I first met my good friend Flip (an advocate Survivor and Kevin Chalfant fan) four-years ago, when he flew in from Holland to attend a Sum Of Hearts show.  Nine months later we hooked up again in Wigam England to see Jim and Kevin perform at the Gods fest back in 2000.    Since that time Flip has been hoping that one day Jim would once again make an appearance somewhere in Europe.  That long wait finally paid off when he learned that POL would be  including Paris on their European tour.  That five hour train ride from the Netherlands would be a journey he would never forget.  Here is Flips review of that awesome day.   Joyce Paliulis    After arriving in Paris on the morning of the 12th of November, I headed straight to Gibert Joseph Record Store where Jim would be performing at 5 pm.  With time to kill I decided to go shopping and check out some cool shops.  Not wanting to miss anything, I arrived back at Gibert around four and a short time later Jim and Toby arrived.  Right before they did their 15 min. sound check, I presented to Jim two birthday gifts I made especially for him.     First, a Survivor greatest hits video/Live in Japan DVD and a set of custom made engraved Pride of Lions towels.  When Toby received his gift, he jokingly wanted to place an order.  I also brought a bottle of wine with a special inscription that read -- European tour 2003 - France, Germany & Italy  -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY -  from Joyce & Pete.      After Jim and Toby were totally blown away by it all, it was time to get the stage ready for an awesome show that followed.

   Right around 5 pm the guys took to the stage and performed the first tune off the Pride of Lions track - "It's Criminal."  This track has a great Survivor vibe to it - was a great opener.  I finally was able to hear Toby's voice live for the first time and it was amazing!!!

"Gone" another great track from the debut album showed that Jim and Toby's voices blended well together.  Next came a piece of melodic history, "I Can't Hold Back" from the classic Survivor album Vital Signs.  "Unbreakable" was then introduced - what a killer song ---  pure classic melodic rock.  With only his guitar to perform his first classic hit "Vehicle" --- Jim is just a fantastic performer to watch.   Toby then sang the 1985 Survivor hit "The Search Is Over" -- the feeling he put into this song was amazing!!!  We were then treated to the new tracks "Sound of Home" and Music and Me" again proving that melodic rock is still alive!!!

Unfortunately it was time for the last song and what better way to end the evening but with one of the greatest anthems of all time "Eye Of The Tiger".  This is one hell of a hard song to sing live and Toby did a fantastic job.  Dave and Jimi couldn't have done it any better.  After the show Jim and Toby stayed to chat with the fans and as I watched them, I could see how much fun they were having on stage as well as off.  The Pride of Lions album sure is a must for every Survivor/melodicrock fan and you can believe all the reviews ever written on this album.

   This day I've seen the past, present and future of melodic rock - so for everyone who's still in doubt, it's still alive!!!  This combination of a legendary rocker like Jim Peterik and the new voice of rock Toby Hitchcock is one that will stand the test of time.  Last I would like to thank Jim and Toby for making our trip to Paris worth every second and hope to see you guys back soon in Holland.

NOVEMBER 12, 2003