Monday, Dec. 13, 2004 | 8:26 a.m.
That's the environment the veteran rock band found itself in Friday night, when Green Valley Ranch's Grand Events Center staged its first ticketed concert.
The new venue technically opened one week earlier, with a country music charity function. But Journey's show was the first traditional, open-to-the-public event for a room that has also booked upcoming performances by Train (Jan. 1) and Smokey Robinson (March 19).
As could be expected, opening night was not without its glitches. Much of the sold-out crowd of about 1,950 got inside after Journey started playing, the result of a slow-moving ID-check line for the 21-and-over event.
Security personnel also seemed unsure what to watch for. Fans in some sections were prevented from snapping photos with their cell phones, while those in other parts of the room did so freely within plain sight of ushers.
One concert-goer using his phone for text messaging was even told "shut it off" by one particularly officious security type.
The venue -- essentially a ballroom with a permanent stage carved into one of its walls -- provided a solid listening experience. Sound, which came through two large speakers at the front of the room, was better for those near the front, but faded noticeably toward the back.
A pair of video screens in the room's front corners aided the experience, particularly for those who sat during portions of Journey's two-hour set and whose view of the stage was blocked by those standing.
Armless cushioned chairs, arranged in three sections across the floor, were comfortable, and organizers deserve credit for providing more leg room than one typically finds at a Southern Nevada concert venue.
Green Valley Ranch also thoughtfully left the main doors to the room open during the show, allowing fans to continue seeing and hearing the band while buying drinks or smoking in the foyer. The room itself was nonsmoking.
As for Journey, the San Francisco-based quintet proved it remains a viable live act, some seven years after the band returned to the road without longtime lead vocalist Steve Perry.
Steve Augeri fills that role these days, and he did an admirable job Friday night. Augeri sang Perry's tunes as faithfully as possible, no easy task given the former Journey frontman's famously high voice and strength in that upper register.
Often, if you closed your eyes, you'd swear Perry was onstage singing, as during opening numbers "Be Good to Yourself" and "Only the Young."
Ballads proved trickier, with Augeri coming up a bit short on the highest sections of "Open Arms" and "Faithfully."
Drummer Deen Castronovo also showed off a surprisingly Perry-esque voice during his turns on lead vocals, providing Augeri with a chance to rest his strained chords a bit.
Not surprisingly, guitarist Neal Schon -- the only founding member to stay with the band throughout its tenure (founding bassist Ross Valory returned after a 10-year absence) -- was the star of the show.
Dressed in all black, and wearing sunglasses, Schon wowed the crowd not just with his familiar solos but also with a Jimi Hendrix-style rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" early in the show.
Schon channeled Hendrix's spirit again later with a scorching version of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," which melded into a bit of "Amazing Grace" and then segued into "Gypsy Queen" by Schon's other famous outfit, Santana.
Journey played most of its greatest hits, "Wheel in the Sky," "Lights," "Don't Stop Believing" and "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" among them, allowing the excited crowd to sing along most of the night.
Ultimately, though, you couldn't help but wonder whether the one-time arena fillers felt entirely at home in a room perhaps better suited for wedding receptions or corporate holiday parties than full-on rock 'n' roll.
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