.
First of all though, Danny Vaughn took to the stage with his sidekick,
both with guitars and that was it! I needn't have worried as after a
short thank-you to the audience for welcoming him back plus Journey for
the support slot, the two burst into the first song "Wings To Fly" and
from that moment on you could tell this was going to be good, and it was.
The sound was spot on, vocals from both were
excellent and even though there were only the two on stage, they won the
crowd over.
Most of the songs were from Danny's latest CD
"Traveller", but he did throw a song in from the LP "Strength In Numbers"
called "Write Your Name In The Sky", plus one from his Tyketto days "I'll
be waiting" just for good measure, which got a good response from his fans
amongst the crowd.
After this classy but short set, Danny mentioned
that he'd be back with a full band at the Cluny in Newcastle in May, and
on the strength of this set I think quite a few of the audience will be
going along, myself and wife included.
As the lights went down and the first notes of
"Jerusalem" filled the hall, a single white light picked out Neal Schon
and here began over 2 hours of an almost greatest hits set. Any
worries about Jeff Scott Soto and his vocals were soon put to rest as he
soon made the stage his own, drifting from one side to the other
acknowledging the audience, his voice powerful and flawless, making you
think he'd been in Journey a lot longer than he has.
As time went on there were a couple of times when the sound went astray
and you couldn't hear the vocals or there was a touch of feedback from the
guitar, but it was quickly dealt with, so not spoiling things as it went
along.
Just before "Wheels In The Sky" began someone threw a black and white
striped top onto the stage and to the delight of most of the crowd Jeff
put it on and continued with the show. I said most of the crowd as
later on during "Edge Of The Blade", a couple near me sat down in obvious
disgust and shouted ... 'Play something we know!' ... Is there no pleasing
some people?
With Schon's trademark guitar sound coming with each song and the rest of
the band effortless and tight, Soto took a couple of breaks leaving
drummer Deen Castronova and keyboard player Jonathon Cain to take charge
of the vocals for a few songs proving that there is obviously talent in
the vocal department apart from Soto within the band. Both got the
reception they deserved.
Seeing as it was the last night of the UK tour, things turned into a party
atmosphere on stage as Soto literally dragged Danny Vaughn on to the stage
to help out with backing vocals on "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin", which
seemed to go down well all over, on and off stage.
As the set come to an end with "Anyway You Want It", the audience were
dancing and singing along, you knew they'd be back on stage soon, and as
they did Soto dressed again in the striped top and carrying a large Union
Jack, they launched into "Seperate Ways", finishing on a high, sending
this audience away happy and hoping it won't be too long before Journey
return to Newcastle.
Since the concert I've heard and read that some people thought it was too
loud and that the sound quality was poor. Personally I thought the
sound was sorted out quickly and it wasn't too loud as all. It
certainly wasn't Motorhead!
As for the couple who shouted ... 'Play something we know' ... after 10
songs in, Journey have had other LP's out as well as "Escape" you know!!
* Review by Bob Baldwin.
