It has struck me in recent days that it is very unfortunate -- and somewhat misleading -- though I respect their right to continuing playing music and holding nostalgia tours -- sometimes it's not the same without certain personalities that were an unmistakeable part of the original music
David Pack has not been affiliated with Ambrosia for three years now -- he is the voice, the master songwriter -- yet for some reason, it escapes the minds of promotion to tell the peeps that he is NOT touring with Ambrosia anymore
I saw Journey with Steve Augeri two years ago -- this time around they are heavily promoting him as the lead singer of Journey -- that wasn't the case the last time around in promotional materials here
Which leads to the question, was Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath when it was only Tony Iommi during the 80s and 90s -- hell, is Van Halen with Sammy Hagar, Van Halen? -- when I saw The Who, is it The Who when only Roger and Pete remain -- can Paul and Ringo tour and call themselves The Beatles -- and let's not forget our friends at Led Zeppelin who seem to have forgotten John Paul Jones was in their band
Yes, over time, there are mediating factors such as legal squabbles to the extreme of death of band members -- I think it's just good policy to let people know what they are getting into when they buy their tickets
So when Ambrosia goes on this weekend at the Shell -- I won't be there -- it's not the same without David Pack
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I didn't even talk about the worst example -- and that is KISS with Gene and Paul -- they have shown absolutely no hesitation to tour and kick other key members out of the band -- oh, and charge absolutely outrageous prices
If they honestly think, and I think they do, very egomaniacally that somehow it's the NAME -- and not the people -- help us all
And I say help us all because obviously, a lot of bands feel the exact same way -- we can play all the hits, and you can pay all the cash -- and we don't care
yeah....
this whole nostalgia thing... i dunno. i mean.. sure there is great entertainment factor but its kinda like wearing fake oakley sunglasses and fake nike shoes... YOU KNOW ITS NOT THE REAL DEAL!!!! and in the end you feel foolish and cheap.
I recall 2 years ago (or was it three) going to see Chicago at the Shell. We were sitting in the lawn and overheard the two drunk locals fighting over whether the lead singer was Peter Cetera or not. Peter is probably NEVER going back to Chicago. cmon. get real. While the show was entertaining, the only thought in my mind was it wasnt Peter Cetera. It was some cat i've never even heard of in my life.
When we went to Journey it was the same feeling. In a way in my head i was daring Augeri to sing as good as Perry and of course he can't because he isnt Perry. Perry's voice is just that broken in warm sound. Augeri is simply a different echo of his style.
I would have respected Journey a lot more had they actually done a set of songs from Arrival instead of all the old stuff from Perry because in the end, you simply thought: "oh. he sounds like Steve Perry but he ain't. Oh yeah. Those are big shoes to fill. He did a pretty good job." instead of thinking "damn that Steve Augeri guy can stand on his own... those songs were pretty damn good, oh yeah he did the older stuff good too!"
Van Halen is a totally different story. By the time Cherone got into the game all i wanted to do was hear his versions of the songs because to me thats what would be entertainment. Van Halen had somehow become a mockery of themselves with the lead sing shuffle and Eddie saying bullshit like "If gary doesnt work out i'll play the Tuba for the rest of my life."
Cherone was quite possibly the best vocalist they have ever had, unfortunately he couldnt write in the Van Halen style to save his life. Other than his vocal talent, his personality and stage persona was just a wrong match for the band. Michael Jackson and Van Halen? nah.
I would have loved to see Patti Smythe, that wilson chick from Heart or some other female vocalist with Van Halen. That would have kicked ass. Other than that... the only thing that would satisfy me is Diamond Dave.... Now if Dave got Vai and Sheehan on the bill and hit the road, i'd be there in a heartbeat.
Zepplin. I think they'll play again together. They are all money hungry anyways. I think money talks. Pagey and Plant have a big tiff right now and refuse to speak to each other. Pagey has said he will never tour with him again. I dunno. I hear Jason Bonham is looking for some work.