WHAT. A. SHOW!
Journey’s Arnel Pineda at the Festival d’Été de Québec 2014.
Photo credit: Philippe Ruel
No actually, make that two.
Sunday July 6th, 2014 – I ventured on to the Plains of Abraham to witness performances by The and then . And boy, am I mighty glad I did.
I can’t comment on the warm-up act, Matthew Curry, as I was in the crowd in the surrounding streets waiting to get in.
Such was the anticipation of what was to come, the roads leading up to the venue were swarming with festival wristband-wearing music lovers.
The 70,000 to 80,000-strong crowd were in jubilant mood. The amount of ‘special’ cigarettes being puffed on, with their accompanying pungent aroma may well have helped the ambiance, but trust me, they absolutely were not needed.
The Steve Miller Band kicked things off (for me anyway) and ran through their repertoire of crowd-pleasing tunes. All the favourites were present and correct, and Mr Miller himself engaged with us all whenever he could. Joker, smoker, midnight toker – they were all there in one form or another.
To their credit, the Steve Miller Band came on early and played for well over an hour. They even fitted in a couple of encores. They certainly didn’t disappoint. Quite the opposite in fact.
And then, abra-abra-cadabra, they were gone. We had a short wait of around thirty minutes or so for the band next up. The team of roadies worked furiously to get the stage set up for what was to come.
And WOW. Just WOW. JOURNEY. SIMPLY STUNNING.
From the moment they came on stage, the five-piece, currently consisting of guitar-god Neal Schon, Ross Valory, Jonathan Cain, Deen Castonove, and lead singer Arnel Pineda had the place rocking.
Any way you want it, that’s the way you need it, any way you want it – on last night’s showing, Journey, as far as we’re concerned here in Quebec, we’re all yours. You can have it any way you damn well like it!
Arnel Pineda was a non-stop, effervescent bundle of joyous energy.
They have an absolute gem on lead vocals and should hang on to this guy for as long as they can.
He spent practically the whole of the ninety-minute set bouncing around the stage, jumping, getting as close to the crowd as he could, and generally giving the crowd what they wanted.
The masterstroke, for me, was when he took a Quebec flag offered to him by someone in the front row (mid-song and without missing a note) draped himself in it, and continued on. That mischievous smile – it’d melt even the sternest of school mistresses. This guy just kept going and going, and with it drove the band on.
We were treated to a ton of hits from all of their albums, and saving the best until right near the end delighted a buzzing, happy crowd to ‘Don’t Stop Believin’.
Journey, we won’t stop believing. You can count on that.
Steve Miller Band at the Festival d’Été de Québec 2014.
Photo credit: Philippe Ruel
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These shows form part of the 2014 Festival d’Éte de Québec.
This years artists include: Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, The Killers, Sound Garden, Marillion, Steve Miller Band, Journey, Blondie, Billy Joel, and Bryan Adams.
10 days of music shows in 10 venues around Quebec City.
1,000 artists and 300 shows – all for the price of one festival pass for around $70.
If you’re a fan of great music, there’s not a better deal to be had on the planet.
If there is, tell us, as we’d really like to know.
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