Download Festival 2009
Friday 12th to Sunday 14th June 2009Donington Park, Leics, England MAP
£135 weekend, £65 any day, camping is an extra £25
Last updated: Thu 11th Jun 2009
For a band with a long illustrious history, Journey have never been part of the Donington experience. At first glance, you wonder how their melodic rock will fit in the heavier orientated crowd. There are certainly no end of Journey fans in the crowd given the amount of T- shirts I've seen around site.
From the opening bars of 'Separate Ways' it was clear that the worries were unfounded. Forget the power ballads, Journey know how to rock. Relative newcomer, Arnel Pineda adds another dimension to the band. Not only is his voice the closest the band have found yet to original leading light Steve Perry, but his youthful energy on the stage adds a more visual component to the band. It leaves the elder statesmen of Neal Schon, Ross Valory and Jonathan Cain to get on with what they do best, and provide exceptional musicianship. To them, finding Pineda on You Tube must have been like finding a Rolex in McDonalds Happy Meal.
Pineda's energy was almost matched by Cain hopping from keyboard to guitar like a hyperactive toddler.
The performances of these songs were amazing today. Pineda has already made 'Faithfully' his own. This was the song Schon saw him singing on You Tube that alerted him to Pinedas talents originally. He performed it today as if it had been written for him. Even with a voice as powerful as Pinedas, the crowd could be heard singing every word.
Journey proved that melodic rock does have a place at Donington so Don't Stop Believing, Andy Copping hasn't and that's who we have to thank for bringing us the classic rock back... Thank you Sir!
review by: Julie Weston
photos by: Luke Seagrave
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