Journey members show Arnel off to Pinoys

Journey is one of the great rock bands of all time. It has now been making hits for 35 years. Among these are big Pinoy favorites like Open Arms, Faithfully, Any Way You Want It, Still They Ride and because of the clever way it was used in the TV series Glee, that now most ubiquitous anthem, Don’t Stop Believing, which in case you do not know is a Journey original. Therefore a Journey visit is one that not many of us are likely to miss. And that was just what 30,000 of us did on March 14 last year. We trooped to the Mall of Asia to watch Journey in a special one-night performance. It was quite an evening that those who missed have now been given the chance to enjoy through the DVD release Journey Live In Manila.

The show was first rate. The music from the band was just incredible. Each member of Journey is a star in his own right. The hits were all there and more. They also did songs from the new album, Revelation, that by then had already sold over 800,000 copies thanks to the superb single release, After All These Years. To say everything was great though was merely an understatement. It was in truth, a show for Pinoys to be euphoric about. Because there on stage, looking and sounding like the rock star that he has become, was our very own Arnel Pineda. Journey was not only here to perform their songs for us. Jonathan Cain, Neal Schon, Ross Valory and Deen Castronovo were here specifically to introduce Pineda as their new member.

Everyone is now familiar with the story. Journey was in search of a new lead singer to replace Steve Augeri who left in 2006. It was late in 2007 when Schon came upon the Filipino band Zoo on the Net among those YouTube uploads. Pineda was the vocalist and he could really do rock songs very well, including the hits of Journey. Steps were soon underway to bring Pineda to the US for a full audition. And a few months later Arnel officially became a member of Journey. Not only that, being accepted by the band meant joining them in rerecording the Journey hits. That meant that Arnel will now have his own version of songs he had been singing all these years. But best of all, the greatest hits collection will be released together with a CD of all new Journey compositions. The result was Revelation that gave Arnel his first Journey hit with After All These Years.

I am sure you have heard of the stories or experienced it yourself while watching Arnel with Journey last year. This is about how emotional Filipinos get while watching a Journey show with Arnel, that they would be teary eyed or even choked with sobs throughout. I see that as pride, overwhelming pride. This wisp of a rocker is after all a Filipino who honed his art in the small, smoky joints around us where a bottle of beer is all you have to pay for a night of songs. It is also admiration for the excellent job he is doing. Maipagmamalaki mo siyang talaga. Best of all it is also joy about finding someone, whom Heaven smiled upon and made his dream come true many times over what he ever imagined. Arnel was orphaned and roaming the streets homeless at the age of 13. There were literally many times when he sang for his supper. But look at him now.

I guess that the guys of Journey are also aware of the roles they played in this Cinderella story and of how in return they were given a new talented interpreter of their songs. That is why they decided to come here and personally show Arnel off to the Filipinos. That must also be why they decided to shoot the video here. After all, they could have done it in Holland where they had an audience of 35,000. But Manila it was and, good news, it is now available in the market.

Shot in RED technology, which means that it has really sharp, dynamic images and fantastic sound, Journey Live In Manila is one of the best concert videos I have ever seen. It is two hours of music that bodes well for Journey’s future. I see this band making more hits in the years to come. And best of all the sight of the triumphant Arnel really warms the heart.