The Escape Tour was a concert tour by the American rock band Journey in support of their seventh studio album, '' Escape''.

Background

The tour included six consecutive sold out dates at the

Pine Knob Theatre Pine Knob Music Theatre (formerly DTE Energy Music Theatre) is an outdoor amphitheater located in Independence Township, Michigan, approximately northwest of Detroit (it has a Clarkston, Michigan mailing address). Built by the Nederlander Organi ...

in Detroit, and four straight sold out shows at the Los Angeles Forum, and Chicago's

Rosemont Horizon Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Rosemont, Illinois, United States. It is located near the intersection of Mannheim Road and Interstate 90, adjacent to the city limits of Chicago and O'Hare International Airport. The facility opened ...

. Journey also made an appearance on July 2, 1982 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California with

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles " (Don't Fear) The Reaper", " Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The ba ...

, Triumph and

Aldo Nova Aldo Nova (born Aldo Caporuscio on November 13, 1956) is a Canadian guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, and producer. He initially gained fame and popularity with the release of his 1982 debut album '' Aldo Nova'' which peaked to ''Billboards ...

. The -month tour took Journey through Japan and North America.

Point Blank Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel par ...

Billy Squier William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American rock musician and singer who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include "The Stroke", " Lonely Is the Night", "My Kinda Lover", " In ...

the Greg Kihn Band The Greg Kihn Band is an American band that was started by frontman Greg Kihn and bassist Steve Wright. Their most successful singles include " The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" ( ''Billboard'' Hot 100 #15) and " Jeopardy" (''Billboard' ...

and

Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian rock band formed in 1979 in Calgary, Alberta. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly " Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still heard on many classic rock and classic hits ...

were the opening acts during the tour.

Reception

Deborah Deasy, a reporter from the Pittsburgh Press, who attended the sold out October 2, 1981 performance, gave criticism toward the band on their deliverance of fast and furious noise, even noting that there was too little 'danceable rock 'n' roll'. The reporter noted on Perry's vocals being grating and overworked, but praised the other members of Journey individually. Deborah cited on the uninspired songwriting and the chemistry, criticizing the band as 'generic rock'. She concluded her review, praising the stage work done by the technical, set and sound designers as well as the surprise fireworks, but also noted on the opening act Point Blank had, criticizing the lackluster lead singer who she claimed was "too impressed with himself".. A warmer reception was had by press in the band's hometown of San Francisco, where Chronicle writer

Joel Selvin Joel Selvin (born February 14, 1950) is an American San Francisco-based music critic and author known for his weekly column in the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', which ran from 1972 to 2009. Selvin has written books covering various aspects of p ...

gushed effusively about the band's video monitors, sound and pyrotechnics, adding that Journey delivered a "masterful triple stroke" that "set a new standard in the rock concert arms race" that makes "all that came before" it, "as old fashioned as a Model T."

Setlist

;Songs played overall # "Escape" # "Line of Fire" # "Lights" # "Keep on Runnin'" # "When the Love Has Gone" # "Sandcastles" # "Still They Ride" # "Where Were You" # "Stay Awhile" # "Do You Recall" # "Open Arms" # "Mother, Father" # "Don't Stop Believin'" # "Walks Like a Lady" # "Stone in Love" # "Who's Crying Now" # "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" # "Where Were You" and drum solo # "Keep on Runnin'" # "The Party's Over (Hopelessly in Love)" # "Dead or Alive" # "Little Girl" # "Too Late" # "Moon Theme" # "Wheel in the Sky" # "Winds of March" # "Lovin' You is Easy" # "Too Far Gone" (

The Babys The Babys are a British rock group best known for their songs " Isn't It Time" and "Every Time I Think of You". Both songs were composed by Jack Conrad and Ray Kennedy, and each reached No. 13 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 8 on t ...

cover) # "La Do Da" # "Too Late" # "Lay it Down" # "Turn Around in Tokyo" (

cover) Encore #

"Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" # "Any Way You Want It" Encore 2 #

"Dixie Highway" ;Typical setlist # "Escape" # "Line of Fire" # "Lights" # "Where Were You" # "Stay Awhile" # "Open Arms" # "Mother, Father" # "Don't Stop Believin'" # "Lovin' You Is Easy" # "Stone in Love" # "Who's Crying Now" # "Keep on Runnin'" # "The Party's Over (Hopelessly in Love)" # "Dead or Alive" # "Too Late" # "Wheel in the Sky" Encore #

"Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" # "Any Way You Want It"

Tour dates

Over the course of the tour, Journey played the following dates:

Personnel

*Steve Perry – lead vocals, keyboards, piano *Neal Schon – lead guitar, backing vocals *Ross Valory – bass, backing vocals *Jonathan Cain – keyboards, piano, rhythm guitar, backing vocals *Steve Smith – drums, percussion

References

{{Journey 1981 concert tours 1982 concert tours Journey (band) concert tours