Ann Arbor Art Fairs Discover the newest Pollack or Picasso strolling around beautiful downtown Ann Arbor this week. Begins Wednesday, July 18, and goes through Saturday, July 21. michigandaily.com/arts IiLrr RS MONDAY JULY 16, 200 1 THEY'VE STILL GOT IT Detroit fans respond to Jouney By Gautam Baksl Daily Arts Writer Tuesday July 10, shortly past 9 p.m., a buzzing crowd at DTE Music Theater anxiously awaited the arrival of 80's rock superstars, Journey. Bassist Ross Valory and new drum- mer Deen Cas- tronovo (formerly of Bad English) Journey walked onstage, quickly placing M TE Energy themselves in their Music Theater assigned positions. July 10, 2001 Next, guitar virtu- oso Neil Schon and piano player Jonathan Cain walked on to thun- derous applause of the audience. Finally a fifth, spindly figure came into view, smiling and waving at the audi- ence. For even the most die-hard Jour- ney fans, this was the first glimpse at new lead singer Steve Augeri. All eyes were focused on him, as former front Aerosmith crosses rock, 'sweet emotion' As the band's new Steve, Augeri (center) does his best Perry impression. man Steve Perry was always considered a unique and irreplaceable vocalist. The band wasted little time in getting comfortable before ripping through a version of "Only The Young." From the moment Steve Augeri opened his mouth, the audience fell in love with his voice. Not only was he vibrant and excited to be on-stage, but he also sounded nearly identical to the legendary Perry. Filled almost to capacity, the crowd was con- stantly enthusiastic for the new front man. Several songs into the set, Neil Schon began the sliding riff intro to "Lights." Augeri warned the audience that although Journey loved Detroit, they were now going to "the City by the Bay." With thunderous applause and immedi- ate enthusiasm, the audience embraced the band for one of the highlights of the evening. "Lights" was played superbly, similar to the early-80's studio version, but with continued interest and passion from each band member. Steve Augeri kept Journey's momen- tum going, with constant banter with the audience, taunting of ladies in the front row and dancing and jumping all over the stage. After playing a few softer songs from their 2001 album Arrival through which many in the crowd chose to take a seat, the band came back full- force with the fan-favorite "Don't Stop Believin."' Augeri smiled as he sang a line from the verse: "Just a small-town boy/Born and raised in South Detroit/He took the midnight train going any- where." Augeri then pointed at Neil Schon, a South Detroit native, who ripped through a furious rendition of the repeating intro solo, now famous for most 80s hard-rock fans. The rockin' "Don't Stop Believin" was followed by Journey's famous ballad "Faithfully," well led by Cain on the grand piano. The set-list was largely comprised of songs off Journey's 1988 Greatest Hits release, with the addition of a few early tracks (1978's "Feeling That Way" and "Wheel in the Sky") and newer songs off Arrival. Missing were tracks from 1996's Trial By Fire, includ- ing the Grammy-winning "When You Love a Woman." Overall the band played for just under two hours, although it was apparent the show could have gone on all night. The band seemed vibrant and fu11 of energy throughout the night, and definitely gave Journey fans both young and old a great show. If nothing else, they proved that Journey lives on even with the departure of Steve Perry. By John Pratt For the Daily For the past decade and a half, Steven Tyler and his crew have been able to grab widespread musical appeal by cooking their albums. hard A s iih enough to satisfy DTE Energy rock fans, but Music Theater with enough soft July 13, 2001 tunes to make themselves tasty for radio and MTV time slots. Aerosmith is back on tour this summer to pro- mote their March release of Just Push Play, making a stop last Friday at the DTE Energy Music Theater. The performance, sponsored by Dodge, was outfitted with three massive screens accompanied by roaming cam- eramen, arrays of manned spotlights and a three-foot tall metallic hand that sat on the front of the stage like a hood ornament, complete with finger nails that lit up between songs. Aerosmith kicked off their sold-out show with the new album's first track, "Beyond Beautiful." The band followed with the Just Push Play title-track, with Tyler belting out indecipherable rhymes and Joe Perry's showing off his signa- ture, stair-climbing guitar sound. Throughout the night the group phased in and out between older hits like "Love in An Elevator" and newer ones like "Fly Away." Each section of DTE seemed separat- ed by generation, with newer fans that bought $75 lawn tickets located toward the back, and older crowds populated closer to the stage. Guarded by a wall of sheriffs and security guards, Aerosmith walked through the aisles to the second stage in the middle of the show where they treated the younger audience to a few songs, including the classic rock anthem "Dream On" from Aerosmith's 1973 debut album. The band returned to the first stage where Tyler continued to hit dead-A vocals and Joey Kramer sent supporting drum beats behind songs like "Janie's Got A Gun" Aerosmith also performed some of its more emotional songs like the "Armageddon" soundtrack hit, "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing," and "Cryin"' from 1993's Get a Grip. Reminiscent of when the band teamed up with Run DMC in 1986 in a rap-rock redo of "Walk This Way," KA Rock made a surprise guest perform- ance during "Sweet Emotion," and at one point delighted the crowd when he and Tyler repeatedly rapped the word "Detroit." Kid Rock stuck around to show off his vinyl scratching skills but his ability to steal the show soon faded, especially when Joe Perry later shat- tered his guitar, sending pieces of the wooden instrument flying into the audi- ence. Even though Aerosmith has receiv justified criticism in the past for aban- doning their rock-and-roll roots, they are a remarkable live band. Squashing each decade block and generation barri- er with surprising success, Aerosmith has accomplished the impossible: They survived to middle age, managed to consistently reign popular among youth and perform with reserves of energy and talent that make many young bands today look like screaming, nois rhidre $ Sticking Around this Summer? 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