Photos by Andy Argyrakis

The “Final Frontier” is finally upon Journey, or at least that’s how this tour is titled, though regardless if the wording turns out to be true, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers made sure to leave quite an impression on an extremely close to capacity Fiserv Forum.

Milwaukee’s state-of-the-art arena is thus far the closest the San Francisco-formed band is coming to Chicago and chances are it drew faithful from across the Midwest, who for a whopping 140 minutes without an opening act, were gifted over five decades of hits and rarities.

“Be Good To Yourself,” “Stone In Love” and “Only The Young” started the generous night out typically enough compared to recent stadium runs alongside Def Leppard, yet original guitarist Neal Schon, longtime keyboardist Jonathan Cain, veteran vocalist Arnel Pineda, drummer Deen Castronovo, bassist Todd Jensen and additional keyboardist Jason Derlatka were nonetheless revved up and ready to deliver as if their lives depended on it.

Realistically speaking, most members will probably continue playing until the day they die, but Cain, who’s now 76-years-old and sometimes records contemporary Christian music/leads worship, insists he’s stepping down following the marathon trek for ministry.

Thankfully, none of that came before he tried on the guitar for size and split microphone duties with Castronovo during the original Gregg Rolie era’s less frequently performed “Just The Same Way,” then a little later, “Feeling That Way” and “Anytime.”

Although Pineda remains the primary and thoroughly engaging front man, even jumping in the crowd on a couple of occasions, Castronovo also aced “Lights” and “Lovin’ You Is Easy,” plus Derlatka just as soulfully tackled “Suzanne” and “I’ll Be Alright Without You,” both bearing respectable resemblance to former singer turned solo superstar Steve Perry.

Schon incorporated his fair share of shredding or jamming throughout “Who’s Crying Now,” “Wheel In The Sky,” “Lovin’, “Touchin’, Squeezin'” and “La Do Da,” while Pineda personally led the bulk of sing-a-longs, such as the ballads “Open Arms” and “Faithfully,” the latter of which was dedicated to the entire American military.

In between, anthems were in ample supply thanks to “Escape” and “Chain Reaction” up to “Ask The Lonely,” the “Stranger Things”-revived “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” and “Any Way You Want It.”

Of course, “Don’t Stop Believin'” easily beat them all and might have broke the sound barrier in the process, yet more than merely a climatic moment, served as an ideal mantra for Fiserv fans hoping and praying it’s really not the end of Journey.

For additional information on Journey, visit JourneyMusic.com.

Upcoming shows at the Fiserv Forum include New Edition (Mar. 21); Romeo Santos and Prince Royce (Apr. 1); B2K and Bow Wow (Apr. 2); We Them Ones Comedy (Apr. 17); Forrest Frank (Jun. 5); Zayn (Jul. 23); Dude Perfect (Jul. 24); Eric Clapton (Sept. 13); Koe Wetzel (Oct. 10); “Weird Al” Yankovic (Oct. 17) and Matt Rife (Nov. 7). For additional details, visit FiservForum.com.

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