Several days before, Journey kicked off its 2009 world tour with performances in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, Japan. As expected, fans around the world anxiously waited for concert reviews on the Journey website and video clips on You Tube. Many googled Japanese news accounts of the show, but unfortunately, Japanese news articles were written in, well, Japanese. Out of desperation, one blogger named Clarissa started a discussion thread entitled "Ahem. Wake Up Tokyo Plokkers who Went to See the Show" to request for reviews and videos of the Japan concerts. Swiftly, came the answer. Yumiko Hara from Japan sent a cyber call "To all Japanese and Japanese Speakers", meant to encourage Japanese concert attendees to post their reviews online. A whole deluge of Japanese blogs materialized - all of which written in, you guessed it, Japanese. Not to worry, though. Bilingual Japanese like Yumiko, Reiko, et al and multi-lingual Filipinos like Joey, Selfdual and many others translated the Japanese blogs into English and all was well in Journey Blogdom, again.

Ever since Journey's Neal Schon found Arnel Pineda on You Tube, a viral relationship between global web users and the band has ensued. Now that Journey has concluded the Asian leg of its tour, this viral relationship has spread to seeming epidemic proportions. Fans who are loosely organized through the Journey, Arnel Pineda, and Journeyrock.co.uk websites use the information superhighway to search for, replicate and share Journey articles, reviews, pictures, video/audio clips. More than that, they organize complex social bonds that cut across oceans, continents, and national boundaries. Right now, these 21st century fans are engaged in multi-national, multi-cultural, and multi-generational negotiations on what language to use in their all-important Shout Box and seem to have reached a de facto agreement. They are savvy and tekki. And they use Journey music as their universal language and basis of unity.

Of Right-Wing Generals and Left-Wing Professors: A Social Perspective on the Journey Concert

In the midst of a worsening economic crisis and mounting corruption charges against the government, thousands of Filipinos trooped to the Mall of Asia to watch An Evening with Journey on March 14, 2009.

Would you believe that almost everybody in the political spectrum was there? Government officials, a right wing general, left leaning activists, centrists. Come to think of it, the whole social spectrum of Philippine society was represented. Parents, college professors, corporate professionals, teenagers, children... My husband even chatted with some priests from a congregation somewhere in Tagaytay City. I turned to my husband and wondered, "You mean all these people listen to Journey?"

My husband and I were with our three sons whose ages range from 8 to 18, which, in itself, was a social aberration. After all, since when have parents and children ever agreed on something as generationally divisive as music? And how could a thirty five year old band ever excite a new batch of young followers who were raised in hip-hop music? As if to confound me even further, my son's female classmate suddenly gushed, "Who's the bassist? He's so cute!" Did I just hear a pretty eighteen year old call Ross Valory cute? "Something's definitely afoot," I warned myself.

So, the concert finally started and the audience turned its undivided attention to the guys on stage. My husband and I have loved Journey since we were in college. We have also been in awe of Arnel Pineda ever since we heard him sing Chaka Khan's Through the Fire in its original key, live, decades ago. But Journey, on March 14, sounded exponentially better than it does in Revelation. By Journey, I mean (in alphabetical order) Arnel, Deen, Jon, Neal and Ross. At the risk of pestering my husband to tears, I fired away my nth question of the night, "How is it possible for Arnel to sing better than he did when he was 18? And how can Deen, Jon, Neal and Ross play better live?"

Now, Filipinos are a very difficult audience to please. The Philippine archipelago is littered with possibly some of the best artists in the world. When it comes to art, and especially music, we have pretty high standards. So, when we, Filipinos, voluntarily vacated our seats, for which we had paid hundreds or thousands of hard earned pesos, collectively chanted, yelled, screamed and acted like a bunch of lunatics, we were actually paying the band the highest compliment we could possibly give!

Just then, I saw a rightist general, rumored to have stolen vast amounts of taxpayers' money, holding hands with his wife (?) and dancing to the tune of Open Arms. Normally, this general looks so formidable in his uniform bedecked with stars and medals. But it's hard to look formidable when you're using 2/4 time signature to dance to Open Arms. At this point, my husband and I went completely hysterical.

My eighteen year old son, then, called my attention to a group of notable looking people whom he identified as some of the meanest, nastiest, and most uptight left-leaning professors in the University of the Philippines. Heck, I thought one of them had actually been my professor, too. My son was grinning ear to ear as he took footages of his "uptight" professors jumping like crazy, screaming, "Don't stop", "Don't stop", "Don't stop", "Don't stop believing"!!!!! "Mom, I love Journey!" he exclaimed with glee contemplating his prized videos.

True enough, March 14 turned out to be a ceasefire of sorts. For a night, political bickering and sectoral differences were relegated to the background and everyone simply co-existed and just listened. Yes, Journey Turned Down the World on Saturday Night. Well, it was open season once more on Monday, as leaders went back to their corrupt ways and the vast number of Filipinos figured out ways to thwart them.

Wittingly or unwittingly, Journey has started some kind of cultural revolution with the recruitment of Arnel, the inception of Revelation and its subsequent world tour. If only we can send them to Iraq, the Gaza Strip, Afghanistan or some place like that. Maybe, a real ceasefire could actually be worked out - even for just a night.

Journey are flying high on the strength of their Revelation.

Related Links: For more information on JOURNEY and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links -- JourneyMusic.com | Arnel Pineda Site | Search "Journey" | Search "Arnel Pineda"

Originally Published: 04/19/2009 on Kweevak.com