who the unsung star of the show was for me, though, and that's their keyboard player. This really cool chick that was not off to the side, but sort of adjacent to the drummer and on a riser. Very cute girl with twin pigtails, a tank top, and a big grin that rarely left her face. She was on fire, and was so much fun to watch. When she wasn't playing keys, she was shaking a marimba (or whatever they call those shaker rattles), and had quite a nice rhythm to it. And during "Magic Man", it appeared she did all those wild keyboard effects MANUALLY (not sequenced). I saw her moving and twisting a joystick on her synth, and who knows -- maybe it just was part of her act, but it was flawless, and looked very cool. She looked to be focusing very hard while she was doing it.

After Heart's outstanding show, we began visiting with many of the fans from various board that were near us, and started taking a ton of great pictures with anyone and everyone. Again, big shout to Jrnycms, mod of the official Journey board for bringing the "cool" to such a hot venue! Also had a great time chatting with Barb, who runs a site for Ross, and was so glad to catch up with her since I'd missed out in Chicago last week. Also, met JSS Rocks there, and he recognized me I guess from pics when I walked by, and said, "There's Rip Rokken!" Dude, you are the coolest, as is your daughter, and as Chalfant 2.0 would say with upheld sword, "Let's rawk agayne!" Damn, these Journey fans are a great buncha folks!

One more guy we really enjoyed meeting, and who gets a special shout-out -- Crazy Deb, help me out with this, but he was the kid with the signed copy of Frontiers that everyone talked to and got pics with. A poster on the Journey board who uses his first name and hometown for a screen name -- that young man was in Journey heaven last night!

Now, Journey -- hell, what can I say! I thought the Vegas show kicked A, but they freaking tore it up last night! And Arnel -- Good Lord, he's improved! He was outstanding enough in Vegas, but he was sooooooo much at ease, and full of ENDLESS energy. Listen, people take for granted how physically fit you need to be to really tour and put on a great show, and he was just... flawless. Everyone loved him, as much as you could tell how much he enjoyed his role. All over the place, great stage moves, and every time he jumped down about 4-5 feet to the ground, my knees felt the pain his should have... dang!

Rick is right, Jon was out in front more than I've ever seen him, and we were pretty much directly in front of his side of the stage. At one point, during one of the new songs, he came over and noticed a group of people not showing quite enough enthusiasm, and sat down on the stage and crossed his arms, making a pouty look -- it was funny! I really enjoyed watching him. Also at one point, I got a kick out of seeing a roadie slip in from the side and place his stool next to his piano, perfectly timed before he needed to sit down. I laughed to Saint John that the roadie must be Cain's "stool pidgeon"... LOL!!! And Rick was also right in that Jon's pre-"Open Arms" solo was none that I'd ever heard before... really a nice change!

Ok, and apparently more proof that the band does read the boards here, or it seems so -- the DID NOT close with "Faithfully" (which by the way, Texafana -- we sent the dogs out after you last night, but the scent trail ended at an overturned portapotty, so you either died inside or slipped away unscathed again). Neal was much more animated, even spinning as Rick described, and near the beginning really tore into a shredding guitar solo the likes of which I'd never seen him do -- even including a kick-ass hammer on/pull off run with his fret hand while he let his pick hand hang at his side -- KILLER!!! Way to go, Neal!

Now my favorite highlight of the show -- as Rick mentioned, our good brother T-Time had sent down a killer batch of custom Journey T's, and made sure we all got our pick. I got a beautiful grey one, and the only reason I didn't wear it to the show was because I'd already posted what shirt I'd be wearing in hopes friends could I.D. me easily. So one of the designs was a beautiful black T with a white or silver image of Arnel taken from his first concert in Chile, over a custom Journey scarab imbedded with a vocal mic, one of which I was given the honor of finding a way to get it to Arnel. Even as close as we were, I would have had to step over a few folks to get to the stage, and my attempts to hold it up went unnoticed (and unfortunately obscured a very cool friend's view, so I apologized to her and gave up that notion). Managed to pull it off at the LAST minute, when I had slipped out of my seat during the encore and was prepared, and sure enough, once the vocals had finished on the LAST song and Arnel was working the stage, he managed to come by one more time and there was NO ONE in front of me. The security guard didn't mind my approach a bit, and I held up the shirt, then handed it to him -- he did a double-take and held it up to look at it, with a really surprised expression, and he turned around and started to hand it back to me. I smiled and laughed and motioned to him that it was his, and you could tell he was touched to see it! After that, he came all the way to the left side of the stage and started shaking/slapping hands, and even stepped down from the stage to the next level to reach us -- I got a very nice and firm handshake from Arnel along with the others, and that made my NIGHT! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, T-TIME, and wish you and your bros could have been here with us!

KICK-A time, with too much good food, great folks from different boards, and as usual, a few sleepless nights! Can't wait to do it again!

Saint John
Label Big Wig
Joined: 23 Jun 2006
Posts: 9444

Separate Ways was the best live version I've ever heard and it was also the loudest "sing along" I've ever participated in. It was simply awesome.
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