Journey & Foreigner & Styx - Saturday 4th June 2011, Wembley Arena, London

Having seen Journey at the Download Festival in 2009 I was suitably impressed (not just because they played 'that' song) to check them out if they played againg. Therefore when they announced a tour with very special guests Foreigner and Styx, I decided to go. On paper this is an AOR fans wet dream, the likes of which you would never think that this package would make its way over to the UK. And so it did to Wembley Arena on a hot Saturday evening. Never a great venue for acoustics or seeing the band if you are right at the back but all 3 bands put on a great show. Despite being high up near the back (hence no photo's) I had a great view of the stage.
First up at exactly 7pm was Styx. Now I must admit that the only song I new by them was the soppy 'Babe'. Fortunately they did not play it, instead playing their rockier numbers such as 'Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)', 'Come Sail Away' and 'Miss America'. This may have been due to the twin guitarists James 'JY' Young and Tommy Shaw. I was very impressed and I'm glad I caught all of their set especially as I've never seen a keyboard which spins around at 360 degrees (as ably demonstrated by Lawrence Gowan)!
Next up were Foreigner who played a 1 hour greatest hits set. If I thought Styx were good, Foreigner were even better. Guitarist Mick Jones is the only sole survivor from the original lineup and his guitar playing is superb as ever. Kelly Hansen is lead vocalist these days. not only does he possess a great voice but has a great presence as well. With most of the stage, ramps and visuals on a background video screen at their disposal they certainly put on a fantastic show. Starting off with 'Double Vision', then followed by 'Head Games' this could have been the set picked by their fans. We then had 'Cold as Ice', 'Urgent' and the mandatory ballad 'I Want To Know What Love Is'. By the time they played an encore of 'Juke Box Hero' it felt like Foreigner were the headliners. Magical!
What an act to follow. Were Journey up to it? Sadly in my opinion they were not. Don't get me wrong they were good but maybe their set was a bit too long or I'd seen them before, but for me they lacked a bit of sparkle. However try telling that to 90% of the sold out crowd at Wembley who clearly enjoyed their set. Of course there seems to been a resurgence for Journey due to 'Don't stop Believin' being used on Glee. Starting off with 'Separate Ways' they played an 18 song set ending with 'Lovin',Touchin',Squeezin' to an ecstatic audience. These day's it is Arnel Pineda who is the singer and boy is he good. Not only has he a good set of pipes but a great command of the stage. However he did leave Dean Castronovo to perform lead vocals on 'Mother,Father'. Of course they played 'Don't stop Believin', 'Faithfully' and 'Any Way You Want It'.
Certainly this package was value for money However unlike England (who earlier drew with Switzerland at the Stadium next door), Foreigner were the winners on the night.