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JOEY BELLADONNA'S BEYOND FRONTIERS: An Evening Of JOURNEY Music In New Bedford, MA

By Jay Roberts, Massachusetts Contributor
Saturday, October 28, 2023 @ 7:52 PM


At The Vault Music Hall October 20th

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It was the first night of a two concert weekend for me when I went to catch the BEYOND FRONTIERS show on Friday, October 20th.

If fans of ANTHRAX were somehow still expecting to be "caught in the mosh" when singer Joey Belladonna hit the stage at The Vault Music Hall in New Bedford, MA, they were quickly disabused of that notion.

And by none other than Belladonna himself who said early in the set that "tonight is all about the classic rock". Belladonna's BEYOND FRONTIERS project was in town for what was billed as "An Evening of JOURNEY Music" and as a fan of both Belladonna from his "day job" with ANTHRAX and of JOURNEY's music, how could I not want to be there to see what he was bringing to the table?

The night started off with local rock trio HUXSTER opening up the show. I have to plead total ignorance going in though. I had no idea who they were and hadn't been able to research their music beforehand. If I had, I would've known that the band (guitarist Paul Amenta, bassist Dave Dunn and drummer Joe Patten) has at least four albums to their credit with a fifth one either still being worked on or just released.

But what I wasn't prepared for was just how tight the band was. In fact, throughout their twelve song set, between the vocal harmonies provided by Amenta and Dunn (who switch off lead vocals on songs) and the rocking musicianship built off of Patten's drumming, I found myself thinking, "Who are these guys...and why haven't I heard them before?"

While not being familiar with their music meant I had to contact the band to get the show's set list, I thought HUXSTER delivered a solidly entertaining and fully rocking set that primed up the audience for the headliner. A couple of songs I enjoyed in particular were "Connection" and the set ending "Highway".

Setlist (from the band themselves)

  • "Find a Way"
  • "Gone"
  • "Home"
  • "Something Better"
  • "Hard to Believe"
  • "Whiteout"
  • "Out of the Cold"
  • "Connection"
  • "Shake Off"
  • "Searching for the Road"
  • "Sing as One"
  • "Highway"
You can check more about HUXSTER via their Facebook page HERE

It wasn't long too long a wait before BEYOND FRONTIERS hit the stage. Belladonna was surrounded by guitarist Matthew Basford, bassist Paul Arntz, keyboardist Doug Carter and drummer Justin Ward.

As they kicked off their set, the band set forth to immediately hit the crowd with a burst of pure in-your-face music, opening the set with "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" which is arguably JOURNEY's hardest rocking song.

With each successive song, you could hear not just the love for the material from the band but how well they performed it all as well. It was pretty easy to get swept up in the music as they covered different points throughout JOURNEY's musical history with verve and aplomb. And as I heard a number of people remark after the show, it SOUNDED great as well, meaning the sound tech was on point all night long.

I'm a big fan of the Frontiers album so I liked that I got to hear the album's three biggest cuts. Besides "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)", you had both "Faithfully" which remains one of the most enduring ballads from the 80s and "Send Her My Love" which is actually one of my favorite JOURNEY songs.

But Belladonna and company bounced around the discography all night long with tracks like "I'll Be Alright Without You" pairing perfectly alongside "Lights", "Stone In Love" and "Only The Young".

I also loved how they ended up putting forth "Oh Sherrie" which is the big hit Steve Perry solo track in the set list. That song is incredible and it was so well done on the night. In fact, there wasn't really any performance that didn't just grab you. And what I liked best was how the band focused on the music. While any other number of "tribute acts" try to look like the bands they are honoring, BEYOND FRONTIERS simply plays the music. And that is definitely what mattered to me.

While there wasn't a song in the set list that I didn't recognize overall, I noticed that I do tend to forget just how good a song like "Still They Ride" really is. When the band played this song, I gained a new or at least renewed appreciation for the it and Belladonna was incredible with his vocal on it.

The crowd was really into the show as well as they ate up every song with plenty of fist pumping from the guys and any number of women dancing to the music as well. It was a night that you really would've loved to see go on even longer. Hell, it's not like there's a shortage of fantastic JOURNEY songs to fill up a set list, right?

And while they may be a new band as a touring entity, there's no question that the combined musical talents of each member was out in full force for the concert. I mean, these guys were so good that you could almost understand why fans who hear BEYOND FRONTIERS say that Joey Belladonna should be JOURNEY's actual singer. They go so far as to say he sounds exactly like Steve Perry. I wouldn't go that far because there are differences in the two men's vocals but Joey Belladonna certainly does bring a strong Perry-esque vibe to his performance which left me and any number of other fans wondering "Why Can't This Night Go on Forever"?

BEYOND FRONTIERS put on a superb show that was filled with one great song and performance after another and made this "An Evening of Journey Music" well worth remembering until the next time you get a chance to see it once again.

Setlist (All songs are JOURNEY covers, except the Steve Perry track as noted)

  • "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)"
  • "I'll Be Alright Without You"
  • "Girl Can't Help It"
  • "Who's Crying Now"
  • "Wheel in the Sky"
  • "Open Arms"
  • "Oh Sherrie" (Steve Perry solo track)
  • "Only The Young"
  • "Lights"
  • "Still They Ride"
  • "Ask The Lonely"
  • "Any Way You Want It"
  • "Send Her My Love"
  • "Don't Stop Believin'"
  • "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'"
  • "Stone In Love"
  • "Be Good To Yourself"
  • "Faithfully"
For more on BEYOND FRONTIERS, visit http://www.joeybelladonna.com

CONCERT FUN FACT: While I missed out on the meet and greet myself, I was given a promo poster for the show that had been signed by Joey Belladonna.

CONCERT EMBARRASSING MOMENT: After the show was over, I was hanging out with some people I knew and this guy came over. We talked for a few minutes and he noted my KNAC.COM hoodie. I mentioned that I wrote for the site and was covering the show. I didn't really think anything about it until the next morning when a concert friend messaged me and I discovered that I had been talking to DANGEROUS TOYS guitarist Paul Lidel and hadn't recognized him. OOPS!

(FULL DISCLOSURE: This show was promoted by JKB Entertainment Group. I write for The Cassette Chronicles series for their Limelight Magazine website.)


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