Fort Worth Star-Telegram
A 15-year-old girl’s review of the Steve Miller, Def Leppard and Journey concert
BY VIVIAN ENGEL
AUGUST 13, 2024 12:20 AM
ARLINGTON
Journey started in 1973, Def Leppard began in 1977, Steve Miller is 80 and all three performed on Monday night proving again my teachers are clueless; dinosaurs aren’t extinct.
There is a reason this concert started at 6 p.m.
The performers who all made their names in the 1980s performed at Globe Life Field in Arlington on Monday night in front of a crowd that hit around 30,000. Not bad for a bunch of guys whose peak years ended before this century began.
The show lasted five hours, or long enough that a lot of people had to leave before it was over with Def Leppard’s final song of the night.
Yes, they’re all old. Or older. They haven’t created anything new because they don’t need to. Or maybe they have and no one noticed. All of the people at Globe Life Field waiting in long lines to buy Journey or Def Leppard merch’ didn’t seem to care.
The concert started out with the Steve Miller, who looks exactly like an off-brand “Father of the Bride.”
Both Miller and actor-comedian Steve Martin have white hair, but musically Martin is known for his ability to play the banjo whereas Miller is good with the guitar and the harmonica.
Miller, a Dallas native and noted alum of the University of North Texas, is not a vegetable. He surprisingly was singing fine. Him pulling out a harmonica solo was an added twist, and bonus.
He was guitar heavy, which was a theme for the entire evening. The electric guitar was the instrument of choice here.
Miller played 12 songs, including a few that sound somewhat familiar; “The Joker,” and ... actually, that’s it. He ended with “Jet Airliner,” and the people appeared to be most pleased.
Journey was up next, and they ripped through 16 songs. If you are a fan of this band, and can stomach that former lead singer Steve Perry has been replaced by Arnel Pineda, they gave the audience what it wanted: Journey’s Greatest Hits.
Journey founder and guitarist Neal Schon did his best to steal the night with a handful of guitar solos, but Pineda’s voice and ability to sound exactly like Steve Perry steals this performance.
Pineda did everything possible to increase the energy, but to no avail. People watching from the stands looked like they were at an art museum. Barely any singing along, no dancing or anything. He was out there doing split jumps, running laps around the stage, and everyone else looked ready for a nap.
That was until the end of the set, when they played “Wheel In the Sky,” “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Any Way You Want It.” It’s hard to hear “Don’t Stop Believin’” and not sing along, as everyone at Globe Life did.
It was pretty cool to see how the song carried over from one generation to the next.
Speaking of the people around me; if you couldn’t tell the average age of the crowd just from walking in, the interactions within the crowd showed it.
A couple stood up to watch Def Leopard, and the “dad” behind them was agitated, with his aggressive finger pointing and screaming. He was mandating they “sit down.” At a concert.
While Def Leppard lead Joe Elliott sang “Rocket” a pair of middle age men argued over the right to stand up at a concert. We were this close to one of those uncomfortable “viral video” moments. In his defense, no one else could be bothered to stand.
Def Leopard was impressive; listening to them sing “Animal,” “Foolin” or any of their other hits it’s a wonder they still even have vocal chords after years of singing as high and as loud as they do.
Drummer Rick Allen was also a wonder considering he’s still playing with one arm.
These concerts all seemed to have a similar problem: Hearing it. It was almost impossible to hear any of the lyrics over the blaring instruments. The whole concert seemed to have more guitar than singing. It was a strange comparison, because after a Taylor Swift concert, my feet would hurt. After this concert, my ears hurt.
The venue had a distinctive smell around it, too. I had no clue what it was, but my Dad did. Turns out the marijuana business is still up and running in nursing homes and here in Texas.
Vivian Engel is the daughter of Star-Telegram columnist Mac Engel. They attended this concert on Monday, Aug. 12 at Globe Life Field in Arlington together.
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