Encore, Encore!

Adrian Belew Power Trio
Opening Act: Saul Zonana
Blueberry Hill - Duck Room
University City (St. Louis), MO
Thursday, April 16, 2009
General Admission
$20

"Hi Rhea. How you doing?" I had just seen an extraordinary concert from Adrian Belew, and now he was signing autographs for fans. And that was how he greeted me. I am still not used to him knowing my name and not giving us the usual "it's you guys again". I was kinda pleasantly shocked, so I came up with "Hi. Wow. Thanks." in reply and then rushing to say how much I liked the new songs A and B. I need to be cooler next time. Afterwards, I had to ask Roy if I really heard Adrian say it.

Earlier in the day, at work, I went to a lunch-time presentation called "The Polished Professional". The presenter talked about the impact you make calling people by name. That was sure made clear to me after the show. The presentation also went into how you present yourself, clothing, projecting a professional image. I think I broke every rule between yesterday and today:
- I left work early yesterday to go to a rock concert.
- I got into work late today because I stayed up too late at said rock concert.
- Showed up to work with my hair still damp
- They stamped our hands on the way into the show last night, and I couldn't wash it off completely, so there are remains of blue ink on my hand

I was tempted to take today off as a vacation day, but I needed to support a meeting. I joked about all of this with my coworkers and told them I'm going for the eccentric genius image rather than the professional one.

I had worked extra hours earlier in the week so that I could leave early on Thursday. The day went by pretty quickly. I left at 3, and came home to change my clothes and get ready for the concert. And for waiting in line. I have this thing about needing to be in the front row and in my spot. So for general admission concerts, my comfort level is such that I need to be in line long before the next person shows up. No close calls. Roy doesn't love this, but he understands and goes along with it. We walked over to Blueberry Hill around 4 for dinner, and got in line afterwards, around 5. The doors were going to open at 8.

We passed the time by reading and discussing what Yes shows we wanted to see on their summer tour. Only one other fan was there when Adrian and his band arrived. He said hi to us and shook the other guy's hand. More people got in line, and we recognized some of the people towards the front of the line from previous shows. Truthfully, they recognized us. I'm bad with faces, especially when I'm meeting a whole bunch of people at once. But everyone seems to remember me. It puts me at a disadvantage, because people will come over to talk to me and I can't figure out who they are. (But I remember minutia and dates well.)

The doors opened, and Roy and I got our spot. Front row, standing right in front of Adrian's mike stand. This is just about my favorite place to be in the world. There were tables and chairs off to the side, but front and center was set up as a dance floor.

The last time we saw the Power Trio and their opening act, we were in Cleveland. It was during a blizzard, and we were worried about traveling in the bad weather. Now, I was much more relaxed and I enjoyed the opening act Saul Zonana more. He did a cover of the Beatles' Across the Universe and turned it into a singalong.

There was a setlist taped to the floor of the stage. I could see the bottom part of it. I don't think it was used - the songs were played out of order and at least one song I saw was not played.

The band came on just before ten, my usual bedtime. They opened with an instrumental that reminded me of a reworked instrumental Neurotica. It got really good as it went on. Really really good. This first piece was really tracks "A" and "B" of the power trio's upcoming album E. The next song was Young Lions, one of my favorite Adrian songs. Great start to the show.

The rest of the song order is a blur - I know we heard Big Electric Cat, Writing on the Wall, Ampersand, Beat Box Guitar, Madness, Drive, Of Bow and Drum, and some others that I didn't recognize. Adrian had blogged that he'd be playing "some past favorites you haven't heard in a while", but nothing fit that category for me. I saw "Rhino" on the setlist, but they didn't play Lone Rhinoceros. They also played another new piece E. Roy and I had heard that one in Cleveland last year. It meandered and didn't have the punch that the opening songs A and B had.

There were a whole bunch of little issues, but they didn't detract from the experience. One thing that did detract was the heat. It was so warm in there, and there was no air movement. I was sweating even before the show started. Adrian was sweating so much his guitar pick slipped out of his fingers. The biggest mistake of the night was the band fizzling out during Madness. I guess people thought it was the end of the song, because they applauded, but Roy and I just looked at each other. They started the song back up again. It didn't seem to faze the audience. Adrian has such a complicated setup, a couple times he stepped on the wrong pedal and caused a humming sound or got the wrong sound out of his guitar.

Those little things didn't seem to matter. I felt like I was in the moment and really feeling the music rather than letting my mind wander. Adrian's band is great and he's got a wonderful presence on stage. Roy and I talked afterwards about how much eye contact Adrian made with us; it makes me feel like I'm part of the excitement rather than an observer. A couple times, it felt like he was speaking to us rather than to the audience - mentioning how hot it was and asking if we saw where his pick fell. The crowd response was great too. I can only imagine that most of them weren't familiar with all the material, but they were really getting into it. It was that back and forth between the band and audience that made this my favorite of the power trio shows I've seen.

The setlist had a major gap in it. No King Crimson. I had seen part of the setlist, and the main set ended with "3", and Thela was one of the encore songs. But the main set ended without Three of a Perfect Pair. The band came back out and encored with Thela Hun Ginjeet. As much as I love Adrian's solo music, these Crimson songs are the reason I became a fan. I enjoyed that one. And then the show was over.

Or was it? The time was something like quarter-to-midnight, it was a week night, but the crowd wanted more. The audience was still cheering. Adrian's bandmates are a brother and sister. Their dad was at the concert, filming it from the back of the stage. He was gesturing for us to keep cheering. It got loud. I could see the door to the backstage opening a few times and glimpses of the band getting ready to come back on stage.

The whole idea of an encore is that the audience expresses their intent that they enjoyed the performance and would like more. In reality, encores are planned. The band goes off stage, people applaud, then the band comes back on stage. Yes saves Roundabout for the encore. I've seen Springsteen play an hour long encore. I've seen real encores before, generally at festivals when a band plays their allotted time, there is great audience response, and the stage managers give the band more time. This time was different, because the band could set their own performance length, what songs they wanted to play, and they played them.

I have to admit, I wasn't applauding all that loudly. The show was over. But something could happen. I stayed in my spot. The audience did it. Adrian and his bandmates came back on stage. It was such a thrilling moment. Adrian looked overwhelmed by the response and told us that he'd like to play for us all night, but they'd do one more song. It was Three of a Perfect Pair.

After that, the show really was over. When everything goes right, live performances can really be transcendent. This night was like that.

Adrian and his band came out to sign autographs afterwards. Roy and I were going to wait until the crowd got smaller and then walk up. At first, everyone was gathered around Adrian, and he was signing things, but it was all moving very quickly. I prefer when there's a line and then some one-on-one time. Someone else decided that we had been there longer and gave us some space. Adrian saw us and said "Hi Rhea, how you doing?" (I had to write that again.) I'm still not used to that. I wasn't looking at him at the time and was not expecting a hello like that. He signed my Young Lions CD. I told him how much I liked the new pieces A and B and then rambled about how we had seen E last year. Adrian told us that they haven't played the other new pieces C and D live yet. The whole thing was really quick.

We talked to some other fans. One guy liked the show Adrian did here a few years back with his other power trio better, because they played more Crimson songs. I think the current trio is much more exciting.

Roy wanted to tell Adrian a particular story. When the crowd got smaller, Roy went up to him again. We bought a Bears tshirt from their tour in 2002. I call it the Big Electric Bear shirt. Roy happened to be wearing it when we met artist Roger Dean at a festival, and Roger said he liked it. He thought it was a dog. We told him it was a bear, and he said "Even better!" I could hear Roy telling the story, and Adrian replying that Roger Dean knew his art. Roy also talked to Adrian's bandmembers, Eric and Julie Slick, telling them how we saw them last year in Cleveland. Eric remembered the venue was the Beachland Ballroom.

We walked back through the restaurant, and the Talking Heads Burning Down the House was on the jukebox. I sang along, and we walked back home. It was nearly 1 AM. I sent out an e-mail to my boss that I'd be in late the next day. I wasn't ready for sleep, too wound up and excited from the experience. I sent a note to the Adrian Belew Yahoogroup about the extra encore and did a few other things on line.

The next morning, my boss IM'd me to ask if it was a late night and then, if it was worth it. I wrote back "oh yes". Sometimes it feels like I live in two worlds, between the music fandom and my career. I don't know how "professional" it is to share my other life with coworkers, but I'm glad I can and that they take an interest in it. We all have other lives outside of work.

Taking Lemons and Making Lemonade

Howe Squire and White
of Yes
Aladdin Theater
Portland, OR
Saturday, February 14, 2009
General Admission - Early Entry
$200

Howe Squire and White
of Yes
Commodore Ballroom
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Sunday, February 15, 2009
General Admission - Early Entry
$202 (Canadian)

Portland Jazz Festival
Terence Blanchard
opening act: Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Schnitzer Concert Hall
Portland, OR
Friday, February 13, 2009
Section Mezz C, Row H, Seat 7

My heroes are getting old. I've known my favorite musicians were getting older - we all are - but it never seemed to slow them down before. Lately, however, Rick Wakeman cut down how much touring he would do each year. Jon Anderson was seriously ill last year, which forced the cancellation of a Yes tour.

Roy and I had this in mind when Chris Squire, Alan White, and Steve Howe announced a second leg of their tour, hitting the west coast. After seeing them three times last year, I wanted to go to more shows. We decided on Portland and Vancouver; they were cities we wanted to visit. Roy and I talked about what would happen if this tour didn't take place. We wanted to go anyway. So we booked a non-refundable flight and non-refundable cheaper hotel rooms.

I had big plans for this trip. Both shows were general admission, and I paid extra for early entry seats. We'd get in line early and be in the front row for both shows. Seeing our favorites together on Valentine's Day would be the best way to celebrate ever. Maybe we'd even be on the same flight as the band from Portland to Vancouver.

The first night of the tour took place. The second show was cancelled suddenly. Chris Squire had been rushed to the hospital. The official Yes website states that Chris had surgery on his leg and he is on his way to a full recovery. At the time, we didn't know anything: if just one or two shows would be cancelled, the whole tour, or what.

It seems callous to worry about our own plans when Chris' health was in question. But in reality, we were flying to unfamiliar cities in a couple days and needed some back-up plans. Portland had a lot of stuff going on - the Portland Jazz Festival and a film festival going on. We found out a day before we left that the next week of shows would be cancelled. Later on, it was announced that the whole tour would be cancelled.

I was dreading the flight to Portland, but it turned out well. There were no direct flights and Roy did not want to leave too early in the morning. So we had a flight going from St. Louis to Dallas, a three hour layover in Dallas, and then Dallas to Portland. The flight south to Dallas flew right over my neighborhood - I could even identify my street from the airplane. Coldplay tickets were going on pre-sale that day, and we arrived at our layover in time to find internet access and buy tickets. We still had time for a sit-down lunch. The whole trip was long, but relaxing. We arrived in Portland in mid-afternoon.

Roy and I checked into the hotel and rested for a little while, but I did not fall asleep. As usual, I didn't sleep on the plane either. This was the opening night of the Portland Jazz Festival, and we decided to see Terence Blanchard, a trumpet player and native of New Orleans. This had the makings of a very special performance - the live debut of his score of the Hurricane Katrina documentary "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts", complete with a orchestra accompaniment.

I was concerned about the timing of some of the performances. Portland is two hours behind St. Louis. Some of the performances were starting at 9:30pm - that's 11:30pm my time. I woke up even earlier than usual that day because of the flight. I thought we were okay, because the Blanchard show started at 7:30. From the performance schedule, it looked like events were starting every 2 hours, so I thought each of the performances would last that long. I didn't realize there was an opening act who'd get to play for an hour and a half. The opener didn't thrill me, and I had been awake for almost 20 hours straight by the time the headliner went on stage. Roy told me to get up and walk around during the intermission. It was so crowded though, I did better perking myself up by reading the program. Roy offered to walk me back to the hotel so I could go to sleep, but I wanted to see the main event too.

I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. The music was beautiful and well-performed, all the musicians looked excited to be there. It felt special. It gave me enough energy to really enjoy the first half hour or so. Then, the tiredness got to me. I sat there for another half hour, unable to sleep and unable to focus. I told Roy I wanted us to leave. Neither of us were happy about this. He was so enjoying the show. Roy suggested I walk back to the hotel myself - I didn't feel comfortable doing that in a strange city and being so tired. Thinking back, I should have gotten out of the dark auditorium and read in the lobby. Then Roy could have seen the whole performance. Blanchard is coming to St. Louis in May, but this one was a once-in-a-lifetime performance.

That's the only concert we attended on the trip. The next day, we explored Portland, going to Voodoo Donuts, Powell's bookstore, Everyday Music, other shops along Burnside, took a street car, and went to the art museum. We had a bit of a problem with food - Roy and I expected to spend Valentine's Day in line to see Yes, so we had no dinner reservations and no idea where to go. The hotel suggested a pizza place nearby. We ate there, and someone commented on Roy's Yes t-shirt, so we talked music with some other people there. Then Yes came on the radio!

I've always been more of a daytime city person than a fan of nightlife. We just went back to the hotel after dinner. It sounds like a letdown to watch a movie in the hotel on a Saturday night, but we enjoyed it.

I think I was most impressed with the people in Portland - everyone was so friendly and helpful. I got a feeling of forced over-the-top cheerfulness from one woman at the airport, but it seemed natural from everyone else. The city is a real experiment in public funding - there was a good public transportation system and a lot of environmentally friendly infrastructure in place. People just seemed proud of their city and wanting to make sure we enjoying it.

When I visit different cities, I imagine what it would be like to live there. I never got a good feeling of how people actually lived in Portland - we didn't see any houses walking around downtown, just a few newer looking condo or apartment buildings. The moderate tempuratures, artsy atmosphere, and outdoor lifestyle would be nice. But would I really want to live in a place where three members of Yes couldn't sell out a 600 seat venue?

The second part of our trip was flying to Vancouver, British Columbia. Beautiful city. It was definitely the off-season for tourism there, many of tours and events at Stanley Park weren't taking place this time of year. But we were able to get a cheap rate at the Hotel Vancouver - a really nice hotel. We walked along Robson Street, saw the beach, went to Granville Island, and walked along the sea wall from Stanley Park back towards the hotel.

One of the highlights of the trip was walking across the Granville Street Bridge. We did it as a last minute decision - we're on Granville, we want to go to Granville Island, let's walk. Once we were on the bridge we had to stop a few times just to look at the gorgeous city, the water, the buildings downtown, Granville Island, the blue sky. If we had taken a cab or the ferry across, we would have missed this experience. For a moment, I wish I had brought a camera along, but the pictures could not possibly turn out as spectacular as what we saw.

Quite the concert took place while we were there, but we didn't know about it at the time! We did the same thing in Vancouver as Portland - explored the city during the day and had low-key evenings. If we had known what was taking place in our very hotel...

Diana Krall held a fund-raising concert at the Hotel Vancouver, with guests Elvis Costello, Elton John, James Taylor, Sarah McLachlan. Roy and I saw people all dressed up in the hotel lobby, and we saw a sign for the concert. I thought this was a dinner or an award or appreciation type of event. No, we found out later that all of these people I listed above were playing live in our hotel while we were there. We wouldn't have been able to attend, but I probably would have stayed in the lobby longer to people-watch.

The Vancouver Sun
The Vancouver Sun - Background on the charity
tiscali
News 1130
24 Hours Vancouver

Aside from the late night and fatigue from the first night of our trip, everything was relaxing. We didn't get to see our band, but it gave us more time to explore these fascinating cities. I think we made the best of it.