Rascal Flatts show to the Sugar Mill

Journey fans who enjoy belting out the lyrics to the arenarock hero's classic anthem "Don't Stop Believin'" were not disappointed Saturday night at the Sugar Mill. They played it twice.

Journey and countrypop trio Rascal Flatts headlined Saturday's Super Bowl 2013 concert, which was filmed for CMT Crossroads, a decadeold series that pairs country artists with bigname musicians from other genres to perform together and trade stories.

It was an odd but entertaining match, as the two front men Arnel Pineda, the Filipino vocalist recruited from a Journey cover band to hit the high notes left in the wake of former singer Steve Perry's departure in the 1990s, and Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts appeared at times to be crooning to each other, exchanging long glances and leaning forward into separate microphones at the front of the stage.

Consider the lyrics to "What Hurts the Most," a cover from Rascal Flatts' 2006 album, "Me and My Gang," and imagine the two lead singers trading off vocal turns:

"What hurts the most/Was being so close/And havin' so much to say/And watchin' you walk away.

And never knowin'/What could've been/And not seein' that lovin' you/Is what I was tryin' to do."

Members of the two groups also www.footballbengalsshop.com/WOMENS-AJ-GREEN-JERSEY.html swapped stories and talked music, footage which was used to lead in and out of commercials. At Saturday's show, they played one or two songs at a time before breaking for a few minutes, keeping to the television schedule.

The taped discussions were fairly timid: Rascal Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus sought to deflect criticism that the band's lyrics are nice, too sugary, too sappy, while lead singer Gary LeVox talked about selling his possessions in the late 1990s and moving to Nashville to get his start in music, a of Kids A.J. Green Jersey faith" that has since paid off.

The crowd, a mix of 20somethings and baby boomers, was thick with locals, judging from the loud, sporadic Who Dat chants that were heard, especially compared to calls of support for either the Super Bowlbound 49ers or Ravens.

The bands played it safe during the 12song set, sticking to their hits. Journey staples like "Separate Ways (World Apart)," "Wheel in the Sky," "Faithfully," and giving the people what wanted "Don Stop Believin,'" which was played twice. A twosong encore added the group's first top20 hit, "Lovin Touchin Squeezin'", to the mix.

Sprinkled in between were popular Rascal Flatts songs and covers, including "Fast Cars and Freedom," "Life is a Highway," "Bless the Broken Road," and "What Hurts the Most," which was also played twice, likely for television editing purposes.

Throughout the hourplus show, the crowd of nearly 2,500 seemed evenly divided among those waving cell phones in the air and others pumping their fists to the popular power ballads.

Since coming together in 1973 in San Francisco, Journey has earned 19 Top 40 singles and 25 gold and platinum albums. Only bassist Ross Valory, who turned 64 Saturday, and guitarist Neal Schon remain from the band's original lineup, which is rounded out by drummer Deen Castronovo and keyboard player Jonathan Cain.

Meanwhile, Rascal Flatts has sold more than 21 million albums and earned 14 No. 1 singles in just over a decade.

The show marked Journey second Super Bowl appearance, and the second time the group has collaborated with Rascal Flatts.