Journey BMO Harris Show Features Core Members of the Band

When Journey comes to the BMO Harris Bradley Center in November, it will be without Steve Perry. Perry has long since left the band, and the three remaining members have put their faith in Arnel Pineda. How many key members of a band have to remain in order for fans to respect their efforts to continue working under their original name? Which members, as in high or low profile, will still move on and hope to draw an audience?  In the case of Journey, it seems that three core members are what is needed for that band to go on.  Who remains in Journey are certainly the "core" members. Ross Valory and Neal Schon are truly the last original members still playing the hits. Jonathan Cain is also part of the current lineup, but cannot be labeled an "original" memeber, even though he was part of the band for the past 31 years. (Thanks to all those who commented on how much I messed up on the lineup, past and present.) 
It’s been done before. A very famous band loses a drummer, keyboard, or bass player. The core (or possibly the most popular members) of the band remain, so they move on with new blood. In some cases, very few fans complain, and the band manages to continue to do great things. In other cases, such as Van Halen, the fans divide into two groups. As hard as it was to see The Who reunite, could anyone fault them for the success that they achieved after picking themselves up and moving on? It is one thing to try to revive Queen without Freddie Mercury, but let’s face it, some bands will have no problems finding success after certain members are out. (This is coming from a drummer, mind you.)

Steve Perry Joins Journey

It must be noted that Journey didn’t start out with Steve Perry as their vocalist. In the early years, the band was a hard rock outfit that Greg Rolie led on vocals and keyboards. Perry was pretty much forced upon the band by their manager, but their success would not have come without him. Perry and Neal Schoen wrote the song titled Patiently during what was to be a weekend where the band could get to know their new singer. A bond was formed, and the band never looked back. Yes, the core members were very tight. Perry was an outsider. Still, it worked.
What are fans to make of the Journey lineup now? Take a moment to listen to Arnel Pineda sing one of their most famous songs. Can you tell the difference? I would say that it’s almost a mirror copy of Perry’s style. Still, it’s not the same. You just can’t replace the face, and voice of a band. For those of you who have no problem closing your eyes and pretending, the new lineup will probably just do fine for you. I’m not a Journey fan, but I have to stand behind Perry on this one. This is not Journey. When all that you have are the original guitar and bass player (and Cain on keys,) you basically what some would call a tribute band. It’s fitting that Arnel Pineda was busy fronting tribute acts when he was tapped to play the role of Steve Perry.

Van Halen tour dates revised

From Mercury News - "A posting at www.van-halen.com, the band's official Web site, says the band is calling off shows so the guitarist "can continue medical tests to define a course of treatment." It also states that "rescheduled dates will be announced shortly." No, it's not about the partying, it's about being healthy. Van Halen wants to be out on the road, in front of their fans. They just need to give Eddie some time to heal. The Bradley Center will be shaking soon enough. Give Van Halen time and they will come to Milwaukee.

Spring shows or sports?

It's hard to think about going to a show this summer. It's hard to think that the weather will be warm enough to hang out along the Milwaukee River, after seeing a show at The Riverside Theater. With the snow piled high, it's hard to think that the Milwaukee Brewers will be playing baseball with the roof wide open. We made it to the top four most snowy winters in Milwaukee history. The snow kept me out of the clubs for the past two weeks, save for one benefit show in Racine. Spring will explode into form, seeing that March is 10 days in and the winter has an iron grip. Lastly, it looks like Van Halen may be rescheduled. It's not official, but that is the rumor.

Van Halen in the spring

I'm still waiting for the spring to come to Milwaukee. Perhaps when it finally does warm up, we won't even remember how crappy this winter was. I suppose that by the time Van Halen comes to the Bradley Center, the snow will be long gone. I will be sitting in the upper level for that show. I have to see Van Halen one time in my life. Especially since I never liked Sammy. David Lee Roth is the man. It's not that Van Halen Tickets were hard to come by. I just want to sit in the upper level to watch the entire scene. It's going to be better than watching the Milwaukee Bucks

play another sloppy game. Put that Bradley Center to good use.

Slowing Down for the holidays

I must admit that I have been busy watching the Green Bay Packers. More so than keeping on top of the Wisconsin music scene. We have seen a lull in the concert announcements too. Looking forward, we have a Billy Joel Milwaukee show, Van Halen, Trans Siberian Orchestra and more. 2008 in Milwaukee is shaping up nicely.

WWVHD What Would Van Halen Do?

Van Halen's last tour stop is Milwaukee Wisconsin. Their tour wraps up on April 7th at The Bradley Center. Now, does the band pull out all the stops for their last show? Does Van Halen tick off the days on the tour calendar, look at Milwaukee, and think screw it, I'm done. This all comes about because the Van Halen tour was extended. I suspect that the band had planned to extend this tour based on ticket sales. Sales were good, so the band added dates, and Milwaukee was one of them. If you have nothing left to give, why not leave everything on the Bradley Center stage. I'm going to get an upper level ticket and watch the spectacle.

Van Halen coming to Milwaukee in April 2008

Van Halen, is coming to the Bradley Center on April 7th, 2008. You could see that they were booking tour dates to extend this current foray. I think that this show will be good for them. Some dates on their current tour weren't spectacular as far as ticket sales. Milwaukee is an old-fashioned rock and roll town. I'll bet it's close to a sell out show for Van Halen. I know that they could sell enough Milwaukee Theater tickets, but they play in the cavernous BC. I haven't looked at any grainy, shaky camera, cell phone video's on Youtube, featuring the aged Van Halen. I would rather see them live, and make my judgements afterword. This great photo came courtesy of Anandamide, the blog.

Rumors, tours, and folklore

Grapevine Milwaukee: Rumors of possible tours featuring Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, and Van Halen all float by. If Bruce Springsteen came to Milwaukee, it would have to be a Bradley Center show. Same rule applies for Metallica and Van Halen. Where else but the Bradley Center for those headliners? Alas, these are just rumors. None of the bands listed here have committed to anything. Heck, Metallica isn't even on tour. We shall see.

Hey Van Halen, you are making me nervous!

WTF! Will Van Halen please come to Milwaukee! I see open dates when they get close to Wisconsin, so my fingers are crossed. I guess that they would play the Bradley Center if they wised up and actually booked a Milwaukee show. I will even look past the fact that Wolfgang will be on bass, just book the Milwaukee Van Halen show please. Are you listening Van Halen? Even an old punk rock drummer like me has to give the props to Van Halen