PlotOn February 7, 2017, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Journey proved their status as one of rock’s best live bands when they brought their landmark albums Escape (just in time for its 35th anniversary) and Frontiers to the legendary Budokan stage in Japan.
A triumphant evening of music, Journey presented songs from 1981’s Escape and 1983’s Frontiers. These albums, which produced eight Top 40 singles combined, have sold nearly 20 million copies worldwide, and cemented the San Francisco band’s music in the cultural zeitgeist.
My ThoughtsOne would think that a movie based on such a bizarre and stunningly true story would be compelling to watch. It turns out it wasn’t. In fact, what could have been an exciting reenactment of what was dubbed the largest burglary in English history turned out to be as much fun as watching paint dry. The setup to the story takes way too long, the pacing is horrendously slow, the execution of the crime is frustrating to watch due to the carelessness of the crew (although this is probably based on real events—they did get caught after all), and finally, the gags are a bit tired and dare I say it—over the hill.
Kicking off the 2-hour set with “Don’t Stop Believin’’’, Journey kicks into high gear, presenting a set not just of their hits, but deep album cuts like Escape’s “Lay It Down” and Frontiers’ “Back Talk,” which haven’t been played live since the albums’ original touring cycles. The concert, presented with a minimal stage set, without big extravagant light shows or monitors, lets the music do the talking.
Although the lead singer has changed, the songs still sound great today. Steve Perry left the band in the 1980’s for a solo career but reunited in the mid-90’s with Trial by Fire, which produced three top hits, a Grammy nomination, and plans for a comeback tour. Unfortunately, Perry was hurt in a hiking accident and needed hip surgery in order to tour. The band then turned to Steve Augeri to be the lead vocalist and went on tour and released a number of albums over the next 9 years.
Augeri developed some vocal problems and had to leave the band, which paved the way for Arnel Pineda to take the helm of lead singer—whose path to the band is quite intriguing. He was already a star in Asia in a band called The Zoo, who performed cover songs from many popular groups from the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Videos started to show up on YouTube in 2007 and Neal Schon (founder/guitarist) of Journey saw them and made contact asking if he’d like to audition for the band. The rest, they say, is history.
Video 4.5/5 (AVC)
Audio 4/5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Stereo Audio 4.5/5 (PCM 2.0)
Song List:1. Don’t Stop Believin’ Intro
2. Don’t Stop Believin’
3. Stone In Love
4. Who’s Crying Now
5. Keep On Runnin’
6. Still They Ride
7. Escape
8. Lay It Down
9. Dead Or Alive
10. Neal Schon Guitar Solo
11. Mother, Father
12. Jonathan Cain Piano Solo
13. Open Arms
14. Separate Ways Intro
15. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
16. Send Her My Love
17. Chain Reaction
18. After The Fall
19. Faithfully
20. Edge Of The Blade
21. Steve Smith Drum Solo
22. Back Talk
23. Frontiers
24. Rubicon
25. La Raza del Sol
26. Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’
ConclusionThe Blu-ray set also includes a 2-CD compilation of “Escape” and “Frontiers” and for fans of the band, this is a great collection. There are quite a few memorable songs included and the new lead singer is very good. Even though I grew up with Perry at the helm, I really didn’t miss him given the job that Pineda does on lead vocals. Highly recommended. 
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