San Jose, CA
Event Center
December 16th, 1998

Matt Liffengren:

Thought I would drop my $.02 worth on the latest Journey concert. I have seen Journey 2 times prior, once in 1979 with Gregg Rolie in the band and again in 1982. Both times were great. Now, i decided to go with as much of an open mind as possible (as far as the new lead singer is concerned). The new Steve sounded great but it wasn't Perry. They started off with Separate Ways and the band was doing pretty decent and i started thinking to myself "these guys better release a new album soon with the new lead singer, or they will just be a nostalga act". Once they got to "Remember Me" (which does feature S.A.) they really started gelling. This guy does have an awesome voice and a few times I just closed my eyes and it sounded like SP.

I'll tell you what, if you haven't gone, you need to see this show. For people who have never seen Journey before, you won't miss Perry at ALL. For people who based Journey around Perry you will still enjoy yourself but it's not the same. The feels a little different, but lets give the new Steve a shot and see what happens, heck, Kansas changed singers and were successful, Van Halen did it twice (were successful once), AC/DC did it and got away with it, Bad Company pulled it off as well.

What will make or break these guys will be the new album. They need some new material so that Augeri can step up and show these guys they are a new Journey.

Welcome back Journey!

Tim Ostoja:

Only have one thing to say, WOW! Was lucky enough to be invited to the private performance the band gave back in June for family & friends, (thank you Neil)! What a difference 10 weeks makes. The band sounded good back then, although Steve Augeri was a bit nervous on stage. But 10 weeks later, what a difference. The San Jose show could have been their best yet. They rocked for 2 1/2 hours straight, non stop. I've seen Journey's every Bay Area concert since the mid 70's & I'll tell you one thing, Neil Shon was never better. That man is in a class by himself, and he proved it Wednesday night. I was center stage, 5th row, and consider myself very fortunate to be that close, to, what should be, a future rock & roll hall of famer. Simply awesone! As for the rest of the band, they were in prime form. From Ross Valerie's facial expressions to Steve Augeri's, from the heart vocals, they didn't miss a beat. If you get a chance to see Journey in the next few weeks, don't blow the chance. You won't regret it. Oh yea, one more thing. Steve who?

Liz Palmer:

What a night! I'd never seen Journey in concert before this, and it was -such- a treat. I was a bit disappointed when I heard that Steve Perry had left the band, but that all melted away with the first note I heard Steve Augeri belt out. The guy is just amazing. Neil Schon did an interview with the local radio station singing Augeri's praises, and he lived up to it, big time. We had great seats, 14th row back on the left side, right in front of Jonathan and Ross, and the mix was perfect. I was just totally blown away, I knew I liked Journey before, but now I'm definitely a lifetime fan--in fact, they play in San Francisco a bit later this month, and we've already made plans to go. Neil was red hot, Ross looked like he was having the time of his life, and what can I say about Dean--the man is Drum God, that's all. During their 'Fillmore Boogie' all I could do was sit there with my mouth wide open. The drum kit was shaking, he was hitting so hard! 'Remember Me' was a very, very pleasant surprise, and the bluesy intro to 'Wheel In the Sky' was perfect. We sat at the back for the last number (the mix was much better up front, surprisingly enough), and a friend of mine remarked that, had the folks back there not known about Augeri, they probably wouldn't have known the difference--but I'm not so sure. Just something about him, and his charisma, will do wonderful things for the band, I'm just sure. I can't wait for San Francisco!