Although it may sometimes feel like you can’t escape the songs of Journey (and, as our Jody Rosen argues in his essay “In Defense of Schlock Music: Why Journey, Billy Joel, and Lionel Richie Are Better Than You Think,†there’s nothing wrong with that), the band’s elusive lead singer, Steve Perry, hasn’t sung live in 19 years … until this weekend. He appeared onstage during the second encore of an Eels show in St. Paul, Minnesota — belting Journey’s “Open Arms†and “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’.†Too bad the band already replaced him with a the lead singer of a Journey cover band that they found on YouTube in 2007. Yes, really. Perry didn’t sing “Don’t Stop Believin’.†No, you cannot sing it in his stead.
