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Brownman

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Arnel Pineda rouses hometown crowd in Journey show
« on: March 16, 2009, 07:51:47 AM »
By Pocholo Concepcion
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:09:00 03/16/2009

Close this MANILA, Philippines—Arnel Pineda does not have the smoldering sexuality of a Jim Morrison or the wild antics of a Mick Jagger onstage.



FILIPINO vocalist Arnel Pineda performs with lead guitarist Neal Schon in Journey’s concert.

But on Saturday night, he wore leather pants and pranced like a true rock star as he led Journey in a rousing performance before an audience of 25,000 at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) open-air grounds in Pasay City.

The concert, part of the Asian leg of the American pop-rock band’s current world tour, opened last week in three cities in Japan.

After Manila, it rolls into Macau, China, on March 20, and proceeds with five dates in Hawaii starting March 25, before returning with an extended itinerary in the United States in May.

Pineda—who had told the media that his only problem was missing his family in Quezon City while on the road with Journey in the United States and Europe for seven months last year—was in high spirits at the MOA show.

He gladly cheered up the hometown crowd, which included a number of Caucasians and other racial colors.

The 41-year-old native of Sampaloc, Manila, who began singing professionally at 15 and worked as a musician in Hong Kong for many years, was a dynamic presence onstage.

He danced, twisted his body, sprinted and even leapt in mid-air—in between singing—without skipping a beat.

The band sounded great as well. Drummer Deen Castronovo, who provided excellent rhythm along with bassist Ross Valory, sang lead vocals in several numbers. Jonathan Cain multitasked—playing the guitar, blues harp and piano with enviable ease.

Revelation

But Neal Schon was relentless in his lead guitar heroics. He kept his axe screaming with joy and moaning with pain throughout the evening, acting as a perfect counterpoint to Pineda’s soaring vocals.

Schon has wonderfully maintained his widely recognized skills since being recruited by Latin rock superstar Carlos Santana’s group at age 17. (He reportedly got an offer to join guitar god Eric Clapton’s early ’70s group, Derek and the Dominos, but Schon chose Santana because the group called first.)

The MOA concert was a mixture of classic and new Journey material. It opened with “Never Walk Away,” an upbeat track off the group’s latest release, the double album “Revelation,” which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard charts in June last year and sold a million copies six months later.

This was followed by “Only the Young” from 1983’s “Frontiers” album, prompting baby boomers in the audience to sing along. A middle-aged Filipino woman was spotted mouthing every line of most of the ’80s songs, while couples around her hugged and swayed to the music.

Another tune, “Lights,” released only as a single in 1978, delighted the crowd.

Two cuts from “Revelation” seemed to have a special meaning for most of Journey’s members.

In a sense, the ballad “After all these Years” and the fast-paced “Change for the Better” could describe the trials and tribulations the band had gone through—including a 10-year hiatus and losing Steve Perry as lead singer in 1997, which prompted a frustrating search for a replacement, until Schon found Pineda on YouTube in 2007.

High notes

While comparisons with Perry’s clean, high tenor was inevitable, Pineda’s inspired performance at MOA revealed his own distinct vocal quality, which is a little rough but nevertheless awesome in its ability to reach the high notes.

When Cain and Schon played an introspective, bluesy intro to Journey’s most famous power ballad, “Open Arms,” Pineda sang with an emotion so effusive that it sent a powerful vibe of love and understanding that seemed to embrace the crowd.

By the time “Separate Ways,” “Faithfully,” “Don’t Stop Believing” and “Any Way You Want It”—all big hits during Journey’s peak years in the ’80s—came, the crowd was in worship mode.

If the band was not exactly a favorite of critics because its songs tended to hew close to the pop-hook formula, the audience, which cut across varying age levels and social classes, couldn’t care less. They wanted to have a good time and did.

Beyond his wildest dreams

If there was a song that Pineda could best identify with, it was “Wildest Dream.”

At one point during the gig, he referred to his newfound fame as “the most precious moment of my life,” and later thanked the band “for trusting me with their songs.”

And if he gets to keep his job as Journey’s front man and try his hand writing songs in the next few years, that would surpass even his wildest dreams.

Standing onstage, his head bowed and eyes closed, Pineda embodied all the hopes and aspirations of his countrymen.

As his voice filled the concert venue with another soulful melody, the audience’s faces lit up with pride.
 

 



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grazie7y

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Re: Arnel Pineda rouses hometown crowd in Journey show
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2009, 12:24:06 PM »
Boyet, lingaw jud mo kaayo ha?  Asa na beh inyong mga hulagway!

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Brownman

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Re: Arnel Pineda rouses hometown crowd in Journey show
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2009, 05:15:46 PM »
Ay sha Grace, belated Happy birthday una sorry wa jud ko ka greet nimo
pirting lingawa jud kaso lang ala mi pics ang hirap kay standing lang kami sa
bronze medyo may kalayuan ang advantage lang may giant screen sa tunga
sa concert hall, super daghan kaayo ang tawo.

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hofelina

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Re: Arnel Pineda rouses hometown crowd in Journey show
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2009, 06:20:27 PM »
I have heared him sang jazz pieces in Hongkong before he joined the group in the USA, magaling talaga si Pineda.

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Brownman

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Re: Arnel Pineda rouses hometown crowd in Journey show
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2009, 06:35:50 PM »
As broadcast before the concert mag release ug dvd ang Journey yung concert nila sa pinas.


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