just got back from ASIA ... (1 Viewer)

saw Asia tonight at a small local theater near philly.
keswick theater.
only holds maybe 2000 folks so not a bad seat in the house.

origional line up.

wife and i had a lot of fun.

they played most of the poplular songs and a few extras too.

roundabout

an ELP song that i didnt catch because i was in the bathroom

the court of the crimson king
this seemed the most popular of the other band songs.

and the surprise of the show introduced correctly as the very first song/video played om MTV, Video killed the radio star.

downes went back and came back with sunglasses on, was intro'd as Geoffery Buggles. then they did the song.
it was great too.


they sure didnt mail it in.
other then being off a beat here and there they really did a great job.

the encore was an accoustic version of don't cry, then a long version of
heat of the moment that ended with everyone doing a sing along.

afterwards we and anyone who wanted
had a chance to get any Asia stuff we bought or brought with
signed by the entire band.

i just bought a poster and they signed the bottom.
wouldnt sign the tickets for some reason.
someone in line just ahead of us had a book from the '83 tour.
she got it on ebay for about 15 bucks.

i had the same exact program that i actually bought during the '83 tour myself.


the funny thing about the show was the people who were there to see it.

there really werent too many there younger then my wife and i, early 40's.

many were considerately older.
certainly were fans of the various bands before ASIA.

it was noticable that many didnt know or couldnt remember how to act
at a concert.
lots of "hey sit down i cant see".

not much fan participation, like clapping.

during the encore Wetton had to wave his hands a couple times to get everyone to satnd up and clap or cheer.

missing from the concert was the joint that was always being passed around during these concerts of old.

anyway it was a lot of fun and i'm glad we picked up tickets.
looking forward to the new record when it comes out.

oh and one more thing....

carl palmer was first at the signing table, so i said great job tonight we had alot of fun.
he said "thanks, i had a lot of fun too."

geoff downes was next, i just mentioned that it was a nice surprise to hear video killed radio star.
he said, " liked that eh!"

i just said hello and thabnks to Wetton and Howe.
Howe was a bit of an odd one.

during the show he would occasionally look up from the guitar do a little lurch forward with his head and sort of give an odd quick stare out to the crowd.

when i said hello to him he just looked up at me like he didnt know what to say.

They did a free outdoor concert in Albany Thursday, part of the city's Alive at Five summer series. I had work until 6:00 so I only caught the tail end of it; the last ten songs or so. It wasn't ideal circumstances — it thunderstormed so instead of holding it in the intended amplitheatre they setup the stage under the I-787 Bridge. The acoustics weren't the best but they still gave a hell of a show, from what I caught. It brought the whole downtown to life. The crowd was a mixed aged amorphous mass fueled by beer and smokes.
They closed with "Heat of the Moment" here too (or at least I think they did; once the road crew starting dismantling the instruments I took off). The crowd, probably 50/50 between older folks who'd been fans when the band first hit it big and teens (who go every week since they know it's their best chance of scoring alcohol underage)/colleges students (on summer break with nothing better to do), all sang along when John Wetton asked it of them, having already started stomping and clapping out the beat.
Not my favorite Albany outdoor freebie (that'd be the Lovin' Spoonful less John Sebastian). But definitely a group I was happy to see, especially since the vocals and playing were still very much on the mark. Hope this new tour goes well for them; they sure packed in a crowd under the bridge.

Wow, that sounds great. They played here last Friday I think; wish I could've gone. Steve Howe is my favorite guitar player (got the chance to meet him after a solo show at a club in Boston once -- he was very friendly).

If they put out a DVD of this show I'll be sure to pick it up.

there is a cd of this tour with some foreign dates on the cd.
selling at the shows and thier web site too i think.

http://www.originalasia.com/

wow, they're still going, eh...i used to like em for a couple albums way back when. now, i probably wouldn't even go see them if it were free.

Actually, the original lineup just got back together. For most of the time, it has been Geoff Downes and John Payne on vocals and a bunch of other guys.

I actually saw them on the Aura tour, and while it wasn't the classic lineup, it was pretty solid. I haven't really followed Asia real strongly, but they've been producing over the years. We'll see what the classic lineup produces.

Jason

Are the original members planning to write new material, or just tour together?

well good for you, who cares.


anyway i think it says on the web site a new record is in the works.

They're going to be about 40 miles from here Tuesday night....but I can't go. I think the first album is still great, and I've never grown tired of Heat of the Moment. It's definitely their best album; both Alpha and Astra, for the most part, seemed very "light" compared to the the first album. Astra, in particular, seemed oddly divided between relationship songs and war-related songs. "Voice of America" was a good one, though.

Glad to hear they're back together, though - I love Wetton's voice, even if the material's quality faded. How was his singing live?

you get to have your say and i don't? don't take it so personally, it's only my opinion.

Not when your opinion brings nothing to the thread of people discussing the band. If the thread had been titled "What is your opinion of ASIA?" then maybe your post would be relevant.

^

I just saw the show a couple weeks ago. Opening act was Alan Parsons, but I think we might have been the only city that got that combo.

The ELP song was actually Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland.

Did Steve Howe look as old up close as he did from my seat? He looked about 80- it was actually shocking when he walked out, since Palmer looked about 40 from my seat.

parsons would have been great to see.

howe looked OLD.

palmer was the best looking of the bunch.
wetton was bulgng out of his clothes a little.
downes was a bit pudgy too.

wetton sounded spot on most of the show.

i would see them again if they were in the area.

not 1983 but it was till a good show.

it really was great to see these guys together again.
they are legends in this genre of progressive, getting to hear them was a pleasure.

Steve Howe has looked ancient for a long time. That photo looks pretty much the same as he did when I met him more than 10 years ago.

I agree,he's looked that old for many years now,but he plays as good as ever. I'm going to see Asia tonight only because Steve Howe is an icon(IMHO).

actually, nevermind...

its considered bad form to come into a thread and just make a generic i hate that band or i wouldnt see them if you paid me remark.
it really adds nothing to the discusion.


thats condescending.

we're just trying to talk about a band that we remember from years ago and enjoyed.

fair enough, dude. i wish you would have said that the first time. i was just surprised that they were still going and i didn't stop there. anyways...