I Can't Get 'Born This Way' Out Of My Head!

Yes, I have hopped on the Lady Gaga bandwagon.  At first, I was just a fan of two songs from her first studio album, The Fame, which were 'Poker Face' and 'Bad Romance'.  Then, I became more of a fan when, other little obsession, 'Glee' had a Lady Gaga dedicated episode.  Between the songs and the 'Glee' episode, I had seen performances here and there on awards shows, 'So You Think You Can Dance', etc, but it really wasn't until the early part of this summer, when HBO released her concert movie, The Monster Ball Tour, that I called myself a fan... yet still not enough to even become a little obsessive fan (or in Lady Gaga terminology, a little monster).  It really wasn't until the very end of the concert, during the end credits when Lady Gaga performed an a Capella version of 'Born This Way' with three of her back-up singers did I really appreciate Miss Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanota's raw and astounding talent.  The pipes on this "lady" really blew me away, just listen:

Not since Madonna have I been so impressed by a pop female vocalist; however, let it be known that Lady Gaga is not quite at Madonna status yet, but the two definitely share many qualities: Strong performers, heads for business, eccentric and spreading important messages through their music.  I now admire and appreciate what Lady Gaga stands for, not to mention she's also one hell of a kick-ass songstress.

So needless to say, all summer long this song has been popping in and out of my head despite if I had just listened to it that day or the previous week.  The oddest things I hear or what someone might say will trigger 'Born This Way' in my head, which is a lot easier to turn on than off.

For anyone who does not agree, she's not for everyone.  Let's face it, the whole dress made out of red meat thing was a little beyond what I call fashionable and a turn off, but that's just me.  I can't help it, I was born this way.

Never Stop Believing

So, welcome to my first "unplanned" post.  All summer long, the city of Garden Grove, California has been putting on free concerts every Thursday, mostly by tribute bands.  A few Thursday's back, Abbey Road (just guess who they tribute, and if you can't figure it out, click here) performed at a Garden Grove park about six miles away from my house.  I really wanted to go, but they were SIX MILES away.  Ugh!  Too far.

Then, last night, the Journey tribute band Don't Stop Believing (DSB), played in the park JUST OUTSIDE MY FRONT DOOR, which also happened to coincide with a special volunteer appreciation event I was attending for my volunteer work with Meals on Wheels.  In fact, all volunteers received VIP seating for the concert after the appreciation dinner.  WELL... now that's more my style.  Walking distance (check), Dinner and Show (check), treated like a VIP (double check), Journey music (triple check).

I love Journey's music.  And who can possibly NOT love their classic song, "Don't Stop Believing", recently made even more popular by being the finale song of the last episode of The Sopranos and sung by the talented cast members of Glee (another obsession)?  And that's the song we just immediately think of when we think of Journey.  I forget that Journey is also responsible for such hits as "Open Arms", "Who's Crying Now", "Wheels in the Sky", "Faithfully", "Separate Ways" and my other personal favorite just behind "Don't Stop Believing"... "Any Way You Want It".

But this post isn't really about Journey, it's about their tribute band.  I have to say, I haven't seen many tribute bands, but from the moment I heard the first lyrics being sung out of Juan Del Castillo's mouth, I was FA-LOORED!  I couldn't believe (I know, but Michael, 'don't stop believing') how much he sounded like the unique Steve Perry.  And the other band members were fantastic, as well; drummer Scotty Kromos even had a drum solo that literally took my breath away.  So, for two hours, they played all of Journey's greatest hits flawlessly, but the strawberry on top was literally on my free funnel cake, which I could do another whole post about, alone.

So, that's it.  Last night was a real eye opening experience for me on many levels; regarding good cover bands, the fantastic music of Journey and maybe six miles is worth it.  Of course, the majority of my fascination with DSB could have just been from:  a) I had low expectations going in and,  b) they'll be the closest thing I'll ever get to seeing Journey live in concert, but I feel they are definitely worth checking out.  If you should be interested in learning more about them, their tour schedule or watching a video of their performance, you can check out their website here:  http://www.dsbband.com/

BTW, I did not know that Journey never had a #1 hit.  Preposterous!