Journey hits are as timeless as their album cuts are forgettable

Journey’s hits? Timeless. That’s undeniable, if unexplainable. Just a week or so ago, at a charter school’s prom in Henderson, the final song was “Don’t Stop Believin’,” just as it probably was at the prom of the kids’ parents.

Journey’s album cuts? Well, they can’t all be on “Glee,” can they?

The enduring rock band is doing a nine-show run at the Hard Rock Hotel through May 16. With no opening act and nearly two hours to fill, bassist Ross Valory promised the opening night crowd, “We’ll be playing different things at different times to surprise you.”

It was an eye-opening lesson in wearing a shoe on the other foot.

I’m a die-hard fan of a couple of classic-rock bands that play Las Vegas at least once a year, and play essentially the same set every time. It can be frustrating when opening acts or co-bills leave very little room for surprises, or lesser-heard songs.

Journey die-hards can rejoice that opening night included “City of Hope” from 2011’s “Eclipse” album or the “Infinity” closer “Opened the Door.”

But those same tracks might have reminded more casual followers that the group’s catalog doesn’t have enough real magic to fill 110 minutes without the padding of generic arena rockers such as “Change for the Better.”

And speaking of padding, can someone tell guitarist Neal Schon that Journey isn’t a jam band? Or at least that he doesn’t have to do an extended guitar solo in darn near every song? It got to where you expected him to jump out in front of Jonathan Cain’s solo piano segment and start shredding.

And speaking of shredding, the first night’s volume was unusually, near-painfully loud for a classic-rock band playing to a graying audience. Maybe they thought we’re old and deaf already, but Arnel Pineda’s vocals were way down in the dense mix for much of it.

Too bad, because the guy sounds uncannily like Steve Perry, the original singer on most of the hits. And his 47-year-old energy keeps the show in high gear when he leaps up on risers or holds the mic out for us to sing along.

And when the hits rolled around, all was forgiven. Those who cruised the Strip blasting their FM rock stations in the late ’70s, or remember the dawn of MTV in the early ’80s, will find it hard to beat the opening one-two punch of “Any Way You Want It” and “Separate Ways,”or the closing whammy of “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’.”

In between, a roadie bringing a stool for Cain would signal the grandiose piano intro to a power ballad such as “Open Arms” or “Who’s Crying Now.”

The Journey guys — including drummer Deen Castronovo singing like Perry on “Mother, Father” — all come off as nice guys who appreciate this amazing longevity, even if only Schon and Valory go all the way back to the band’s 1975 debut album.

And if you had to sit through “Ritual” or “La Do Da” to get to “Wheel in the Sky” or “Faithfully”? Plenty of time for a beer run to ponder this band’s long and unlikely history.

Read more from Mike Weatherford at bestoflasvegas.com. Contact him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com.