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It's A Perry-Less Journey, But The Band Can Still Rock

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By CURTIS ROSS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 31, 2008

TAMPA - The bill could have had one wondering what year it was, but a crowd of about 15,000 - and not all of them grizzled concert vets like yours truly - braved the rain to rock with Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick on Wednesday night at the Ford Amphitheatre.

For headliner Journey, the tour is a chance to show off new singer Arnel Pineda, a Steve Perry sound-alike discovered on YouTube.

Pineda's story all but demands that VH1 resurrect "Behind the Music," but the more pressing musical question Wednesday was whether he could handle former Journey front man Steve Perry's vocals.

The answer, in a word: yes. In a few more words: One wonders what a comparison of Perry's and Pineda's DNA would reveal. The vocal resemblance is that uncanny.

Of course, it wasn't all Pineda's show. Guitarist Neal Schon's chops were a reminder that Journey began as a prog-rock and fusion-leaning quartet.

He, bassist Ross Valory, keyboardist-guitarist Jonathan Cain and drummer Deen Castronovo were spot-on with the harmonies that give their music so much of its sheen.

With all due respect to Pineda's pipes, the strongest vocals of the evening belonged to Heart's Ann Wilson.

Playing second, she displayed a voice that has lost nothing, and maybe gained something in the way of nuance, in the 32 years since the band hit radio with "Crazy on You" and "Magic Man."

Both of those numbers were part of Wednesday's set, as were '80s hits such as "Alone" and "Heaven." But it was on The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" that Wilson claimed the vocal crown.

One wonders if Roger Daltrey himself could match the performance Wilson gave on the tune, the dramatic closer of The Who's 1973 rock opera "Quadrophenia." It was an ideal choice for the evening, its music and lyrics capturing the tension of an impending storm.

When Wilson hit the high notes, it sounded like the clouds letting loose with a torrent of raw emotion.

Opening the evening, Cheap Trick seemed positively casual, perhaps due to playing on singer and Bay area resident Robin Zander's home turf. The band gained power throughout its 40-minute set, with "If You Want My Love" and "I Can't Take It" sounding especially fresh.

Curtis Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7568 or cross@tampatrib.com.

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