Kevin Talks About the Toto and Journey Concert
March 10th, 2024 was a great day to hear some tunes from the past from 2 bands that have been around for quite some time. First Toto and then Journey.
It started off with “Dancin’ Bob”, a local character who has a unique style about him. He was performing outside the Sask Tel Place before the gates opened wearing only shorts and sandals! He’s kind of a street person who likes to be in front of people and show them a good time. He was even seen inside later on, dancing for the crowd on the floor and being cheered on by everyone.
And then at 7:30 sharp, the house lights went down, and Toto took the stage for the next hour. Lead guitarist/frontman and founding member, Steve Lukather still has the moves as they played some of their biggest hits. 2nd song into their set was their first big hit “Hold the Line”, which started off with a signature keyboard start that the crowd recognized immediately and cheered wildly. “Rosanna” had the crowd singing along and enjoying the nostalgia. They ended off by playing “Africa” which gave them a standing ovation to the almost sell-out crows of approx 12,500 screaming fans.
Toto has been around since 1977 and formed in Los Angeles. Steve is only original member left and at 66 years of age, can still rock and roll! He also hand picked the current line-up of musicians they performed like the seasoned veterans they are.
8:30 to 8:55 was taken over by the roadies who took down Toto’s equipment and set up for the headliner, Journey. Again, the house lights went down and the crowd went crazy when Neal Schon and the rest of the band walked out on stage. They began playing and when the Philippine lead vocalist Arnel Pineda came out, the noise was deafening! Since Arnel’s hiring 16 years ago, they have enjoyed a renewed fan base of Filipinos all over the world. Arnel was “discovered” by Neal Schon from a YouTube video of things, and the rest as they say, is history. He is the 6th lead singer in Journeys history.
Keyboard player and guitarist Jonathan Cain is the 2nd longest serving member after Neal. Drummer/vocalist Dean Castronovo played strong and sang strong and kept the beat going and never making a mistake. Arnel was undoubtedly the most energetic singer I have ever seen in all my concert going years. He was a madman running and jumping and singing all night and he handled his vocal duties like the pro he is. There were some songs where if you closed your eyes, you would think it was Steve Perry singing!
Steve Lukather of Toto and John Cain of Journey have been friends and “brothers” for many many years, even though they play in different bands. So long that Steve’s son is marrying John’s daughter!
Overall, it was a great show and Journey rocked the joint for just under 2 hours! They played all their big hits and the crowd loved every second of the concert. From the beginning to the end, it was an electric and high voltage show. The production was awesome, and the bands played tight, something season professionals do.
I would give this concert a 10 out of 10.
By Kevin Martin
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