Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Sunrise Musical Theatre
November 7th and 8th, 1998

Photos by Jorge Villacis

Sean K.:

Well, I waited 15 years to see Journey live and I WAS NOT disappointed. First things first, Steve Augeri did nothing to distract from the experience - he wasn't sensational (in fact, the rest of the band pretty much drowned him out to a certain extent - intentionally??) but he was energetic, responsive and an overall good sport. I mean if you shut your eyes, you would have been hard pressed to tell the difference between Steve A. and Steve P.

Secondly, there was the atmosphere of the Sunrise Musical Theatre - my seat was 5th row center, but there really isn't a bad seat in the cozy, little, acoustically-perfect 4,000 seat venue. The place was just about sold out and the fans were extremely into the show - so much so that we got 2 songs in the 2nd encore (the 2nd one being "Ask the Lonely" which, I feel, is the "sleeper" on the Greatest Hits CD and, I figured, they would never play) instead of 1.

But the true beauty of the show lies in the "backbone of Journey" - Neil, Jon and Ross. These guys didn't miss a beat. Neil was absolutely phenomenal!! Just to see him perform the classic riffs from "Stone In Love" and "Don't Stop Believin'" (not to mention the riffs that make the "power ballads" worthwhile) LIVE was worth the price of admission in and of itself! Jon was rock-solid on keyboards and the occasional guitar parts, which got him out in front every once in a while. He was EXTREMELY receptive to the crowd and "played" with several lucky audience members throughout. But, it was his vocal substitution for Gregg Rolie on the "I can't believe they played these" classics "Just The Same Way" and "Anytime" that BLEW ME AWAY. He and Steve NAILED those 2 numbers - a true showstopper! As for Ross, he just seemed to really be enjoying himself while providing his trademark backing on bass.

Then, there were the intangibles - Steve coming out for the encores in a Dan Marino "13" jersey and 6 of our best and beautiful Miami Dolphin Cheerleaders providing a welcome addition to "Don't Stop Believin'" in the 1st encore.

Yeah, it was somewhat cheesy (i.e., the old play to the City of the Day routine) but it really didn't detract form the show as a whole. If there was one downside, I felt it was the lack of audience participation on the 2 songs that were made for that, "Anyway You Want It" and "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" (especially, since the crowd was very much into the show and very vocal). Steve Perry's absence had a lot to do with that though, as he was a master and making the audience feel like they were an integral part of the show.

All in all, it was a truly memorable experience and all I can say to my fellow skeptics out there (who might be wavering as to the worth of seeing a Steve Perry-less Journey) is GO! You won't regret it and you just never know how many opportunities lay ahead to see the "backbone" of, arguably, one of the greatest bands of all-time!

Rick Butler:

I attended the first Ft. Lauderdale show which was actually added at the last minute because of the cancellation of the Jacksonville show.

My excitment was tripled when I found out the band was staying in the same hotel. I actually had a chance to shake hands with a few of the members. Ross V. was probably the nicest of the band. I also talked with the Tour Manager who was very excited about the tour. He even took the time to tell us part of the set list and asked me how the show was the following day when we were checking out. Good PR man!!

The show was great!! What made it even better is the fact that there were only about 500 people in the small Sunrise Theater because the show was added at the last minute. BUT we jammed, danced and had a GREAT time. The key song that told me this talent arrangement is solid was Remember Me, they rocked on that song!!

This Journey is as good as ever.