This show was tonight.
- Journey [11/04 Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON]
This was the concert I won on the radio back in May. The seats awarded were good not great -- upper bowl with an almost direct view of the stage but slightly angled. I went with my son, This was our second time seeing them. My review of them then is below. It applies again for the most part.
This show happened last night. It was rescheduled 3 or 4 times and went through 3 opening acts (Billy Idol, Anne Wilson, Toto). I went with my wife and my son. Here is the breakdown.
Toto
We all liked Toto. I actively remember only 4 of their songs. I did recognize a fifth although they changed the arrangement. A couple of others I should have recognized as they were hits of theirs in the late 80s. Of course I remembered the Beatles cover. Here is the setlist:
1. Afraid of Love
2. Hold the Line
3. I'll Be Over You
4. White Sister
5. Georgy Porgy
6. I'll Supply the Love
7. Home of the Brave
8. With a Little Help From My Friends (The Beatles cover)
9. Rosanna
10. Africa
We have seen 2 of the Toto members with Ringo Star's all-star band last June.
Journey
This one did not get a high review. My wife and son both disliked the show. I am not sure how I feel. The show had several problems. The first it is very disconcerting to see a guy who was clearly born after Journey's biggest hits singing lead on their songs. It is also weird to think that the guy who sounds exactly like Steve Perry is a 25 year old Korean singer and dancer. We didn't really like his presentation. Every second word he spoke was "Toronto". He also danced around like a millennial. It didn't really fit with the music. He did sound exactly like Steve Perry. They did acknowledge that Steve was in the band on one song. It was also odd that they did not close with this song.
Most bands close with their strongest song. Them putting it third was odd. Another thing we disliked was 3 separate solos. 2 guitar and one piano. At least we were spared a drum solo. Below is the setlist:
1. Only the Young
(Neal Schon Guitar Solo #1)
2. Stone in Love
3. Don't Stop Believin'
4. Lights
5. Send Her My Love
6. Escape
7. Who's Crying Now
8. Mother, Father (Deen Castronovo on lead vocals)
9. Let It Rain
10. Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
(Jonathan Cain Piano Solo)
11. Open Arms
12. Faithfully
13. Girl Can't Help It (Jason Derlatka on lead vocals)
(Neal Schon Guitar Solo #2)
14. Wheel in the Sky
15. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
16. Be Good to Yourself
17. Any Way You Want It
This concert was called "The Final Frontier". Once the tour is over, it appears they are done touring. Take that with a grain of salt of course. This time around they had no opening act. They played a lot of their deeper cuts. If you were a die hard Journey fan this would have been a huge plus. For a casual fan, not so much. The first half of the show was uninspiring. I laugh at my comments about the solos. This time they added the drum solo. My least favourite kind. Of the 3 the piano was most tollerable but I think I have mentioned I don't like them. I understand that this is when the rest of the band is taking a piss and getting a drink but I still find them annoying.
Setlist:
1. Be Good to Yourself
2. Oh Canada (keyboard & guitar instrumental)
3. Stone in Love
4. Ask the Lonely
5. Only the Young
6. Just the Same Way
7. Patiently
8. Lights
9. Of a Lifetime
10. Escape
11. La Do Da
(Drum Solo)
12. Girl Can't Help It
13. Edge of the Blade
14. Precious Time
15. Chain Reaction
16. Anytime
17. Dead or Alive
(Piano Solo)
18. Who's Crying Now
19. Open Arms
29. Keep On Runnin'
21. Suzanne
(Guitar Solo)
22. Wheel in the Sky
23. Faithfully
24. Don't Stop Believin'
25. Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
26. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
27. Any Way You Want It
Again why not close with "Don't Stop Believing"? At least this time it wasn't song #3. That song still has an emotional trigger in me. The "Oh Canada" was unexpected. At first we thought it was just a couple bars. But when we realized they were doing the whole thing we all stood up and a lot of us sang. As far as I know the band has no Canadian roots so this was completely unexpected.
3 years has added a bit of age to the Korean guy. He seemed to be less of a distraction this time. He also did not sing every song. The other members would occasionally do the lead vocals. These were on the songs included this time but not the last.
The Korean guy was having some issues with some of the lyrics. He sort of Paul Simoned "Faithfully" (not keeping up with the music/tempo as Paul did at his concert we saw earlier). My son thought it was because he was having an inappropriate relationship with his mic stand. He wanted to yell out "get a room" a couple of times.
My son and I both agreed that the show was worth the price we paid for it., If we had shelled out the $125/seat ourselves, we may have been more disappointed.
Upcoming Shows:
2026:
- Michael Blaustein [12/05 Meridian Hall, Toronto, ON]