Carl Palmer and Asia, thoughts about the show

[MarkE]

Well, last night is history now but the impression and the impact live on. First off, let me personally thank Graham for pointing this out to me as I would have missed it.

I had mixed feelings about the show, having nothing to do with the performance which was spectacular. It was held at Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, which up until a few days ago I didnt even know existed. Its a small venue that can be compared to a large movie theater or small Broadway playhouse. I had third row mezzanine which gave me a clear view from about 60-100ft away. Perfect!!


They started with a song that I wasnt familiar with so I dont know what its called. They had Carl jammed on this small elevated platform and near the end of the first song I thought I saw something fall off the back of his platform. He seemed to struggle through the last 30 seconds of the song while his roadie/assistants were running around behind him trying to fix whatever it was. When the song ended CP jumped behind the platform and was fiddling a bit while the crowd was going crazy. Whatever it was they couldnt fix it and ended bringing him a new snare drum. It didnt make sense to me but after a minute or two of setting up and tweaking he walked up to the mike and with that cute boyish voice of his said "sorry 'bout that" The crowd went crazy. You could see that there were many die hard CP fans in the audience, and I was close enough to see the beads of sweat on his forehead. How cool is that?

For the second song they did "Only Time Will Tell" and on from there. A 20 minute intermission followed.
Each band member did a solo segment playing songs from their old bands. They saved CP for the last solo as was easily predicted. He did about a 15 minute drum solo that had the crowd going nuts. It was so gratifying to see him do that while I was close enough to see everything. That will live with me forever.

Near the end of the show they did Fanfare, Court of the Crimson King and Heat of the Moment, the songs had the place rocking and coming apart at the seams. What a great show!!!

Anyway....looking through the audience it was largely made up of really older people. Guys 60+ years old on their feet rocking and bopping. it was really strange. It occurred to me that we are all getting older, REALLY older and that was a bit depressing. Adding to that, Steve Howe is looking really old and frail these days. it doesnt affect his playing though...he was awesome. During his solo seg he sat in a chair and did this medley on the acoustic guitar. I was close enough to see his fingers clearly and was really impressed at the dexterity he still has. Jeezus...I think he is 61 or so years old.

Carl was looking really chunky. he has put on a bit of weight. I guess it happens to all of us. If it can happen to black belt, king of the skins CP then I dont feel so bad about it happening to me :)

I cant say enough about this show. Seeing Asia in such a small venue was really thrilling. Wendy came with me and now even she is a CP fan. The drum solo blew her away. Gotta love her!!

Anyway....just wanted to get my thoughts on paper so to speak before they fade. Thanks again G man!


MarkE

[Tracy]

Sounds fantastic! I got to see Slade and ZZ Top at a venue like that and it was amazing.

[MarkE]

Tra...this was like the Calderone in Hempstead. Do you remember that place?

[Tracy]

Yeah, it was like a movie theater with a stage. I'm trying to recall if that's not where I saw Slade and ZZ Top.

[MarkE]

I'll bet it was, especially if it was on long island.

The last concert I saw there was DEVO. That must have been around 1983 or so. They closed it down a long time ago. When I was a kid David used to take me there all the time to see movies.

Was it possibly the Jones beach Theater? I have seen so many concerts there...I love that place. I saw ELP there, also moody blues, chicago, willie nelson, santana, and about 20 beach boy concerts :) Im sure that there are more that I cant remember. That was a pretty small venue. ELP simply blew me away there. It was much better than seeing them at the Nassau Coliseum or Madison Square Garden.

Perhaps The Westbury Music Fair??? I never saw a concert there but I did manage to catch a few comedy shows. The last was Galagher. What a pissa....water mellon parts everywhere! and silly string! The first 20 rows were covered in plastic LOL He ended the show by smashing a shitload of water mellons and covering the audience in silly string. What a riot!

[Tracy]

No it was deffenitely not Jones Beach or Westbury (I saw Buddy Hackett at Westbury, what a freaking riot!). And on another note, I saw ELP at the Coliseum (Brain Salad Surgary tour).

I'm fairly sure it was the Calderone. It was very movie theater-ish and we were in the balconly. It was rocking so hard that I was afraid the the balc would collapse LOL.

[MarkE]

I saw ELP at the coliseum too. What a great show.

yes, the calderone had balconies. I know what you mean about the floor rocking. The mezzanine level where I just saw carl palmer was rocking with the bass guitar. it was really spooky.

[MDDRUMZ]

I'm glad you posted this Mark. I recently learned that they have a new album coming out this month and just yesterday I jshot Graham an e-mail to ask if they played any of it, how the songs sounded, etc. I saw the 25 year tour and it was great to finally see who I considered to be my very first favorite band growing up; my parents thought I was too young to see them in the 80s.

This Thursday they are playing a theater in a County Park in South Jersey that is probably comparable to the Kirby Center in size. It's called the Scottish Rite Auditorium and they have plays and such there. After your review, I think I will go, regardless of whether they are playing the new album. Only once have I seen a concert before buying the album and that was The Hooters (almost gives me the chills to admit that) many, many years ago. So I hope they play some songs from the upcoming album. But I'll be psyched to hear them regardless.

[MarkE]

Asia played several songs from their new album, and they all sounded pretty good. I should have picked up a copy in the lobby and ripped it for you guys. The lines at the stand were really long after the show and I was just too tired after having worked that day.

yes, would be totally cool if you could catch em. they are swinging south too so perhaps David and Larry can catch it too. I checked the sked...Asia is only touring for 1 month or so.

[MDDRUMZ]

Alright! Got me a ticket today for Collingswood, NJ this Thgursday! I was planning to wait until Thursday morning, hoping that really good seats might get freed up. But a seat situated dead center popped up as an option (which hadn't on previous searches), so I jumped on it. I have a feeling there's no bad seat in the house. Further, I think I'm near the sound booth, which is always a desirable spot for good audio.

[MarkE]

Outstanding!!! center=good! i was off to the left and had a little trouble hearing the keyboards. On the up side Steve Howe punched through loudly :)

The vox was a little muddy too. the sound guy was on the stage as there was no room for him in the audience LOL

Please let us know how it goes...as if i dont already know hehehe.

ENJOY!

[Tracy]

I'm GREEN with envy!

I havent seen a decent concert since I left NY. And on the odd occasions they come near me, I'm either broke or busy.

I've often told people how lucky I was to grow up on Long Island because I've been privileged to see so many fantastic bands live in concert. People down here literally jaw drop when I rattle off the band names that I've seen live.

[MDDRUMZ]

You KNOW you're in an intimate venue when the sound guy is onstage! hehe. Looks like Scittish Rite has a sound booth at the back of the auditorium.

Tracy - We certainly are spoiled here along the NE Corridor line. I get the best of both worlds, being smack between Philly and NYC. Here's a perfect example. King Crimson is doing a mini-tour this summer. They are only playing Chicago, Philly suburbs, and NYC, 2 to 3 nights each - and not even very large venues. I'll be catching the second night in Philly.

Jenn will have my head when the next credit bill comes. All of a sudden, several bands I like announced shows this summer so I went a little crazy. BTW, Yes in coming around again with Rick Wakeman's son on keys!

[babayaga]

Morning all.

I saw ASIA at the Academy 2 venue in Manchester. It's like a college hall, large square-ish venue, with hard concrete walls all around. We were right at the back after arriving a bit late (3 mates chilling nicely and swapping stories over some beers!), but the sound was still clear.

Its funny that Mark pointed out the age of the audience, as I noticed a lot of Mums and Dads with kids there - not too young (I think the youngest i saw was about 10 years old). It wasn't that they were being forced either - the kids I saw were rocking away with the rest of us! It's nice to think that the younger generation now are being 'turned on' by the music we grew up with - but isn't that often the case with kids now listening to the music we're playing as they grow?

I've my first meeting with Tom from 'Noddys Puncture' tomorrow so I'll let you know how the session goes.

Have a great weekend folks!

Cheers - G.

[MarkE]

Good luck man. please let me know how it goes.

[MDDRUMZ]

Hi all. I would have reported back sooner about the Collingswood, NJ show, but the domino effects of a late Thursday night led to a late-to-work Friday morn, led to a late-at-work Friday...I'm sure you know all understand how it goes.

The venue is South Jersey's best kept secret. It's a little 1,000 seat theater that used to be part of a church rectory. I was pretty far back in terms of rows, but still very close in terms of the distance to the stage - there simply AREN'T many rows!). The concert was outstanding! They sound so much tighter than they did on last year's 25th Anniversary Tour. This time around, the nostalgia was kicking in big time for me. Maybe it was the incorporation of the video screens, which flashed clips from their original videos. Ah, much simpler times....

Carl Palmer is still a monster on drums. The heart procedure hasn't affected his playing one bit. The solo was incredible and it is the most fun I've seen him having while doing a solo. The camera was right on his face and he was shooting some amusing looks at the audience down in front.

They did a Meet and Greet and I stuck around for it and had the new CD and the book signed. In buying those items, I had the pleasure of meeting Tony Ortiz. He was working the merchandising table. When I introduced myself, he immediately recognized EMP and said, "Are you the one who sent me the message about NY in May?" He said he hopes to join us - how cool is that?!?! He also introduced me to a new myspace friend named Diana, who happened to be next to me at the table.

Now today, with two days until they start renovating our kitchen, I can't put the Asia book down when I'm supposed to be emptying all of our cabinets. Plus I'm really inspired to go play the drums as soon as the appliance delivery comes (literally any minute). I guess there's always Sunday!

I noticed the same thing that Mark and Graham mentioned. There was a little guy the row in front of mine air drumming away with a couple of glow sticks - clearly captivated by Carl Palmer. You GO, little man!

Have a great weekend, all.

[babayaga]

MarkD - great stuff!! I knew you guys would enjoy the band after seeing them over here. Nice to see the new material surfacing as well, although I've yet to grab a copy of the CD.

And yes, it was me who contacted Tony Ortiz to let him know of our planned meeting in NY. I saw the new photos of ELP that he'd posted onto MySpace and noticed that he was based in NY, so I shot him a message about the proposed meeting. How cool indeed that he a) is well aware of EMP, and b) may be able to come along to the Hard Rock and share a pint or two with us!

I'll post a separate note about my meeting with Tom of Noddy's Puncture, but suffice to say we had an afternoon of musical fun!

Cheers - G.

[MarkE]

Wow Mark, that venue sounds really great. Im glad that you enjoyed the show. I think its really cool that the three of us have seen them on the same tour.

I really liked the stuff they played from the new album. I need to get a copy.

Thats really cool about Tony Ortiz too. I would love to meet him. he was probably at the vendors tables at my show, but like I said, I never made it there :(