The Journey Continues

by Ben Hymowitz

On February 22, Journey set out on their tour with TOTO in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was Journey’s first full tour since the beginning of the pandemic, although they did play a few concerts last summer, one of which was a headlining performance at Lollapalooza. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them twice on the first leg of the tour, once in Belmont Park, New York on February 25 and then in Hershey, Pennsylvania on March 4.

TOTO had someone open for them named “TJ the DJ”. He played 80’s rock hits like “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith and other famous rock songs to get the house pumped for TOTO. At first I was skeptical about it because of its unorthodox style for rock concerts but it kind of worked. After TJ’s 10 minute set, the road crew packed up his stuff and made the final adjustments for TOTO.

Then, TOTO explosively opened with a dazzling performance of “Till the End” which, with the addition of the groove oriented drum licks, made the song even more impactful as an opener. At the Hershey show, they opened with a relatively new song called “Orphan”. They then went on to play “Hold The Line” which was also very well expressed musically. TOTO’s lineup includes musicians from various genres including Robert Searight, who is the drummer for Snoop Dogg, and Dominique Taplin, who was the keyboardist for Prince. Like Journey, this is TOTO’s first full tour in two years, but you’d never know it. TOTO closed with an extended version of their most popular hit, “Africa”. It started with the synthesizers mocking the sound of rain and then going into the first rhythm of the song that everyone can recall. They then took a bow and exited the stage.

Next, there was a 20 minute changeover for Journey, which included the dropping of the TOTO backdrop, the movement and setup of the drumset and piano, final tunings by Journey drum tech Steve Toomey, and a quick final check of the stage. Journey started promptly at 9:06 with a thunderous guitar note from Journey lead guitarist Neal Schon followed by a walk over to drummer Deen Castronovo’s drum riser to coordinate when to start the intro to the song. The band then flawlessly transitioned into “Only The Young”, which was a change from their usual opener of “Separate Ways”. The band played their most popular hit “Don’t Stop Believin’” as the third song in their set, which is unusual but got the crowd moving. Longtime vocalist Arnel Pineda, who has been with the band for 15 years, did an outstanding job singing from beginning to end and at the same time, keeping the crowd entertained with his “Spider-Man-esque” leaps off the drum riser.

Journey has brought back drummer Deen Castronovo after seven years. Castronovo is the longest serving drummer to date, being in the band for about 19 years. He is back and happier than ever according to a Facebook post. Castronovo is not only a drummer but a vocalist, singing lead on songs like “Mother Father” and occasionally “Still They Ride”. He sings backing vocals on every song as well. The addition of Castronovo’s powerhouse drum style and ability to drive the band makes the show one of a kind.

Towards the end of their set, they played a super extended version of “Wheel in the Sky” which included a guitar riff from guitarist Neal Schon’s album with Sammy Hagar. The break in the song then went into the chorus one last time. The band then finished with “Separate Ways”, “Be Good To Yourself”, and “Any Way You Want It.” This was by far the best Journey show I’ve ever attended. Everyone in the band looked happy, energized, and well rested. The band seemed extremely focused which made the show that much better.