Steve Miller, Journey and Def Leppard – The Summer Stadium Tour

San Diego’s Petco Park was not only home to the Padres recently but opened its doors to host three legendary Rock N’ Roll Hall-of-Famers for a bucket list concert captivating the hearts of about 40,000 adoring fans. This 2024 Summer Stadium Tour was uniquely enticing; Journey has been known to tour with Def Leppard for epic stretches in the past, but they hit a home run this time by inviting the infamous Steve Miller Band to join the celebration circuit that featured songs we have all been singing in the car, in bars, and on the radio for 50 years and counting. You rarely get to witness a triple-headliner concert of such magnitude that you walk away feeling as though you relived your golden years, were abducted by aliens, and are back in 2024 renewed to “Rock the Ages” as Def Leppard inspires. The three bands collectively entertained us for hours on end, leaving most fans hoarse after singing every word to every song – all night long! Often embodying the lyrics in real life, the tens of thousands of us who flooded the venue in band tees and jeans followed lyrical instructions like Swingtown’s “Come on and dance … we may not get another chance,” well knowing that a show like this doesn’t happen every day. As Journey’s hit suggests, this concert was one helluva experience “Of a Lifetime” both in the rarity of occurrence, the limited window to witness these bands still performing with zeal, and as a culmination of lifelong veneration for each of them independently.

What makes music like this so timeless that people literally cannot stop themselves from getting up to dance, singing at the top of their lungs, and rallying droves of friends to embrace the opportunity to see this stellar lineup? The varying but equally popular iconic sounds of each of these mega-bands featuring distinctive blends of melodic hard rock with catchy hooks, soaring harmonies, and signature guitar solos solidified each band in not only the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame, but in our hearts as the enduring instrumental lead-ins, unforgettable lyrics, and masterful musicality are just as alluring now as they were when they first aired on the radio in the good old days. Music can cross cultural divides, cut through time and space, and drop people back into the present after navigating nostalgic visions encapsulated in the music’s memory – the essence of life that echoes in our minds between the melodies. We all know where we were when we first heard songs like “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and “Jet Airliner” – just as we can recall and drop into the essence of ourselves during the days of our lives when these songs were all on their way to number one on airwaves around the globe. The beloved anthems, phenomenal live performances, and emotional resonance that San Diego experienced last Friday night at Petco Park will stay with all in attendance for another five decades as one of the greatest concerts.

The vibrant white backdrop behind Steve Miller and his band energized fans out of their seats for this highly anticipated concert tour that has been the topic of conversations for months on end here in San Diego’s local music community. Still in love with their blues-rock sound from the 1960s, everyone in the stadium knew the words, singing each and every lyric to favorites like “Serenade,” “Take the Money and Run,” “Fly Like an Eagle,” Jungle Love,” “Rock’n Me,” “Abracadabra,” “The Joker,” and other familiar favs. Miller’s catchy melodies have lost no momentum in the past 60 years and his distinctive guitar playing has only gotten better with time. After introducing his beloved band, Kenny Lee Lewis, Joseph Wooten, Jacob Peterson, and Ron Wikso, he playfully introduced himself saying, “Some people call me the Space Cowboy, some people call me the Gangster of Love …” Then, interrupted the lyric we were waiting for and ended with, “Some people call me . . . Houdini.” Miller went on to dedicate the next song, “Abracadabra” to Eminem, thanking Marshall Mathers for calling him up on the phone asking to use the song in one of his newest releases which reached 50 million streams on the same day it was released — a stark difference to the time it took the 1982 song to reach #1 the first time around. With this sentiment Steve Miller showed immense gratitude for not only his long career but for Eminem’s stellar production which has further solidified Miller’s timeless talent, delivering it to new audiences well outside of the Rock ‘n’ Roll genre followers. Miller not only sang his greatest hits to us but brought us back to the 60s as he closed the set with, “Peace, love, and happiness. Take care of each other all right?” Another reminder of just how freakin’ cool these original rockers are having emerged during a time when music could change people’s lives.

“When the lights go down in the city…” and Journey animates the stage, you are in for a treat! Officially celebrating their 50th anniversary, the band brought their A-game with Arnel Pineda as full of life as ever. The athleticism of this iconic frontman coupled with the award-winning guitar performance of Neal Shon by themselves was enough to blow the minds of the masses who congregated for the evening’s unfolding. But with bands like these, there is never a hierarchy of talent and there is no shortage of people to watch on stage because – like the triple-threat tour lineup itself – everyone who stepped on the stage that night shares one thing in common; incredible talent. Jonathan Cain switching from his electric red piano to shredding on the guitar was a sight to behold throughout the night just as Todd Jensen’s bass and Jason Derlatka’s keys and vocals held it down across the stage like pillars of powerful sound that set the backdrop for the magic to transpire. The unparalleled belting vocal tones of Pineda and the show-stopping guitar skills from Shon were noteworthy throughout the evening but the unexpected vocal takeover by Deen Castronovo on the drums with the epic camera angles from his drum set broadcasted on the giant screens that filled the baseball field reminded us that we were witnessing some of the greatest musicians of all time.

The concert truly felt other-worldly at moments as the skyward screens that highlighted the stage for all to see were taken over by space scenes, psychedelic ambient energy, and satellite perspectives delivering a feeling of timelessness as we witnessed the immense power of sound emanating from Petco park. Def Leppard’s interplanetary vibes traversed the galaxy with so much sound and support from the audience that it is safe to say that this show is now time-capsuled in a moment of human history that other lifeforms may have been tantalized to tune into from neighboring planets. Not only were the guys on stage bringing next-level showmanship and intensifying the energy tenfold with their presence and light show, but the fanbase there to support Def Leppard was undeniable with their overwhelming supportive fans in graphic tees, mullet wigs, and blow-up air guitars who rallied the crowd from various places around the stadium throughout the set. Def Leppard’s enduring popularity is attributed to the collaboration of Joe Elliot’s vocals, Rick Savage’s baseline, Phil Collens’ and Vivian Campbell’s guitar and backup vocals, and Rick Allen on the drums – creating a larger-than-life sound as a team of talent.

“All the bands still seemed to have a lot of energy even though they were winding down to the last week of the tour. Having pit access for Def Leppard, you could not only feel that energy, you could see it in the lens. My guess is that everyone in the pit got some of their best images from both Joe and Rick’s engagement with the photogs…” – BackStage360 Photographer

The evening was one of echoed appreciation, with every fan singing along, stoked to behold some of the very best musicians of our time. Though I could go into further detail on each band, their presence, and the particulars of their musical expertise (which I very well may do in future articles about this epic three-headliner event), I am inspired to emphasize the energy of the crowd as we collectively supported these artists who have truly stood the test of time with their eminence within the world of music itself. Instead of lighters waving in the air in silent approval and admiration, we have been around long enough that fire has evolved to flash and the stadium was lit by cell phones swaying in the dark sky like mesmerizing fireflies on a warm summer night. Besides the extraordinary expertise that each player exuded throughout the evening – across all three sets – there is one undeniable truth that made this concert special. The bands truly enjoyed themselves on stage, played every riff with reverence, sang every lyric with pride, and were there for and because of the sheer magnitude of love from their unwavering fans. To create original art, realize grandiose dreams manifest, and be able to share their gifts with the world for multiple decades, all three of these bands earned the multiple standing ovations from “America’s Finest City.”