Loverboy, Pat Benetar, Journey in Providence, RI

Three for the price of one, that's what 80's music fans got last night at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI.

The first surprise of the night was that the concert actually started on time. I'm not sure that I've ever been to a concert that started right on the minute it was scheduled for. The other thing I loved was that the set changes were very quick. I have been to many concerts that had 3 or 4 big acts and it took forever to change their set so this was great, it was a fast and smoth transition between bands.

Loverboy kicked off the night opening with Queen of Broken Hearts. They put on a great show singing all their hits from the 80's and ending with Working for the Weekend. I wasn't sure what to expect from lead singer Mike Reno as it's been a long time since he could fit into those tight red leather pants, I had seen him on tv a few years ago and he did not leave the best impression, I was afraid his vocals wouldn't be the same live.  Make no mistake he can still sing like he did back in the day, a few pounds heavier, (but aren't we all). They put on a great show.

Pat Benatar and husband of 30 years, Neil Giraldo, came out next and they rocked the house. Her vocals were so strong. She is completely amazing. You could tell that they absolutely love what they do and they make a great team. Though Neil hasn't aged quite as gracefully as Pat he has not lost a thing when it comes to playing guitar, he is as amazing as ever. Pat performed a fun mashup during the encore of Hearbreaker and Ring of Fire. The only disappointment for me was that one of my personal favorites, Shadows of the Night, was left off the set list.  If you have never seen Pat Benatar perform I say next time she comes to your town, GO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66aqcOsnP2E

Finally the Headliner, JOURNEY...let's just say this and get it out of the way...there is only one Steve Perry.  Now, I know it's probably not right to compare newcomer Arnel Pineda to Steve, afterall those are some pretty big shoes to fill. That being said, Arnel was inconsistent at best. There were some songs where he was right on the money, some that he oversang, tried too hard and some that he just plain forgot the words or perhaps missed his cue. Maybe it was an off night for him but inconsistent is the best way to put it.  I will give him this, he has a lot of energy, I don't think you would see Steve Perry today running and jumping all over the stage the way Arnel did.

Neil Schon, the driving force behind Journey, showcased his brilliant guitar playing and made you remember that he is definately one of the guitar greats of his time.

Johnathan Cain also had a chance to showcase his amazing talent from keyboards to guitar and singing.

Also impressive was drummer, Dean Castronovo. He can play a mean drum and was impressive when he sang Wheel in the Sky.

As much as I love each one of these bands and I have some major fan loyalty to them all, if this was American Idol or the XFactor and I had to pick a winner, my vote would go to Pat Benatar.

If this show comes to your area, go, spend the money and buy the tickets you won't be disappointed. It really is a good value for your money to see these three bands together.

That's just my opinion!

The Great Escape (Journey Tribute Band)

It's no secret that I love music.  I'm constantly checking to see who is coming to all the local venue's. I have my Live Nation and TicketMaster apps on my Ipod to send me updates of upcoming acts.  Recently while on the Twin River Website (our local casino) I saw that there was a Journey Tribute Band playing a free show at the Light House bar which is located on the first floor of the Twin River Casino.

I thought it would be fun to check out a tribute band, something new and different for me and the price was right. 

I went figuring they would be pretty good, I mean the casino isn't going to book an act that totally sucks right?  But I never thought I would walk away saying that the lead singer of a tribute band sounded better than the current lead singer of Journey.

Now let me just say this and get it out of the way. There is no substitution for Steve Perry. He's one of a kind, unique and well...just Steve Perry.  That being said the group Journey has had several lead men since Steve split. My favorite was Steve Aguiar their current lead singer Arnel Pineda just doesn't cut it for me.

The lead singer of The Great Escape is Jason Paulino and he is amazing. He is 100 times better than the current Journey frontman.

The Great Escape sang all the hits, and a few surprises that I didn't expect from the Raised on Radio CD.  (Which is actually one of my favorite Journey CD's) including the title song Raised on Radio and Suzanne.  Of course they didn't forget the ballad favorites like Faithfully and Open Arms but they rocked the house with Stone in Love and Wheel in the Sky and crowd favorite, Don't Stop Believing.

They play Twin River often so if you are in the New Englaned area go to
http://www.twinriver.com/
and check the schedule for upcoming dates.

Definately go see The Great Escape they are awesome.

That's just my opinion.