Travis ShinnIn its four-decade career, Journey has had plenty of career milestones, but amazingly, the band has never performed at New York’s legendary Madison Square Garden…until tonight.
Wednesday evening is when Journey and their current touring partner, Santana, will headline a double bill at the iconic venue. Journey bass player and founding member Ross Valory says even he has a hard time believing they’ve never played there.
“I keep wondering if I’ve forgotten a show somewhere. Is there a blank? Is there some missing memory?” he laughs. “But actually, we have never played Madison Square Garden. So this is definitely an auspicious occasion, to be right downtown in the Garden with none other than Carlos Santana. This is gonna be fun!”
The band’s current lead singer, Arnel Pineda, is so excited about the Garden gig that he says he wishes that the band’s former frontman could reunite with Journey for the big milestone.
“As a fan I would have loved for them to play this without me, but with Steve Perry,” Pineda tells ABC Radio, referring to the band’s vocalist from 1977 to 1998. Perry is rumored to be working on new music, but he’s essentially been out of the spotlight, and the music industry, for years.
“I wanna be in front, looking at them it’s like, ‘My God, after 19 or whatever years has passed, they’re together!’ you know?” says Pineda.
The Garden concert is the first of a handful of shows that Journey and Santana are doing together. Guitarist Neal Schon is pulling double duty at the gigs, playing with Journey and with Santana. Schon was a member of Santana during the early 1970s before forming Journey.
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