by Michael McCarthy
There aren’t many rock bands whose songs have managed to survive changing radio formats, changing lineups, changing generations and even changing ways of listening to music quite like Journey. More than five decades after the band formed, songs like “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Faithfully,” “Any Way You Want It,” “Lights” and so many other hits remain fixtures of classic-rock radio, streaming playlists, movies, television and sports arenas.
Journey will bring that catalog to TD Garden in Boston on November 10 as part of the fall leg of their Final Frontier Tour. Billed as “An Evening With Journey,” the tour is designed as a career-spanning celebration of the band’s history, with the current lineup featuring Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Arnel Pineda, Deen Castronovo, Jason Derlatka and Todd Jensen. And it truly is an evening with Journey — the opening-night set ran about two hours and 15 minutes.
The tour arrives at an interesting point in Journey’s history. What began in 1973 has now stretched across multiple generations of listeners, and the band’s second major commercial life — following Arnel Pineda’s arrival after Neal Schon discovered him through YouTube — has itself now lasted nearly two decades, giving Pineda the longest continuous tenure of any singer who’s ever fronted Journey.
Schon has said the crowds on the tour have made the shows feel especially powerful, while Cain has emphasized the way the songs continue to connect across generations. That enduring appeal is probably the real story here. Journey are no longer simply a band from a particular era; for many listeners, these songs have become a timeless part of the broader language of American pop culture.
Journey performs at TD Garden in Boston on Tuesday, November 10. The Final Frontier Tour continues through November 28, concluding with a hometown show at Chase Center in San Francisco.
5 UNDERRATED GEMS I’D LIKE TO HEAR LIVE IN BOSTON:
Journey obviously has enough hits to fill an entire evening without digging very deeply into its catalog, but part of the fun of an “Evening With Journey” is hoping the band will pull out a few songs you don’t hear on classic-rock radio every day. Here are five I’d especially love to hear at TD Garden.
1. “AFTER ALL THESE YEARS”
I’m a big fan of ballads. Anyone who follows this website has long since figured that out. “After All These Years” is my favorite post-Steve Perry ballad. It comes from 2008’s Revelation, Arnel Pineda’s first Journey album. I haven’t peeked at the most recent set lists so I don’t know if Journey has been doing it live on this tour but if they haven’t been, they really should. It’s a gorgeous ballad that I honestly think is on par with “Open Arms” and “I’ll Be Alright Without You.” It was also a relatively successful single and I would imagine that anyone familiar with it would be hoping to hear it live.
2. “TURN DOWN THE WORLD TONIGHT”
If you’re familiar with Journey’s material from the last two decades, you’re probably thinking, “another ballad from Revelation already?” But I think ballads have always been one of the things Journey does better than any of their contemporaries and I’m a ballad junkie like I said so I can’t help but love this breath-taking ballad, which I think features one of Arnel’s strongest performances on any Journey song. And as with “After All These Years,” “Turn Down The World Tonight” has especially touching lyrics that never fail to tug at my heartstrings.
3. “NEVER TOO LATE”
“Never Too Late” is the final song on Journey’s 2005 album Generations. Steve Augeri was Journey’s lead singer at the time, but the band’s longtime drummer Deen Castronovo actually sang lead vocals on it and I know he’s been singing lead vocals on a few songs at their recent shows so I’m really hoping they’ll do this ridiculously catchy rocker, which has been one of my favorite Journey songs for years now.
4. “TOGETHER WE RUN”
The opening song from 2022’s Freedom album, “Together We Run,” is one of those magnetic Journey songs that you hear once and immediately fall in love with. From the gorgeous keyboards to the infectious guitar hooks to Pineda’s powerful vocals, everything about this gem is perfect and I have a feeling that it would be even better live.
5. “DON’T GIVE UP ON US”
Even though I’m already including “Together We Run” from Freedom, I also have to include the second song from that excellent album, “Don’t Give Up On Us.” Interestingly, I always think I’m listening to “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” whenever this song come on. I don’t know if that was deliberate or if they accidentally borrowed from themselves but in any case it’s gorgeous song with a contagious chorus and I’m really hoping to hear it in Boston.
The remaining Final Frontier tour dates:
Oct 19 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Oct 21 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Oct 22 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
Oct 24 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
Oct 25 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
Oct 28 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
Oct 29 – Providence, RI – Amica Mutual Pavilion
Nov 2 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Nov 4 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
Nov 6 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza
Nov 7 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Nov 10 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Nov 12 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena
Nov 14 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Nov 16 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
Nov 18 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Nov 20 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
Nov 22 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Nov 24 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
Nov 27 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
Nov 28 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center
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