![\"Journey_Photo1.\"](\"https:\/\/www.pamper.my\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Journey_Photo1..jpg\")
<\/p>\nDespite the tropical downpour that raged outside Stadium Malawati, it did little to dampen the spirits of the fans that flooded into the stadium that night. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees drew a crowd composed of music lovers that came together to revel in their dynamic, exuberant, and infectious performance style.<\/p>\n
The show opened with an explosive rendition of \u201cSeparate Ways (Worlds Apart)\u201d as the crowd whooped and cheered. Steve Smith\u2019s pounding drum beats supported that recognizable lead riff led by Jonathan Cain on the keys. Together with Ross Valory\u2019s bass notes, Neal Schon\u2019s striking power chords, the song was brought to life with Arnel Pineda\u2019s powerful vocal work.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pineda\u2019s strength as an emotional vocalist was brought to the forefront during \u201cOnly the Young,\u201d a song with a striking story behind it. The band had brought an early recoding to a young fan fighting a battle against cystic fibrosis \u2013 the fan would later pass away. As Pineda crooned to the enraptured audience, they sang along, filling the stadium with the beautiful song of that loss.<\/p>\n
![\"Journey_Photo3.\"](\"https:\/\/www.pamper.my\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Journey_Photo3..jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Neal Schon took the audience all the way to Journey\u2019s home city of San Francisco with the song \u201cLights.\u201d He told of how he wrote it alongside past Journey frontman, Steve Perry, in the city. Schon also took this opportunity to welcome His Majesty, Duli Yang Amat Mulia Raja Di-Hilir Perak, Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain Ibni Almarhum Sultan Idris A\u2019fifullah Shah, to the show.<\/p>\n
![\"Journey_Photo2.\"](\"https:\/\/www.pamper.my\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Journey_Photo2..jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Journey_Photo_5\"](\"https:\/\/www.pamper.my\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Journey_Photo_5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Throughout the concert, Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Ross Valory, and Steve Smith all got the chance to perform guitar, piano, bass, and drum solos respectively, evoking thunderous applause from their fans. Johnathan Cain even took a turn on the guitar during the crowd favourite \u201cAnyway You Want It\u201d and \u201cChain Reaction.\u201d While Journey is considered primarily as a band (and rightfully so), these solos proved, beyond a doubt, the virtuosic skill of each of the band\u2019s individual members.<\/p>\n
When Cain performed the piano solo leading into \u201cOpen Arms,\u201d there was almost pindrop silence across the audience. Fans watched, absolutely captivated, as he tickled the keys, demonstrating a respectful mastery of his craft. The same can be said for Steve Smith who effortlessly performed a stunning drum solo between \u201cLa Do Da\u201d and \u201cWheel in the Sky,\u201d inviting screams of appreciation from the crowd.<\/p>\n
The band was joined on stage for this tour by Travis Thibodaux, a New Orleans native who \u2013 along with Ross Valory \u2013 led \u201cAfter the Fall,\u201d a song with a strong driving force from the band\u2019s Frontiers album. Thibodaux\u2019s punchy vocals carried the song well, keeping the high energy set by Pineda going strong.<\/p>\n
Journey closed their set with Don\u2019t Stop Believin\u2019, an inspiring power ballad that remains possibly their greatest song of all time. The unmistakable opening bars of the song, played by Cain, drew an eruptive response from the audience, a response that only grew louder as Pineda\u2019s soaring vocals belted out the song flush with themes of hope and perseverance. A stunning explosion of confetti was fired into the air at the close of the song, sending the crowd into a frenzy.<\/p>\n
The crowd weren\u2019t ready to let the band go after that triumphant number and demanded them back with chants of \u201cwe want more\u201d to an encore. The band obliged happily, performing a celebratory rendition of \u201cLa Raza Del Sol,\u201d a latin inspired number, followed by \u201cLovin\u2019, Touchin\u2019, Squeezin\u2019\u2019 a cheeky nod to Journey\u2019s younger days. To the crowd\u2019s delight, Pineda descended from the stage during the last moments of the song to greet fans personally.<\/p>\n
Journey\u2019s 44-year-reign as the masters of the stadium rock genre shows no signs of stopping, if the turnout of both the young and the old, the veteran and the novice, the 80s fanatics and the modern music lovers\u2014was anything to go by. The message of their songs, those of love and strength in tough times, remain just as relevant decades after they were written, inviting fans to come together and sing anthems of hope.<\/p>\n