RheaYes Concert Blog

Death Cab for Cutie

2011-10-15T20:59:00.002-05:00

Death Cab for Cutie
Opening Act: Telekinesis
The Pageant
St. Louis, MO
Sunday, October 2, 2011
General Admission
$35

I saw this concert almost two weeks ago, but it's still living in my head. It's time to start up the concert blog again. I need to document shows like this.

I've been in a musical rut lately. I haven't been becoming a fan of newer bands. Since I was a teenager, I've loved the British progressive rock bands of the 1970s, and it's been my favorite music for 20 years. But I used to be able to find modern bands that I liked as well. I worked at the best radio station in the world in college, and I listened to it for years afterward.

Then I moved to Missouri and started listening to classic rock radio. I found a few new bands here and there from recommendations. And I go to prog music festivals every year, sometimes several a year, but I find I enjoy a lot of those bands for their performance more than their music. I love the scene, but I'm not finding bands whose music I really want to absorb.

Almost two years ago, I quizzed friends on new bands they liked and checked out a few. I listened to the new modern rock radio station. Then it changed formats and I went back to classic rock. The effort did pay off, as I have a dozen albums by newer bands I like and I've seen a few of them in concert now.

I don't remember when I first heard of Death Cab for Cutie. Roy watched one of their concert videos and we both liked it. I liked the song "I Will Possess Your Heart", but I can't remember where I first heard it or learned what band did it. Likely, I was back home in Philly listening to WXPN.

That's what happened in August. I was visiting my dad for a long weekend, and WXPN was hyping an upcoming Death Cab for Cutie concert. They would be playing later in the week, after I flew home. I liked what I heard and thought I wouldn't mind seeing them sometime.

Tickets for their St. Louis show went on sale that Friday.

The show was at the Pageant. I have a love/hate thing with that place. More love since it went non-smoking and I moved to its neighborhood. But I'm so over going to concerts and not being able to see anything. There's a big general admission area, and lots of room for tall people to stand in front of me. Roy was interested in the concert too. We tried to get the reserved seats in the balcony, but they sold out. We snagged two general admission tickets.

On the same day, we bought tickets for the gala reopening of the Kiel Opera House with Aretha Franklin and Jay Leno. The concerts were the first weekend in October, a day apart. I wrote a note on Facebook bragging about how eclectic my tastes are.

I really like general admission concerts...sometimes. With my bands, I'm still the youngest person there and the crowds are mellow. I certainly don't mind waiting in line the day of the show to get a spot by the stage. But I didn't know what this crowd would be like - mostly kids, I guessed.

On the day of the show, I still wasn't sure if I wanted to grab a seat or try to stand by the stage. Roy didn't want to wait in line, so we agreed that I'd go there at some point and try to get two seats or just get a spot for myself in the pit. Roy walked by the Pageant around 3, and said there were a few people already in line. Maybe I should have gone then.

The Pageant has an early entry system. People over 21 can wait inside their bar and enter first. The bar opens at 5, so I aimed to get there then. There was already a decent sized line, with a wait to even get into the bar. It's funny, Roy's 19 years older than me, and when I go with him, I never get carded. This time they carded everyone. The bouncer was the only person who said anything about my Yes t-shirt. Roy said the same bouncer was at the door when he arrived. He went in at the same time as another older couple. The bouncer carded Roy too, but asked the other people questions about the Monkees to prove their age!

The only thing memorable about the wait was going through security. I travel a lot and go to concerts a lot. This was the most thorough check that I've ever had. The woman seemed offended that my concert purse had so many compartments and zipped sections. I don't know what she was looking for - I actually had to pull out my business cards in one small pocket to show her that was all that was in there. But she was fine with my aspirin bottle and my wrapped up sandwich.

The wait went quickly. The area right in front of the stage was already full; I later found out that the fan club people got early-early entry, so the club had more people in it than I expected. The front row of general admission seats was already full too. There's four tiered levels on the floor, going from the pit up to the bar. At first, I grabbed two seats near the soundboard back by the bar, but then I decided on two stools in the next tier down. They were less comfortable to sit on, but gave me a better chance to see over people. Roy found me and all was good. I like this place when I'm in the balcony or standing in the front row, but this wasn't bad.

The opening act was a band called Telekinesis, a young garage-level band that had some ties to Death Cab. They didn't play a long set and they were better than they could have been.

Death Cab for Cutie opened up with I Will Possess Your Heart. Yay, I figured they'd do this song, but it made for a great opening. Hypnotic bass line and piano. I bought MP3s of their latest two albums to prepare for the show, but this was really the only song I knew well.

It was one of the next songs that really caught my attention. Not sure which one it was, but the band got a lot heavier than I was expecting. My biggest issue with heavier music these days is how it trends to low-frequency mush - the singer growls, the guitar is distorted until it sounds like a bass, and all I can discern from it is the rhythm of the riffs. It's why I don't listen to KSHE or the Point, radio stations that play newer music. I want songs that take inspiration from Roundabout, clean and bright sounding. Anyway, Death Cab got heavy, but stayed sonically interesting to me. I loved it.

As the show went on, I found myself really enjoying it. The songs had development, good sounds, personality. I hadn't liked the Ben Gibbard's voice all that much on record, but live, I got it. There was a good variety of sound - the singer alternated between guitar and piano. My view of the stage was partly blocked (tall people standing in my tier) and I couldn't see much of guitarist/keyboard player Chris Walla on my right, but I think he was responsible for a lot of the layered sound that gave their songs that lovely atmosphere. Roy and I commented to each other that we liked the songs with piano best, that extra dimension brought something more to the music.

My favorite song of the night was We Looked Like Giants, with Gibbard adding drums to his other instruments. Roy and I joked during the show that most of the songs were so concise, no jams or dramatic finishes, compared to bands that we usually listen to. When they did stretch out here with the drum duet, I took notice. This sound, in the context of a song-based group, was something I've been wanting, but missing.

The other non-music parts of the show, like the stage set and interaction with the crowd, were great too. This night was one of the baseball play-off games. Roy and I have this fake-rivalry going on; I don't care about sports, but I will always root for my hometown. And our hometowns were playing each other. Before the encore, Ben Gibbard gave out the score, with the Cardinals leading the Phillies by a run. After the encore, he came back on stage to announce the Cardinals had won. I turned to Roy and made a show of stamping my foot and cursing, but I must admit it was a great way for the show to end.

The show reminded me of some that I had gone to when I was younger - when there were so many bands out there from the previous 25 years that I knew I would eventually love. I went to see Traffic on their reunion tour, when I only knew two songs from them. I figured that would be my only chance, and I didn't want to regret missing them after I delved into their catalog. I loved the show, and stopped by Record Castle the next day to buy all their used Traffic albums.

Gibbard also spent time talking about buying some records down the street at Vintage Vinyl. Later that week, I made my own trip to Vintage Vinyl. I re-bought their newest album Codes and Keys, this time on LP. And I picked up several cheap EPs and CDs. Last night, we sat down and listened to the album, lyrics in hand. I just listened to it, without turning it into background music. Aside from the new Yes album, it's been a while since I've done that.

I bought a t-shirt after the concert, and we walked home discussing our impressions. Roy didn't like it as much. We have such similar taste in music, but where I heard all the dynamics in their sound, he heard a repetitive rhythm section that made the songs sound the same. Roy liked the studio albums better. He found some comparisons - the production style and vocals in Codes and Keys made him think of Trevor Horn's production of the Dream Academy. And Gibbard's vocals on Grapevine Fires reminded him of Al Stewart.

The review in the Riverfront Times the next day helped me put this in perspective. Death Cab for Cutie are not a new band. They have a pretty extensive catalog, and their music means a lot to some people. The show was sold out, so people must have some way of learning about bands like this. Only one of my coworkers was familiar with them; he listens to satellite radio and the bands his kids like. That's something I should look into... um, the satellite radio part, not having kids just so I can learn about their favorite bands when they'd be teenagers!

I'm excited right now, but I'm trying not to overdose on new music or harp on it too much. I wonder if I would have enjoyed the show more if I was familiar with the music or if the surprise of enjoying so much made it that much better. I do know one thing though...

Next time, I will be in the front row singing along with all the songs.

Miss Diana Ross

2010-06-15T22:05:00.000-05:00

Diana Ross
Fox Theater
St. Louis, MO
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Section Balcony 03, Row A, Seat 125
$67.50

A lot of the music that I love comes from the time period before I was born or when I was too young to appreciate it. I learned a lot from listening to classic rock radio or delving into albums and CDs, reading books about the era, or listening to older fans. I wasn't exposed to Motown this way. I never went out of my way to listen to these recordings, but I know a lot of Supremes songs, just by picking them up through popular culture.

When a St. Louis show was announced for Diana Ross' retrospective tour, I was curious. She is legendary, and this would be a good opportunity to see her. I actually do have one of her albums. One of the nice things about being known as a record collector is the donations...people give me records they no longer have use for. One coworker gave An Evening With Diana Ross on LP a few years ago. Roy and I listened to it before the tickets went on sale to see if we really wanted to go. Plus, the show was at the Fox Theater, which is always nice.

We got tickets in the pre-sale, front row of the lower balcony, center section. These were great seats. We had a full view of the stage, mostly full view of the large screen behind it, and also a good view of the fans sitting in the orchestra pit. We brought binoculars too. I normally find them distracting during concerts; I'd rather be bopping around to the music than sitting still to look through them. I thought this show would be more about observing the performance than really getting into the music, and there would be a lot to see. We had fun watching the crowd too - this was a dress-up occasion for a lot of people there.

The show was scheduled to start at 7:30pm, but it really started another fifteen minutes after that. No opening act. The band took the stage and started playing an instrumental. I counted - it was an 18 piece backing band: 4 piece horn section, 5 piece string section, guitar, bass, drums, percussion, keyboard, piano, and three backup singers. The stage was set up in different tiers, so we could see them all clearly. Diana Ross appeared via a lift on the back of the stage and then walked down some steps to the front.

It was a dramatic entrance. She wore a sparkly dress with a big chartreuse wrap. I only mention her clothing because it was a big part of the show. Diana Ross changed into 4 other sparkly dresses in different colors throughout the concert. For all the concerts I've been to over the years, I've never gone to a big pop show with costume changes. It certainly gave us something to look at throughout the show. I used the binoculars the most when she made her entrances. Every time I looked at the legend close-up, she was smiling as she was singing.

The first couple songs didn't do much for me. I didn't think the sound was very good. Diana Ross' vocals were buried in the mix. I hoped the whole show wouldn't be like this. The third song Reflections was the first to really pull me in to the music. I wasn't familiar with it before the show, but it had that snappy Motown beat and harmonies that I expected from a show like this. The first portion of the show also contained songs You Can't Hurry Love, Stop in the Name of Love, and Love Child. It really was cool to watch live such an iconic moment of Diana Ross holding up her hand for "Stop" like the Supremes used to do. That is real musical history there.

Ross left the stage during Love Child to change her gown. The band kept playing and went into a cuban-sounding jam. I liked that quite a bit.

The next portion of the show featured more disco-sounding songs. I had heard I'm Coming Out and My House before, but they're not really in my musical world. Thankfully, during these songs, there was more visually going on. The screen showed pictures of the Supremes and other scenes from Ross' past. She invited a couple fans up to dance with her. One little girl was smiling so big, I didn't need the binoculars to see it. She also played Ease on Down the Road, which I remember from watching The Wiz on TV when I was little.

My favorite part of the show was the next part. Diana Ross sang a few jazzier songs. The backing vocalists weren't used and only some of the band members stayed on stage, so it was a less full mix. I think these songs highlighted her voice the best. There wasn't so much aural competition.

There were other songs later on that I knew like the theme from the movie Mahogany, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Endless Love. There were a few that I knew but didn't associate with Diana Ross: Why Do Fools Fall in Love and (ugh) I Will Survive. I turned to Roy during that one and said "Disco still sucks". Roy pointed out that at least it was being playing with real instruments.

Diana Ross refered to this herself. She didn't say much during the show and didn't do much to introduce her songs. But before the encore, she mentioned that this was "real music" and introduced her entire backing band. I wonder how it is for a pop singer who has been active so long. She's probably gone from being backed by an orchestra, to rock band instrumentation, to synthesizers and computers, and now back to live musicians. I don't know if she plays any music herself or always got to choose who was playing with her, but hopefully, she can tour with the sound she wants now at this point in her career.

(I do have to admit, I once saw Brian Wilson on his SMiLE tour play with a similar sized backing band. It remains the best sound I've ever heard at a concert. Every instrument could be heard distinctly, but blended together well. The sound here wasn't nearly that good. After the first couple songs, I didn't feel like I was lost in the mix at least.)

I didn't know the songs from the encore. Diana Ross came out in my favorite of her costumes, sweatpants, a zipped up sweatshirt, and sneakers. She told us she was leaving when this song was over, and she was dressed for it. There were a few songs I would have liked to hear that she didn't play: I Hear a Symphony, Baby Love, You Keep Me Hanging On. The show had a great presentation, great production values, and it was a lot of fun. Plus, it ran for just over an hour and a half. It was over around 9:20pm, and we got home well before 10pm on a Sunday night. It is so nice going to a concert and not having to recover from a late night.

State of Independence

2010-06-05T22:42:00.004-05:00

Jon Anderson and the Contemporary Youth Orchestra
Liza Grossman, Music Director
Severance Hall
Cleveland, OH
Monday, May 24, 2010
Section 200, Row A, Seat 210
$42

Jon Anderson had just finished the first song in the world premiere of his new four-piece suite. Roy turned to me and said "Wow." We had managed to not only get seats in the front row, but directly in front of Jon. Jon was looking for audience reaction and saw our exchange. "Wow?", Jon made eye contact with Roy and mouthed this to him. Roy smiled and gave our hero a thumbs-up.

This is the second time we've seen Jon after his illness in 2008. We saw his first show back, last year in California. I wanted to be there to show my support for Jon. He's been doing more one-man shows, but this was something different. He was playing with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra in Cleveland, playing his songs with a full orchestra and choir. We saw him with the Youth Orchestra once before, in 2004. It remains one of my favorite concert experiences, and we jumped at the chance to go to this one.

The trip itself took a couple changes. The show was on a Monday, and we originally booked a flight coming in on Sunday night. The venue and our hotel were in the University Circle area of Cleveland, home to colleges and a number of museums. We'd have time to be tourists. Then, I found out the finale of Lost would be airing that Sunday night, and I had to watch that live. We changed our flight to fly out Monday morning. It led to two late nights of entertainment and two early mornings of flights. Plus, our flight on Monday was delayed, so we got even less time to sightsee in Cleveland.

We got together with my friend Jerry and his new girlfriend Vicki at the hotel, and then we went to dinner at a place next door to catch up and get acquainted. The venue was a classy one this time, the home of the Cleveland Orchestra. Jon deserves it; he should aways get to play places this nice. It was just a short walk from the hotel. I bought a bottle of water to smuggle into the auditorium. We didn't even see the merchandise or the artwork on display.

I jokingly told Jerry and Vicki that Roy's and my seats were "right in front of Jon". I didn't realize it until we found that seats that we were, indeed, right in front of his microphone stand. Jon's wife Jane had a seat in the second row right behind Roy. I've had seats in the front row for Jon before, but never quite this close. He was set up right by the edge of the stage. Standing up, we could have touched his microphone stand. I stood up and waved to Jerry, so he could see exactly where I was sitting.

The show got off to a wonderful start with Starship Trooper and Long Distance Runaround. Trooper was reworked somewhat. I looked back to see if Jane was going to stand up to applaud. I followed her lead and gave Trooper a standing ovation. We all applauded for a long time. There was another ovation for Long Distance Runaround.

In Jon's solo shows, he's only been doing the Life Seeker part of Starship Trooper, changing it almost to a verse-chorus-verse structure. The orchestra played that part, but also the instrumental Wurm. I wondered if he dropped the "Loneliness is a power that we possess" lyrics because they were Chris Squire's. Later on, Jerry pointed out that he also left out the "you and you may follow" part. His voice may not be strong enough to hold the note on "follow".

Regardless, the orchestra sounded wonderful and Jon sounded even wonderful-er. This concert hall is built for acoustics and the orchestra just washed over us towards the finale of Starship Trooper. Jon sounded and looked much stronger than he had last year. We had a small speaker near us carrying Jon's voice and guitar and the choir. I joked later on that this was the "QPR mix", since we could hear Jon's guitar high in the mix.

Jon did a couple more unreleased songs, some that I recognized from other shows, some that I heard for the first time this night. The song Big Buddha (which used to be called This Is or The Buddha Song) sounded particularly good with the choir. We heard probably the best version of the song Show Me that I've heard, but I still wasn't sure we needed to hear it again.

The big deal in the first half of the set was the premiere of the four-song set. Jon had written it for orchestra and choir, so we were going to hear it exactly as conceived. The four parts were Children Yet to Come, Earth Singing, Breathing, and Love is All. Roy's reaction might have been "Wow", but for me, the performance could have been better. Jon was reading the lyrics right off his lyric sheet, and sometimes he sang towards the lyrics rather than into the microphone. He told the audience he was so excited by the musicians on stage that he wasn't paying enough attention to his own part. I want to hear it again before making any judgements.

During intermission, Jerry and Vicki came up to our seats and compared notes. This was Vicki's first time seeing Jon live, and what a show to see. Roy pointed out some of the musicians who looked like they were really enjoying performing this music. (I had eyes only for Jon.) If anything the second half of the show was even more impressive than the first.

Someone named "Warciple" took this picture and posted it online. He kindly gave me permission to use it in the blog. It looks like this was taken during the intermission. You can see me standing right in front of my seat with my back to the stage, in the bottom right corner of the photo.

The second set opened with a beautiful And You And I. It had more magic than the version done by the current line-up of Yes. I've enjoyed almost all of the shows I've seen by the new line-up, but this just highlighted what they are missing. Some years ago, I would have said I was tired of hearing this song live, but then I fell in love with it over again.

The next new song was called Earth and Peace, and it was my favorite of the new pieces. I think Jon's singing was really great, showing off that beautiful voice.

The high point of the whole show was State of Independence. Liza Grossman, the conductor and music director, asked to give the introduction. She mentioned how great this song was at the previous Contemporary Youth Orchestra and how the theme of independence relating to the youth orchestra and this performance. The event was named "State of Independence". It was a great performance. Liza also gave Jon a queue during the song. Jon held his microphone up to the lead violinist for a short solo during the song. And afterward, Jon looked over at Roy, and gave Roy a thumb's up! He knew this was a great one.

The only nitpick I had with it was that Jon got some of the lyrics wrong. It's hard when I'm singing along with Jon and suddenly, I'm not in sync anymore. It pulls me out of the song. (This happened with Owner of a Lonely Heart in the first half too.) Still, this sounds powerful with the orchestra behind him.

We heard some other great songs too. Your Move/All Good People, Roundabout, Change We Must, Soon. Jon told us to sing along, but not to stand up, because we were in such a fancy venue. I was bopping along in my seat to Roundabout. There were multiple cameramen out there, filming this for eventual release. I noticed one of the cameras aimed at our row while I was singing and dancing in my seat. I tried not to react to it. I wonder if I'll end up in the final release?!

The encore was additional versions of Starship Trooper and State of Independence. It was great hearing them again. I guess for a classical thing like this with all the arrangements needing to be written out and everything needing to be rehearsed, they can't have "extra" songs to play during the encore. Jon got the words right this time, but Roy thinks the violin solo was better during the first performance.

We met up with Jerry and Vicki again. Vicki says she understands us following Jon and Yes around now. We talked for quite a while, and then I remembered I wanted to buy a t-shirt and a poster. I was sure that the merchandise booth would be closed by now, but Roy told me to check anyway. I was happy to be wrong! I made my purchases.

I've been able to meet Jon Anderson at a number of his shows. Sometimes he does meet-and-greet after the show, and sometimes he talks to fans waiting outside. This was a big building, and we had no idea where to wait or how long it would be. I felt like I lost an opportunity here, but I agreed that it was fruitless to hang around. We all walked back to the hotel and hung out in the lounge for another hour. Jerry showed us his iPad. We talked about this show, other shows we had seen, and how lucky we were to be part of this world.

Men with Sticks in Chicago

2010-05-23T17:24:00.001-05:00

Stick Men
Opening Act: The E-Mics
Martyrs'
Chicago, IL
Saturday, May 15, 2010
General Admission
$25

Even if you've never heard of Tony Levin, without a doubt, you have heard his music. He's played bass for Peter Gabriel, John Lennon, Paul Simon, in addition to being the long-time bass player in King Crimson. He's the best known player of an instrument called the Chapman Stick, a guitar/bass hybrid where each finger can play notes independently, like on a piano. Tony's current project features the Stick. His band is called Stick Men, with Tony and another musician on Stick and Pat Mastelotto from King Crimson on drums.

Stick Men weren't coming to St. Louis, but they were playing Chicago on a Saturday. Roy and I could drive up and back without taking any time off from work. The show was at Martyrs, and I've had some bad experiences there in the past. The club could get hot, no air movement, and quite smoky. I haven't been back since Illinois banned smoking, so maybe it would be better now.

Martyrs is so laid-back. Usually at a club for a general admission show, people will line up outside, wait until the doors open, and then file to a position by the stage. Martyrs is open as a bar earlier in the day, so their doors are always open. We got in around 6 and walked right in. They said someone would come around and check for tickets later. The opening band was still sound-checking. we sat down near the bar for a while. I wanted the space by the stage right in front of Tony, but I didn't want to be in anyone's way. There were some other fans there already. When everyone cleared off the stage, we walked over to our spot and stood... for the next six hours.

We were the only two people standing there, still some hours before the show was going to start. We saw Tony Levin walk into the club. He talked to a couple fans. Then he walked right over to us to say hi. Roy was wearing his Papa Bear Records t-shirt, for the record company that Tony owns. Tony noticed it and said he liked the t-shirt. I think that's why he stopped for a little longer, instead of just walking by. He told us he has almost sold out of the original run of those shirts. (Roy's had his for at least a dozen years.) Roy got to tell him that he enjoys Tony's website and blog and reads it often. Tony said he was heading upstairs to update it now.

My favorite types of general admission shows are the ones where there's a standing-room-only pit in front of the stage with seating further behind it. Especially for older bands, most of the people who get there early will vie for the seats, leaving the front of the stage for me. It takes the pressure off. Roy said Martyrs was this type of venue. I didn't think so, since there was only a row of seats by the back and a couple tables off to the side. But he was right; all those seats were filled before the front row was.

People started filling in. The merchandise booth was opened. Roy and I didn't end up buying a t-shirt, but I wanted to buy the new Stick Men CD. The band would hang out after the show to sign autographs; I knew I'd be buying this, so I didn't bring anything else to get signed.

But the copies of the new CD were already signed. I asked if they had any copies that weren't signed. The guy standing next to me quipped that the signatures would rub off easily. I explained that I was hoping to get this signed after the show. It was at the next comment that I realized I was talking to the "other" Stick player in the band, Michael Bernier. He said they signed them all in advance to cut down on doing so many autographs after the show, but they'd sign anything. I told him I was looking forward to the performance.

I really liked the opening band The E-Mics. It was two guys on guitar and vocals. Nice harmonies, nice guitar work. One of the musicians uses a saxophone for one song to change the sound up. The harmonies really made it work, it came across as a full sound, much more than if either of them were performing alone. Apparently, they opened for Adrian Belew in Chicago, and one of the band members was learning Three of a Perfect Pair. He played a measure of it on guitar a couple times. I think I liked this duo more than Stick Men.

I've been to three very different types of concerts this month. There was a pop band decades after their peak in popularity, struggling to play newer material when fans want to hear the old stuff. There's the soon-to-be classic alternative band, still at their peak, with an arena full of fans, and this band can play anything. Most of the fans know every song. Stick Men is something else entirely. It's a small crowd, all there on faith that we'll like the music given Levin and Mastelotto's other work. Stick Men have one album out, which came out a week ago, and they're playing the whole thing. This is really, really alternative.

The opening song was familiar, a reworked version of my favorite King Crimson song Indiscipline. It went on as an instrumental for so long, I wondered if they weren't doing the spoken word lyrics. Michael Bernier did the vocals. I think it's hard to judge, because this isn't being sung but spoken, but I thought he came across as mimicing Adrian Belew's delivery.

The next few songs were all unfamiliar ones. The real treat of this concert was seeing some of my favorite musicians so close. Pat Mastelotto had his drum kit at stage center, at the same level as the other musicians. Usually, his drum is on a riser further back on the stage. We could see everything he was playing, both the drums and the percussion work.

The show was divided into two 45 minute sets and an encore. It was in the second set that the stillness of the air began to bother me. It wasn't hot really, but it got uncomfortable. Smells just did not dissipate. Roy thought it smelled like a skunk at one point, but I think it was b.o. from people sweating. This place has some overhead fans, I don't know why they weren't using them. I got restless. I could see the songs listed out on Tony's setlist. There was an improvisation that went seemlessy into one of the new songs. In fact, all of the songs were unfamiliar after Indiscipline until the last song of the main set. They did a cover of Red, a King Crimson song from before either Levin or Mastelotto joined the band.

The encore was a special treat. Stick Men did an arrangement of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. This piece is best known to Yes fans as the classical piece that starts off most Yes concerts. There's a Pavlovian response of anticipation and excitement. Roy and I chose this as our processional music at our wedding. I have to admit, I'm not too familiar with the Suite other than the finale. But when Tony Levin played that melody that I know so well, I got chills.

After the show, I asked Roy to reach over on stage and grab Tony's setlist. We took seats by the bar and some drunk guy wandered up to us. I recognized him. He tried to squeeze in between Roy and me during the show and I wouldn't let him. He rambled on about how we need to go to Winnipeg and how Lincoln Avenue (where Martyrs is located) isn't where it's at. This went on and on. Finally, I told him I needed to talk to my husband. He stopped talking, but still stood there. Privately, I said. Finally, he left us alone. We could have walked away, but I didn't want to give up our seats.

Levin came out to talk to fans and sign autographs. Mastelotto was taking apart his drum set, but walked over to the edge of the stage to sign autographs. They both signed my newly purloined setlist. Some bands give them away after the show. I wonder if other bands mind taking these things. Tony Levin said it was a good idea to get it, so he was fine with it. Roy told him we drove up from St. Louis, and Tony wished us a safe drive back. Roy got to tell Pat Mastelotto how much we enjoyed watching him play. He thanked Roy and walked over to shake his hand.

I'm not sure I would travel up to Chicago to see this band again. I talked about this experience with a coworker who is not a rock music fan or concert-goer. He didn't have any assumptions and asked me some insiteful questions and wondered if it was because it was unfamiliar music. I don't think so. I go to a lot of concerts and festivals where there's music I don't know. I even liked the opening act E-Mics, and I had never heard of them before. I just don't love Stick Men's sound. I don't dislike it and I enjoyed seeing these musicians in concert. I'd see them again locally. This was a quick trip - we arrived in time for deep-dish pizza dinner and went to the show. We didn't do any Chicago-touristy things, so it was all about the concert.

However, when you add in giving up a whole weekend and sitting in a car for five hours each day, it wasn't worth it for me. I don't think that makes me any less of a Tony Levin fan. He works with a lot of different projects, and there are some I like more than others. I'm glad I got a chance to see this one, so I don't feel like I've been left out. For the next tour, I can make an informed decision.

Rising Above with Pearl Jam

2010-05-15T08:33:00.002-05:00

Pearl Jam
Scottrade Center
St. Louis, MO
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Section 102, Row G, Seat 17
$66.50

I graduated high school in 1992, so my senior year coincided with the Seattle grunge scene breakthrough. I was aware of it that year, but slow to catch on. On April 10, 1992, the very same night when Pearl Jam played the Trocadero in Philly, I was at the Skid Row concert at the Spectrum. I bought a few albums from Seattle bands, and I saw Soundgarden and Alice in Chains that school year.

I really became a Pearl Jam fan in college. I was 19 and getting more and more into Yes and other bands from the 1970s progressive rock era. I was excited about this music and other bands that I listened to when I was younger faded away. But I bought Pearl Jam's second album Vs. on midnight on the day of its release, and I listened to it a lot. Songs like Daughter and rearviewmirror resonated with me. Some of those lyrics could have been about me, putting my relationship with my family and a betrayed friendship into perspective. I bought a few more albums, but I never got to see them in college.

Seeing them now is nostalgic for me, a gift to my 19-year-old self. I knew that this is not a band that needs nostalgia. They've been active creating new music all along. I figured I'd know a handful of songs that they'd play, and the rest would be unfamiliar.

Roy didn't want to go to this concert. I think it's funny that sometimes I can go to a concert by myself and it doesn't bother me in the least. Other times, I feel like an outcast for no longer having a local group of friends to go with. I think it comes down to how well I know the music or what type of crowd I'm expecting. I asked around, and I couldn't find anyone else interested. I could buy two tickets and continue my search, or accept it and buy a single ticket. I didn't want to keep asking around. It was fine at the show, as I brought a magazine to read beforehand and I talked to some of the people in my row.

I ended up with a really good seat. I didn't want to be on the floor. I bought my ticket during the presale, and I got a seat in the first tier of seats, about seven rows up. I was in line with about the 15th row on the floor. It was a great viewing angle. Sometimes shows have video screens or a backdrop that can't be seen if your seat has a side-view of the stage. I like it better to be a section further back.

The opening act Band of Horses was a nice surprise. I had never heard of them before. They sounded nothing like Pearl Jam, but had a laid-back sound with a country-folk influence to their songs. I liked their harmonies and their use of piano.

Pearl Jam came on and opened with four songs in a row that I didn't recognize. The fifth song was Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town from Vs. I remembered all the words to this one. I sang along to "Hello. My god, it's been so long, never dreamed you'd return" and so did the rest of the audience. I got a big smile on my face. I knew a few more songs during the main set, and most of the encore songs. I heard the songs I really wanted to hear, Daughter and rearviewmirror. But I didn't get to hear other songs in the "would be nice to hear" category like Who You Are and Black. A fair trade-off.

I watched singer/guitarist Eddie Vedder for most of the show. So impressed with his performance. I think he's a fascinating artist, and I got to see him connect with the audience without being cheesy or over-the-top. He got us cheering without ever saying anything that didn't sound like he was chatting with us. One of my favorite moments, visually, of the show was Vedder holding his guitar over his head up to a spotlight. Light reflected off of it into the audience. I watched as he'd move his guitar a little and the reflected light would hit another section of the arena and then another. I wonder if he does that at every show. I'm amazed to read that he's 45 years old. That's how old my favorite singer Jon Anderson was the first time I saw him in concert, but Vedder still seems youthful.

The band didn't need a stage show to keep our attention. The backdrop was a cloth that had typewriter keys on it. In the center were the letters P E A R L J A M. The lights would shine on different letters and highlight them. I was close enough to be able to see and recognize all the band members, but not close enough to see their facial expressions. A close up video feed would have been nice, but it wasn't necessary.

Pearl Jam is a band that takes a stand on a lot of social and environmental issues. At this show, it was lessening the use of plastic water bottles. We clashed there, because I usually buy a bottled water at concerts. The concession lady told me the bottled waters were not allowed into the auditorium, so what they were doing was selling the waters, but pouring them into a plastic cup, which we were allowed to bring in. Two plastic drink holders is worse than one! To make it worse, the cup was a flimsy thing that had no lid. I imagined myself spilling it before I even got to my seat. I bought a large soda for $7 that was also plastic, but came with a lid. Of course, it's easy to find holes in the band's philosophy, places where they might look hypocritical. My big environmental deal is smoking, forcing me to breathe your carcinogenic waste. Eddie Vedder smoked on-stage, and even made it part of the show, in a non-smoking building. We can't all be perfect.

The concert lasted about two and a half hours, but it never dragged, even with me knowing so few of their songs. It was well-paced, with their mix of songs that sound like classic rock, heavier stuff, and quieter singalongs. It didn't go on too late either. The concert started at 7:30, and Pearl Jam took the stage around 8:30. The show was over by 11. For the final encore, the house lights came on. That maybe gave me another burst of energy, along with their cover of The Who's Baba O'Riley.

The final song of the night was Yellow Ledbetter. Eddie Vedder played tambourine, and he was hitting two tambourines against each other, then tossing them out to the audience. There was a roadie keeping him with a running supply of tambourines. Vedder stood on the far end of the stage to sing, and then walked into the audience. The song ended with him sitting on his monitors at the edge of the stage, having a drink. A roadie brought over a cigarette, and Eddie Vedder drank and smoke and hung out with the crowd listening to the end of the song.

I was talking to a coworker the day after the show. Now I've seen Pearl Jam, so I can check them off the list. But this show has stayed with me for the last week. I think I will see them again if they come back to St. Louis. And I'll be sure to check out their latest album, so I know more of their material.

Walk Like a Bangle

2010-05-03T20:55:00.003-05:00

The Bangles
Opening Act: Sick of Sarah
The Pageant
St. Louis, MO
Sunday, May 2, 2010
General Admission
$25

I didn't pay much attention to The Bangles in the 1980s. I knew their break-through singles Manic Monday and Walk Like an Egyptian, but that was a year before I really got interested in music. And I didn't care at all about ballads when Eternal Flame became a big hit.

One easy way to get my attention now is to have some connection to Yes. The Bangles' singer guitarist Susanna Hoffs is a self-professed Yes fan. She did a cover of Yes' I've Seen All Good People on an album of covers with Matthew Sweet. She even recorded the song with Steve Howe. I listen to this whole album often, and Roy and I also like an earlier volume they did of cover songs from the 1960s. I've become a fan of Susanna Hoffs, and that gave me new interest in The Bangles.

I heard The Bangles were coming to the Pageant, a concert venue in my neighborhood, just a half-mile from my home. I didn't rush out to buy tickets, but I made a note of the date. If we weren't too busy that day, it might be fun. I knew about five songs of theirs, so I figured I'd know about a third of their set. On the good side, the show was non-smoking. On the bad side, there were no reserved seats. I have this thing about needing a spot with a good sight-line at concerts. I'm short, so I can't see over most other people. I like getting to general admission shows early, waiting in line to get my pick of seats. Roy was interested in this show, but not enough to invest hours waiting in line.

The day of the show, I was running errands all morning and early afternoon. I'd have to make an early dinner if we were going to the show. We could have easily blown it off, except for this turn of events: I got home to find out our neighbors invited us over for a party they were having. I was tired, but Roy and I went down. I ended up playing a Wii dance game, dancing to a Beach Boys song. It was fun, and it put me in the mood to go to a concert and dance to the live music.

Our timeline was off from my original plan. We blew off waiting in line for good seats. The show started at 8. We weren't ready to leave home until 7:15, after dinner. We walked over, got tickets, and walked right up to the front row.

I knew the show hadn't sold too well; I read on-line that the Pageant wouldn't be opening the balcony for this show. Roy and I were hoping that there'd still be seats available, or if not, we could stand along the wall and hope for a good view. If we couldn't find a good spot, we'd just leave. Tickets weren't that expensive. When we got there, most of the seats were already taken. But we've noticed at shows that skew to an older crowd, almost everyone heads to the seats, and leaves the standing-room-only pit in front of the stage empty. There were maybe 10 people standing in the front row, so we joined them. Roy mentioned that if we had waited in line all those hours, this would pretty much be the spot I wanted anyway. We got there 15 minutes before the opening act started.

The opening act was called Sick of Sarah. Unfortunately, the sound quality during their set was just awful. We could hear the drums and bass, far-away sounding vocals. The guitar player was standing right in front of us, but I could not hear what she was playing. The band had a lot of energy and put on a good live presentation. Roy wandered back to the sound board, to see how different it sounded there. Not much better. Sometimes the front rows can get bad sound because the main speakers are above us, pushing the sound further back. We hear the on-stage monitors and get a weird mix. I don't know what was causing it this time. I hoped the Bangles would be better. The opening act played for half an hour.

I like the idea that the Bangles were taking a young group on tour to give them exposure, like bands used to do before the package tours became so popular. It feels like so many bands charge a fortune for concert tickets on the basis of nostalgia, and the return is that they have to offer up nostalgia, delivering songs that every one knows, by every band. With a band playing a small venue, with $25 tickets, the show becomes less of an "event" and more of a real concert by an active touring band. There's a freedom to play lesser known songs and bring unknown acts with them.

The Bangles came on stage right at nine. They opened with their cover of Hazy Shade of Winter, a Simon and Garfunkel song. For me, it was a great opening because it's so lively and it's the only song where I could sing along for the whole song, knowing all the words. The sound was much better than the opening band's. We could hear every instrument and the vocals clearly. The only thing I had trouble with was catching everything the band members said to the audience.

There were three microphones set up in front. Vicki Peterson stood stage center, Susanna Hoffs was stage left, close to where we were standing. For a few songs, Debbi Peterson left the drumset to play guitar; she took the position on stage right. This was not a real personality-driven band for me. Roy asked me earlier if I could name all the band members. I could, but I didn't know which Peterson sister was Debbi and which was Vicki. It turned out that Roy didn't know it was Susanna Hoffs standing closest to us; he refered to her as "the other guitarist" after the show. They all took turns singing, with Debbi sometimes singing while playing drums, and sometimes by the front of the stage. There were only three original members of the band. They were joined by a bassist and keyboard player.

This was just a really fun, well-performed, enjoyable show. I told Roy that it felt like the band stripped off the 80's production sheen from their music. It came across as power pop with great vocal harmonies. The covers they played only reinforced this - a Big Star song in memory of Alex Chilton, the Nazz's Open My Eyes (which Roy and I both thought was going to be Can't Explain from the Who), a snippet of the Who's Magic Bus during the encores. There was another song that used the bassline of The Beatles' Taxman. I don't know if that was a cover or not.

There was one song that I didn't think sounded well. They performed to a backing track for one song, so Debbi Peterson could play guitar. The pre-recorded drums were too loud and seemed to clash with what the band was playing, rather than support it. Either I got used to it, or they fixed the volume issue, because it got better as it got on.

Roy was particularly impressed with Vicki Peterson's guitar playing. He said it reminded him of The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward's very melodic playing.

The Bangles played one unreleased song, from their upcoming album. Vicki Peterson asked the audience to indulge them this one song. I hate that it's come to this. Why is there this dividing line, where songs of a certain vintage are acceptable, and new songs suck? Every song was new at one point, and we used to like them. Did it come with radio deciding to stop playing the new songs from older bands? Or too many artists with new material that wasn't that interesting, too middle-of-the-road. I asked Roy if, when he saw Yes the first time, just before the Relayer album was released, if they meekly asked the audience if they would indulge them playing Sound Chaser? Or did they just open with it? Roy said they slammed the audience with it. Of course, I didn't know half the material the Bangles played at this show, and the new song fit right in stylistically, so I wouldn't have noticed it was new.

For the encore, The Bangles invited Sick of Sarah back on stage to sing and dance. They did In Your Room. The final encore was Walk Like an Egyptian, played to a backing track. Susanna Hoffs had two pre-teen girls sitting off to the side of the stage. Roy heard her say these were her nieces. They came out and danced along for this song. Some of the Sick of Sarah musicians clowned around did the dance from the video in back of the stage. The bandmembers really looked like they enjoying themselves throughout the show. We were too.

The show ended at 10:30pm. I've had good luck meeting some of the musicians who play at the Pageant in the past. I know what exit they use to get on the tour bus after the show. I brought my copy of Susanna Hoff and Matthew Sweet's Under the Covers CD, and we waited. It gets to be late, and we want to go home, but we've already waited all this time, it's bound to be soon. We saw people with backstage passes leave. We saw the young nieces leave, and the backing musicians.

There was a new wrinkle in waiting for autographs. Since the last time we were at the Pageant, a new hotel opened a few store-fronts away. The band could come out of any door and walk over without a big production. That's just what happened. Everyone else left from the usual door in back, but the Bangles walked out front. One of the Pageant employees told us they'd already left. I didn't know whether to trust him or not, but someone from the opening act confirmed it. It was around midnight. We walked home. If I had gone home right after the concert, I wouldn't have gotten to sleep too late. This extra hour and a half of waiting was another matter. I called work and left a message that I'd be in late. I gave myself too little sleep and still got in late, but it's balanced by the happy memories of a good concert. I'm really glad we went.

California Guitar Trio at Blueberry Hill

2010-04-15T22:22:00.002-05:00

California Guitar Trio
Blueberry Hill - Duck Room
University City (St. Louis), MO
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
General Admission
On the Guest List! :-)

Roy and I have a tradition at California Guitar Trio shows. Years ago, their volunteer coordinator asked if I could work at their merchandise table. We've been doing that at every CGT show I've attended in St. Louis since then. I think this was our fifth time. We got together with a friend for dinner before the show, and then went down to the Duck Room at Blueberry Hill to set up the merchandise before the doors opened.

Seeing the show from behind the scenes like this gives it a different feeling than most other concerts I attend. I get to interact with a lot of other fans, and also with people new to CGT. Their enthusiasm is a lot of fun to see. I've seen CGT so many times, I always enjoy the music, but the surprise of "wow, these guys are really good!" is over for me. But I get to experience it anyway by talking to other audience members.

There was already a short line by the door when Roy, Ralph, and I finished dinner. The band was already setting up: We saw them guys enter the restaurant from the back and load in their equipment. Hideyo walked out front to take a picture of the marquee. I always feel a little weird just opening the door to the Duck Room and walking downstairs. I don't have any credentials with me other than a printed out e-mail from Bert Lams. I didn't even have a specified time when I needed to be there, but in the past, they'd asked for me to be there a half hour before the doors opened. The door that led down to the Duck Room was unlocked, and staff were going in and out. There was one employee at the door. I told him we were working the merchandise table, and he let us go in, no proof needed.

The band had just finished their soundcheck, and were about to go out to eat. Roy and I live real close by, so we recommended a few places. They wouldn't be back by the time the doors opened. Bert told me he had already inventoried the CDs for sale. I've done this before, so I knew to unpack them and how to display them on the table. I didn't have any change yet, but I'd get that from the band when they got back from dinner.

I like being in this position. The band were selling their best-of compilation, Bert Lams' solo album, a new DVD, and pre-selling a copy of the night's concert. That gave me something to talk about with everyone who approached the merchandise table. "The band is recording tonight's show and you can buy a copy of it now." It's much better than waiting for them to ask a question and it helped to break the ice. We sold a few copies before the show. It wasn't too busy, so Roy hung out with Ralph. I'd work the table during the first half of the show, both of us during the intermission. I'd grab Roy's seat for the second half, and then we'd both be back there for after the show.

The attendence seemed down from the last time they played here, fewer than a hundred people. I don't think the word got out about this show. Blueberry Hill listed it on the advertising and on their marquee. The band was even able to do a TV appearance for it. But I sent an e-mail to several friends a few days before the show, and none of them knew about it. There are so many places where you can connect with the band, their mailing list, Facebook, the Yahoo group. I saw a mention of the show on their mailing list, but the show was added to their itinerary without much fanfare. I think the band would be better off if they sent monthly reminders of shows to all of these places, rather than having us check their website. I missed a show they did in St. Louis a few years ago for this same reason.

The band came back from dinner. I've worked most closely with Bert on the merchandise. He came back over to finish getting me set up. He offered to get me something to drink, but Roy already took care of me. Then Bert pulled over a chair for me. (There was limited seating, not enough for all the people attending the concert, so I felt weird about taking a chair. But if the band thinks it's okay, it's okay for me too. I ended up standing most of the time anyway, so I could make eye-contact easier with people. During the show, I needed to stand to see the stage anyway. But it was a very nice gesture.)

Bert and I talked for a little bit then. The band stayed at a hotel by the Arch. There's not much downtown and Bert liked the Delmar Loop area more than that location. I told him about Laclede's Landing, just north of the Arch. It's nice to walk around there, even if it is mostly bars. But they had to leave at 8:30 the next morning to drive to the next day's show, so they wouldn't have time anyway. No roadies, no driver. I don't envy them for their lifestyle.

One fan approached Bert while we were talking. He works at KDHX and wanted to find CGT a more appropriate venue to play in St. Louis and help promote the shows. Bert gave him a couple CDs. I see what the guy means. The Duck Room is so convenient for me, and Blueberry Hill is a hangout for Roy and me. But at a quiet show like this, you can hear the cash registers and talking over the music. It can't be fun for the people who have to stand either.

The band opened up doing a circulation piece. This is something they do at every show - play a melody with each band member playing the next note. It shows off how well they listen to each other, getting the timing just right. There were a few classic instrumentals they covered - Walk Don't Run and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. In the second set, they did Classical Gas.

I watched the first set from behind the merchandise table. I've sat further away from the stage than this at other CGT concerts, so I didn't feel all that removed from the music. It was nice having all this space to myself. It gave me a good view of the audience too.

There were two younger guys standing by the far wall, being loud. One guy was on his cell phone for most of the time. People were turning around and glaring at them, hoping they'd quiet down. This lasted through most of the first set. I wondered if I should walk over to them and ask them to keep it down, since I was sort of a staff person that night. I didn't. Other people moved their chairs or found another place to stand. Finally, one of the loud people came over to buy a CD. I suggested the live CD, and I wanted to say that he'd be able to hear what he was missing live. I didn't do that either. He was unfamiliar with the band and thought this would be a different type of concert. He bought Highlights and then they left. They got even louder as they walked up the stairs. I was glad they left.

I enjoyed the show more after that. The next song was CGT's cover of Bohemian Rhapsody. I sang along. Last time, they played this song at the end of their set, when I was sitting up front and Roy was in back with the merch. Ralph remembered that he and I sang along together. Roy said I should have been up there this time. He's a better singer than I am, but I know the words better.

We switched over merchandise duty during the intermission. I took the front row seat next to Ralph. The songs with the biggest reaction during the second set were a cover of Pink Floyd's Echoes and a Beethoven piece. Something happened that I'd never seen at a CGT show. Usually, only Paul Richards does the stage announcements. He's the only native English speaker in the band, and I guess he's the most comfortable with it. This time, all three band members spoke to introduce songs.

Paul said the definition of an intellectual is someone who doesn't think of the Lone Ranger when they hear the last song, the William Tell Overture. Guess I'm not an intellectual then! Towards the end of the show, Paul talked about the new DVD they had for sale (we sold a lot more copies after that). He also thanked everyone involved with the show. He thanked Roy and me by name, which was really sweet. I wasn't sure whether to include this bit, but he pronounced my name wrong. It should have been such a happy moment, but it was frustrating. I didn't say anything to him later about it.

Roy and I continued to sell CDs after the show. The band came out to burn copies of the newly recorded show and to sign autographs. Roy moved away, but I was still standing back there taking money from a few people. It was interesting seeing this meet and greet from the band's side behind the table. Bert told me they'd be giving me a copy of the live CD. I also saw him pull out a DVD, open it, and have the band sign it. I figured that was going to be for me as well, and I thanked him when he handed it to me.

The crowd was beginning to thin out. This show was an hour later than the last one they played here, starting at 9 instead of 8. It was now close to midnight instead of 11-ish, and I was tired. Bert told me not to worry about counting the money or tallying how many CDs were sold. He'd do it later. There were still a couple people hanging on talking to the band. We said goodbye to Bert. Paul ended up excusing himself so he could come over and talk to us. He gave both Roy and me a hug and told us to keep in touch.

Ralph had been waiting for us. The three of us walked upstairs and outside and said our goodbyes as well. I hadn't seen Ralph since the Yes show at the Pageant in 2008. We shouldn't wait this long to see each other, but I'm glad the concert gave us the push to get together.

Culture in Boca Raton

2010-03-11T22:11:00.006-06:00

Yes
Sunset Cove Amphitheater
Boca Raton, FL
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Section C, Row 1, Seat 15
$80

I'm posting this on March 11th - my blog's third birthday!

Sunday in Boca Raton was the last show of this short tour. Roy wondered if they'd be doing anything different or fun, like we'd seen in previous end-of-tour shows. We were certainly doing this one in style. We would be in the front row again, with reserved seats this time, and we were attending the after-show meet and greet. I still wasn't sure of the point of this tour. They did about 20 shows, few different songs, playing some of the same cities they did previously. Working on new music seems like a better idea to me than potentially wearing out their welcome. Still, I can't miss chances to see my favorite band.

Roy and I drove down from Orlando on Sunday morning. We stopped in the town of Palm Beach for lunch and a walk along the beach.

We wanted to check into the hotel before the show. We missed some turns along the way, and it took longer than I wanted it to. We got to the hotel around 5:50, and the show started at 7. I was in a foul mood when I realized I wouldn't have time to rest up before the show. I was so worried about being late, I didn't even want to stop to grab something to eat first. I was right to want to be there early: it didn't take much time to get to the turn-off for the venue, but there was big backup getting to the parking lot. The only access was a long, single-lane road, with cars backed up all the way. I still needed to pick up our tickets from will call, and I was tempted to get out of the car and hike over. I found out that this traffic caused quite a few people to be late for the show.

Once we parked, things got better. There was no line to pick up our tickets, and the employees were friendly. We had a weird time getting tickets for this show, but it worked out great. By accident, Roy and I both bought tickets right when they went on sale. Roy got third row center, and I got the first row of a section off to the side. Ticketmaster had an auction for true front row center seats, complete with a parking pass and access to a meet and greet with the band. I planned to check it out near the end of the auction, but I forgot until it was too late. A month later, I happened to check how tickets were doing, and saw they had another auction going on with front row seats. There was no publicity for this. I won, with the minimum bid even. We were able to sell the extra sets of tickets. Now, we picked up our meet and greet passes and our tickets.

Roy stood in line to get pretzels while I found our seats. The front row was a good ten feet away from the stage. The security guard restricted access to this space to only the people sitting in this row. No one else could walk up to use it as an aisle or take close-up pictures during the show. Every group of two seats were tied together. I was the first one sitting in the row, so I shoved some of the other seats over a bit to give Roy and me an extra couple inches to ourselves. Even 20 minutes before the start of the show, the venue was not very full. Our seats were right in front of Oliver Wakeman's keyboards, just like the night before. According to the seating chart, I thought we'd be on Steve Howe's side, but the sections were in the reverse order.

Roy joined me. The venue was called Sunset Cove Amphitheater. We could easily see why. We stood up and turned around, facing the rest of the audience. I saw the most beautiful sunset I'd ever seen. Very vivid colors, unobstructed view. I was surprised more people weren't looking at it.

Just before the show was about to start, I looked around, and saw some friends of ours walking in. I hadn't seen Diana and Rick since we came to Florida for a Yes show in 2004. We hadn't reached out to any friends to meet up on this trip. We had a few minutes to catch up, and made plans to meet up afterward. They hadn't seen a show yet with this incarnation of the band and wanted to be surprised about the setlist. An usher came over to tell us the show would be starting soon and we needed to get to our seats.

I don't know how empty the rest of the amphitheater was. But when the show started, the four seats directly next to me and the four seats next to Roy were still empty. That's eight seats right in the front row. Later on, six of those seats were filled. I guess they were all stuck in the slow crawl to the parking lot.

Siberian Khatru was played with more energy than the night before. It set the tone for the night, happy and light-hearted. The sound was excellent. I don't know if Chris Squire saw us and recognized us or was just looking at the happy people bopping along to the music in the front row, but he looked over at us and even played his bass towards us for a little bit.

Chris really made me happy during his introduction to Tempus Fugit. He mentioned that this was the last show of their tour and that this is the 106th show this lineup has played. He acknowledged that people were still coming into the venue because of the traffic tie-up. Then he said they were going to do two songs from Drama tonight. Two! We were getting Machine Messiah back tonight! I applauded more for this than anything in the actual show. We got a shorter show in Orlando at Sea World the night before, but this one brought the Incredible Shrinking Setlist back to what I had seen the first night in Chicago. Still no South Side of the Sky though.

During Yours Is No Disgrace, the ushers brought out two chairs and placed them in front of the front row, off to my right. A woman sat down with a toddler. I knew that Chris and his wife had a baby over a year ago, and Roy wondered if this was Chris' family. I thought the little girl looked too big to be that age, but we found out later, she was. The baby sat on the chair, stood and danced a little, and then started crawling around. Chris looked down at her. This is one of my favorite songs of the night, and watching the little girl experience the concert distracted me, but it was fun to watch. They got up and left before the song was over. (The baby was wearing a lot of sound protection from the loud noise of the concert.)

I would not go to an outdoor concert in February at home in St. Louis, but I figured the people in Southern Florida knew what they were doing. After the sun set, I'd bet the temperature dipped into the 50s. I was wearing a t-shirt with a sweatshirt over it and cropped pants. I didn't notice it being that cold while the band was playing, but even bopping around in my seat, I didn't need to take the sweatshirt off. Benoit asked the audience how we were doing in the cold. He said it was warmer on stage. I saw Steve Howe frequently blow on his fingers, trying to keep them warm.

The one part of the setlist that changes from night to night is Steve's guitar solo. On this night, he played a solo piece called Second Initial and part of Vivaldi's Lute Concerto in D. The crowd was much quieter here than at the club-like atmosphere of the shows in Chicago, and Steve didn't have to berate the crowd for making too much noise. He was funny in talking to the audience, announcing the songs he played and what Yes was going to do next. The Vivaldi music was a bit of "culture, culture, culture," he repeated. "And here's culture from the 1980s" with Owner of a Lonely Heart.

I kept an eye on the rest of the front row. Would people rush up to the stage at the end? I didn't want to be left out. Benoit gestured for the audience to stand up partway through Roundabout. I saw a few people in the center left section walk up to the barricade by the stage. Ushers indicated for them to sit down, and then it seemed to be okay. Roy and I grabbed a spot. The sound was noticibly worse up by the stage, but it was fun being so close. When the band came back for the encore, Chris mentioned again that it was the last night of the tour. He named all of the road crew and thanked them for their work.

The encore was Starship Trooper. Benoit changed the lyric to "long winters colder than time can remember". During the instrumental final part of the song, he was playing a tambourine and walked towards our side of the stage. I could tell that he saw us. I waved, and he waved back. When the band did their final bows, Chris brought his baby daughter out on stage. He waved to the audience, and then she did a little wave. I don't know if Chris even saw it, because he took her arm and moved it to wave to the crowd. It was really cute.

There were many people with meet and greet access after the show. We were organized in lines based on what type of pass we had - real backstage passes, the auction winners, the premium packagers got t-shirts, and so on. There was some confusion about what we were getting. A woman came by and told us first that we'd get pictures with the band but no autographs. I hadn't brought a camera, and I was just glad to have another chance to talk to the band. Later on, it was decided we'd get autographs too, and the woman handed us a photo of Yes to get signed. We stood in line outside for a half an hour, until the band was ready for the meet and greets. That's when I noticed the cold. It would have been fine if I were dressed for it. I really felt bad for the guy wearing shorts and some women in flip flops. Some people in our group left, rather than wait a little bit longer to meet the band.

We were ushered into the meet and greet room. Alan, Chris, Oliver, and Steve were sitting at a table. Someone in line asked where Benoit was. He's being fashionably late, one of the band members replied. Benoit walked in and saw me. He walked over to me, put his hand on my shoulder and said hello, before walking over to the table. He sat between Alan and Chris. I heard Alan telling another fan that the tour lasted a month, but it felt like two, because of the snow and show cancellations.

I had a couple goals in speaking to the band this time. First was to find information about their next tour. My friend Greg spoke to a couple of band members at an earlier show and was trying to find out more information, when the shows would be and where, if they were hitting the midwest at all. I also had a question about comparing venues like this one to the all-standing shows at the House of Blues. Did the band notice the crowd being more energetic at the standing shows and where did they prefer playing?

I asked Alan the first question. He told me Yes would be playing in June and early July with Peter Frampton. Since the concert, this news has been announced on YesWorld. In Alan's words, "I have no idea where we'll be playing. I just get on the bus and show up." I'll find my way to a couple shows, no matter where they play.

Benoit surprised me by asking me a question, to confirm that I've been to four shows on this tour. He's keeping track?! That's really flattering! I confirmed it and said I've seen this lineup nine times total. The person in front of me was talking to Chris, so I asked Benoit my question about the venues. He said that yes, he noticed a difference without elaborating. I didn't have a chance to ask what they preferred before I had to move on.

I didn't have anything planned to say to Chris. I just blurted out, "You were awesome!" Chris didn't give an indication that he recognized me, but he joked back that his goal was to be awesome.

I smiled and nodded at Oliver, without saying anything. I told Steve that I thought his playing was great on Yours Is No Disgrace. Roy asked him if he felt his playing was affected by the cold temperatures.

I guess I wasn't paying attention to the rest of the people in line. We finished talking to the band, got my autographed promo picture, and headed back to the door. Alan White stood up and walked over to stop me. I then noticed that the other fans were in line again, presumably to get pictures with the band this time. I didn't have a camera with me anyway, and Alan said I probably already had pictures with the band. The woman who was organizing things said that our group wasn't getting pictures and we were done. I was glad that it wasn't too rushed.

Diana and Rick didn't have access to the meet and greets. They waited in their car in the parking lot for us. I called Diana's cell phone when we got out. Roy and I both got the autographed photo and a poster, so we gave our extra ones to Diana and Rick. It was almost 11pm on a Sunday night. We stopped at a few restaurants that were already closed before passing a Cheesecake Factory with cars in the parking lot. We ate there, catching up and reminiscing about the old days.

I was interested in getting their take on the show. This was their first time seeing this lineup, and I know for Roy and me, it took a show to get over missing Jon Anderson and to accept this version of the band for what it is. Also, Rick is a musician, and having more knowledge about music could make him more critical. But they both really enjoyed it, especially the Drama songs.

The next morning, Roy took me to Delray Beach, where his parents used to have a condo. We got out to walk in the downtown section before heading to the airport.

It's tough for me to objectively review a Yes concert. It's my favorite band, my favorite music, I'm expecting to love it. And there are so many things outside the band's performance that can add or detract from the show, distractions from people sitting around me, bad soundmix, my own mood. But there are a few changes I'd like for Yes to make on future tours:

I don't think opening with Siberian Khatru and I've Seen All Good People is working well. I know Khatru is the classic opener, and we're all conditioned to hear it after Firebird Suite ends. But the band has only occasionally been playing it with the energy it deserves. They should open with something that doesn't take half the song to warm up, Yours Is No Disgrace or Roundabout, maybe. Roy says Sound Chaser, like on the Relayer tour!

I think All Good People worked better in previous tours where they played it as the last song of the main set. People would stand up and dance to it, without the band prompting us. It works better that way, than with everyone just sitting and listening to it. As much as I want to hear more classics from the 1970s, I think this lineup would do a good job with It Can Happen.

Especially with the shortened set we'll have on this summer's tour, I don't want to wait half the show for it to "pick up" and come alive. I hope they make some change to the flow of the first half of the concert. I truly loved a number of these recent shows, and I will see multiple shows on each leg of every US tour. However, it's getting harder to get excited about so many short tours with basically the same set, even for me. I hope Yes freshens up the setlist soon.

The Fish at Sea World

2010-03-04T19:52:00.005-06:00

Yes
Nautilus Theatre - Sea World
Orlando, FL
Saturday, February 27, 2010
General Admission
$128 (Sea World Admission + Bands Brew and BBQ VIP pass)

It's rained every time I've gone to Sea World. I thought about that when Yes booked a show there, and when Roy and I decided to attend. The forecast called for a high of 50-some degrees and a 40% chance of rain. I thought about times it's rained at recent outdoor Yes shows at Great Adventure and National Harbor near DC; the stages were open to the elements and the rain forced the band to play severely shortened sets. Friends described the shows as depressing. I also thought about the movie This is Spinal Tap, where the fictional band is playing a concert at an amusement park, billed as second to a puppet show. How bad was this show going to be?

I also remembered ProgDay a couple years ago, when it rained. ProgDay is held outdoors, and when it rained, most of the audience ran for shelter. But I was dressed for it, and stayed up by the stage. There were just a few of us remaining there, and it was kind of fun. Maybe the bad weather would keep everyone else out of the line, so I could be right by the stage. Maybe my enthusiasm, despite the weather, would buoy the band's spirits, regardless of a small crowd. I think it's happened before. I packed my raincoat and hoped for the best.

I didn't have to worry. Sea World stepped up and took care of us. With cold (for Florida) temperatures and on-and-off rain, they moved the concert to a back-up venue. The Nautilus Theatre was dry, warm, and offered really good sound. This was probably my best sound mix of this era of the band. I could even hear what Oliver Wakeman was playing. Sea World was very good to us.
The whole couple days surrounding the trip were nice. Roy and I chose the Florida shows partly because a trip to Florida is nice in winter, but also because the two shows were on a weekend. I try to conserve the time I take off from work. We could fly out Friday night, see the shows on Saturday and Sunday, and then fly home on Monday, only using one vacation day for two shows. But then, we're flying to Orlando, might as well work a half-day on Friday and book an afternoon flight to get into town early. By the time Friday rolled around, I was taking the whole extra day off from work.

Friday was a good day. Roy and I watched my car reach 100,000 miles on the odometer, bought some Hamentashen at Pratzel's Bakery for Purim, listened to some Yes and walked around the Loop. Nicer weather than we'd get the next day in Orlando. It was an easy flight, and we drove to Downtown Disney for dinner. I bought one souvenir - a Mickey Mouse themed reusable grocery bag for $3. The hotel was a nice mix of clean, inexpensive, and stylish. We saw a car at the hotel with a license plate of "125 Yes". We were in the right place!

On Saturday, we got to Sea World around 11AM. It was already raining. I brought my raincoat along in my backpack, but I didn't want to get it wet unless it was really bad out. The umbrella would do for the time being. We found out that the show had been moved indoors. I bought VIP passes for the show. The advertisements touted "reserved seats", but it really meant general admission seats within a reserved section, up front and center. The VIP thing also came with early entry to any of the rides and a free barbeque lunch. The concert was going to be at 4PM, and the doors were opening at 2pm.

I wanted to find the venue and scope out the situation first. We started walking there, but we found the Whale and Dolphin Theater just as a show was about to start, so we did that first. The Blue Horizons show was really good, with the highlight being the human dancers and divers, rather than the sea creatures. We got to the Nautilus Theater after that. There were already two people in line.

Roy and I each wanted to do different things. For me, the only thing that mattered was that Yes would be playing in a few hours, and the sooner I got in line, the better our seats would be. Roy didn't want to waste the opportunity of enjoying Sea World. This was a general admission show, but there would be seats. I felt that I could wait in line by myself and hold a seat for him. If I couldn't, we wouldn't be able to sit together, but he'd still be in the VIP section. We got lunch, and then Roy walked me back to the theater. I ended up being 5th in line. The people in line said that the other concerts in this series lasted only an hour. I hoped we'd get more than that.

The doors opened. The venue had metal benches for seats and a catwalk jutting out from the stage to the third row. The ushers led us down to the that third row and started seating people. The first people in line sat there, in the center of the row, right at the end of the catwalk. They looked happy. What about the front row? I walked up and asked the usher if I could sit there. The row was split in half by the catwalk. There were half a dozen actual seats towards the middle and then a shorter bench closer to the aisle. The usher didn't answer my question. Other people were filling in the third row. I needed to know quickly whether to try for these seats or take something else. Finally, she said I could sit on the bench there. I saved a spot next to me for Roy. Whew! Front row, in front of Oliver's keyboards.

I wonder if I'm pushy about asking for what I want or if other people are just following the usher's lead. All the seats around me are empty for a little while. It looks like the seats by the center are saved for some VIPs. A younger couple asked me if the seats on the bench are taken. I told them I was saving one for Roy, but the rest is free. Four people can sit there, but it was a tight fit. I chatted with them while we waited. Mark played in a Yes cover band and had seen them a number of times. He was very knowledgeable about their music. Starr was a good six inches shorter than even me. I was glad she got a seat up front; I know it's hard to see when everyone around is blocking the view. The conversation was a strain because of the loud country music playing. I could hear Starr fine, but Mark had a lower voice and was sitting further away. I had some trouble hearing him. Roy came in and found me. He filled me in on what he did at the park.

The show was introduced by some local TV weatherman. He addressed the recent tragedy, where a trainer was killed earlier in the week. I did feel a little weird about going to Sea World and having fun as if nothing had happened, but he said we needed to change the mood and this concert would help do it. This concert was free with admission to Sea World, so I'm sure Yes imagined a large crowd coming to see them. The bad weather kept a lot of people away. This venue only held a couple thousand people, and it wasn't full. I wonder how many people there attended who weren't already fans.

Yes came on stage. My first impression was the sound. I could clearly hear what Oliver was playing throughout Siberian Khatru. Usually, he's inaudable except for his lead parts. My second impression was one that I've had at all the Yes shows I've seen since Kansas City last year: this song doesn't take off until Steve's solo towards the end. It didn't help that Roy and I just listened to Yessongs the day before. Siberian Khatru has explosive energy on that live version. It didn't here.

During I've Seen All Good People, Benoit David walked out on the catwalk to sing. I wonder if they practiced on it at all during the sound check, or if it was a spur of the moment decision to make use of it? Later on, Chris Squire played bass from the catwalk during Starship Trooper. Great reaction from the audience.

The first stage announcement has been before the third song, Tempus Fugit. The band takes turns talking to the audience, and Chris changed up his usual spiel. He welcomed everyone to the special matinee performance at Sea World, did his usual intro of the new guys and Tempus Fugit, saying they'd be doing one song from Drama. (No Machine Messiah. Bummer!) People on the Yesfans site had been saying that the band should play Don't Kill the Whale in light of performing at Sea World. I don't know how serious they were. Chris added that for those of us in the audience that knew their music, there was one song the band wouldn't be doing, and that the statement was a private joke for Yesfans (or maybe it was Yes fans in general). I thought it was a fun way to acknowledge the requests for Don't Kill the Whale.

Roy's favorite song of the night was Yours Is No Disgrace. Steve Howe was great on that song, even doing a little call and response with the audience. Someone yelled during a pause in his solo. Steve must have liked it, because he paused again for the crowd to yell, and then a third time, with more people cheering. He tried doing it again during the next show in Boca Raton, but the audience didn't know they were supposed to participate. It was a unexpected cool moment here.

I was aware of the usual setlist and what songs Yes were skipping over. They dropped Onward, Astral Traveler, Steve Howe's solo. I don't know if they were only given a ninety minute set, but it worked well. All the songs that have a change of pace were dropped, and it was a tight rocking set of one amazing song after another.

I noticed more mistakes during this show than the ones last week in Chicago. The group of us on the bench - Mark, Starr, Roy and me - all looked over at each other every time we noticed one. It made it more fun, like we noticed our favorite band messing up rather than putting a damper on our mood. I can't remember what songs they were now, but Benoit was off on a note and Oliver played something wrong. Chris was late on a booming bass part of And You And I. I noticed Alan peering around his drum set to see Chris and get back on track. Steve didn't play anything obviously wrong, but he made a weird announcement before Owner of a Lonely Heart. He said the song was from the infamous 80s lineup from the great 90125, and they were going to play the title track. He must have meant lead track. Afterward, Roy joked that we did hear a new Yes song at this show - the infamous title track of 90125.

After seeing two standing room only shows in Chicago, I sat for this one. Benoit gestured for us to stand partway through Roundabout. We did, only to sit again during the encore. I wondered what would happen during Starship Trooper. Quite a few people were standing in the aisle to take pictures. There was a lot of space on the floor between our seats and the stage. Would they push their way into the front row? I had my coat and backpack sitting on the floor. We moved them out of the way, but it wasn't necessary. Security kept people out of our row. I stood back up towards the end of Starship Trooper and danced along.

I was really happy with this show. I need to take back every joke I made comparing this gig to Spinal Tap.

The weather was a lot better after the show. I hoped to meet the band. We tried to walk around the venue to see where they might exit, but the back was fenced off. Roy and I ended up seeing a couple more Sea World shows. We sat several rows up from the "soak zone" but I still got soaked. The park was closing, so we went back to the hotel so I could change clothes. At this point, I was ready for dinner and we ate at the Fridays near the hotel.

House of Yes

2010-02-24T22:26:00.001-06:00

Yes
House of Blues
Chicago, IL
Friday, February 19, 2010
General Admission / Dinner Package
$114.50

There's something about singing "Twenty-four before my love, you'll see, I'll be there with you" at a Yes concert and knowing that in twenty-four hours, I'll be seeing my favorite band again. (I've even changed the lyrics to forty-eight to make it work.) I saw Yes at the House of Blues in Chicago on Thursday night, and I'd get to see them there again on Friday. At the time the tour dates were announced, only Thursday was on the schedule. The Friday show was added later, quietly. Tickets went on sale before it was even listed on YesWorld.

For the Thursday night show, I bought a premium ticket package, which offered early entry into the general admission club. But since those tickets had gone on sale, House of Blues made a change. Their tickets were now on sale through Live Nation instead of Ticketmaster. And there was no mention of a premium package for either show. The only way I enjoy general admission standing shows is to be right by the stage, and I'm certainly willing to wait in line to get there. But if other people found out how to get premium seating and I was left out... I called the House of Blues and paid for a reserved stool. It was my fail-safe; if I couldn't stand in the front of the pit, I'd have a place to sit in a raised section giving me an unrestricted view. It cost $50 over the price of the concert ticket, but it also came with a $50 voucher at their restaurant.

For general admission shows like this, Roy and I usually have a late lunch before getting in line. That would have worked great time-wise on this trip, I'd eat at the House of Blues restaurant before getting in line. However, on Thursday, I had lunch-time lunch with an old friend. And on Friday, I needed to get some deep dish pizza. I ended up having a very early breakfast, lunch at 11, and "dinner" at 2-ish. I thought to myself that I'd be going from one meal to the next, but it worked out alright. Didn't eat a whole lot of pizza, and did do a whole lot of walking. I woke up by six each morning without an alarm, ready to see the city. I forgot to wear my pedometer, but I estimate I walked about seven miles on Thursday and five on Friday. That's not counting standing in line and standing during the shows.

Last time Roy and I were in Chicago, we ate at this pizza place Bacino's in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. The main activity of my morning was walking back there, stopping at some shops along the way. I took a cab back to the hotel to take a nap, and then walked over to the House of Blues.

I asked the lady at the box office what to do about my seat. If I could get in early enough, I wanted a repeat of Thursday night, standing in the front row. She told me that the dinner package "trumped" the pass-the-line early entry, so I'd be able to enter first. Just in case, I got in the pass-the-line line. I was the only person in line for over an hour. Later on, an usher told me that the pass-the-line line was the place to be; we'd get in before the reserved seat people. I figured that most people with reserved seats wouldn't be trying for front row, and most people in the pass-the-line line would; better to be in front of them. I did find out that the Foundation Room VIPs trump everyone. When the doors opened, one guy was already standing by the stage.

On Thursday, I waited with a guy who was friendly, but kinda intense and too clever. Someone asked us if we knew where an employee was, and he answered that we were Experienced Concert Goers and could answer the guy's questions. I cringed at being included in that, but I was reminded of it in line on Friday. The premium package coordinator spoke with the box office trying to figure out why there were no people signed up for premium packages that night. I overheard and walked over to tell him about the switch to Live Nation, with no packages on sale for this show. I would've bought one too. And Yes' tour manager (who I also bumped into during breakfast and dinner) had a question about the venue setup. The box office attendant was busy, so he came over to ask me.

I saw a couple of the band members while I waited. Alan White walked in by himself. He asked me how I was doing, and I told him I planned to be in the same spot today as last night. He told me there was an entrance in back for the band members to come in privately, but he didn't know where it was.

Benoit David went into the restaurant by himself. When he left, he saw me waiting in line and talked to me on his way up to the club level. He asked if I was coming to the show this night. (What else would I be doing here?) He asked me where I lived and how far away it was from here. "Do you remember playing the Pageant in St. Louis? I live about a mile from there." Benoit replied that he remembered playing there, and that's where he met me. I'm always touched when musicians who must meet so many fans, remember something about me, and want to show off that they remember. I couldn't correct him that I first met him in Bloomington, the night before St. Louis. After that exchange, all I could do was turn to the people waiting in line behind me, and say that guy who was just talking to me was the new singer.

I was in line by the stairs. The line behind me looped around another hallway. People just walking over couldn't tell how many people were in line. It might have looked like I was standing there by myself. One couple sat on the steps, thinking they were first in line. My friend Kurt walked over and asked me to join him and his friends for dinner. Some other people didn't realize that everyone in this line had a pass-the-line voucher, not just them, and they couldn't waltz in in front of us. When the doors opened, there was one guy already there by the stage. I grabbed the spot right next to him, right where I was standing the night before.

The wait felt different this time around. People were friendly, but it didn't have the camaraderie of the night before. All the premium ticket package people stood together, and we were all big fans. It was also more crowded, like more people were pushed up against the barricade. There'd be less room to dance in this tight spot.

The concert started, and I was right in front of Chris Squire. The previous night, I was standing just inches away from where I was now, and I got such an interesting sound mix. Lots of bass, just sounding wonderful, and lots of guitar. I was basically standing in the same spot, but the mix was different this time. More balanced, where I could hear everyone, but muddier. Squire's bass didn't pop out as much.

Steve Howe seemed like he was in a bad mood. There were a couple guys with press passes taking photos. They stood in between the barricade and the stage. They both stood by Steve at one point during Siberian Khatru. He turned around and squatted down, the effect was sticking his butt in their cameras. I wasn't sure if I really saw that, but both Chris and Benoit were laughing. They must have seen it too. Later on, Steve kicked his leg toward one of the photographers, not close enough to actually kick him. He either needs to warn people not to crowd him or stand further back on the stage if this bothers him so much. At their closest, they were standing on the floor three feet below the stage level and their cameras were several feet away from him.

When Chris introduces Tempus Fugit, he's been saying they're going to do two songs from Drama. This night, he specifically said one song from Drama. I hoped this meant they were going to add back in South Side, but nope. One song shorter than the previous night. I missed Machine Messiah. It was a highlight on Thursday night, standing out even among a whole setlist of highlights.

On Yours Is No Disgrace, I noticed how Chris punctuates bars of Steve Howe's solo with a couple bass notes, making the guitar line sound more dramatic. The guy I was chatting with on my left turned out to be a whistler. High piercing whistle during the quiet part of And You And I. Chris made eye contact with me and gave me a big smile. I don't know if he heard the whistle and saw the annoyed look on my face, but I smiled back and felt much better. We shared another smile later on in the show.

Steve did To Be Over as his solo piece. I love that song and I love his version of it, and this was my first time seeing him play it live. After the song, Chris came out and introduced it as an excerpt of To Be Over from Relayer, the first time I've heard him (or Jon) talk about the songs in Steve's solo set. It was a nice moment. Unfortunately, there was some commotion in the audience by the stage during Steve's solo and he didn't look happy about the noise.

People standing in the front row were talking during Steve's solo, and Steve looked right at them and said "Thank you" sarcastically. Then, the incident happened. Some woman walked up behind me and touched me on the back. She said "Is he yours?", I guess referring to the whistler. She then walked by the other people in the front center section, touching or putting her arms around everyone. Whistler turned to me and told me to make sure I still had my wallet. I didn't think she was trying to pickpocket; she had her hand on the barricade and I think she wanted someone to let her stand in the front. People got loud trying to fend her off. She walked back to me, and put her arm around me. I told her to go away, and she walked back towards the bar. Something very similar happened a previous time I was at this venue, enough that I wonder if it was the same person. All the touchy-feely stuff was creepy.

All of this was going on when I was trying to listen to To Be Over. Steve couldn't tell what was causing the disruption, just that the people right in front of him were being loud. Steve normally introduces the next song, Owner of a Lonely Heart. This time, he told us we were being quieter in between songs than we were during his solo. The band went right into Owner.

This show didn't live up to the night before's. I don't know if it was the mix, the crowdedness, the cumulative effect of bad night's sleep the last two nights. I hesitate to say the band was playing with less energy. It could have been my frame of mind. I wasn't even paying attention as fully. A couple times I noticed that I lost my place in the song and had to listen to some of the lyrics before I could sing along. I wanted to relive the night before and I wasn't in the same place figuratively.

After Roundabout, Yes left the stage before the encore. Whistler whistled non-stop. One shrill sound after another, right by my ear. Did I mention I didn't need to wear earplugs during this show? I finally snapped: I elbowed him and told him to knock it off. At least he was nice about it and apologized. My poor ear hurt for a good hour afterward.

The concert ended, and I wasn't sure what to do. I wasn't pumped full of adrenaline, but I wasn't ready to go back to the hotel either. I'd normally hang out and try to meet the band, but I wasn't sure what entrance they'd use, and it didn't look like anyone else was waiting. And I'd just seen them so often. I called Kurt, and met up with him. Kurt and his friend Arlene were going to the bar at the Yes hotel, so I joined them. We hung out and talked for a while. They were both more cynical than I am about Yes' performance. I wonder what they would have thought if they'd seen Thursday's show instead. I'm glad I joined them. I did this trip by myself, but I found a good balance between alone time and socializing.

I finally slept well Friday night. It was lightly snowing on Saturday morning. I went out to breakfast and then took a cab to the bus stop. I have to admit, after dealing with airports for so many trips, it amazed me that I could leave my hotel 45 minutes before my departure. I got to the bus stop with plenty of time. The bus trip was non-eventful and went by quickly enough. (I have to mention somewhere that roundtrip to Chicago, I paid only $11.50 on Megabus!) Roy picked me up at Union Station. Even though I missed him, I am so glad I went on this trip.

Yes is at the House of Blues!

2010-02-21T16:47:00.008-06:00

Yes
House of Blues
Chicago, IL
Thursday, February 18, 2010
General Admission / Premium Ticket
$184.50

When a new Yes tour is announced, Roy and I look at all the tour dates to see which shows will work for us. Are they doing a local show? What shows are on the weekends? How many concerts do we want to do? We decided on two concerts, and the two in Florida would make for a nice warm trip in February. It would have been enough, except for one thing. I love being able to stand and dance throughout a Yes concert, and they were playing a general admission, standing room only concert in Chicago. I'd get that opportunity. Roy didn't want to, so I made arrangements to go to Chicago myself.

The Chicago concert was on a Thursday. I'd have to take a day off from work that Friday to travel home. Just for fun, I decided to stay an extra day up there. I could do touristy stuff. I booked my hotel and transportation. And then, Yes added another show at the House of Blues in Chicago for Friday night. Suddenly, I'm going to four shows on this short tour.

I took the bus up to Chicago on Wednesday night. I got really lucky with the weather. Thursday was the warmest day in Chicago all year so far, great for walking around. I made plans to meet an acquaintance for lunch, and I planned to get to the House of Blues by three. I was doing so much of this trip by myself, so it was good to see Jen and do something social. We both relocated to the midwest, but were out of touch for fifteen years before finding each other on Facebook. I had a light lunch, because I'd be having "dinner" at the House of Blues not too long afterward.

This was a general admission show, and I had to be in the front row. I had to be. Seriously, I'm five foot two, and anyone standing in front of me would block my view and I wouldn't be able to see. But also, given the opportunity to see my favorite band in the front row, I had to go for it. Ticketmaster offered a premium ticket package with early entry, and I had to do that. The House of Blues offers "pass the line" entrance to anyone eating at their restaurant that day. Just in case something went wrong with the premium entry, I had to be in front of the "pass the line" line too.

It was actually a lot of fun waiting there. The band was staying at the hotel in the same complex as the House of Blues, and the band members were walking right into the lobby and up the stairs to the stage area. Another fan was waiting there, who I think I met at a previous show in Chicago. He and I talked for most of the time. I was standing there for three hours, and I only read two pages in my book.

I spoke to Benoit David, the singer for this lineup of the band. I was just walking out of the restaurant and I saw him in the lobby. I called out his name, and he recognized me and stopped. I told him I was getting in line for the show, and he asked me how early it was. It was 4pm. I find it charming when musicians I'm a fan of try to show not just that they remember me, but they remember something personal about me. The last few times I saw Yes, my friend Greg was also there. Greg has a blog about an imaginary jackalope, and he brings a small stuffed animal jackalope to concerts. Benoit remembered that and must have thought of us as together, and asked if I had the jackalope with me. Between his accent and me not expecting to hear that word, I had to ask him to repeat himself. Ah, that's what he's talking about. No, that belongs to a friend of mine. (Greg and I have only met on three occasions, but they've all been recent Yes shows, where Benoit has seen us hanging out.) The next morning, I sent Greg a message about this exchange, and he replied that I made his day.

Chris Squire walked down the steps and caused a big stir. One guy got to shake his hand, another took a picture with him. I just hung back and watched their interactions. Both fans were talking about how nice Chris was. Alan White walked in with Yes' tour manager; they were talking to each other and didn't see us. When Alan walked back down, he talked to our group. He said his feet were tired and he was going back to the hotel to watch a movie. I love seeing the band in a city where the hotels, restaurants, and concert are all close by. I hope they appreciated being able to get around easily too.

Shortly before the doors opened, the premium ticket people were all grouped together. There were two levels of premium tickets - ones that came with a meet and greet with the band and ones that didn't. I bought a meet and greet package for Yes' tour in 2004, but I didn't need to for this lineup. I can usually meet them after the show just by hanging out, and I am more concerned about the front row seat. We were all together, without really being in a line. There were about a dozen people there. Security people brought us to another staircase where we stood single file. I was halfway back in line, no longer first. Security led us up to the club level, and then it got confusing. The employee leading us up walked around the perimeter of the club around the back, and people followed him. But they walked right past the entrance to the pit, the quickest way to get to the front of the stage. Was I supposed to follow the people in front of me or use my instincts? I broke from the line and grabbed the front row center spot. Everyone walking behind me followed my lead.

My goal was to stand in the center one night and in front of Chris Squire the other night. But there was a curtain covering the stage, and I couldn't see where the microphone stands were. This would be my night to stand front and center, and I could judge where to stand to be in front of Chris the next night. I made a misjudgment though, which worked in my favor. Oliver Wakeman's keyboards took up a huge portion of the stage, in front and audience right. The rest of the front-line was squished into the remainder of the stage. By standing in the center, I ended up right by Chris.

The premium package people mostly got front row positions. One couple decided to stand in the center, in the second row behind me. The guys I waited with in the "pass the line" line were also able to get front row, near where Steve was on the far left. We weren't right up by the stage. There was a metal barricade a couple feet from the stage, leaving room for cameramen and security people between the audience and the band. More nice, unintended consequences. The barricade had a metal floor going back about two feet into the audience. The people in the front row could stand on it, but there wasn't quite enough room for two rows of people on it. The rest of the floor stood back, so they weren't partly standing on the metal and partly on the wood floor. It meant we weren't being crowded and shoved up front. The barricade was also a good height to lean on and rest my arms on it. I think the people who chose the second row position regretted it as the floor got crowded. We had an hour to wait before the show started, and we all chatted. Nice group of people, all big fans.

Around 8:15, the room darkened and Firebird Suite began to play on the loudspeakers. The curtains parted and there was Yes! Seats up by the stage are great for seeing the band, paying attention to details, interacting with the bandmembers; the only thing they're not great for is sound. The speakers are over our heads pushing the sound back. What I'm hearing is coming from the on-stage monitors. (The flip side is, I could be further back by the soundboard and surrounded by people talking or constantly adjusting my spot to try to see.) I had a seat once before at a Yes concert directly in front of Chris. All I heard was the bass all night. I was expecting the same thing from this position.

Chris Squire is my favorite bass player in the world and his melodic lead lines are one of the things I love most about Yes music. I could hear every note Squire played like it was turned up for a solo. His tone was beautiful. I got to hear every bassline highlighted and played right in front of me. I thought nothing would take my attention away from Chris, but Steve also had on-stage monitors and I could hear him clearly, particularly on the solos of Siberian Khatru and Yours Is No Disgrace.

I was in my happy place for the whole show. In the zone, in the present, the music had my rapt attention the entire time. I could barely hear the vocals, but I sung along, singing along with Chris' harmony parts whenever he was singing. Float your climb! He almost came in early on the vocals during Onward, but caught it. I felt the music rather than hearing it all. I wouldn't want this mix for every show, but it was fascinating to hear everything Chris played so clearly. I later wrote on Facebook that it's not the same band I fell in love with, the balance of delicate beauty versus power is off, but they rocked. And I danced along to that glorious bass for the whole show. I was thrilled.

Here's a few funny / interesting moments that I caught being up front:
There was a waitress making the rounds of the pit carrying a case of beer up over her head back and forth through the crowd. Chris said before he introduced Steve Howe's solo that he was wondering about that Bud Light case the woman was carrying. He said it looked like weight training. Someone in the crowd asked Chris if he wanted one. Someone tossed a can on stage during Machine Messiah. Chris saw it and laughed. During Owner of a Lonely Heart, Benoit moved to that part of the stage. He saw the can, and offered it to a couple people in front, and tossed it back to someone.

Steve Howe rotates the songs he does in his solo portion of the show. For this show, he did All's a Chord and Diary of a Man Who Vanished. Some people standing near him were talking during the songs. Steve announced what songs he had played, and then said "and I wish those talkers would vanish". Aside from this part, Steve looked like he was in a great mood. Steve was more animated than I've seen recently, even smiling a few times. As he came back on stage for the encore, he did the duck walk across the stage.

One song that particularly stood out was Machine Messiah. I had never seen Yes play in until this lineup formed. I thought during the performance that if some other band in a prog festival played a song that sounded like this, we'd all be going nuts for it. The instrumental parts of the song sound so Yes-sy and fit in so well. I'm glad they're doing it again. One thing different on this night's performance was that they didn't use dry ice to fill the stage. I was standing so close, I hoped to be able to play with it.

After the show ended, the band came to the front of the stage for their bows. One guy in the audience was hoping to get a setlist, and was pointing at it to Alan. Alan saw him, but didn't do anything. Just after the band left the stage and the curtains closed again, a roadie came out to hand the fan a setlist. I don't know if Alan asked him to or if he saw the exchange, but it was a nice thing to do.

Everyone who purchased the premium ticket package got a letter from the box office, saying to meet after the show by stage left. Most people were doing the meet and greet, and got black laminates. I hadn't spent the extra $100 to do that, but I was still getting a souvenir t-shirt and poster. I remembered reading that people buying the lesser package could also be "upgraded" to the meet and greet. We were all brought up to a little room where the meet and greet would be held. The coordinator calmly went through his list and distributed the t-shirts. I thought there were more people downstairs, but at this point there were three people with the lesser package. The coordinator said if we wanted, we could meet the band too! We'd have to wait until the meet and greet was over, and wait with the people with regular backstage passes. This was wonderful!

It wasn't coordinated very well. Just as the official meet and greet ended and those people left, someone turned off the lights. We were brought into the dark room. Oliver Wakeman and Alan White were there. Oliver tried to make the best of it, going to a part of the room with indirect lighting, and offered to do any autographs from there. I went over and asked him to sign my new poster. Alan waited for the lights to come on. At some point, Steve Howe walked by, but he looked like he was on his way out, so I didn't stop him.

Usually my ideal spot at concerts is one where I can be in front, but out of the way, in the aisle dancing. I don't get a great view of Alan White that way, but I did this night. And the reverse was true. After the light situation was fixed, Alan told me that he saw me dancing along. He said I knew the words better than he does. If this had been a different lineup of the band, I would have joked that I know the words better than Jon, but I didn't want to bring his name up now. I asked Alan to sign a couple CDs for me. I brought House of Yes: Live from the House of Blues and Magnification.
House of Yes has autographs from Roger Dean, Steve Howe, Alan White, and Chris Squire
Magnification has been signed by Alan White and Chris Squire
Chris Squire came out a little bit later. I told him his playing sounded wonderful. He also told me he watched me dancing during the show. Here are two of my idols, musicians whose talent I admire so much, and they both went out of their way to tell me they saw me enjoying the show. Speaking of which, someone on the Yesfans site wrote, "Seeing you dance has become part of the Yes concert ritual for me; you so echo the joy of the music."

I couldn't get cell phone reception inside, so I went outside to call Roy and tell him what just happened. Nights like this one are a gift, and I'm so glad I was able to take full advantage of it.

Reacquaint Yourself with My Style

2010-02-13T20:45:00.004-06:00

KISS
Alive 35 Tour
Opening Act: Buckcherry
Madison Square Garden
New York City, NY
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Section 425, Row F, Seat 17
$25

KISS was my favorite band in high school. It's not that I stopped loving their music, I just discovered a world of other music that I loved more. KISS became less and less relevant. Now, I'd call them a guilty pleasure. I saw them three times as a teenager, and once more on their 1996 reunion tour. I thought it would be fun to see them one more time, but it hadn't worked out yet.

So Roy and I were planning a trip to New York and Philly to see the Renaissance reunion tour. We had a day off on Saturday, and Roy suggested looking at other bands playing that night. I wanted to spend Saturday in Philly, visiting friends and seeing my hometown. But the most intriguing show for me was KISS at Madison Square Garden that night. My best friend Angela wanted to go to a concert with me again, for old times' sake. I called her up and asked if she'd see KISS with me in New York. This was becoming more of a New York trip than a Philly one, but at least I'd get to spend more time with a Philly friend.

The whole day felt like one reunion after another. Roy and I were able to meet up with my friend Dawn and her daughter Sarah. They were in the city before flying out to London the next day. The night before, they saw a live performance of the first Lord of the Rings movie score at Radio City Music Hall. Roy was heading to that show this night, as he didn't want to see KISS with us. We met up with Dawn by some steps near Times Square and just sat talking for an hour.

We left to walk back to Penn Station. Angela took the train up. I hadn't seen her in over a year. She doesn't get to Manhattan often, so we walked back to Times Square and went to the MTV store and Toys R Us with the big ferris wheel. Everywhere was so crowded that day. We took a cab to dinner at Mustang Harry's, near Madison Square Garden. Angela made reservations, so we didn't have a wait. Plenty of people there were going to the concert, judging from the t-shirts. They were playing KISS music. After dinner, Roy left to go to his show at Radio City, and Angela and I walked over to the Garden. We weren't going to try to meet up afterward, just head back to the hotel in Newark.

This is the first concert I've gone to where I've had accessible seating. I've gone with Angela to a number of concerts over the years, and she's always managed with steps or standing in crowds. But here, Ticketmaster offered options not just for wheelchair seating, but "Patron W/Disability" seats, on an aisle with minimal steps. Tickets had already been on sale for awhile. I got the cheap seats - $25 for seats in the top level, but they turned out to have an excellent view.

We even got to use a special entrance, near 8th Avenue and 33rd. A woman from their accessibility office called me to see what accommodations we needed. She took Angela's name, and gave me all sorts of warnings about needing her ID. In reality, the guards took one look at her crutch and leg braces and let us in. We didn't even get searched. She obviously belonged there. This was also the entrance to the backstage area. I think one of the members of the opening act was on the elevator with us. He was escorting some people to the backstage level. We got off on the top floor. Our seats were on the aisle, but three steps down with no railing. It was still hard for Angela to get up to the bathroom and back. There was no merchandise on this level either. I ran down a few flights of steps to buy a program and pick up a t-shirt for Angela.

We watched the crowds come in. Quite a few families were there, including a dad and son next to me. Later on during the show, the boy got tired and fell asleep, partially leaning on me. The dad looked over and smiled. I guess he was glad I looked relatively responsible and safe, not drunk. They left partway through the show, and strangely enough, the seats were filled by another dad and son. Our seats might have been in the second row from the top, but they were at a good angle. We could see the whole stage and it didn't seem like we were that far away. (Ironically, the only other time I was at this iconic venue, my seat was in the second row from the stage.) Other kids in our section were wearing the KISS makeup. Years ago, Angela and I dressed up as KISS members for Halloween.

I didn't know anything about the opening act Buckcherry. After their first song, I noticed Angela and I both politely clapping. I whispered to her, "Are we old?" Later on in their set, they did a cover of Deep Purple's Highway Star. Finally a song we both recognized! We laughed.

Seeing KISS was so much fun. I knew more of the words than I thought I would, after not listening to them for so many years. The tour was billed as the Alive 35 tour, and most of the songs they did were on their first live album, originally on their first three studio albums. They were releasing a new album that week, and did one new song called "Modern Day Delilah".

The guys in the row in front of me were all standing, so I stood for most of the show. Because she was sitting on the aisle, Angela could still see while sitting down. I joined her during Rock and Roll All Night, so we could sing it together.

I thought Paul Stanley did a great job as a frontman. He managed to play this larger-than-life character, but still connect his personal experiences to the audience. Perhaps it worked so well because he and Gene Simmons are from New York and got their start here. Stanley told the audience how he used to be a cab driver, and would drop people for shows here at this very venue. He said KISS got their start at the intersection of 23rd and 5th. I just ate around there for dinner the night before, at a restaurant called Live Bait. I was even more surprised to look online and see that KISS rehearsal space was described as being "above the Live Bait Bar". Nice connection I didn't know about!

Most of the concerts I go to these days are just about the musicianship, with maybe a light show. This concert had a lot of special effects. Gene Simmons was on wires, which carried him up to the lighting rig to sing Calling Dr. Love. Paul Stanley stood on a small platform that flew like a Sky Ride above the crowd to a small stage near the back of the floor, where he sang Love Gun. It wasn't nearly as charming as the Coldplay concert, when the whole band walked back to a small stage to play a set, but it was still a nice touch to let the people in back have a good view.

KISS did bits and pieces of other bands' material, but not any fullblown cover songs. Paul Stanley had a bit of solo guitar part before Black Diamond, and he started playing Stairway to Heaven, going so far as to sing part of the first line. Later on, during the encore, the band was doing a long instrumental part in Lick It Up. It morphed into The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again, complete with Paul Stanley doing Roger Daltrey's great scream. I had a thrilling time, but mostly for the nostalgia factor.

After the show, Penn Station was packed. Angela and I managed to see Roy, so the three of us waited for the train together. Madison Square Garden was so good from an accessibility perspective. At Penn Station, they didn't announce what track the train would be on until 10 minutes beforehand, and then there's a rush down the steps to the platform. We didn't see any signs for an elevator, and someone told us that there wasn't one. It was crowded from all the concert-goers, and late enough that we couldn't find any staff to direct us.

It was scary thinking about Angela possibly getting pushed off balance by all these people rushing passed us. Roy and I formed a buffer around her as she went down the steps. I walked in front, and Roy walked behind her to keep people from crowding her. There was room for people to walk down beside us, which would have been fine, but another lady saw what we were doing, and kept the same pace. We made it down the steps. The train was packed, with people standing in the aisles. I called out that my friend needed a seat, and people got out of the way and someone scooted over to give a seat to her. (I guess it's easier for someone to make a request like this on behalf of a friend, rather than having to do it for yourself. I realize that Angela was perfectly capable of taking the train up to New York by herself. I just became protective with all those people around.)

With so many people on the train, we got separated. The crowd thinned out at the first stop, Secaucus Junction. Roy and I were able to meet up with Angela and even get seats by her.

Angela said this day was like reliving her teen years again. We spent so much time together and went to so many concerts. It was good to add another one to the list.

Renaissance - Live at the Concert Hall

2010-02-08T21:28:00.003-06:00

Renaissance
The Concert Hall
New York City, NY
Friday, October 9, 2009
Section Left Balcony, Row Q, Seat 36

I'm on the mailing lists for a number of concert promoters around the country. I usually ignore the e-mails. But on August 26, I got an e-mail from a Philly-area promoter with the subject line "Renaissance 2009 at the Keswick presale". Nah, it can't be my Renaissance. Can it? I opened the e-mail and saw the Renaissance logo. What a surprise!

This was wonderful news for two reasons. I've been a fan of Renaissance for fifteen years. My friend Scott raved about this band, and I bought the Live at Carnegie Hall LP at the Roosevelt Mall flea market one Sunday. I'd seen singer Annie Haslam in concert many times, but never the band itself. They broke up long before I discovered them. They did some reunion shows in England and Japan a while back, but I didn't go. I assumed they would make it to the states, and missing those shows is one of my big concert regrets. The other reason I was so happy is that I hadn't made it home to Philly yet that year, and this would be my excuse to visit my hometown.

Roy is also a big fan, but he got to see Renaissance at least five times. Annie played a role in our relationship, back when we first started dating. Our first trip together was to a show Annie did at Summerfest in Logan, Utah. Back during our long distance relationship, we planned trips around concerts, and quite a few of them were to see Annie. Annie and I had a mutual friend, who would pass on news. At one point talking to her after a show, she asked when we were going to get married!

Tickets went on sale before we knew much information, like even who was taking part in this reunion. We found out there'd be a show in New York on a Friday, and then the show in the Philly suburbs on Sunday. Only two members of Renaissance would be in this lineup, Annie and guitarist Michael Dunford. But another of my favorite musicians would be joining them: Tom Brislin, the keyboard player who played with Yes on the YesSymphonic tour. The Philly part of the trip kept getting shorter; we decided to spend Saturday night in New York, with my best friend Angela joining us that night.

We flew out to New York on Thursday night. We were staying in Newark, in a hotel right by the train station. (I breezily told Angela to stay with us Saturday night, not realizing that a hotel room for the three of us would be out of my price range in Manhattan.) It didn't seem too different than the old days of going to a show and taking the train afterward to Long Island to stay with my aunt or a friend.

Roy hadn't finished a project at work, so he had to bring along his work laptop. He worked long after I fell asleep. The next morning, I woke up early and was eager to get to Manhattan. Roy left a note saying how late he planned to sleep, and said I should have breakfast without him. I was up four hours before him, so I did one better: I took the train up to New York by myself. I figured Roy wouldn't mind. The whole reason we flew in the night before was to have more time in the city. That morning in Manhattan was one of my favorite times of the trip. It wasn't too crowded. I walked from Penn Station to 5th Avenue, all the way to Central Park, hitting a few shops along the way. We met back up at Penn Station in time for lunch.

We took a cab to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex museum in SoHo. This happened to be John Lennon's birthday, and the museum had free admission to celebrate. Roy in particular liked the museum. There were exhibits on the history of rock music, New York City's musical heritage, and a large gallery devoted to Lennon. (No mention of Alan White there, unfortunately.)

Roy and I walked from SoHo to Greenwich Village and Washington Square to Gramercy Park. My friend Dawn was in town for another show that night. We hoped to meet up for dinner, but she was running late, and we couldn't make it happen. I remembered a restaurant nearby from the last time I was in New York, near the Blender Theater on 23rd, so Roy and I ate there for dinner. We took a cab to the venue, located just off of Central Park in an Ethical Society building.

I try to get to concerts early, to make sure everything is okay and there's time to get settled and fix things before the show starts. This was a perfect example of it. We had third row seats, off to the side. I thought these would be good seats, until we found them. This was a very wide venue, and these seats were really far from the stage. Worse than that, the stage was a semi-circle, with all the instruments turned towards the center. Our view would be the back of the piano player, and he'd be blocking the rest of the band. I didn't come this far for a bad view. Roy and I spoke to the box office, and they were able to give us tickets in the balcony with a better view. The new seats were in the front row of the balcony, still off to the side, but with an unobstructed view. I actually really liked these seats, no one was around us, so it was like our own private space.

I didn't think the sound was all that great during the opening act. We thought it was like the sound was focused on the main floor. Jann Klose sang and played guitar, and it was pleasant, but nothing special. The day caught up with Roy, and he fell asleep during the opening set.

We were wide awake when Renaissance came on stage. Annie Haslam so impressed me. I feel like I've taken her talent for granted. I'd seen her solo shows a dozen times over the years. While they were always fun, they were laid-back and homey. It was easy to separate the singer at these shows, who I got to know over the years, from the legendary talent on the Renaissance albums. I got to see a different Annie Haslam live at this show, and she was incredible.

I was happy for the whole show, but especially for my favorite Renaissance songs Prologue and Running Hard. La la lalalalalala la! Their sound is so refreshing, with a lead acoustic guitar. I finally got to see Michael Dunford play live. Our friend Krista was touring with the band, helping them sell merchandise, and taking pictures. She found us in our new seats and sat with us for a song. Ashes Are Burning was another highlight, with Tom Brislin getting to play a solo.

I was hoping to talk to the band after the show. Annie does signings after her solo shows. Not too long after the show, she and Michael Dunford came out to the merchandise table to meet fans. Too bad Tom wasn't there, I wanted a chance to say hi to him too. I met Michael Dunford for the first time. I told him I'd been a fan for years, but this was my first time getting to see him. He asked my name, and signed my new CD of Live at Carnegie Hall and a live King Biscuit release.

I didn't get a chance to tell Annie how amazed I was at her performance. She said hi to me, and that she hadn't seen me in a while. I saw her at NEARfest a few years ago. (And to think, she told me then that she was done with singing live!) That is a long time, she said. She asked how we were doing, and that was it. I've known her for fifteen years and our conversation reflected it, but I wish I was able to express how tonight was different.

Roy talked to Annie and reminded her of the times we saw her back when we were dating. We've been married seven years now.

The first time I saw Annie in concert, she signed my Carnegie Hall LP. Getting the CD signed this time seemed to fit.

Some of the other band members were walking around the lobby, but still no sign of Tom Brislin. The security guard didn't like us standing around waiting, so we went outside. Even though we were seeing the band again on Sunday, we'd have to leave right after the show. This was our only opportunity. Do we stand outside and look like stalkers waiting for the band to leave? Or give up?

Thankfully, we didn't have to make that decision. Tom saw us and came out to chat. I told him, "You keep joining my favorite bands!" He was going to have a crazy couple of days. While the band had the next day off from performances, Tom was doing a solo set at a prog festival...in California. He'd fly out the next morning, play at CalProg, and then take a redeye back in Philly, to be in town for the Keswick Theater show on Sunday. Tom caught us up with Spiraling, his work with Francis Dunnery, and some other stuff. It was good to see him, and I'm glad we had time to have an actual conversation. Roy wanted to leave before it seemed like we were monopolizing his time too much, so we said our goodbyes (and see you in a couple days).

On the cab ride back to Penn Station, we passed Carnegie Hall, the home of the live album that turned me into a Renaissance fan in the first place. It was a good way to end the night.

FMPM 2009 Day 2: 500 Friends

2010-01-02T09:48:00.003-06:00

Festival des Musiques Progressives de Montreal - Day 2
Gesù – Centre de Créativité
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Section Centre, Row F, Seat 15

Roy and I started out with a social morning. We met Linda and her friends for brunch before the day's music began. It was nice, and I was in a better frame of mind to enjoy the bands this day. The final day of FMPM had a relaxed schedule, with just three bands. We were most looking forward to Three Friends, the partial-Gentle Giant reunion band. Roy and I had already seen the other bands Miriodor and Magenta. This wouldn't be our last day in Montreal; we weren't leaving until Tuesday. It gave us another day to tour the city.

Miriodor was alright. I don't think I'll ever enjoy them as much as I did at Nearfest in 2002. They were just more exciting live with a previous lineup. I don't dislike their current music, and it's not as disappointing as it was the last time I saw them, when I expected to like it more. It was just okay. I could have easily skipped out on it.

Roy and I got a quick lunch before the next band, Magenta. I have mixed feelings about them as well. I like their general sound and their vocal melodies. I just don't think their compositions are strong. We bought their first album, and I remember liking it, but the music didn't stick with me. I had heard of their great reputation as a live band, but their Nearfest performance left both Roy and me underwhelmed. I've been trying to figure out what I don't like after seeing them again. I thought they did a great, amazing even, presentation of their music. The band looked excited and they had a great bond with the audience. The crowd was on their feet for parts of it and I gave them several standing ovations.

It's just...the music seems like one tacked on bit after another. The songs start to sound like each other, as if they have no personalities of their own. Magenta have a number of longer songs, and I think this highlights the weakness. Bands, if you are going to do an extended piece of music, you need more than a melody and solos. Listen to Heart of the Sunrise as an example. You need structure, tension and release. One exciting guitar part followed by a keyboard part does sound great live, but there needs to be more to make your songs come alive. The parts of your songs shouldn't be interchangeable, and that's how Magenta's music comes across to me.

That said, Magenta was the most exciting band to watch on stage at FMPM. The band members could certainly play their music with passion. They generated a lot of excitement just from their own energy, without the need for special effects or something outside themselves. Despite my issues with their music, I'd rather see a band that can keep my interest than one who has loads of compositional skill but a weak stage presence. It was refreshing to see a band that plays often, is a tight unit, and knows how to perform for an audience. I'm wondering if that makes me shallow? Or maybe it's just telling of how many amateur bands I've seen live at the festivals over the years.

We only had an hour and a half dinner break. These things are always rushed. We met up with the gang and went back to the quick Italian place from the night before. Our acquaintance Jason joined us this time. On Saturday night, he said he got sucked into "the vortex", doing so much hanging out that he missed the headliner. Our group might not be as exciting, but we were serious about getting back to the venue on time. Roy discovered that Jason was also a tennis fan, so they discussed the US Open. The TV in the restaurant was broadcasting a game, so they were able to see the scores.

Everyone was excited about the night's performance, but we had different levels of fandom. Juan was an avowed fan, like I am with Yes. Roy never got to see them live, but had been a fan since the 1980s. Several of the Montreal-based folks in our group were more familiar with current bands on the prog festival circuit than the lesser-known bands from the 70s like Gentle Giant. I had heard some of their albums long ago, but they're hardly a band I've been waiting desperately to see live for fifteen years. (That would be Renaissance, who I got to see in October.) I'm aware of their reputation and place in progressive rock history. Roy didn't want to miss this, and I was excited to attend. Ever since the announcement, I'd been studying up on my Gentle Giant, bringing their music to work so I could get familiar with it.

It amazed me that this small festival landed this band. Gentle Giant guitarist Gary Green started coming to prog festivals. He became one of us. I remember hearing him say at ProgDay that he wasn't playing live anymore and was out of practice. I don't know if all the fans he met rekindled his interest, but within a few years, he formed a band with former Gentle Giant drummer Malcolm Mortimore to play Gentle Giant songs. Kery Minnear joined them and they changed the name of the band to Three Friends. It was a highly anticipated reunion and they could have done a higher profile show. But there's a connection between this band and the fests, and their first North American show was replacing another band at FMPM in Montreal.

Sadly now it seems like this is the only date this lineup will perform in North America. There are more dates scheduled for this continent in 2010, but Kerry Minnear left the band. I don't know why. They are still calling the band Three Friends, but the people at Nearfest will only get two friends and former Gentle Giant bandmembers next year. Those of us in Montreal were luckier than we knew.

It was an exciting, emotional performance. I don't know the songs well enough to say they were note-perfect, but the music is intricate enough that the songs would fall apart if not played precisely. They didn't. A couple things surprised me: I thought the vocalist here Mick Wilson had a better voice than Derek Shulman. I think I liked this performance better than if it were a full Gentle Giant reunion! And the rhythm just skipped along in these songs. It gave the music a light-hearted happy feel, just like the performance itself had, rather than something more serious. My favorite songs were The Advent of Panurge and Think of Me With Kindness, with Kerry Minnear on vocals. It's sad now to think that that won't happen again.

The show was sublime. I'm thinking about my criticism of Magenta - here, every song was distinct, fully realized. This was the real thing. This performance was one of the best I've ever heard and seen at a prog festival.

The band came out pretty quickly to sign autographs. Of the seven members on stage, I got six of them, including the three Gentle Giant guys. I told Gary Green I had previously spoken to him at ProgDay. He described it as brutal sound with brutal heat. Personally, I think the sound at ProgDay is among the best of the festivals, with bands getting a good mix. I didn't respond to that part, but said I had been to ProgDay the previous week and the weather wasn't too bad. Gary asked me as a ProgDay regular if I knew one of the other regulars. Roy was watching from a little ways back and couldn't hear the conversation, but said it looked like we were having a real conversation. So many of these things are "hi, thanks, liked the show".

I was tired. We walked back to the hotel, but we didn't do any of the post-festival parties. We had an entire day on Monday to explore the city. We spent most of the day in Vieux-Montréal, the old part of the city. I don't care if most of the restaurants there are tourist traps, the food was delicious. The US Open Men's Final was going on. Roy had carefully set our Tivo to record all the games. He figured he'd catch up with them when we got home. But a rain delay pushed all the matches back a day and messed up his plans. We found a cafe that was showing the game, so we went in to watch it for a while. To be honest, I was ready for a break, so I suggested we just go back to the hotel to watch the rest of it. Roy declared me the greatest wife ever for indulging him.

FMPM 2009 Day 1

2010-01-02T09:43:00.001-06:00

Festival des Musiques Progressives de Montreal - Day 1
Gesù – Centre de Créativité
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Section Centre, Row F, Seat 15
$106.67 CAN

This wasn't a great day. I woke up with a huge headache, and kept pushing myself to see all the bands. We kept thinking maybe some food and drink would make me feel better, substituting that for sleep. I'd end up in the dark theater, zoning out during every band's performance.

That morning, we went out for breakfast. We had a slow morning. The bands weren't starting until 1pm, so I had time to go back to the hotel and take a nap before heading up to the venue. I should have slept longer, but we scheduled a wake up call so that we'd get there before the music started. Roy and I tend to influence each other's opinions. He is always aware that any band could be the surprise hit of the festival, and he doesn't want to miss that performance. All of the unknown bands become must-sees. I see his point, and I have seen it happen in reality, so I cut short my nap and recovery. (Let me add here that don't drink alcohol, so this was a different type of headache than most FMPM attendees had that morning!)

I don't like to rush at these festivals. I don't want to make it there just in time. I like to buy my water, look at the vendors, see my friends, not just rush in to the dark theater just as the band is starting. That's what I was expecting this time, but the festival was running a half-hour late. I had time to do all those things and hear the opening welcome and annoucements.

We purchased gold seats for the festival itself, we were in the sixth row on the aisle. This was a really nice venue. The seating was tiered, but also staggered. I wasn't looking directly behind the person the row in front of me. It was a place that can truly say, "every seat is a good seat". The sound was good too. This was a smaller venue than the place where it was held in 2007. I really noticed it in the lobby - too full of people and no good places to sit. Thankfully, the weather held up, and we could go outside during the breaks.

I did like the first band ExCubus. They were a band that formed back in 1970, a real first-generation prog band. They did many live shows back then, but never finished recording an album. Decades later, they reunited. It was a nice addition to the festival, but I would have felt better for the whole day if I had just slept through this set. I struggled to stay awake and pay attention.

I thought we had an hour break before the next band. Rouge Ciel. There was no announcement of when they'd be starting. The festival was a half-hour behind schedule and there was supposed to be an hour-long break between bands. Roy thought I'd feel better with something to eat, so we went back to the food court I had lunch at on Friday and I had the same delicious panini.

It turned out that there was only a half-hour break. Rouge Ciel must have set up very quickly and started on their scheduled time. We got back in time to see the last 20 minutes of their set. It's just as well. They didn't do anything for me. One piece had melody, the others were just a bunch of musicians playing different things.

The weather was nice and I love walking around cities. Roy suggested we go on a walk during the next break. I knew vaguely where the old Montreal area was, so we walked down there and got to the banks of the Saint Lawrence River at the southern tip of the Old Montreal before we had to turn around and walk back. This is another thing that I should have enjoyed, but I was fighting not feeling well and doing more exertion wasn't great. We saw Linda and Juan, and made plans to meet them for dinner at the next break.

There was a piano in the lobby. When we walked back in, it was being put to good use. There was a group singalong to Gentle Giant's Think of Me with Kindness with piano accompaniment. Juan said one of the musicians from the festival was playing. Later on, he played some Genesis before the break ended.

I had seen the next band DFA at Nearfest back in 2000. They went over well, but did nothing for me then. I like their music well enough, but I can't handle sitting in a dark room doing nothing but listening to it. Sean McFee, one of the FMPM festival organizers introduced them as an amazing jazz-rock band. I saw the first part of their set. I got frustrated that this band wasn't at a setting like ProgDay, where I could pull out a book and turn any music into part of the atmosphere, rather than the sole thing to pay attention to. I watched a couple songs, then left the auditorium.

This break was what I needed. I talked to a few people out in the lobby. Buster, who goes to a lot of fests, wasn't afraid to skip some bands. He actually wasn't seeing any of the bands this day, just hanging out with people. I found another woman sitting on the steps of the venue reading. I joined her and indulged my need for downtime by reading for the next hour. I went back into the lobby shortly before the show was over to meet up with everyone. I opened the door to the auditorium, and DFA was getting a huge response from the audience. I'm glad people enjoyed them.

We had a big bilingual group dinner at a cheap Italian place in the nearby mall. This is a city with such great restaurants, it seems a shame to eat someplace so ordinary, but they were able to get us in and out quickly. That was of the essence, because the next band was the legendary Le Orme. We couldn't miss them.

Roy and I saw Le Orme in 2001 at Baja Prog, and Roy saw them at ProgFest in the 1990s. Loved them then. I really liked their first couple songs and Felona and Serona. Aldo Tagliapietra still has a beautiful voice. Drummer Michi Dei Rossi looked a lot older, but still looked so happy while playing. This was the first band with real songs and vocals all day, and I needed that in this setting. However, the whole day caught up with me. I was tired and still kept zoning out. This is one of the key bands of the Italian progressive scene, but the show didn't have as much of an impact on me as last time. The band had a different lineup this time: instead of two keyboards, they had one keyboard player and a bass player. The show was less dramatic: I remember highlights of Aldo playing a sitar last time. It's good that they don't play the same set year after year, but this one dragged in places (or maybe it was me). I talked to some friends about it later: Linda just loved it, and Juan thought he had seen them too many times. Roy thought the long midtemp ballad-y piece in the encore brought the show to a slow point.

I felt like I should have paced myself better this day. It all culminated with not being in the right place to enjoy a band like Le Orme. At the time, I wondered if it was me or the festival, and what a shame it was to travel all this way and spend all this money if I wasn't going to enjoy it. In hindsight, it was just me. I felt better the next day and ready to enjoy the music!

FMPM 2009 Pre-Show: A Saga with Mystery

2009-11-18T21:48:00.003-06:00

Festival des Musiques Progressives de Montreal - Pre-Show
Gesù – Centre de Créativité
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Friday, September 11, 2009
Section Centre, Row L, Seat 16
$55.87 CAN

It's taken me so long to publish this entry. A month after the festival, the organizers at FMPM announced that the festival would not be continuing. I'm kind of amazed that I made it to fully half of their festivals, as Montreal is far away and expensive to fly into. I loved visiting Montreal and I loved going to a prog festival in an urban center like this, with the hotel, venue, tons of restaurants, and touristy things all within walking distance. I'll want to go back to Montreal some other time, if only to have another duck breast crepe at Jardin Nelson!

I enjoyed the FMPM festival in Montreal when Roy and I went in 2007. I wasn't expecting to go again this year, but we kept tabs on the bands that would be performing. Roy noticed that Saga was headlining the preshow, and he hadn't seen that band in a long time. I was curious about Mystery, whose singer, Benoit David, sang on Yes' In the Present tour. But we didn't seriously consider going this year.

Then something incredible happened. Some minor band canceled, and the replacement was a huge deal. Three members of Gentle Giant had reunited, calling themselves Three Friends. At the time, it was their only scheduled North American show. Roy and I decided to go the day we found out. We got our tickets before the performance sold out. We were doing it. By the time of the festival, it was announced that they'd be playing Nearfest next year. And since then, one of the Gentle Giant members dropped out of the project. Nearfest will only be getting two friends.

This led to a crazy couple of weeks. We were going to ProgDay over Labor Day weekend. This was the very next weekend. Roy decided to take off the days in between the two trips. Roy is a big tennis fan, so he spent those days off at the US Open. After ProgDay, I flew home, went to work for a few days, and then flew up to Montreal. Roy flew to New York and saw some tennis. Our friend Linda was also coming to FMPM; Roy met up with her and they drove to Montreal together.

I kept seeing all these people going to the festival. Waiting for my flight to Montreal, in a layover in Chicago, I met a couple who were obviously going there. In line at customs, I saw people I knew from the prog world, as the line snaked around, Buster in front of me, Jason behind. One of the FMPM organizers, Robert Dansereau, was outside security waiting to meet some other attendees. Jason and I shared a cab to the hotel. I didn't know when Roy would arrive; he hoped to be there in time for the night's concert. I left him a note and went off to explore the city.

I got lunch, walked up to the venue, scoped out the area, tried to get my bearings in the city. I found the street where we stayed last time. I went back to the hotel before the concert to freshen up. Roy was there, half-asleep. I hadn't seen him since Monday. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before, had to stay up late for tennis and wake up early to meet up with Linda, so he slept on the drive up to Canada. He needed to sleep some more, and then he'd come to the show. I left him my directions to the Gesu and headed off to the show.

The doors were supposed to open at 6pm, and the concert was starting at 7pm. I got there a little before 6. There wasn't a grand opening of the doors or anything at 6, but I went into the lobby then anyway. The venue wasn't ready for people yet. The bar wasn't open and the vendors weren't set up. I didn't see anyone I knew, but I had a really good time.

I saw someone whose face I recognized from pictures on the Yesfans site. Daniel posts more than I do on Yesfans, and it was clear he didn't recognize my name. But he was an amazing host. He bought me a drink, introduced me to some other people from Yesfans, introduced me to Michel St-Pere, the guitarist from Mystery, and Richard Lanthier, the bass player from the Close to the Edge Yes-tribute band. Daniel and I realized that his seat was directly in front of mine, and he even offered to switch seats with me if I had trouble seeing.

Roy hadn't arrived by the time Mystery started. They were scheduled for an hour-long set. There would be a break at 8pm, and Saga was to start at 9. Through the early part of Mystery's set, I was worried about Roy. He planned to wake up after 6, and I expected him to be there by this point. He really wanted to see Saga. Should I run back to the hotel and get him during the break?

It kept me distracted from the show, but I enjoyed it regardless. When we realized we were going to FMPM this year, Roy and I bought the latest Mystery album, Beneath the Veil of Winter's Face. I recognized about half the songs they played. They did a couple older ones and one newer song that has not been released yet. Benoit alternated his stage announcements, sometimes doing them in French, sometimes in English.

I was wondering if Mystery would do a cover song. I had seen Benoit five times over the last year singing with Yes, and a Yes song would go over well with the crowd. He announced that they would be doing a cover song from a legendary progressive rock band. I wildly applauded and half-expected them to go into Tempus Fugit. It surprised me when they started playing Rush' Tom Sawyer. I love this song too. I was bopping around in my seat, singing along.

Then, things got spectacularly bad.

Oh, nothing the band did. I saw Roy arrive partway through Tom Sawyer. Our seats were on the aisle near the back. The venue was a nice little amphitheater, with tiered seating, and small steps separating each row. I got up to let Roy in, moved to the aisle and tried to go down a step to clear the way for him. I either tripped or lost my balance, and fell over. Roy tried to catch me, couldn't brace himself, and fell over as well. People were looking and the usher came over to make sure we were okay. Neither of us were hurt, but I was kind of shocked. It took me a little while to be able to concentrate on the music again. I was very careful all the other times I had to enter or exit my seat all weekend.

If I had one complaint about Mystery, it was one I noticed in a number of bands this weekend. There was too little variation in the band's sound in each song. One of the last songs they did, Travel to the Night, finally had some lead keyboard lines, some dynamics, build up of the music. It went over really well and got a standing ovation from some of the crowd. I thought Mystery put on a good set. I like their music, Benoit obviously has a lot of experience on stage now, but the rest of the band put on a good show as well. I heard from Daniel that they would be playing RosFest next year, and that was confirmed the next day. I'm glad more people will get a chance to see them.

After the show, my goal was to meet Benoit. The bands usually come out to sign autographs, sometimes organized at a table, sometimes milling around. I introduced Roy to my acquaintances from Yesfans. The lobby was really crowded, too small for the number of people here. Roy and I stood by the wall, keep an eye on the Mystery vending table. Some of the band members were there. Daniel came to the rescue again, coming over to tell us Benoit had come out to the lobby and show us where he was.

Benoit was chatting with a couple people. He looked happy to see us, giving me a hug and kiss on the cheek and giving Roy a handshake. He asked us if we liked the show and if we were going to see Saga. It was nice, but kinda quick. He went back to chatting with someone in French. I was going to wait to talk to him some more. But the lights flickered to signal that Saga would be starting soon. The lobby cleared out, and more signals came. I couldn't even eavesdrop on the conversation, because it was in French. I didn't want Roy to miss Saga, so I figured we'd catch up with Benoit another time, and we went into the auditorium. It figures, that was the only time I saw Benoit all weekend and the show still didn't start for another ten minutes. I could have waited longer. I'm kicking myself over that.

I wonder what will happen to Benoit in the future, if Yes will continue like they've been or if Jon will rejoin. I'm happy with Benoit in his understudy position, singing on tour while Jon can't handle it, but I'm not ready for him to be lead-singer-of-my-favorite-band. He seems like a genuinely nice guy and he has provided a way for Yes to continue.

The next band Saga had a lot of experience. They got started in the 1970s, had songs and albums that charted, got videos played on MTV, and have a song that even still gets played on the radio in St. Louis. They don't tour often in North America now, and Roy hadn't seen them since two times in the 1980s. They have a new singer, but I wouldn't have realized it. I thought he sang the songs as if they were his own and put on a great show.

I liked the band's music, but didn't love it. But I very much enjoyed their live performance. I would group their sound along with AOR (prog-influenced) bands more than progressive rock itself, with only their strong keyboard sound pushing them into prog. Whatever the sound, their songs are good, and the band had a level of excitement and polish that would have filled an arena. It went over very well. They held my attention the whole time, even though I only knew one song, the encore of On the Loose. They played a lot of newer songs, and Roy bought their new album after the show. They met his high expectations.

After the show, we said goodbye to Daniel. He only had a ticket for the preshow, so he wouldn't be back the rest of the weekend. Roy and I walked down to Rue St. Denis and got dessert at the same little creperie we stopped at last time we were in Montreal. It was good to see him again.

ProgDay 2009 Day 2

2009-11-17T20:38:00.000-06:00

ProgDay Day 2
Storybook Farm
Chatham County (Chapel Hill), NC
Sunday, September 6, 2009
General Admission

There were some stand-out performances on the second day of ProgDay. Roy and I started the day as we traditionally do, going out to breakfast at Foster's Market. We missed the start of the first band, Deluge Grander. Maybe I wasn't fully awake yet, but I wasn't ready to focus on the music. I wandered over to the food tent to get out of the performance space.

I was in the perfect position for the next band. The Japanese band Qui played their set on Saturday, but they brought their instruments back again. They set up by the picnic benches did some songs in between bands on the main stage. I was already sitting over there, so I grabbed a spot right in front. It was charming, and I enjoyed it even more than their real set on Saturday. They played several times throughout the day, with other bands and even audience members joining in. I'm sure this happens more often at jam-band type festivals, but it fit right in at ProgDay.

Guitarist Jimmy Robinson was another highlight. We saw him play at ProgDay a few years ago with his band Woodenhead. The set consisted of a half-hour of solo guitar, really good playing. The highlights for me were at the end, two cover songs, Eight Miles High from the Byrds and Led Zeppelin's Kashmir.

My favorite band of the festival turned out to be the headliner Ozric Tentacles. They are a band I've liked since college, but never saw live. Roy had seen them before, and he described it as crowded with everyone dancing together. With the light show, he was almost in a trance. From his memories and my mental picture of a crowded smoky club, I didn't think I'd enjoy their typical show. Never had the opportunity to go anyway. They played Nearfest a few years ago, and seeing their dancy space-rock music seated in a theater seemed wrong too.

So I was happy when they were announced for ProgDay. I still wasn't sure what to expect. I had their CD Arborescence. Most of the lineup had changed, and I'd heard they were more electronica sounding. I wondered how much of their set would be live versus synthesizer noises. I had nothing to worry about. They sounded wonderful and were so suited to the vibe at Storybook Farm. The line-up consisted of the lead guy Ed Wynne playing keyboards and guitar, along with a bass player, drummer, and another keyboardist.

It was danceable happy instrumental music. The band mentioned several times that they usually play with an elaborate light show and how nice it was to be able to see the audience and see what they are doing. A group of kids got together and danced along to the crazy music. My friend Chris danced to most of the set. I thought about it, but mostly bopped along in my seat. When the time was running out and they said they'd be doing their last song, I got up and danced too. There were a whole group of us on the side of the field. It was a blast!

Roy and I went out to dinner by ourselves that night, and then we stopped by the pool to chat for a bit. We had quite a week planned. The next day, I'd drive Roy to the airport. He was going to New York to see some matches at the US Open tennis tournament. My flight wasn't until the afternoon, so I drove to A Southern Season and browsed for a while. We'd meet up four days later in another town for our next prog festival. Next time would be FMPM in Montreal.

ProgDay 2009 Day 1

2009-10-07T21:10:00.005-05:00

ProgDay Day 1
Storybook Farm
Chatham County (Chapel Hill), NC
Saturday, September 5, 2009
General Admission
Patron Pass: $140

I've been having trouble getting started writing about ProgDay this year. It's always been my favorite of the progressive rock festivals. This year, it was surrounded by more high profile shows. The festival itself seemed to go by so quickly. I enjoyed it, but it didn't have as much impact.

ProgDay weekend was the beginning of a wild trip for Roy. After the festival, I'd be going back home, but Roy would fly to New York to see some days of the US Open tennis tournament. A week after the start of this trip, we'd rendezvous in Montreal for the FMPM festival.

This is my 13th year in a row coming to ProgDay. A few years ago, I wrote my general thoughts about the festival here. The outdoor location makes it feel like a big family picnic, and Roy and I always enjoy visiting the Chapel Hill area. Being outdoors in the South in the summer can be uncomfortable. This was the best weather sustained throughout the whole weekend the festival has ever had.

Roy and I arrived on Friday morning. This is the last time we'll be flying non-stop to the Raleigh Durham airport - American Airlines is going to drop this route and there will be no more direct flights. There was a pre-show concert with some bands playing on Friday, but we usually skip that. It goes on late and we'd rather be refreshed for the actual event. We did go to another local event on Friday evening, the Paperhand Puppet Intervention performance of "The Living Sea of Memory". It was geared towards families and ended before the preshow even began.

My big reaction to ProgDay this year was, wow that went by quick. I think it might be a function of two variables. The way we perceive time is relative. It was so pleasant outside, in the 80s with low humidity, that it never dragged. I wonder if sitting out there in the heat in previous years made it feel longer than it would otherwise. The other possibility is that we didn't do as much socializing. Roy and I have a group of friends who we used to hang out with at every festival. Everyone's cut back a bit, and the last time we were all together was at our wedding. This time, none of our group from out of the area came, and even Gerhard who lives nearby wasn't there. Roy and I went out to dinner by ourselves each night. Our friend Chris from Ohio didn't tell us he was coming and surprised us in the hotel lobby.

I enjoyed the opening band Brave. Along with the two headliners, they were my favorites of the festival. Brave was described to me as a prog-metal band, but with flutes and a woman singer with a great voice, they had a lot more to their sound than a typical metal band. Good songs too. Roy bought one of their CDs after their performance.

I'm going to skip over some of the other bands to talk about the Saturday headliner La Maschera di Cera. My favorite all-time performance at a prog festival was Finisterre's in 1997. It's not just that the music was awesome and the presentation was so enthusiastic, so perfect. It was the response they got from the audience. I remember people not just standing up to applaud, but grabbing their lawn chairs and holding them up as a way to show our appreciation. Roy remembers people just hugging afterward, that we witnessed something so special. We saw Finisterre again at Baja Prog in 2001, but it was missing that spark. Maybe it was the surprise of how good they were, how young they were, or maybe it was the atmosphere. I know a number of people who, like me, first came to ProgDay in 1997 and keep coming back every year. This performance is a big reason why.

Finisterre broke up, but bassist Fabio Zuffanti is still active in progressive rock. He plays bass in La Maschera. This would be his return to Storybook Farm. we saw this band at Nearfest a few years ago, and it was solid, but nothing spectacular. Roy and I visited La Maschera's table and bought a few CDs. One was a Finisterre CD from 2004 that we never knew about. I was surprised at how much older Fabio looked. His mustache and goatee were grey. We guessed he was about 40 now. The band seemed so young, close to my age, back in 1997. You wonder if the Finisterre show was as special to the band as it was to the audience. They did release it as a live album.

There's something about ProgDay and this venue that makes bands sound better. I've seen a number of bands here that I've also seen at other prog festivals, and I almost always enjoy it more here. The mix is always clear, it's a relaxed atmosphere, we're all spread out in our tents and lawn chairs. It's possible to sit right by the stage for bands you want to see up close. I liked La Maschera better this time around.

Fabio was one of the frontmen in Finisterre, but in La Maschera, he just plays bass and sings backing vocals. But he took the microphone during the set. He wanted to commemorate the last time he was here at ProgDay, playing that legendary show with Finisterre. La Maschera plays original music, but for this one performance, they were going to play a Finisterre song. The singer joked that they were going to become a Finisterre cover band. Ironically, they played a song off the 2004 Finisterre album that Roy and I weren't familiar with, and not a song that was actually performed in 1997. But it was nice to see that recognition, to see that it was still special to the musicians after all these years.

Viva la Coldplay

2009-08-02T16:14:00.004-05:00

Coldplay
Opening Acts: Kitty Daisy & Lewis and Amadou & Mariam
Riverport Amphitheater (this year, known as Verizon Wireless Amphitheater)
Maryland Heights (St. Louis), MO
Friday, July 24th, 2009
Section Upper Right, Row FF, Seat 58
$97.50

This show reminded me of shows I went to as a kid. We were seeing a hugely popular band in the prime of their career. I told Roy I think twenty years from now we'll be telling people we saw Coldplay on the Viva la Vida tour. I think the album will be considered a classic and they'll have that kind of staying power.

This would be a different type of show than usual for me. Most of the shows I go to these days are for bands whose songs I've known for fifteen years or for newer lesser known bands where it seems like the whole audience is there to check them out. This time, a good chunk of the audience would be big fans. My music listening habits have changed over the years, and I haven't gotten to really know the songs. Roy and I have all their albums, but I can't sing the full lyrics to any single one of their songs or know the names of all the songs. I didn't want to miss the chance to see them. This too reminds me of my early concert-going days. I'd often go see bands before I was familiar with their back catalog.

I wasn't just checking out Coldplay. I was checking out the venue too. This year's Farm Aid is going to take place here, and I wanted to be a part of it. Could I deal with this place for a full day festival? I had a miserable time at Riverport at a Rush show in 2002. It was so hot, no breeze, everyone was standing and I couldn't see the stage or the screens, the people in front of us were yelling back and forth to each other, so I couldn't focus on the music, and they were smoking so much in a non-smoking venue. I was just standing there, surrounded by people and noise and I couldn't breathe. I started crying and we left the show early. I won't see Rush there again - nothing against the band, just the crowd they attract.

I remember going to a lot of shows at the amphitheater in Philly, the Mann Music Center, and always enjoying it. Maybe the seats at Riverport aren't inclined enough as you go further back? Maybe the heat didn't bother me as much when I was younger? Maybe we weren't so packed in? Aside from the times we saw Yes at Riverport and had really good seats, I've always had an issue with seeing the band at this venue. The Rush show fundamentally changed my comfort level at concerts. I start getting nervous at a show unless I'm in stadium seating, aisle seats, or in the front row of a section. The last time I went there, for CSNY in 2006, I only decided to go because I got a seat in the front row of the upper circle section.

The Coldplay show would be my third time back there since the disastrous Rush show. Roy and I both wanted to see Coldplay. Tickets went on sale when we were on vacation, but we were lucky enough to be on a layover when the presale took place. We found a computer, and got upper circle, Row FF. I hoped it would be okay.

Roy was less interested in Farm Aid than I was. I thought about the Crossroads Guitar Festival we went to a couple years ago. It made for a fun day, even though I didn't like all of the bands. This would be similar. Roy said part of what made Crossroads so comfortable was that we had so much room to ourselves. We were in the assigned seats, but it was a stadium with stadium seating and enough legroom. He didn't want to be in an enclosed area for a full day festival any more than I did. We got to Riverport. One trip to the disgusting bathrooms made me realize that I didn't want to spend more time there either.

We walked around for a bit before the show. I bought a program, and then went back to buy a tote bag to hold said program. It really was convenient to carry the program in a bag over my shoulder for the whole show. I should bring it to other shows. Our seats were in the "upper right" section, about a 45 degree angle veering off from the far end of the stage. The show started at 7, but a little bit before that, the opening band Kitty Daisy & Lewis took the stage. The auditorium was mostly empty, no one was sitting in the five rows in front of me in my section. The band played all sorts of styles of "old-timey" music, rockabilly, blues, country. Roy liked them better than I did.

The next band was Amadou and Mariam. I think I liked them even better than Coldplay. Very upbeat with great percussion. Trying to describe them sounds like a bunch of buzzwords: world music, fusion, Afropop. Let me say that they kept my attention, both aurally and visually, for their entire set, despite the fact I was hearing their music for the first time. I'd go see them in concert again happily the next time they're in town.

The reserved seating area filled up during this last break. The lawn in back was packed with people. To my amazement, I could still see the stage. The rows of seats were staggered - the people sitting two rows and four rows in front of me could potentially block my view, but not the people right in front of me. And the person two rows in front was a little kid. This might be alright. And then Coldplay came on stage and everyone stood up. And the little girl stood on her chair. Other people in front were tall. If I contorted myself, I could look up and see one of the screens at an angle, but that was it. If the stage was up from my seat, I probably could have seen it, but I somehow had to look down at the stage and above people's heads. How do other short people handle this?

I listened to two songs like this, wondering if people would sit down. I wasn't going to enjoy the concert this way, so I started to look for another spot from which to watch the concert.

I found my spot. We were in the upper right section of the amphitheater, but there was another section to my right. It was just 5 seats across, but what really made it stand out was that it was so sparsely populated. I thought the reserved seats were all sold out, but this section looked to be maybe one-third full. I walked over to an open aisle seat in my row, and I got my unencumbered view of the stage. The concert became alive to me at this point. There was only one other person in my new row.

Someone actually claimed this seat three-fourths of the way into the Coldplay's set. I just moved to another empty aisle seat two rows in front. I actually found a spot that I liked at Riverport! It was a severe angle to the stage, but it had a lot of space. And a breeze, since it was the very end of the seated area. This was the right-right section. Of course, it doesn't even exist on Riverport's seating chart.

Even in my weird far-side-of-the-amphitheater seats, the sound was really good. The band was performing live and they had a lot of energy. The highlights though, were the visuals, rather than the songs themselves. For the song Yellow, I could see the crew with all these yellow beach balls bouncing them into the crowd. The audience kept them up in the air, giving the show a sense of whimsy. It reminded me of when Roy and I saw the movie Up. All the kids got free balloons and played with them before the movie started. We're all kids again when we get toys to play with, aren't we?

I noticed the security getting tighter a little while into the show. The usher who saw me walk into another section and grab a free seat was now keeping everyone out of the aisles. It became clear when the band nonchalantly walked off stage, up the aisle, just a few rows in front of me, and took a secondary small stage near my original section. They did two songs as the whole band there, including Talk, the first song I knew from them. Then, Chris Martin played a song solo on piano. At my angle, I could watch his fingers hit the keys.

I had heard of Coldplay since they released their first album, but the first time I heard their music was watching their performance on the Live Eight concert a few years ago. Soon after that, I visited my hometown and heard Talk on my old radio station WXPN. I liked the piano-based rock sound and hearing them on XPN was like a seal of approval. That's what led me to buy their then-current album X&Y. It was good to hear Talk that night. And seeing Chris playing piano reminded me of that original perception of the band. I quite like his voice too, one of the few male high-pitch voices in rock that doesn't sound like he's trying to copy Jon Anderson.

The band started playing Viva la Vida as Chris Martin ran back to the stage. The band made another trip into the audience, this time to the lawn on the other side of the amphitheater. They did a couple of songs acoustically, including a reworked Billie Jean. Later on, thousands of paper butterflies were released to the audience. They weren't coming anywhere near by section, but I could watch the effect as an outsider. I was able to pick one up off the ground on my way out of the venue.

It was a well-paced concert. Roy was wondering beforehand if it would start sounding samey or if he would get bored. We realized Coldplay's music is more dynamic than we give them credit for. The visuals helped make the show exciting, but really, the band gave us some energetic performances that would have carried the concert on their own. The band seems very earnest about their music, but also earnest about connecting with their audience. Chris Martin in particular came across as a great frontman, not for posturing, but for talking to the crowd. He apologized for the Viva tour to take so long to get to St. Louis and suggested we look at it as the band having 142 rehearsals for this show. Later on, he thanked the audience for spending the money to come to this show and told us we'd all be getting free copies of their new live EP Left Right Left Right Left as a thank you from the band. They even did a little tour song like Yes used to do in the 70's, a song mentioning St. Louis as the Gateway to the West. They're not afraid to look a little goofy to be entertaining, but it never got in the way of the music.

They encored with The Scientist and Death and All His Friends. I think my favorite overall songs to hear were Fix You, Talk, Viva la Vida, and the song Chris Martin did on piano. I met up with Roy after the show, and we talked about our experiences. It was soooo good for me to switch seats.

It took us forever to get home. Over an hour to get out of the parking lot. When I go to shows at the Pageant or Blueberry Hill, I can walk home by the time I walk to the car here. I decided that if I could get these exact seats for Farm Aid, in the right-right section on the aisle, any row, I'd do it (or left-left). Tickets went on sale the next morning. There was an option to choose what price level of tickets I wanted, but not to choose a specific section. I tried pulling tickets for a couple hours, but I never saw anything in this section. A week later, tickets can now be found through a interactive seating map, where you can choose the exact seats you want. My seats are gone by now. Guess I'm not going to Farm Aid after all. It would be the only way I'd want to spend all day at Riverport.

Okie Dokie in Muskogee

2009-07-20T20:52:00.004-05:00

Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
presents
Yes
with special guest Asia
Muskogee Civic Center
Muskogee, OK
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
Section 101, Row A, Seat 5
$55

There's something about Yes music that makes me want to dance to it. I need to feel every note and sing every word. Usually at a Yes concert, I make do with bopping around in my seat. But I love those shows when I can get up and dance. Oh, I won't do it if the rest of the audience is sitting and I'm blocking someone's view. My seat needs to be on the far aisle or back row. Front row is tricky, I'm right there with the band and we're all feeling the adrenaline rush together, but I don't want to create a bad atmosphere with the people behind me, standing when they want me to be sitting. I've tried to analyze why I like dancing at shows so much - part of it is that the music is moving me physically and I'm just following along. The other part is that standing up gets me away from the rest of the audience. I have a clear view of the stage with no one's head in the way. And talking, conversations, bad behavior seem so far away. It's just me and the music. And the band. I got to dance in Muskogee.

I had to wonder why Yes was playing in Muskogee. It's a small town an hour away from Tulsa. They were booked to play a small arena. I knew it wouldn't sell well. I was telling one of my coworkers about it, and he wanted to know why I was so sure. I said, because I saw them in Bloomington, Illinois last year and the same thing happened. Yes were booked in too big of a venue with an area with low population density. I hoped the show wouldn't be canceled because of the poor turnout. I was right. The venue held 3,300 people, and I guess it was a quarter full. There were people filling up the floor up to the 20th row and a few rows of people in the tiered seating. I later learned that this show was a benefit for the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. A benefactor paid for the bands, with all of the profit going to the Hall.

The location made it easy to get good tickets. The Muskogee Civic Center did not use Ticketmaster and did not hold any tickets back for VIP packages. I got front row, audience right for Roy and me. Our new friend Greg got front row, center.

The drive down from Kansas City was easy. We got to the hotel, rested up, and then drove to the venue. It was still early. We wanted to park at the Civic Center, scope out the venue, and walk around town. It was a weekday, around five in the afternoon, and the downtown was dead. We found one home accessories store that was open, so we looked around there. Muskogee had a public art program, with eight foot tall ceramic guitars painted by local artists. We saw about four of those before dinner.

I'd never been to Oklahoma before, and I wasn't sure what to expect. Roy picked up their alternative paper, with articles about concerts. The article about the Yes and Asia show was positive, but it had a whole lot of mistakes. This was the ad we found. I haven't seen one like this before - liquor and Yes. And it lists the wrong date!

None of our usual Yesfriends went to either the Kansas City or Muskogee shows, so we had dinner with some people from the Yesfans site. Everyone was so friendly, like we had known each other a long time. This was the hottest day of our trip, upper nineties, so someone gave us a ride back to the venue.

We found the probable stage door; we saw the tour manager Paul pull up in a dark-colored van and walk in a door near the front entrance. Roy and I went in and found our seats. Front row, in a group of seats tightly pushed together. The seats were connected, so I unhooked my chair and shoved some of the seats down a bit to give me some extra room. There was a huge amount of space between our row and the stage and a huge amount of room in the aisles. I got ready for the show, and I was pleasantly surprised that the bottled water was only $1.50 for a 20 ounce bottle. I'm used to being gouged for these things. Roy and I talked to another guy from dinner, originally from England but now living in Oklahoma, named Paul. He had the seat directly behind me.

The show started. When I saw Asia at the Keswick Theater in 2007, they had a screen above the stage showing their videos and closeups of the band. They didn't use it in Kansas City, but it was in use this night. This time, the screens were hanging over the audience, over the fourth row. I could turn around and see the mirror-image display on the back of the screen. I wonder if it was distracting for the band to be able to look up and see themselves. I noticed John Wetton looking at it a couple times. I don't think this was as good a performance. Wetton looked bored during most of the show. Someone described it as looking like he was mentally writing a grocery list while playing. Roy pointed out that he was very expressive during their new song An Extraordinary Life.

I was keeping an eye on the audience during Asia's set. Would people be allowed to stand up by the stage away from our seats? The front row was a good distance from the stage, and I could stand up there to dance without blocking anyone's view. I noticed people were walking to the open area to take pictures. One woman got up a few times to dance by the stage. Security seemed pretty easy-going.

There were some cool moments during the Asia set. We had an excellent angle to actually watch Geoff Downes play the keyboards, actually seeing his fingers hitting the keys. And I think John Wetton saw me bopping around to Video Killed the Radio Star when I did one of the handclaps. The sound was much better than the previous show in Kansas City. I could tell this time that Wetton sounded wonderful, especially in the "You are the radio star" lines. Carl Palmer added a gong to his drumset since the Kansas City show. I didn't like his solo in Fanfare as much this time. I'm usually not a fan of drum solos, so liking it the other night was more of a surprise than not caring now.

The really exciting part for me was towards the end of the set. My friend Greg came over and asked if either Roy or I would like to take his seat for a song, in the front row center section. I ran over there and enjoyed Sole Survivor. He didn't come back to reclaim his seat. I looked towards my real seat, and he gestured for me to stay there. The next song was the last song of Asia's set Heat of the Moment. People in the center section started getting up and moving towards the stage. I did too, and it was a lot of fun! I thanked Greg a whole lot afterwards.

The Yes show started and I was going to dance. I moved up to a spot near the stage and stayed there for Siberian Khatru. I was right by the speakers, and I had earplugs in, but the sound was really good. I said before that dancing gets me away from distractions, but I was very aware of security and other people moving up near the stage. Security at first was letting people come up to take pictures. Then, as people were walking up from their seats and taking too much time up front, security was telling them to go back to their seats.

The new singer Benoit David saw me over there. I was standing at the far end of the stage, in front of my real seat. He came over and sang part of Tempus Fugit to me. Greg captured it in this photo. I'm so glad I have this moment preserved.

I think if everyone in the audience had been cool, security would have been cool too. Someone stood up by Steve Howe for too long. I was at the opposite end of the arena, and I don't know if they were using flash on their camera or just taking too many pictures. But Steve gestured for them to move away. Security picked up after that, asking everyone to clear the area. Everyone except me. I wasn't taking pictures or in the way, so I guess I was okay. The security guy even said "excuse me" to me as he walked past to tell other people to sit down. I felt relieved to be in my happy place and have everyone be cool with it. I heard there was another problem, where some people walked up to the stage and rested their beer bottles on stage. Steve wasn't happy about that either.

I was able to dance for Siberian Khatru, I've Seen All Good People, Tempus Fugit, and the first part of Astral Traveler. I sat down during the drum solo, but part of me knew that sitting down would mean I wouldn't be able to move back to my space afterwards. It was true. I wanted to dance to the next song, And You And I. I got back up, but the security people had switched around, and a new person walked up to me and told me I couldn't stay there. I went back to my seat. I noticed that all the people in the second row behind me were already standing up. So I stood and danced at my seat, careful not to get into anyone's personal space. I guess I was distracted, because I missed my favorite part of the song - singing along to Chris' backing vocals up from Turn Round Tailor to Float Your Climb while the lead vocals are doing Coins and Crosses. Our seats were such an angle to the stage that my standing up there actually blocked Roy's view. He wanted me to enjoy the song, so he didn't tell me til after the song was over.

Chris Squire addressed the crowd a couple times, first before Tempus Fugit, where he greeted the town as Muskeegee, like a cross between Muskogee and Tuskegee. Later on, he introduced Steve Howe's guitar solo by saying, "You might think Steve deserves a break now, but we're not going to give him one. Now that James Brown is no longer with us, Steve is the hardest working man in show business." Steve played Intersection Blues and a Chet Atkins song for his solo break.

The rest of the show passed quickly. I watched Benoit the most. He was using the larger stage this night to move all around it. He looked like he was having fun. Chris seemed less ebullient than usual. He normally has a lot of stage presence, but he'd been sick earlier this year and done a lot of traveling in the last couple days for this tour. Yes played much longer on their tour last fall, when they were playing by themselves, but this didn't feel too short. It was still a full night of music.

I stood up for Roundabout. The people behind me were still standing. I was able to push my chair back a ways, so I was standing in the space where I had been sitting. Roy could see, so I was happy. I was jumping around towards the end, and amazed how my shoes were holding up. I had sandles on, but I seemed to land exactly right in them; they never went flying off or hitting my foot in a bad place. The guy to my left continued standing for the instrumental first half of Heart of the Sunrise, so I did too.

Yes came back out for their encore. People started to stage rush - gather in that area up by the stage. The security guard was still there and I was being good. I hadn't moved from my seat, but I wasn't going to let other people stand in front of me. I walked slowly towards the stage and glanced towards him. He told me it was okay now because it was the last song. I waved Roy over to join me.

I was so surprised when Yes came out and tore into ... just the final part of Starship Trooper, the instrumental Wurm, but not the whole song. We've been talking about this on the Yesfans site. I'm not sure whether this was due to the time, Steve being upset with the crowd, the band being tired, or what. I loved the adrenaline rush of being able to dance and the very good sound, but I think Kansas City was a better performance from both bands.

Roy and I met up with our dinner companions, hung out to talk for a while, and then made our way to the stage door to wait for the band. We saw Steve Howe come out of one exit, and walk around outside to enter the venue through the stage door. Later on, he was the first to leave. He didn't acknowledge us while walking to his car, but then he rolled down his window and waved to us.

The rest of the band came a little later. They started walking towards us, rather than their van. Chris and Alan both looked exhausted. I shook hands with both of them, but didn't say much. Benoit greeted me with, "Hi Dancer!" Charming! I specifically wanted to tell him something, and I got the chance. Roy and I are going to the FMPM prog festival in Montreal in September, and Benoit's other band Mystery will be playing there. He seemed excited and asked what I thought of the Mystery CD. I was put on the spot, I had to honestly say that we only just bought it at Kansas City and hadn't listened to it yet. I didn't get a chance to talk to Oliver this time.

After the show, Roy and I met up with Greg at the IHOP near our hotel. We had some after dinner munchies and hung out talking for a while. We didn't get back to our room until after two in the morning! We slept in the next morning and took our time driving home the next day. It was a good trip.

An Extraordinary Life

2009-07-19T18:54:00.007-05:00

Yes
Special Guest Asia
Uptown Theater
Kansas City, MO
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Section Center Orchestra, Row AAA, Seat 9
$155

I like to go to as many Yes concerts as I can on each tour. For past tours, I've tried to maximize the number of shows using a minimal number of vacation days from work. I had a mental decision-tree to work out which shows to attend:

- first was a local show
- then shows on a weekend in driving distance
- then flying to shows on a weekend (favoring Philly or wherever our friends would be attending)

After booking flights on two tours that had been canceled, I announced to Roy that I changed my mind on that. I wanted travel plans that would be easily refundable, and that might mean driving to shows during the week and using more vacation time. We decided that two shows was a good number for this tour and hoped the shows nearby would still fall on a weekend. I just assumed that one of those shows would be in Chicago, or somewhere north of here and cooler, but they didn't book a show in Chicago this time.

And that is how we decided on shows in Kansas City, MO and Muskogee, Oklahoma. These shows were in the middle of the week, so I was using four precious vacation days in order to see a measly two shows. But it turned out nicely to come home from a trip and still have a full weekend to recover.

This tour was a bit different from the one we saw last fall. For one thing, "Howe Squire and White of Yes" were now just touring as Yes. And some of the band members were playing for less time. Yes was bringing along an opening act this time, so they were cutting their own set down to under two hours. I say some of the band members, because amazingly, Steve Howe played lead guitar both with Yes and the opening band Asia.

Buying tickets for this show reminded me of the bad old days. In the old days, I'd buy tickets at a ticket outlet, and have no say in where my tickets would be. I requested the number of tickets, and maybe what price I wanted to pay, and I was sold whatever tickets they gave me. Buying tickets online via Ticketmaster isn't wonderful, but Ticketmaster tells us exactly what tickets we've received. We can buy them or not. Some other ticket sites actually show me all available tickets and let me choose which ones I want. Like at most shows on this tour, the best seats were put aside for an exorbitant VIP package. The best of the regular seats were $155. I bought regular seats, but Ticketmaster wouldn't tell me where the seats were! All it would say was front left section, no Row number. I didn't want to spend this much money and not know where my seats were. Roy told me we should hold off on buying tickets until this gets resolved, but I bought them anyway. After buying them, I learned they were row CCC, third row on Steve Howe's side. Not bad. Way too stressful though.

The VIP seats didn't sell too well. A few weeks before the show, the unpurchased seats were released as general tickets. I kept an eye on the Ticketmaster site, and managed to buy two front row center seats. I also managed to sell my extras, but at less than face value. Someone I knew from the Yesfans site got the two seats next to mine. Even better, if I can't sit on an aisle, I'm at least sitting between people I know.

The trip had a bad start, but it was the only setback. The day before we left, I literally had $500 worth of preventative maintenance done for my car. Tune up, oil change, new whatever it needed. Before we even got to the interstate, the back window opened by itself, sliding down, and it wouldn't go back up again. We tried driving like that, but the road noise was too much. And it was going to rain. We stopped at a Walgreens and got duct tape to hold the window up. Not the prettiest thing to do to my car, but it stayed closed for the rest of the trip. We stopped at the college town of Columbia to have lunch and drive around, and then got to Kansas City in plenty of time for the day's events.

Roy and I also bought the Asia VIP package. The package came with access to the soundcheck and having at least two Asia members at a meet and greet. The website seemed disorganized, but said to arrive at 4:30pm. Other fans gathered there, but no one from the band had arrived yet. The guy who owned the Uptown Theater was there, and he invited us into the air-conditioned lobby to wait. We walked down the hallway and could see the roadies setting up the stage. The theater even arranged a lounge with appetizers for us. Close to an hour had passed before the VIP arrangements took place. We talked to some of the other fans.

We all got VIP passes to wear. The organizer told us Geoff and Carl would be meeting with us. Another woman who was there was a big fan of John Wetton and even brought a gift for him. She asked the organizer if he could please pass a message to John that she was there.

We were ushered into the auditorium and seated about halfway back. Steve was just starting his soundcheck. He played for about 15 minutes, this probably served as practice for him more than checking how his guitar was sounding. He played a part of All's a Chord, some piece of Topographic Oceans, Mood for a Day, and lots of bits I didn't recognize. The day after Roy and I first met, we were able to attend a Yes soundcheck and hear Steve Howe play similarly. This reminded both of us of that time. This VIP experience thing was $99 per person, but it was so worth it. Steve made one comment out loud, that it smelled like burning rubber on stage, but nothing music related.

Carl Palmer and Geoff Downes also came out, separately, to do their soundcheck. I heard Carl say Astral Traveler and Roundabout, but I don't know what he was talking about. What really surprised me is that John Wetton walked into the auditorium and over to our group. He was talking with the woman who so wanted to meet him. I didn't know if he was going to talk just to her or to the rest of us as well. I didn't know if I should approach him. He chatted with her for a bit, and then she got a picture with him. I stayed in my seat, but he did walk over to us. (There were only six people in the VIP thing, not a big crowd.)

I was wearing my King Crimson Larks' Tongue in Aspic t-shirt, and that was the first album he did with King Crimson. He walked over and said "Nice t-shirt". I replied that it was one of my favorite albums. Roy said he saw John look at his t-shirt, a Yes shirt, and then say nothing. John Wetton, the two guys sitting next to us, Roy, and I had a little conversation about King Crimson and the Red remaster that is going to be released soon. John Wetton has been in a lot of bands, but his time in Crimson is why I'm such a fan of his, so I'm glad we could talk to him in that context. I asked him if he would sign an autograph for me. He said he would, and waited for me to pull out my CD and Sharpie marker. I brought his "Hazy Monet", a live album from a show in New York that I attended. That was a magical night, but all I said was "I was at that show". I don't think he heard me. He made a comment about not doing the meet and greets or shaking hands because he doesn't want to get swine flu. I think it was so nice of him to come out and talk to us.

Here's a picture of John Wetton and me from the magical show at the Bottom Line in New York City in 1997. I'm even wearing the same t-shirt!

We never did get to see John Wetton do his soundcheck. Too bad, since he is one of my favorite bass players. Next, we were taken into a catering room with tables and a buffet set up for the bands and road crew. I could see the new singer for Yes, Benoit David, eating at one of the tables. I didn't want to bother him while he was eating. I did see him looking at me later on like he recognized me, and we gave each other a little smile and nod.

Carl Palmer came out first and then Geoff Downes. I got some autographs from Carl, but I really wanted to talk to Geoff. Like Steve Howe, Geoff played with both Asia and Yes, on their Drama album. Yes are playing two songs off that album on this current tour. It seems like such a good idea to me that Geoff play those songs live with Yes. They're his songs too, and he's here, right? But that hasn't happened. I asked him about that, and he said if he were to do it, he'd play it along with Oliver Wakeman, and they hadn't had to time work out who would play what parts. I asked him if he'd gotten to see Yes play those songs and what he thought of them. Geoff said they did a good job. Roy and I told him we saw Yes play those songs last year, which led into a discussion about what cities Yes played on each tour and what cities are considered the midwest.

Our conversation with Carl Palmer was really nice, but had nothing to do about music. I'm not a big fan of ELP, but I like him personally, as a musician in the prog world who seems like a nice, friendly person. I asked him if he liked doing these meet and greets. This is normally downtime for him, so he doesn't mind them. Carl is in very good shape, and Roy asked him about exercising while on the road. Another fan asked about his "ticker", since he had some surgery recently. The four of us had a really interesting discussion about health, eating habits, family history, hotel swimming pools.

John Wetton came out to get some food from the buffet, and some people started talking to him again. It was about 6:45pm, and we needed to get going. We had to meet the people who were going to buy our extra tickets at 7:30, and we had to get dinner before that. I stopped at the rest room and then we bumped into a friend outside. We found a great BBQ place near the Uptown Theater. They gave us a free sample of chicken wings when we stopped in earlier in the day and it was delicious. Unfortunately, they closed at 7, and we missed them. Ended up having a quick dinner at McDonald's. I sold my tickets, we got into the theater, I got my bottled water, and we got to our seats.

The stage setup was weird. Oliver Wakeman's keyboards were on stage, but covered, and they took up about a third of the stage. Asia was forced to set up in the remaining open part. I feel bad for everyone sitting on the right side of the theater - it must have felt like Asia was playing far away from them. Roy and I were sitting right in front of Geoff Downes. These were spectacular seats for viewing. All of the instruments sounded great. Unfortunately, the vocals were only coming through in the speakers above the stage - over our heads. I could hear the vocals low in the mix, but I had a tough time hearing what everyone was saying when they spoke to the audience. The same was true of Yes. Another downside was the squashed placement of the keyboards and drums - I could see Carl's drums fine, but Roy sitting right next to me, had his view blocked by the keyboards. I asked if he wanted to switch seats for part of the show, but he said no.

I had already seen Asia twice since they reunited, so I knew what to expect. They opened with two songs from their first album, Wildest Dreams and Only Time Will Tell, and then did a song from their new album called An Extraordinary Life. The show really picked up for me when they did some songs from their past bands. The fourth song was the Buggles' Video Killed the Radio Star. I like the energy in that song. And next was King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King. I told Roy I'd like to hear them do Schizoid Man or one of the songs from the John Wetton-era of the band, but this one is nice to hear and he does a good job singing it. Has Wetton's bass playing technique changed? I never noticed him playing with a pick before, but he had one taped to his thumb.

The big highlight for me was Fanfare for the Common Man. I'm not a big ELP fan, but everyone was playing great and doing great solos in that piece. I even liked Carl's drum solo, and I usually hate drum solos. John Wetton walked over to the far right side of the stage, in front of Oliver's keyboard setup and played his solo from there. The last two songs of the set were Sole Survivor and Heat of the Moment. Everyone stood up during the last song and people filled up the aisles to get close to the stage. I saw John Wetton throw his guitar pick to the woman who had been at the VIP meet and greet with us. She deserves it. This was a very good performance, and the energy level would be hard for Yes to maintain.

Roy and I were sitting next to Greg and Sharon. I knew Greg from the Yesfans website and met him at the St. Louis show last year. Sharon is a long time Yes fan, but never saw the band until two days beforehand in Denver. They were nice people to enjoy the concert with. Greg seemed to enjoy my bopping around and singing along, so I didn't need to tone it down at all. We hung out with them after the show too.

Yes started their show with the traditional opener, Siberian Khatru. Frankly, I was enjoying it, but it didn't wow me until Steve Howe's guitar soloing at the end. His playing and body language really jolted me and pulled me into the performance. Steve did a lot more rock star posturing in this show than I'd seen from him previously, standing up by the wall of the theater to do a solo and walking to the edge of the stage to lean on Benoit's microphone stand to do another solo. It was fun to see him engaging the rest of the band, rather than keeping to himself on stage. I saw Steve and Oliver making eye contact and smiling at parts. Our seats were right in front of Benoit, but I spent a good deal of time watching Steve. He was the star of the Yes performance that night.

Like last time, the front line band members took turns introducing the songs. Chris introduced Tempus Fugit, and also introduced the two new members of the band, Oliver and Benoit. I heard some boos when Benoit was introduced. I'm as big a Jon Anderson fan as anyone out there, but I don't hold it against Benoit for being the replacement singer. I understand why the rest of the band wanted to tour again. Steve introduced the two songs he didn't play on originally, Astral Traveller and Owner of a Lonely Heart. I remember reading a review from an early show in the tour that criticized Benoit for not saying anything to the crowd. This time, he spoke before Machine Messiah.

Machine Messiah led to an unintentionally funny moment of the show. The band uses dry ice to fill the stage. It's usually a few feet deep. But Chris had a fan on stage, and it woosh! blew the dry ice upwards, covering Chris. Everyone on stage was laughing. I noticed Chris being careful the next time the dry ice was used.

The setlist had a little variation in it from previous tours. Roundabout was done as part of the main set, rather than the encore. I always wanted them to do this, but it was confusing. Even people who sit for the entire show will stand up for the encore. I don't think I've ever sat down for Roundabout before! Benoit motioned for us to get up partway through the song, and I did. Chris usually does this thing with his index finger, circling around and then pointing up. I mimic him, jumping along with it. I think Benoit saw me do that.

The final song of the main set was Heart of the Sunrise. I've seen them do this on so many tours. But that song changed my life when I first heard it on Classic Yes. I hadn't seen them play it since 2002. Seven years. This was a blistering performance of it. Highlight of the night.

The encore was Starship Trooper. Some people in the audience were standing up for the encore, so I did too. I danced along. I tried to convince Greg's friend Sharon to get up as well. I noticed that the sound was awful standing up, just this huge amount of noise in with the music. I sat down for most of the song. Sharon caught my eye towards the end and gestured that we should get up then. We did, and danced, sort of together but two seats apart. It was towards the end of the jamming and just before Steve restated the melody line.

We were still standing and applauding when the roadies came out to tear down the set. I could see the setlists taped to the stage floor. I asked a roadie if he could give me one, and he did! He gave me the setlist Chris used. I've gotten these at other concerts before, but never at a Yes show. I was thrilled and people asked if they could take pictures of it. We met some other people from the Yesfans site as well, who stopped by the front row.

We also met up with some fascinating younger Yes fans. These two 20 years olds from Nebraska, a guy and young woman both named Alex, were big Yes fans. This was the first time they got to see Yes in concert and they were so excited. I saw them during the show sitting a few rows back from me. They made a banner with a Yes logo on it, and held it up during the concert. I am going to call them the "Alexes". They weren't sure if the band would think they were too fanatical with the banner or not, but we told them the band loves this sort of thing.

Earlier in the day, we scoped out the area around the venue. The band was going to exit via a door on a private parking lot. We couldn't stand by the door, but we could stand at the sidewalk and watch them leave. We told this to the Alexes and they decided to hang out with our group. Steve left first, got into his car, pulled out of the driveway... and then stopped to open his window and sign the banner. He signed a couple other things for people too. I brought something to get signed just in case, but I was having too much fun watching everyone else. Roy walked over to Steve to thank him for stopping.

The rest of the band pulled into their white van. We positioned the Alexes in front holding the banner so they'd see it. The van stopped, and Chris rolled down his window to sign the banner. The back doors opened, and the tour manager Paul got out of the van, followed by Oliver and Benoit. Alan stayed in the backseat. Chris handed the banner to Alan to sign, and he stayed back there, signing autographs for others as well. I talked to Chris, asking how he was doing. He said he was good, and I replied we were all happy he was doing better. Roy talked to Paul, telling him that we were at the Jon show last month (Paul was there too) and asked about Jon's tour in Europe. Paul told Roy he wasn't working with Jon on that because it was more like a vacation than a tour.

I stood around while Oliver was talking to the Alexes. He was joking with them that he saw the banner during the show, and saw them holding it so it covered their view of the stage. He said they should have cut holes in it for their eyes. I shook hands with him, but I'm not sure if he remembered me from last year or not. He's so friendly when meeting fans, I wish some of that could come across on-stage. Roy heard him say he's concentrating on the music and his equipment so much when he's playing that anything else is distracting. I think he's a good musician, but he needs to grow as a performer.

I was kind of following the Alexes around, because it was so much fun to listen to them talk to the band members and I wasn't trying to get autographs. They were talking to Benoit next. Benoit told them some of the same things he told Roy and me the first time he met us, that he could see them dancing during the show and singing along to all the words. He recognized me and asked me where he knew me from. I told him Bloomington and St. Louis last year. I don't think he put it together with the conversations we had back then.

The band left. I didn't get to talk to Alan. The Alexes were on cloud nine after not only getting to see the concert, but having the band all be so enthusiastic about the banner. They got autographs from all five band members. People took pictures and we said our goodbyes. Greg and Sharon waited with us until we got a cab back to the hotel. We'd be seeing Greg two days from then in Muskogee.

We weren't going to the next Yes show. They were going to Fort Worth, Texas, a nine hour drive away. I've driven home that far from shows, but I wouldn't want to travel that far on a show day. We spent the extra day being tourists in Kansas City. Then we drove down to Muskogee on Thursday.

I've been reflecting about how lucky we are, being Yes fans. I grew up in Philly, and I saw Yes ten times before I was 20 years old. I've had the opportunity to meet my idols so many times I can stand back and watch other fans get autographs for the first time. The lyrics of the new Asia song seem appropriate here:

Nights to remember and never forget
Go, seize the day
Wake up and say
This is an
Extraordinary Life

Sheryl and Elvis at the Arch

2009-07-12T19:12:00.001-05:00

Sheryl Crow
With Special Guest Elvis Costello
MLB All-Star Charity Concert
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (The Gateway Arch)
St. Louis, MO
Saturday, July 11, 2009
General Admission
free

I have an informal list of artists that I'd like to see live someday. I might not own any of their albums, but I like a number of their songs or know their reputations as live acts. If they come to town and it's convenient for me, I'll go. Sheryl Crow is not on this list.

That's because I've seen her twice already. I bought her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club when it was new and saw her on the tour for that album. Since then, I've heard a number of her songs, but I haven't kept up with her career. Then, a couple years ago, Roy and I saw her at the Crossroads Guitar Festival. I found out that she was doing a concert at the Arch grounds as part of the baseball All Star Game being held in St. Louis this week. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go, even though I enjoy her music.

Elvis Costello got added on to the show as a special guest. He is an artist on my list. He's gone through a lot of different styles, but I like a lot of his early singles and the level of integrity in his music. It's a free show on a Saturday night, and it became a must-see for me.

Everything about the day worked really well. It was raining heavily early in the day, but it cleared up in time for the concert. Even the grounds were dry. We took Metrolink downtown. Even with all the people in town for the All Star game, we still got seated immediately for dinner. We went to Burger Bar in the new casino downtown. We walked to the Arch afterwards and were able to get seats that were relatively close to the stage. It was humid, but not that hot out, and being so close to the river, we had a nice breeze.

Shows at the Arch are usually set up down by the Mississippi River, "Live on the Levee" style, where the steps leading up to the Arch form an amphitheater with tiered seating. For this show, the stage was on the same ground level as the Arch. We were encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs. Almost everyone stood for the entire concert, but the chairs helped space people out, so it wasn't too crowded. Of course, when everyone stood, I couldn't see the stage all that well, but I had a good view of one of the screens. The front center section was roped off with real chairs. We set up on the audience left, 15 or 20 rows back. Roy and I got there at 6:45 for the 8:00pm show. Lots of people came after us and the grounds filled up. The newspaper estimated the crowd as 45,000 to 50,000 people.

Roy looked at all the different age groups present, and wondered how many people were familiar with Sheryl Crow's music, compared to people looking for a free night's entertainment. It's got to be tough to know what crowd to appease, the people who want to hear songs they know or the fans. I saw Yes do a huge free show at the Taste of Chicago, where they did their regular setlist for that tour, full of long unfamiliar non-hit music. It was very brave and it seemed to go over well, but really, they probably didn't have anything else rehearsed. In other cases, I've seen bands play their hits and a lot of covers. Most people know most songs, and it also seems to go over well. This night had all of Sheryl Crow's hits, some covers, and a few songs I wasn't familiar with.

She opened the show right on time, doing the song A Change Will Do You Good. Sheryl grew up in Missouri and lived in St. Louis for a while. She brought this up a number of times, working the name of a local town into her lyrics, saying she went to the new casino while she was in town, and some other local things. Roy wasn't familiar with the opening song, and neither of us knew the next one. After that were a couple songs from her first album, Leaving Las Vegas and Strong Enough. When Strong Enough started, I pointed out to Roy that this was the song she and Allison Krauss dueted on at the Crossroads concert.

A half hour into the concert, Sheryl says that she's going to do a cover song from Cat Stevens. I can't see the actual stage, but the camera pans over, and we can see that Elvis Costello has come on stage. They sang The First Cut is the Deepest. This stretch of songs was among my favorite in the concert. The next one was Pump It Up. It had a lot of new wave energy and I bopped along to it. They played another of Sheryl Crow's songs together, and then What's So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding. I wondered beforehand if their sounds were all that compatible, but that backing band did a good job with both Costello's new wave and Crow's rootsy pop.

I wish they had continued trading off songs for longer, but Elvis left the stage at this point, not returning until the encore. Sheryl Crow did a bunch more well known songs, All I Wanna Do, Everyday is a Winding Road, and Soak Up the Sun, which was Roy's favorite of her songs. A couple times, she inserted a bit of a cover song into one of hers. I recognized I Can See Clearly Now. Roy told me another song was Sundown from Gordon Lightfoot.

Roy wasn't as familiar with Sheryl Crow as I was. He said afterwards that his impression of her changed. He thought she was going to be poppier, but discovered she had a range of styles. I think he liked it better than he thought he would. I liked most of her songs, except for the ones that drifted into hard rock territory, There Goes the Neighborhood and If It Makes You Happy. They just sound too generic to me. I remembered when I first saw Sheryl Crow back in 1995. I guess she was trying to build a rep as a serious musician then, playing guitar, but also keyboards and accordion. On this night, she stuck to playing backing guitar.

The people next to me were hilarious at first, and then annoying. One couple spent the whole first hour of the show calling people on their cell phone to say, "Guess what? We're at the Sheryl Crow concert! Can you hear it?" over and over again. I don't think they stopped to listen to the music at all during that time. Another woman in the group, after she got drunker, started dancing. I'm all for dancing at concerts, but this was bumping into people, making lots of noise, standing right in front of me when I'm trying to watch the screen and blocking my view dancing. When she moved away after a song, I darted in front of her dance floor so I could see again and try to block her out. Roy joined me.

The encore was a cover of Chuck Berry's Back in the USA. That seemed like the end of the show. Sheryl Crow and Elvis Costello left the stage. We wondered if there would be fireworks. Nothing started, so we began to pack our chairs.

The band came back on stage. I knew what the song would be just from the opening drum line. A cover of Led Zeppelin's Rock and Roll! They did a great job with this, Sheryl Crow on vocals and Elvis Costello on lead guitar. I would not have pictured him as a Led Zeppelin fan. People rushed back to the concert area. It was the highlight of the night for both of us, an unexpected song and such a good performance of it. Afterwards, there was a nice fireworks display.

The night continued to be convenient for us. There's usually a long wait to get onto the Metrolink after events like this, and the train itself is packed. On this night, we got through the line quickly. As soon as we got to the platform, a train from our route arrived, and we got seats! It was a really enjoyable, easy evening.

Old Friends

2009-06-08T22:58:00.004-05:00

Jon Anderson
Intimate - Solo - Acoustic
Mongo's Saloon
Grover Beach, CA
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Level Floor, Section A, Row 2, Seat 5
$45

Jon Anderson has been my favorite singer, favorite songwriter, favorite musician, favorite rock star, hero, idol since I was a teenager. I've loved his music for close to twenty years and I've been a fanatic for over the last fifteen. Roy and I both love him as well as his music.

Jon got seriously ill last year, suffering from acute respiratory failure. There were stories around that he was suffering from other health problems as well, and was on doctor's orders to rest for at least six months. It felt to me like this was happening to a dear friend rather than a distant rock star. He had asthma problems on a previous Yes tour in 2004 and has only done low-key touring of a few weeks at a time since then. Last summer was supposed to be the first Yes tour in four years, but it had to be canceled. Who knows if Jon will ever recover enough to do a big tour like that again?

We didn't know if he'd be able to sing again, if this would force the end of his career. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Jon started sending updates through Facebook and Twitter, song lyrics, some new music, notes about how he was feeling. In the last month, a tour of Europe was announced. I think he's doing this the right way, a very light touring schedule that is more like a vacation with occasional shows than a daily grind of traveling. I thought how I would love to see his first show back, but I couldn't justify going to Poland for it!

I'm a Facebook addict. One morning, I was already running late to work, but I had to go to my computer and check for updates one last time. This one instance justifies all the time I waste on the computer. Jon posted:
"6th of June, I will be doing a solo show here at 'Mongo's in Grover Beach to celebrate my 'Honey' Janee's birthday, weeeeeee"

This would be the first show. I wanted to go for a number of reasons: I love being at his concerts and thought I'd never see one again, I went to the greatest concert of my life at nearby San Luis Obispo and Roy and I loved going back to the area, and like my friend Dian said to me, we wanted to show support for Jon, that we were there for him.

There was no question that Roy and I were going. I called the venue and confirmed that the show was taking place. We booked our flight that night. The show was on a Saturday night, and I was trying to conserve vacation days. Roy called it a whirlwind tour - we flew out to LA Friday night, drove up to SLO Saturday morning, saw the show Saturday night, and on Sunday, drove back to LA and flew home. We hit bad traffic on the drive back to LA and I was scared we'd miss our flight, but everything else was relaxed and well-paced.

Roy and I met in San Luis Obispo at the Yes concerts in 1996 at the Coffee Merchant and sat next to each other at dinner at the 1865 restaurant. Five years later, we visited the city again, and Roy proposed to me at the gazebo at Apple Farms. We didn't have any real plans for the day, just to visit our favorite spots in the city again. We walked by the Fremont Theater, where Yes played those legendary shows. It was between movies, so I asked the staff if we could take a look around. It's wonderful being in that room again. I softly sang the opening of Revealing Science to Roy to relive it a little bit. I wanted to tell Jon about this later on if I got the chance.

In addition to seeing Jon and SLO again, I also got to see some friends. We didn't make any plans beforehand, but a bunch of us went to Mongo's for dinner. Roy and I caught up with some acquaintances we hadn't seen in years. The place was really a bar with seats set up for the concert and tables for communal dining in back. We talked to another couple at our table. The guy was a long-time Yes fan, but had never seen Jon in a solo setting. I described my expectations to him: Jon wasn't a great instrumentalist, but the show would be very intimate and special. I was a little worried about how he'd look and sound after his illness.

A great surprise was learning our friend Steve would be at the show. Steve has been suffering from a degenerative disease for over a decade now. We last saw him in 2004 when he was living in Ohio. Since then, his e-mail addresses were no longer in use and we lost touch with him. It was such a relief to see him doing relatively well and to exchange contact information again. Steve is living in California again and is engaged to be married. This was his fiance's first Jon show; she seemed very nice. We talked to Steve for a while. It really is the people as much as the music that makes traveling and attending shows so important to me.

We got to our seats with plenty of time before the show started. We were in the second row, dead center. The stage setup was very nice. There were a number of candles resting in little swings hanging from the ceiling. There was an Olias symbol in back. It didn't look expensive, but it was effective in setting the mood. There were some tables in a raised section off to the side for Jon's friends and family. This show was in honor of his wife Jane's birthday. I've spoken with her a few times, but some of my acquaintances know her better. The tables were decorated with birthday balloons.

Jon came on stage a little after 9 (11pm St. Louis time). The first song was Yours Is No Disgrace. His voice sounded great, no issues at all. This song came across well all the other times I've seen him perform it at his solo shows. This time, he stopped in the middle twice to tune his guitar. He made some jokes that he had paid a guy $25 to tune it for him and later that this was like a nightmare come to life. I honestly didn't notice the guitar sounding that off. The next song, Long Distance Runaround, he also had a problem with, and stopped the song partway through.

It was a shaky opening. Afterwards, it was dramatically tighter. The next two songs were a couple of early Yes songs, Time and a Word and Sweet Dreams. Time and a Word was done in a reggae style and Jon sang a little bit of the Beatles' She Loves You with it. Sweet Dreams was a favorite of Jane's, he told the audience.

I don't know if it was because of the birthday party or just that it was a local show, but Jon seemed very relaxed. He joked about recognizing most of us from the local grocery store. While his voice sounded fine, he looked like he had lost a lot of weight. I didn't see it so much in his face, but he wore jeans that were quite narrow, but they looked baggy on him. He also had on a t-shirt with an open button-down shirt over it. I was so close and Jon was talking to us, rather than doing on-stage patter, I felt like we were all in a living room listening to music. Roy described the show as being heartfelt.

Jon played a few new songs, lyrically dealing with his illness and recovery. He spoke about it too, how this was his first show in 16 months, but he didn't get into any details of his illnesses or with his relationship with the other Yes guys.

The song that hit me the most was I'll Find My Way Home. I remember seeing Jon in Philly in 2004. I was visiting my hometown and very homesick. I reunited with a bunch of my old friends. Jon hadn't played that song the night before and it really got to me. This time, I found my way home in a different sense - in the audience at one of Jon's shows with so many ties to Jon and my friends in the audience - and I thought I might never get that opportunity again.

But if my spirit is strong
I know it can't be long
No question, I'm not alone
Somehow I'll find my way home

That song always gets to me, this night particularly so. And Jon is home too, back on stage, bringing us together. I am so glad I went on this trip.

Jon did fewer of his solo songs than I expected. He did a couple unreleased songs that he performed on his previous solo tours, and three strong new ones. But the bulk of the show was Yes songs. In addition to the four he started out with, he played: Wonderous Stories, Owner of a Lonely Heart, a full Long Distance Runaround, And You And I, Starship Trooper, I've Seen All Good People, Roundabout, and Soon.

There was a fun moment for me during Wonderous Stories. Jon is notorious for forgetting lyrics. During the lines "In the giving of my eyes/to see your face", he got to "In the giving of my" and got stuck. People were yelling out the next line, but he was stuck on the word "eyes". I yelled out "eyes". Jon heard me and said okay.

It's actually on YouTube already. I can hear myself at the :06 second mark.

Owner was another highlight for me. I remember how he did this on his first solo tour - it was karaoke style and just awful. Now, he was playing it on guitar and vocalizing parts that he couldn't produce himself on the guitar. It was still lively, but it suited him better.

Owner was the end of the first set. Jon took an intermission. Everything was so low-key, people were still up and about when he started the second set on electric piano. He played a melody similar to what he had done on previous tours - a song called Set Sail, joined with snippets of Close to the Edge and Revealing Science of God. There was a new piece in there this time, a love song to his wife. I can only imagine what they've gone through during the past year. The chorus was "Will you marry me again?" and he sang it directly to her. It was sweet.

I started laughing during I've Seen All Good People. I've only seen Jon do the first half of this song in his solo songs, not the repetitive second half. A few years back, my friend Angela took me to a karaoke bar and sang this song for me. She told me it felt much longer than eight minutes. That refrain kept popping up on the lyric screen over and over again. "I've seen all good people turn their heads each day, so satisfied I'm on my way." Well, Jon went into this part of the song and it just seemed to me that he was thinking the same thing. It's a lot easier to play this song when the band is taking short solos in between the vocal sections and everyone is up and dancing. Otherwise, it's very repetitive, there's no cues, and he's just singing the same thing over and over again. After a few times of singing the line, he got the audience to clap along. That helped. But I can't imagine he'll want to do the full song live again.

After Roundabout, Jon led us in singing Happy Birthday to Jane. A fan had called out earlier for Gates of Delirium. Jon obliged with the last part of the song, Soon. That's a song that's a good test of his vocals. Yes have played that song on some tours early on in the tour, and then dropped it as it gets too hard to sing night after night. Jon sounded wonderful, although he messed up on the guitar part a little. That was the end of the show. He left the stage. Jane stayed at her seat for a while, and everyone was applauding for an encore. But that was it. Jon looked tired by the end of the show. He had played less than 90 minutes. I am so glad he feels well enough to perform, but I also understand that he's a long way from being able to do a Yes tour with long shows and traveling every day. He's still so fragile.

Had Jon and Jane left for good? I was hoping to get a chance to talk to him. I know he saw us in the audience.

After the show, Roy and I spent some time catching up with Dian. I talked to Steve again, and a group of friends that know Jon and Jane better than I do. Jon's road manager, Paul Silviera came over to us and said that Jane asked us (meaning the others in my group) to stick around because they were coming back. The venue wasn't making anyone leave. I asked Dian if she thought it was okay if Roy and I stayed too, and she thought it would be. A group of us went outside to the patio to talk and had a nice time catching up.

Jon and Jane came back to the venue. Jon had changed his clothes. He was still wearing jeans and sneakers, but he had on a dress shirt, suit jacket, and bowtie. Jon looked adorable. He came over to talk to us. He gave Dian a hug, and then came over to hug me. I tried to tell him my Fremont Theater story. I got out "We went to the Fremont Theater today", but other people were talking too and I didn't think he heard me. I said as much to Roy. Jon surprised me though, because he turned back to me and said he heard me and that he had played there before. I replied that I was at the show, but more people were talking while I rambled on about singing Revealing there that afternoon. After Jon had greeted everyone, I told him I'm glad he's doing better and we're all pulling for him.

Then, the party started.

When this show was listed on Mongo's website, it said
"After the show dance and party with Jon Anderson. Dancing & Cocktails til 1:30am."

I didn't believe it. It looked like something they'd write about a local band's concert and just stuck Jon's name there. But Jane was having her birthday party and we were still there. Jane came over and greeted some of my friends. I don't think she knows me well enough to recognize me. Dance music started playing on the loudspeakers. Clearly some of my friends were invited, and Roy and I were allowed to be there, but we felt like we were trespassing. I danced with Anne for the first song and then went back out to the patio. We said our goodbyes to everyone.

I walked back inside and saw the most surreal thing I've ever seen in my life. Jon Anderson of Yes dancing to some disco song with his wife. KC and the Sunshine Band's Do a little dance, make a little love, Get down tonight. I pictured Jon back in the late 1970s, always sounding so serious and sincere in talking to the audience or in interviews, making music, dancing to Get Down Tonight. It doesn't even seem like he existed in the same world as disco. Now, I've seen everything. We left while the song was going on.

The next day, we heard the song in the rental car shuttle to the airport.

I think this will be one of those special shows that people will talk about for the rest of our lives. We were able to celebrate Jon's returning health and strength along with him and his family and friends. Dian, who has been to many more Yes concerts than I have, but missed the SLO concerts wrote on my facebook wall: "After all these years, now SLO has personal significance for me too." All the shows Roy and I have seen there have been so special, so life-altering. I think it's the journey there, the music, but more importantly, the people - the musicians know something special is going on and the fans are open to receive it. It's the equivalent of a big group hug. We're all together there, all friends, the same things are important to us. It would be hard to turn down any Yes related show at SLO, just to capture that feeling again.

Rhea's 2004 Jon Anderson weekend Pt 3

2009-06-04T22:07:00.001-05:00

Jon Anderson
Count Basie Theater
Red Bank, NJ
Sunday, January 11, 2004
Section Orchestra Left, Row B, Seat 11
$50

One of the hidden expenses of traveling is eating out every meal. We got lucky on Sunday - my parents took us out to brunch and we had dinner at a friend's house in New Jersey. It would have been a fun day even without the concert. The timing was a bit tight. We checked into our hotel right at 7, and then drove a couple blocks to the theater. If there had been any traffic, we might have been late.

This evening's venue was the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey. It seemed similar to the Keswick, being an older theater in the downtown of a small town. It could use some renovating - most of the seats had ripped fabric and the ornate decorations on the walls had cracks. Still had lots of charm and is so much nicer than going to a smoky club for a concert like this.

We stopped to talk to more friends in the lobby before the show. A group of us went to all three weekend shows, but we traveled separately and only caught up at the shows themselves. We decided to leave the auditorium and meet up in the autograph line early if Jon decided to play Owner as an encore again. One friend handed Roy two unmarked CDRs. On our ride back to the airport the next morning, we put them in and discovered it was a recording of the night before's show. Sweet.

This show was similar to the Glenside show, but with fewer mistakes. Jon did have some trouble with State of Independence, but he pulled it together. Yours Is No Disgrace and Richard were impressive all three nights. What I remember most about the performance were the unplanned moments. One of the questions was a request for Jon to sing Amazing Grace. He sang it unaccompanied and with no effects on his microphone. This man's voice is gorgeous. It made me wish he did more a capella.

One guy in the audience kept yelling for A Venture. It was getting on my nerves, but there was a big payoff for it. Towards the end of the show, Jon sang the first line. I was surprised that he remembered it after all these years. Was this the first ever performance of any bit of A Venture?

The other thing that stands out is little tidbits about Yes that Jon mentioned. Come to think of it, I'm not sure which night he told us these things, but I think it was Sunday. Jon said that Yes was talking about doing On the Silent Wings of Freedom this year. There was a good crowd response, and then Jon said that he should give all of us Chris Squire's phone number, to talk him into it. See, I thought that Chris would have been the one to want this song, since he plays a bit of it in his solo and it's so bass-y. Jon also made a little poke at Chris' falling down on one knee act during The Fish. The other interesting thing is that Steve Howe doesn't like the harp section of Awaken.

We were in the front row again, this time off to the side on the left audience section. During the intermission, I met up with YesSwap and progcookies members Fred and Stephen. I didn't know how I was going to find them, but they met up with my friend Carrie, so she pulled me over to their group. Fred and Stephen had identical seats to me, but on the right side. It's nice to put faces and voices to names, even though we didn't have a lot of time to talk.

It was time for the encore. Jon said he was going to do the same song as the night before, but last night's version was "silly". We got up and walked towards the back of the theater. I found that I couldn't actually leave the room while Jon was on stage. So Roy and I watched it from the back. It really wasn't as bad as Saturday night's, but I couldn't take the whole karaoke thing seriously.

There were already quite a few people in the autograph line. I had gotten everything signed that I brought with me, but I can't pass up an opportunity to talk to Jon. I ended up getting my ticket stub signed. I told Jon I sometimes wished I could quit my job and just go to all of his concerts. He said he'd see us in the spring.

I wasn't ready to leave yet. Roy and I hung out in the lobby, talking to friends and watching Jon sign autographs. When Jon was getting ready to leave, I approached him again and wished him good luck for the rest of the tour. Roy and I had talked a little about flying down to Florida the next weekend for more shows, but it looked like this was going to be it. The first show was my favorite, and had a real special quality to it, but my favorite overall moment was Amazing Grace the last night.

There's a little post script to this story. We stayed at a hotel that was listed on the venue's website. It was a nice place, and only a few blocks away. We went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast the next morning, and Roy was wearing a Yes sweatshirt. The host asked if we were with the Andersons. They didn't come to the restaurant while we were there, and I didn't see them anywhere else in the hotel.

Rhea's 2004 Jon Anderson weekend Pt 2

2009-06-02T21:34:00.000-05:00

Jon Anderson
Keswick Theater
Glenside (Philadelphia), PA
Saturday, January 10, 2004
Section Pit, Row CCC, Seat 6
$35

On Saturday, Roy and I drove to Philly. I grew up there and I still consider it home. I try to get back there for shows when I can. We had dinner plans with a couple friends before the show. I used to work in Jenkintown, about a mile from the Keswick Theater, and I chose a place that I thought would be easy to find.

Linda was there waiting for us. She was one of my hotel-roommates at SLO and she's known Roy for longer than I have. Even though she bought her ticket weeks after we did, she ended up with a seat in the orchestra pit. Our seats were 18 rows back. At one point when we were making plans, I asked her as a joke "Any chance you'd want to catch up with Roy during the show and switch tickets with me?" with a winky face. Before the show, Linda asked me if I still wanted to trade seats with her. Wow.

My friend Scott was also supposed to be at dinner, but he didn't make it. He got lost on the way and went straight to the theater. We saw him there, along with a lot of other Philly Yes friends. The biggest surprise was bumping into my friend Bill. He had dropped out of fandom ages ago, so I wasn't expecting to see him at the concert. I hadn't talked to him since moving to St. Louis, so I yelled from my seat that I got married and was still living out there. Ironically, he only noticed me because I was sitting a few rows in front of him in Linda's seat.

The show started, the same as usual. Jon played Boundaries this time, and dropped Soon. There was an intermission, and Your Move closed the first set. Revealing was a little longer this time, with the "what happened to this song" section added in. Jon did a little joke all three nights when he sat at the keyboard. He told us how he broke his back over a year ago, and spent a lot of time sitting at the piano with his brace on. He started to play around a little bit, and then went into a fast show-offy piece. Everyone applauded. He spoke some more, and then played that bit again. This time, he very obviously took his hands off of the keyboard and adjusted his microphone, so everyone could see that he wasn't really playing it. This got a big laugh and an even bigger applause. A fan yelled out "Heart of the Sunrise", and Jon sang the beginning instrumental part and said "Yeah, I can play that" with a little sarcasm. We laughed with him on that one.

At the intermission, I ran back to talk to Bill. He was the first fellow Yes fan I met, back when I was 14 and most of my friends still listened to New Kids on the Block. He's a dozen years older than me, and became a big brother and a role model. For those of you who know the Yes jacket I have with the back cover of Fragile airbrushed on the back, Bill painted it for me. (If you have a recording of Yes when they played on Fox After Breakfast, you can get a good look at the jacket.) We did some quick catching up, and he told me that I was all grown up and that he was proud of me.

Jon came back on stage and played I'll Find My Way Home. I don't know if it was the song itself, or all the feelings of homesickness, or just seeing all these people from my past, but it really got to me. This was the most emotional I got during the shows.

Jon answered some more fan questions, including mine. These questions were completely unscreened - no one read them in advance to filter out certain ones. I wrote down a two parter - "do you ever look at fan Internet sites or discussion groups?" and "What do you think of releasing live archived recordings?" Jon didn't answer the first one. The second one, he said that when Rick rejoined the band, he wondered why there were so many bootlegs and why Yes wasn't releasing this stuff. This turned into a rant on bad management.

There were some funny questions the next night. Someone asked Jon if he believed Jesus was god or just a prophet. Jon kind of walked around the question. The next question was about influences, and Jon proclaimed that the Beatles were gods. I think that answered the first question as well!

The show itself was somewhat of a letdown after opening night. Some of the things I chalked up to nervousness at the previous show were looking sloppy. Jon had trouble with Nous Sommes du Soleil and it fell apart in the end. I think it was the first time I didn't give a standing ovation to a Tales song. It didn't deserve it.

The true low point was the encore. Before the tour, I didn't know how much Jon was going to rely on backing tapes. I didn't want this to be Yes karaoke. And it wasn't, until this point. Jon sang Owner of a Lonely Heart as the encore. It was bad. He messed up the lyrics and lost his place in the song. It was a catastrophe. Later on, I discussed with another YesSwapper that this was the worst live Yes moment we had ever seen, even worse than No Way We Can Lose in Hartford opening night of the 1997 tour. (To be fair, I wasn't at Toronto in 1998 for Close to the Edge.) This brought the whole show down. It was a bummer to have this as the last song, and not have a
more successful song to send us off. I was hoping he'd do Soon as a real finale, but he didn't play it this night.

I met up with Roy, and we got in the autograph line with Scott. I had hoped to see Bill again, because he planned to wait to meet Jon, but he must have left already. Darn, I just realized I forgot to introduce Scott to Rene! They know each other through YesSwap. We were towards the end of the line, so we had lots more time to chat. Scott had never had the chance to meet Jon before, and he was really excited.

I brought the new remasters of Tales and Relayer. (Yet another good thing about the remasters is more CDs to get autographs. I already got my old Tales and Relayer autographed by all the respective band members.) I told Jon the story of how I didn't like Tales when I first got it, but my friend Scott raved about it so much that I gave it a second chance and listened to it over and over. It's now my favorite album of all time. Jon said that it's a hard album to get into, and that it's Jane's favorite too. She was sitting next to him and chimed in that she only listens to it when he's not home because he doesn't like listening to it anymore.

Rhea's 2004 Jon Anderson weekend Pt 1

2009-06-01T21:49:00.001-05:00

Jon Anderson
Trump Marina - The Shell
Atlantic City, NJ
Friday, January 9, 2004
General Admission
$39.70

These are some stories from the archive. Roy and I flew out to Philly for the first three dates of Jon Anderson's Work in Progress Tour of the Universe. I e-mailed this one out to some Yes and prog mailing lists on 1/13/2004, just days after the concert weekend. I'm adding this series to the blog in honor of Jon Anderson's upcoming return to live performance. Welcome back Jon!

I'm still digesting this weekend. I went to the first three shows, had great seats, got to talk to Jon all three nights, and met up with friends I don't get to see too often. There are spoilers below.

My husband Roy and I flew out to Philly on Friday and drove to the Trump Marina hotel Atlantic City. It's where we stayed and where the concert was. I am anal about general admission shows. I like to get in line ridiculously early to make sure I get a good seat. This club had maitre d seating, and I didn't know whether we'd have to bribe some usher to sit us up front. I kept some money in my front pocket just in case.

We found out where the club was, and no one was in line yet. It was 3, and doors were supposed to open at 8. So I agreed to gamble a little and meet up with some friends for dinner. Right after dinner, I practically ran to the line. I was 5th. Roy joined me, and the rest of our dinner party wasn't too far behind in line.

The doors opened, and the first two groups got seated. Our usher asked how we were doing. I gushed "I'm so excited. We came all the way from St. Louis to see the show!" He said we could sit anywhere we wanted. :-) We took the seats in the front row next to the chair with the reserved sign on it. Our friends weren't quite as lucky. Their usher was going to seat them further back, and they had to bribe him to sit by us.

The show starts out with a new song, then Long Distance Runaround, then another new one. After that, it changed a little from night to night. I noticed that most of the Yes songs had no backing tapes, but most of his new songs did. Jon is a competent instrumentalist - he plays guitar, keyboards, and harp during the show. He looked nervous that night, but held everything together well. A friend of mine planned to tape the show with his cassette recorder. He got the first 45 minutes of it. Being in the front row, he couldn't pull out his tape deck to flip the tape!

Jane sat next to me. I like to dance around in my chair and sing along quietly, but I wasn't sure quite how to act with her right there. I noticed that she was singing along to the Yes songs, so I did too. During State of Independence, I yelled out "Third World" at the same time she did. She turned to me, put her hand on my arm, and said "good job!" That song was one of the highlights for me. The next song was really impressive. Yours Is No Disgrace. Jon didn't play a difficult part on guitar, but it worked well and went beyond a few chords to accompany his voice.

This was supposed to be a multi-media presentation. There was a screen behind Jon that had different graphics on it. At one point, it showed a smiley face person playing guitar. I don't know if Jon meant it to be funny or just cute, but lots of us started giggling at it. At one point Jon turned around to look at the screen. He said after the song that at first he thought we were laughing at him for some reason.

Jon didn't give the names of many of the new songs. The songs I did recognize were Long Distance Runaround, State of Independence, Yours Is No Disgrace, Soon, Revealing Science of God opening chant, Nous Sommes du Soleil, Your Move, a song from Earth Mother Earth, and the biggest surprise - Richard! Jon said that Jane had requested that one, so I turned to her and thanked her.

There were a couple flubs, but they were more charming than anything else. At one of the new songs on the piano, Jon forgot a line and paused before looking at the lyric screen. YesSwapper Rene yelled out "You're so cute you can get away with it" in her Southern accent to Jon. He looked more relaxed after hearing that, and Jane turned around to say "bless you" to Rene. He went into Revealing after that, my favorite song. It seemed impromptu, and he had some trouble with the lyrics there. I wanted to yell them out for him, but he made it through.

There was an open guitar case at the end of the stage. Jon invited us to write down questions (along with $5 for charity) and put them into the case. He did two sessions of questions and answers.

Your Move was the encore. Jon started singing "Give Peace a Chance" during the first "dit dit dit" section and most of the audience joined him. It lost a bit of its direction. The next two nights, it worked much better. Jon shortened the song and instructed us to sing "dit dit dit" while he did Give Peace a Chance over us. I spoke to Jane for a little bit after the show, asking her to tell Jon how much we enjoyed the show. She thanked me, saying they were both so nervous about it.

Jon signed autographs after each show. The catch was, you had to buy a tshirt to get an autograph. We bought one the first night, and then figured we'd just drag it to all the shows. Ah, but the second night you got your hand stamped when you bought a shirt and the third night you got a ticket. We got away with getting in the meet and greet line each night with only buying that one tshirt.

I brought some of the new remasters and a limited edition copy of Magnification to get signed. The Magnification came with a purple jewel case with a silver Yes logo on it. I don't usually get jewel cases signed, but this one looked cool. I told Jon it was a import copy of Mag. He and Jane had never seen it, and spent some time looking at it. Jane recognized me, and told Jon that I had been singing along at the show. My big comment this night was to tell Jon that I became a fan of Yes during ABWH, and that Mag was my favorite CD of theirs since then. Jon said that it was the band's favorite too. Then he said, "well, the four of us". I asked whether they were going to do any more songs from Mag in concert. He said he wanted to do Give Love Each Day, but I'm not sure if he meant solo or with Yes. We were about to leave, but Jane asked if she could look at the Magnification package again. I don't know why I didn't just tell them they could have it.

That gave us an extra moment, so I thanked Jon for doing Revealing and told him that we'd be at the next two shows.

The Piano Men

2009-05-25T12:24:00.003-05:00

Billy Joel & Elton John
Scottrade Center
St. Louis, MO
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Section 316, Row E, Seat 6
$99.50

My perspective on concert costs have changed over time. I last saw Billy Joel and Elton John together in 1994. I was still in college. Tickets were $46. I didn't need to look that up. I remember it, from fifteen years back, because I agonized over that price. My best friend Angela and I both wanted to see this show, but we were broke college students and we passed. They played three nights at Vet Stadium. After the first show, additional "good" seats were released. There was so much good buzz about the first show. I called Angela and told her I was having second thoughts about skipping this show. So was Angela. We bought tickets at the last minute, went, and had a great time.

This time, Roy and I bought cheap seats for the Face to Face tour, and they were $100 each. After we decided to go, I didn't bat an eyelash at the price.

I was going to pass on this show originally. I had seen them together before, of course, and we just saw Billy Joel a few years ago. Roy saw Elton John as his very first concert, on the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour back in 1974. He's said that he's avoided seeing Elton John since then, because it could never live up to that first show. But after 35 years, Roy wanted to see him again. I was up for it and happy to go see them again.

The two singers have toured jointly a number of times since 1994. Any operational kinks have been worked out. They each have their full bands with them, with no lagtime needed to configure the stage between sets. The stage was empty; all of the equipment was underneath the stage, with elevated platforms to bring up the appropriate instruments at the appropriate time. Our view of the stage was unobstructed, but we were so high up, the lighting rigs blocked part of the screens.

The show started about 10 minutes late. A classical piece of music started to play on the loud speaker. We didn't recognize it, but figured this was a way to set the mood. I love how Yes concerts start with the finale from Stravinsky's Firebird Suite; it fills me with anticipation. (In fact, Roy and I walked down the aisle to that same piece.) I wondered if Yes was the first band to start their shows with a classical piece. The music ended and the house lights went down. The show was about to begin!

Billy Joel took the stage, and Elton John followed him. They greeted each other and the audience. Then, they each walked over to a grand piano and began playing. It was the same general setup as the last time I saw them - they did several songs together, each of them did their own set, and then they joined together for the encore.

The first song was Your Song, Elton John's first hit. It got off to a rough start. They traded vocals on it, with Billy taking the first verse. It was jarring; his voice was a lot lower than the original vocal line on the song, and it sounded rough. Elton has a lower register too now. They dealt with this throughout the show - Elton sang lower or let the audience sing along and Billy had a female backing musician do some of his higher parts. I didn't notice it being bad except for this first song, but it made me wonder what the rest of the show would sound like. I talked to Roy about this after the show, and he noticed it as well.

The next song was Billy Joel's Just the Way You Are. The two pianists were joined by a saxophone player. I thought it sounded really nice. The two full bands showed up for the next two songs - Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me and My Life. They had especially nice lighting during Don't Let the Sun; yellow and red glows in the audience.

Elton John played his full set next. Roy raved about the first time he saw Elton John, when the stage was all dark and he opened with the instrumental proggy piece Funeral for a Friend. I saw the setlist ahead of time, but Roy wanted to be surprised. Elton opened this set with that same opening. Roy was thrilled. Elton's guitar player Davey Johnstone is the same guy who played guitar on the album version, and he had a prominent role on stage. This song led into Love Lies Bleeding. Roy gave it a standing ovation.

I like both singers, but I've never gone deep into their catalogs. I'm familiar with all their songs that have gotten radio airplay, plus a few albums from each of them. I'm knocked out by how many well known songs they have. Even with each of them performing some "album tracks", I knew every song they played.

Roy's biggest complaint about the concert was the sound. It's his usual complaint about shows in big arenas. The bass drum dominated. When parts of the mix were inaudible for songs I knew well, I was mentally able to fill-in-the-blanks. I noticed that in a good way during Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, which is my favorite Elton John track. He asked us to sing along, and I happily did, but I was hearing the song in my head as it should be. It actually sounded insignificant and quick in concert, when it should have lush harmonies and a dreamy atmosphere. On the less successful side was a couple tracks from Madman Across the Water, the title track and Burn Down the Mission. I don't know those songs well enough to really be able to play them through in my head and what I heard was lacking. The piano and guitar part of Madman sounded nice though.

Roy's favorite part of the night was Funeral for a Friend. My favorite part of Elton's set was Crocodile Rock. It was so happy. He can't handle some of the notes in there anymore, so he had the audience sing the "Laaaaa la la la la" part. Belting this out made me happy.

After I'm Still Standing, Roy told me that was the first song Elton performed that was from after 1974. Another "newer" song was in the encore. I don't have a good feeling for the chronology of most of Elton John's 1970s-era singles. I first heard them all from the radio decades after their release. But Roy was telling me he was surprised Elton played so many early tracks.

I could see the people on the floor standing up for about half of the songs. People up by the stage were standing and dancing for the entire show. Up in the second tier of seats, we all sat. I bopped around in my seat and sang along, but most of the people in my section sat still. The women next to Roy were talking throughout most of the show. The couple next to me were sending text messages.

I didn't like Rocket Man as much as I did last time. I specifically remember it. The band jammed at the end of it, and it went on for quite a while, and I loved every moment of it. I talked to another friend who went to the 1994 concert, and she hated the part, making fun of how indulgent and long it was. Did it sound similar to last night's version? I thought this one felt dragged out. I don't know if I changed or it did over the years. Roy liked it for about half its length, and then was ready for it to end.

Elton John surprised me a bit in his frontman behavior. I'm guilty of thinking of him more of a star than a musician, more standoffish. He reached out to the fans up front, quite literally, by walking along the front of the stage and shaking hands two different times. I also noticed him signing a couple autographs for people from onstage. He didn't speak to the crowd much, other than introducing a few songs. He did not introduce his band, which is too bad. Some of those people have been playing with him since Roy saw him the first time.

Elton's set was over. His stage set was lowered beneath the stage and wooosh Billy Joel's was raised. We maybe could have used a short break from the music, but there was a lot of music to fit in. Billy Joel's set started with Prelude and Angry Young Man. He's a more demonstrative performer than Elton John, more gestures and a few songs standing at center stage. It could be that Elton is too busy actually playing piano during the performance. Comparing the two, I'd say Billy Joel was in better voice that night (except for Your Song) and was a better frontman. He was certainly funnier. They tend to get lumped together as piano-based pop musicians. But Elton's music was artier and featured more lead guitar than I would expect. Billy Joel's had a lot of horns in the arrangements, which gave it almost a Springsteen-like feel in places. Both have great melodies and so many songs that I like.

Roy really could have used an intermission. He left during Movin' Out and missed part of the next song, Allentown. I didn't spend much time in the city of Allentown, but it's in my home state of Pennsylvania, so hearing it reminds me of home. I also remember the time Angela and I went to a Yes concert in Allentown. I redid the lyrics to "So we're seeing Yes in Allentown". The song reminds me of one of my favorite Yes concerts.

A few songs that stood out to me were:
- Zanzibar, which Billy Joel described as the one album track in the set and asked us not to all leave to go to the bathroom. The song reminded me of Steely Dan with the horns and the "Zanzibar tonight" vocal line.

- Scenes from an Italian Restaurant. I always like hearing that one.

- It's Still Rock & Roll to Me, which started with a different arrangement. I didn't recognize it until the vocals started. It sounded more modern. While it worked with the theme of the song, I'm not sure how much I liked it.

Billy told some of the same jokes that he did last time we saw him, commenting on the people in different parts of the arena. The people sitting behind the stage had a better view than you'd think, because the piano is situated sideways. They get a similar view to the people up front. And the people up front have several tons of lighting equipment up above them. Still humorous, and it made him appear down to earth by realizing we all had to deal with the annoyances of trying to get good concert tickets.

I get the feeling he could have played a set of completely different songs, and I still would have known them all from radio airplay and enjoyed it just as much. He has so many good songs. My favorite time seeing Billy Joel is when he was doing a tour of colleges and came to Penn. He talked to the audience, took questions, and played some songs by himself, just voice and piano. I think that's the only time I saw him play my favorite song of his, "Summer, Highland Falls".

My biggest complaint about the Face to Face show sounds like whining - too much music. This turned out to be a three and a half hour long concert. By the time Billy's main set was complete, it was three hours of music without a break. I'm sorry to say, it was overkill. I didn't need to leave to use the facilities, but a little mental break would have been nice. The first few songs of the encore, with Billy's and Elton's bands playing together, were wasted on me.

I got back into it when they played a couple of lively Beatles' covers, Birthday and Back in the USSR. The show ended with just Billy and Elton on stage playing piano, just like the show started. They played Candle in the Wind and Piano Man.

I think what I enjoyed most about this show was not the performances or the rock stars, but enjoying the songs themselves in a live communal setting. It still astounds me how much of each of their catalogs I know and how wide a variety of songs they each have.

Paul Simon at the Fox

2009-05-13T21:03:00.002-05:00

The 21st Annual Bob Costas Benefit
for Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center
with special guest Paul Simon
Fox Theatre
St. Louis, MO
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Section Balcony 4, Row E, Seat 106
$75

The sportscaster Bob Costas hosts a fundraiser every year for a local children's hospital. I knew about it before, but never felt the need to attend. They always get a well known comedian and musical guest. This year, the musical guest was Paul Simon, and Roy definitely wanted to attend. I'm a big fan of Simon and Garfunkel, but I've never listened to much of Simon's solo work. I wasn't sure how many songs I would know, but I was interested in going.

Is it weird that I've never even heard all of Graceland? Roy had a copy, but lent it out long ago and never got it back. Roy played me parts of a couple albums to get familiar with Simon's music: Still Crazy After All These Years and a live album.

This isn't just a concert, but a society event. We got an information sheet in the mail, complete with a dress code. It said business casual. I wore my new brown dress and Roy wore black slacks and a polo shirt with Roger Dean artwork on it. Some people were way more dressed up than that - wearing tuxedos and gowns. The people-watching (and outfit watching) was fun.

I didn't know what the audience would be like during the concert. Were they there for the music, to be part of the scene, or because they were supporters of the hospital? I do know that tickets went on sale long before Paul Simon was announced. we got tickets shortly after that, and a good deal of the orchestra seats were already gone. Our seats were pretty good though, lower balcony, just off the center aisle.

The night started with Bob Costas coming on stage to introduce the event. He made a big deal about how far people traveled for this show. Paul Simon isn't on tour, and apparantly, hasn't done too many live shows recently. He put his full band together for this one-off performance, and lots of fans came to St. Louis to see it. I'm glad they got to see such a nice venue and the Grand Center/Saint Louis University area.

Costas told some jokes and then introduced comedian Robert Klein. I'd never heard of him, but it looks like he's been around for a long time. He told lots of, too many really, growing older jokes. Some were funny, some weren't. He did a few songs and some shtick about not being able to stop his leg. Roy and I both thought Costas was funnier. The people in the row in front of us were laughing loudly at everything Klein said.

There was a long intermission. Then there was a long video thank you to everyone who contributed to the Cardinal Glennon's. All of this build-up was for a good cause, but we were really there for the music.

Simon opened with a song I didn't know. Next, he did the "These are the days of miracle and wonder" song. I recognized it, but Roy had to tell me this song was called Boy in the Bubble. It always reminds me of the ABWH song Quartet, which goes "We are living in days of wonder, Simon says". Of course, this is the song where Simon is saying it.

Things got interesting during the next song, Slip Sliding Away. Not for the performance, but for what was going on around us. Roy and I were the second and third seats in from the aisle. Some guy on the other side of the aisle was talking really loud. Another guy tried to shush him. Loudmouth and Shusher got into an argument. Shusher got up from his seat and brought back a cop. She asked Loudmouth if there was a problem. No, but when she left, Loudmouth started cursing out Shusher. We might be all dressed up, but we're still not civilized, are we? Shusher and quite a few other people in neighboring rows got up and left. He wasn't doing anything wrong, and I only hope they were all able to sit elsewhere and put this behind them for the rest of the show. Loudmouth was mostly quiet after that.

Other people around us were more fun to watch. There were a group of young women next to me, college-aged maybe. They looked too young to know this music, but at least a couple of them were singing along. I had to point out to Roy when at one point, all four of them were taking cell phone pictures of the concert.

The people in front of us looked like a mother and father, adult daughter, and her boyfriend or husband. The father put his arm around his daughter during the Father and Daughter song that was on the Wild Thornberry's movie soundtrack. The daughter was really getting into the show, but she was inappropriately rocking out in the mellowest moments. She'd just start head-banging and it didn't fit the music at all. Nothing rude, but it was distracting and blocking my view a bit. The seat next to Roy by the aisle was still empty, so he had me move over there.

There were a few more songs that I recognized. I knew Mrs. Robinson from the Graduate soundtrack from the start. They started it off just playing that riff and then went into a snippet of Not Fade Away from Buddy Holly. Roy thought the absolute highlight of the night was hearing Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, with Paul Simon pulling off the whistle part live flawlessly. It's hard to whistle on command like that, hitting all those notes and timing for such a long part.

One of my highlights of the night was Diamonds in the Soles of Her Shoes. I gave it a standing ovation. I felt like a lot of the previous songs had been mellow and soft rock. Nice and well performed, but this song was a good change of pace. The last song of the set was Late in the Evening - another of those songs that I recognized, but didn't know the title.

The encore was strong. Still Crazy After All These Years, The Boxer, and You Can Call Me Al. The young women in my aisle, who looked like they were enjoying the show all night, got up from their seats and walked past us. They weren't leaving now, were they? No! They just moved to the section next to ours. People were up and dancing over there, and there was that whole bunch of empty seats. They moved over there to dance. I can so relate to that. As they went back to their seats, I told one of them, "That was so cool!", meaning watching them enjoy the music. The girl thought I was talking about the show itself and agreed with me.

For the second encore, Paul Simon came out by himself and performed a solo The Sound of Silence. I remember learning this song in elementary song. It was my principal Mr. Romanelli's favorite song, and our music teacher Mrs. Jacobs wanted to surprise him one year. I didn't know who performed it or that it was a "rock" song. It was the mid-80s, so the song had to be about 20 years old at that time. I always liked it, but it was years later that I rediscovered it. That was the other big highlight for me.

I liked the show, but Roy was blown away by it. He is so glad we went, and still amazed that Simon put his whole band together for this one show. It was a special event.

My Mother and Robert Fripp

2009-05-10T21:54:00.006-05:00

Robert Fripp
California Guitar Trio
Opening Act: Los Gauchos Alemanes
Empie Theater
Muhlenberg College
Allentown, PA
Saturday, September 2, 1995
Section Center, Row A, Seat 113
unknown ticket price

My mom does not like rock music. She does not like rock concerts. Back in the days when I could only go to concerts with adult supervision, my dad went or my friends' parents took us. Mom would never go. My mom also doesn't like driving to unfamiliar places. It is so very strange, even fourteen years later, to admit that my mom has seen Robert Fripp in concert. And she drove me to Allentown for that very purpose.

I was 20 years old and had just become a King Crimson fan in the last year or so. I get this feeling when I just discover a new world of music, I have to do everything, lest I never get another chance. Well, Robert Fripp was doing a soundscape tour, and the closest he was coming to home was an hour and a half away in Allentown. And I had to go. In later years, I'd skip some of his soundscape shows that were local to me. But this was my first opportunity to see one as a fan, and what if I never got another chance? I had to go.

One little problem. I didn't drive.

I called my best friend and concert buddy Angela. She didn't share my love of progressive rock. But, she gone with me to the Yes concert in Allentown the year before, because I needed a way to get there. Not this time. I was a good friend, but not worth having to see Robert Fripp and his soundscapes.

I moved back home for the summer. My relationship with my mother was strained. We had a huge fight about my traveling to New York by myself for a King Crimson concert. That was still fresh in our minds one day when we went out to lunch.

I told my mom about the Fripp show, and how Angela didn't want to go. I said the fateful words, "I guess I'll check the Greyhound schedules."

My mom said the even more fateful words, "I could take you."

She was so scared of me traveling somewhere by myself again that she was willing to put up with a concert. She was serious. She didn't even volunteer my dad to take me. Did I want to put up with her enough to have her along with me at the concert? Yeah, I wanted to go and this was convenient. I gave her the same deal I gave Angela - I paid for the tickets, dinner, any ancillary expenses in return for the transportation. I tried to prepare her, by explaining that we'd be seeing a guy playing guitar by himself with lots of sound effects, rather than a full band.

The concert was held in a college auditorium. Tickets were available through the college, instead of Ticketmaster. I called right when tickets went on sale, and got two seats in the front row, center section. They were the second and third seats off the aisle. We get to the venue with no problem. There is no stage; the musicians played on the same floor as our front row seats ten feet away from us.

The first act was Los Gauchos Alemanes. I never heard of them since, but they were students of Fripp's. They played a short set. Then, Fripp came on and started a soundscape. It's hard to describe what a soundscape is: Fripp plays some notes into his machine, and the machine plays them back as background while Fripp plays something new. Soon, it's many layers of sound, sometimes with a melody, sometimes more abstract. Fripp can either play more notes or play with the sounds that he's already created.

"When's he going to start?" my mom whispered to me.
"He has started"
"This is it?!" loud enough for people sitting nearby to hear (and probably Fripp as well). That was followed by, "If I had paid for this, I'd want my money back."

I'm not imagining how loud she was; there's a review of this show on the old King Crimson e-mail list Elephant Talk that mentions my mom's outburst. That reviewer described it:
An impatient woman sitting a row behind us complained audibly during the first soundscape, "I wouldn't have come if I had known it was going to be like this. I thought you said this guy was a guitarist!"

I thought the show was paced very well. It would be tough to listen to hours on end of soundscapes. During this show, Fripp would play a soundscape, then the California Guitar Trio would come out and play a few songs. This repeated a few times. My mom liked CGT better. I did too. I didn't love the soundscapes, but it was fascinating to watch Fripp play them. I could really observe what was going on.

My favorite part of the show was towards the end. Fripp, Los Gauchos, and CGT all walked up the steps of the auditorium. Standing on the steps, all holding acoustic, unamplified guitars, they started playing. It was King Crimson's Vrooom. The juxtaposition of the powerful studio track and the eight acoustic guitars quietly playing the same melody was jarring. I laughed, as did some other people in the audience. My mom wanted to know what was so funny. I tried to explain that we recognized the song, but it didn't usually sound like this!

The band then walked over to the aisle near our seats. They stood on the steps, starting at the front row, and played Thrak. For their last piece, the stood at the front of the audience again, and played a piece I didn't recognize. We had to stand up to see them playing in the far aisle. One guy was still standing, and Fripp gestured to him to sit down.

One thing odd about this show was the no words were said to the audience for the entire show. I heard Fripp counting the band in and saying a song title to the band, but that's only because I was sitting close enough to hear it. Not just Fripp. CGT and Los Gauchos didn't say anything either. The evening ended on a friendly note. The Los Gauchos guys got our attention and gestured to the audience to follow them. We walked out to the lobby, where they played another piece for us. And that was the end. Good way to clear people out of the theater.

I think I blocked the drive home out of my memory. I know my mom didn't hate the entire concert, but she sure did hate the soundscapes. Really, this wasn't a bad show to go to with a parent. It was in a civilized venue and it wasn't loud. I have to say, I've gotten a lot of mileage out of people meeting my mother and then telling them she's seen Fripp in concert.

Encore, Encore!

2009-04-18T17:49:00.004-05:00

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

2009-04-13T21:24:00.005-05:00

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.

Harptallica

2009-02-01T22:32:00.000-06:00

Harptallica
in-store appearance
Vintage Vinyl
University City (St. Louis), MO
Sunday, February 1, 2009
free

I don't listen to much metal these days, but I used to really like it, back in my teens. Metallica is one of the few bands from back then that I'm not embarrassed about liking. Seeing them on the tours for ... And Justice For All and the black album are among the only times I can think of when I got to see the tours of truly classic albums - so many of the bands I like hit their prime years earlier. I bought Metallica's ... And Justice For All the day it came out. I truly think that listening to that album's lengthy songs and changes in tempo and meter primed me for progressive rock. It was certainly my frame of reference the first time I heard Yes' Heart of the Sunrise - it reminded me of Metallica.

I haven't followed their career in a while, but Roy found out about a unique tribute band. Harptallica bills itself as "the all harp tribute to Metallica". It's two women harp players, playing Metallica songs. Roy doesn't have a background as a Metallica fan, but he was intrigued and went to their show here a couple years ago. (I had class that night, or I would have joined him.) He liked it, and we were glad to hear they were coming back to St. Louis.

Harptallica was actually doing two shows in town, both down the street from us. One was a club show at Cicero's and the other was a free in-store appearance at Vintage Vinyl. It's ironic that I'm such a big music fan and live in an area where there are always live music performances going on in bars and clubs, but I rarely attend. But I hate putting up with cigarette smoke - I'll only go to a club show if it's a band I really want to see, where it's worth the headaches, stink, and all-around discomfort level. Ah, some day I will be able to breathe in places and take advantage of all this music. For now, there's just one bar/restaurant nearby that offers live music and is non-smoking. That's why the in-store appearance was so nice - non-smoking record store, not keeping me up later than usual, free.

Roy and I walked down to Delmar a little before 3:00pm. I think we got there ten minutes early, in case there was a crowd. I could see a few people who looked like they were there for the show. The harps were set up in back, in the jazz section. I spent some time looking at the Yes LP selection and then we found a spot to watch the performance. By the time they started, there were about 15 people there.

Harptallica played three songs: The Unforgiven, Fade to Black, and The Call of Ktulu. The first two pieces were more pretty and sedate, the melodies were recognizable, but it was a totally different style than the originals. For The Call of Ktulu, they played the harps more percussively, and it had a more frantic feel to it. To be honest, this sounds more like music I'd listen to now than Metallica itself. A group of teenage boys were standing in the aisle next to ours. They had been there since we entered the store. A few minutes into the first song, I noticed they had left. The rest of the audience gave them a good reception.

One of the women introduced each song and mentioned their live show tonight at Cicero's at each break. I felt bad, not just because I wasn't planning on going, but also because tonight is the Super Bowl, and I couldn't imagine what their turn out would be. I'm glad I got a taste of it. I just need a more pleasant concert experience than the smoky basement of Cicero's to get me to their real show.

The Pageantry of Yes

2008-12-07T16:50:00.004-06:00

Howe Squire and White
of Yes
The Pageant
St. Louis, MO
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Section Orchestra Floor, Row 1, Seat 1
$210

A few months ago, I saw Bruce Springsteen in concert. I was most impressed about the energy level throughout the concert, something that was sustained by both the audience and the band. This show is the closest I've ever seen Yes have those conditions. It was a unique experience.

I was thrilled when the tour dates were announced and Yes was going to play at The Pageant. Roy and I live in the Loop, the neighborhood where the Pageant is. But as it got closer to the show, I got a little worried. My seat was in the front row, but would it be too far to the side? The stage is almost as tall as I am, would it affect my view? The bar is in the main listening room and there will be a large standing room only crowd behind the reserved seats, will they really be listening or just partying? My seat was awesome, right in front of Steve Howe. The audience was more than awesome, very high energy and rowdy between songs, but not rude at all.

The day started out nice. It was sunny out and warmer after the last few days. Roy and I went out for breakfast at the hotel where Yes usually stays. There was no sign of them. I was wondering if they were staying downtown somewhere, and I was half-tempted to go to some hotels looking for them. But I didn't know what I'd say to them if I found them, so I stayed back and we took care of some errands. My plan for this tour had been to wear Jon Anderson t-shirts to each of the shows, and I did that for the first two shows. This time, I wore a navy blue top that set off my Yes necklace nicely, so I kept that on. Not sure if there's any significance to that. We went on a walk around noon, walking down to the Pageant. The day was finally here!

I planned to walk over to the Pageant for the show around 3 PM. I bought a tour poster, and I was hoping to get the whole band to autograph it for me. So far, I only had Alan's signature. I figured I'd be able to catch them on their way in to the venue. I was going to meet up and wait with another fan from the Yesfans site. I thought I was going to get there plenty early, so I didn't mind too much that I left after 3. I was sooo annoyed with myself when I saw their white van already pulling away in the parking lot. I didn't know who had arrived, but I missed my chance then.

I was waiting in the shade, and it was getting kind of cold out. My hands were out and ungloved, so I could hold a book. I was glad when Greg got there, at the least so I could put my book away and get my hands warm! Greg had traveled from Kansas for this show, and we met when he asked me some questions about the Pageant, the area, and the setup for the show. He has a cool website http://www.thelope.com/ and he was hoping to have the members of the band take a picture with his jackalope, the mascot for his site. We chatted for a while. He got to interview Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes during the Drama tour!

We saw the white van pull back in, but without any passengers. Oliver Wakeman came out, and he was happy to sign my poster and pose for a picture. He was eating a sandwich with one hand, so I had to hold the poster very taut and he signed it. I'm surprised it turned out as well as it did. We saw Benoit David come out and go right into the van, no luck getting his autograph then. Oliver went in too, and they drove off. We still didn't know where the rest of the band was.

I was going to meet Roy and his cousin Roger for dinner sometime after 5. Shortly before that, we got lucky again. I heard one of the security guards saying something about Steve Howe. We couldn't see the back entrance to the Pageant from where we were standing, so we walked around some trucks. Sure enough, he was there smoking. I've never seen Steve smoking before, and the Pageant is not a non-smoking venue, so he shouldn't have had to go outside to smoke, but there he was. I called out "Excuse me Steve, could you come over here and sign something for me please?" and he yelled back "in a couple minutes". This was the only time at any of the three shows that I saw Steve do any autographs, so I'm really glad I was there. He signed my poster and two records for Greg, but he wasn't in a chatty mood. I had some other CDs of his with me, but it didn't look like he'd want to wait for me to dig them out, so I didn't ask. I'm just glad to have my poster signed.

Roy and Roger arrived, and the three of us went over to Pi Pizza for dinner. My new friends Mike and Pat from the Bloomington show were there, and we got a table next to them. However, we really wanted this dinner to get to talk to Roger. He's one of Roy's closest friends and was best man at our wedding. He had seen Yes once back in the 1970s, but not since then. He's a big fan of groups with vocal harmonies like CSNY, and we thought for sure that he would enjoy the show.

I told Roger the story of how we got the tickets and why I'm not sitting with them. I actually waited at the box office when the tickets went on sale. Unfortunately, the orchestra section and center tiered seats were all put aside for the VIP package, only available online. I was able to pinpoint at the box office exactly what seats I wanted to buy - I got Roy two seats in the front row, right by the stage. He bought me a VIP ticket through Ticketmaster in the front row. His seats weren't much farther from the stage than mine were; his were on Chris' side, one tier up and the next section over. The joke on me was, not many of the VIP tickets were sold and later on Greg even found a front row ticket for $35 instead of the $210 I paid.

I had a little bit of trouble getting into the venue. Apparently, Sharpie markers are banned. I had one in my purse, and they told me I had to either put it in my car or throw it away. I didn't have my car with me and I needed it for autographs. I walked outside as if I was going into my car, and then put the pen in my pants pocket. I hoped it looked like I took enough time, then went back in. It's not like I'm going to use it to vandalize the building. This is why I need to get places early. Once inside, the security was really lax. I walked right up to my front row seat without anyone checking my ticket. I talked to Roy and Roger for awhile and found our friend Ralph sitting in the row behind me.

I had a laugh with the people sitting next to me. I chatted with them a bit. When the husband got up to buy drinks, I said something to the wife about the tickets being worth the price. She had no idea how much they cost. She pulled her ticket out, and I pointed out the $210. She was shocked, but didn't seem too upset. When her husband came back, we just started giggling about it. She teased him about spending so much, and I explained how my husband was sitting in the cheap seats because he didn't want to spend this much.

Firebird Suite started. Everyone stood up and applauded as the band members took the stage. The people in the front row remained standing through the opening of Siberian Khatru, but then started sitting down. I had a dilemma. I love standing up and dancing at Yes concerts, but I'll only do it if it doesn't block people's views. I was on the far left of my section, and the people to my left were on a raised tier, just like Roy was on the other side of the audience. The stage is almost as tall as I am, so I didn't think I'd block anyone's view. I stood for about half of Siberian Khatru, waving to Roy and Roger when I caught their eyes. Then, I sat and danced in my seat. When the song was over, I ran over to the people to my left and asked if they could see when I was standing up. Yes! I took that as permission to stand up for the rest of the show, with no remorse.

The next song was I've Seen All Good People. Everyone in the band took a little solo during the second half of the song, which I think worked well. The live version of this song on Classic Yes has something similar, where Jon Anderson would sing everyone's name like "Mr. Christopher Squire", and they would play a short solo in between the solo. This time, the new singer Benoit would walk up to each band member to indicate it was their turn. This worked well visually, and it gave Benoit something to do when everyone else was playing.

Even after just a couple songs, the audience response was just incredible. The band members seemed surprised at how long and loud the applause was going on. Steve seemed more energetic at this show than the other two I'd seen and the whole band seemed more powerful. Maybe the day off between shows helped to relax them, but I think the audience inspired them too.

It took me through the first half of All Good People to really feel comfortable and warmed up dancing. I didn't see anyone else doing the raised hand peace sign during the part where they sing Give Peace a Chance and I felt a little self-conscious. I sat back down for a couple songs, Astral Traveler and Onward, but by the time Close to the Edge started, I was back up and dancing with no inhibitions. Moving around to the music helps me focus more directly on the music and also helps pull me away from distractions in the audience.

The crowd was so enthusiastic during Steve's solo time. He played his two most well known pieces, Mood for a Day and Clap, along with a song he did on Not Necessarily Acoustic, The Glory of Love. His solo can sometimes be a trigger for some people to have a conversation or get up from their seats, but the audience stayed with him and seemed to really get into it.

I was feeling Chris' bass playing as much as I was hearing it. He was using his bass pedals during And You And I, and the floor and even my jeans were vibrating. Steve looked like he was enjoying himself so much, I saw him singing along when he wasn't even singing into the microphone for backing vocals. Alan stood up again during Starship Trooper and used his drumsticks to get the crowd clapping along and then standing up. Only about half the people on the floor did. Curiously, no one tried to move up towards the stage in front of the front row of seats. There weren't any security people down there to stop it. Chris walked over to Steve's side of the stage and they played off each other for a little bit. I think I felt more comfortable with Benoit as a member of the band, maybe because I'd gotten to talk to him the other night. I watched him more, and not just in a "what's the new guy like?" mode. The first encore, Owner of a Lonely Heart, felt a lot different at this show than in Milwaukee or the other times I've seen it with Steve on lead guitar. Steve was even smiling towards the end of it. What a night!

I met back up with Roy and Roger. Roger enjoyed it and sent an e-mail to us saying:
"Roy & Rhea thanks again for inviting me to the concert. I really enjoyed myself. If Yes plays in the midwest again let me know I will try and make it. They are so unique. I cannot believe I let 35 years pass between shows."

This was the show to see.

Roger went home after the show. Roy and I went back outside to wait for the band to leave. Greg joined us. Fans were waiting in a couple different places, because the white van was by the usual back exit, but there was also a tour bus parked by another exit. There was about a dozen people there, which was a good amount. With too many people, the band might not try to accommodate everyone. With too few, you might get to talk to one band member while the others walk by, and there's no one else to stop them.

Steve Howe was the first to leave. He travels separately from the rest of the band. His car pulled right up by the exit, and he got in. People cheered him, and he waved to us as the car pulled away. I'm glad I was able to get his autograph before the show.

I saw Benoit walk out. I waved to him, and he walked right over to me. "I saw you dancing again," he said enthusiastically. I think he's sweet. Benoit signed my poster and chatted with a group of us for a while. He told me he went sightseeing while he was in town and took my recommendation to go to the Arch. I told him about the Yesfans site, and said people were saying nice things about his performances there. He doesn't spend much time on the computer, and he deflected the compliment by adding that most people were just happy the tour could take place. I think he's well aware of how delicate his position is, filling in for someone as beloved as Jon.

While we were talking to Benoit, Alan came out and started signing autographs. People began to leave our group. I didn't. Thankfully, Alan already signed my poster back in Milwaukee, so I didn't need him. Also, Benoit was standing right next to me and talking to me. I'd feel weird slipping away to see someone else in the band. Benoit also told us how he started singing in Yes tribute bands and was discovered by Chris and how the hardest parts to him are remembering the lyrics and getting the timing right.

Chris walked over to our group, and I lent him my Sharpie to sign things for everyone. He didn't say anything about recognizing me from the other night. But Chris usually pays attention to things, even when he doesn't let on that he's doing so. He signed my poster, so I got all of the band on it!

A close-up of the autographs

Oliver was walking around, and actually asked the crowd if anyone else wanted anything from him. Roy went over to chat with him about some mutual friends. The whole band (except Steve) were out signing autographs and chatting with fans. They all seemed like they were in great moods. It had to be because of how well the show went and the reception they got from the crowd.

I didn't need anything signed from Alan, but I went over to talk to him. When he saw me, he said, "Oh, you're here again." Alan is usually so sweet, I hope I didn't annoy him after the Bloomington show. I told him I thought the show was great. He replied, "Even though we didn't play Parallels?" Oy. Then I told him I hoped I didn't come on too strong the other night. "Yeah, well." He shook my hand at least.

The band left. Our friend Ralph had waited for autographs as well, and he gave us a ride home. It was so cold out that Roy didn't want to walk. I was on cloud nine after the show and interaction with the band. I had wishes of spending more time with the band members while they were in town, but we didn't want to try finding their hotel at this point. It was nice just to be home and think of what a great time we had. I took the next day off from work, and it was good to have some time to come back down to Earth before getting back to my real life.

Yes, Yes!!

2008-12-03T21:29:00.003-06:00

Howe Squire and White
of Yes
US Cellular Coliseum
Bloomington, IL
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Section Floor Center, Row 3, Seat 5
$85

We had to go from Milwaukee to Bloomington. It is normally an easy drive. The directions say it will take 3 1/2 hours, and I find I-39 an easy interstate to drive on. I drove this whole distance without a break on another trip.

But this was now our fourth winter in a row of traveling to a show and dealing with snow.

Roy drove. The roads weren't bad, but visibility was. We were both tense from being hyper-aware of the surroundings. Roy wasn't driving much slower, but we had to take a number of breaks to get away from the strain of driving. We had plans to meet some people from the Yesfans website at 5, but we were still just getting off the highway to our hotel. I didn't know if we should skip dinner and just rest up for the show or if the socializing would do us some good. It wasn't going to be a big group of people, which probably would have kept us away. Roy lay down for a little bit at the hotel while I got directions and freshened up.

The dinner was nice. It was at a little bar/restaurant near the venue that served mostly sandwiches. I tried to get something somewhat healthy. I have a huge circle of friends that are Yes fans, and for a long time, I was less interested in meeting new fans than having time to catch up with my friends. But none of them were coming to this show and I'm new to the Yesfans site, so we ventured out to eat with new people. All the people from Yesfans were really friendly. They held off on ordering until we got there. There were Mike and his wife Pat, who are from the St. Louis suburbs, Gary, and Larry. Scott YesChef, who we've known for years, was also there. I had to bring the bad news to the table when I told Scott about Zoey's passing. But the rest of the conversation was nice. Everyone was excited about the show. Gary wanted to be surprised there, so we couldn't talk about the songs. We all talked about the first time we got to see Yes live. Everyone else beat me by a dozen or more years. There were no uncomfortable silences or trying to fill the space and everyone was a good listener as well as a talker. I'm glad we were able to make it.

After dinner, we headed over to the coliseum. I didn't know what the crowd would be like. Why is Yes playing Bloomington anyway? It's an area that doesn't have a huge population, and I don't think Yes has much visibility among the younger people there in the college town. Before I left on this trip, I saw that 6th row floor seats were still available, and cheaper seats were on sale two-for-one. When Roy and I got down to our seats, we saw there were only about eight rows of seats on the floor, and 6 sections of tiered seating - less than even listed on the venue's seating chart as "theater layout". I guess some people who bought tickets didn't show up because of the snow. The seats on either side of us were unused.

We had third row tickets right in front of Squire. One thing that was really nice was the amount of room between the rows. We were a decent amount of space back from the people in the second row. It really helped with potential tall-people-in-front-of-me siteline problems, and it also made me feel like I had a lot of personal space. I can get a little claustrophobic sometimes, and this helped to relax me. Everything at this show was going to be alright.

This show just put me in my happy place. I just felt joyful the whole time. I was bopping along in my seat all night. Gary from dinner had bought front row seats from someone at Yesfans and was clearly enjoying it. He stood up and beckoned the people behind him to stand during All Good People, so we all got to get up for that. We also got a kick out of him standing up to play with the dry ice drifting off the stage during Close to the Edge, only to have an usher come over and have him move back away from the stage. I had the option to buy those same tickets. I passed on it, but it added to the fun to see him enjoy those seats so much.

Chris Squire made a comment about this being an intimate show. I heard that less than 1000 seats had been sold. I can't help but wonder if there was a better fitting venue in the area, something that would be nicer and smaller. But I thought the sound was excellent for an arena and I liked how much personal space I had.

I love sitting in front of Chris. I never did make eye contact with him, or anyone else in the band, or notice them recognizing me. Chris is such a performer, and being so close to him makes me really focus on his bass playing and backing vocals. I was singing along to his "float your climb" in And You And I and the "coil their said amazement of her story" harmony parts in Close to the Edge. Those backing vocals that he and Steve do were so prominent this time around. I could see Alan well from this seat also. In the other shows, his head was obscured by cymbals, and I could only see him when he was standing up. I barely paid attention to Oliver. He was very stoic and serious looking, not engaging the audience at all.

Steve Howe did All's a Chord from The Steve Howe Album as his first solo piece. I recognized the melody, but I couldn't place it. The song originally had vocals, but he performed it instrumentally. It really sounded nice. Once he announced it, it was like of course, that's what it was.

Steve introduced Starship Trooper as a quintessential Yes song. The crowd stood up this time without Alan's prompting. One thing that frustrated me about Starship Trooper was the harmonies during the "ah ah" part. I remember back on the Masterworks tour, Jon sang it with Igor doing the high harmony parts. This time, Benoit saing it, and Oliver played a keyboard part to harmonize. I missed the vocals there. The crowd stayed standing after the band left the stage. I was surprised when Yes came back on and started playing Roundabout. We could even see Alan singing harmony on it, and I never noticed him doing that before. In Milwaukee, they had played Owner as the first encore. No Owner this night. The show ended right at 10, so I wondered if there was a curfew issue.

We talked to Gary again after the show and bumped into Kevin's friend Greg, whom I had met the night before. We had a bit of luck coming into the venue - we parked in a covered garage and on our way to the entrance walked past the "artist entrance" just as a security guard was mentioning it to some other audience members. Roy and I went back there. We were joined by two other guys. It was cold, but only snowing lightly at this point. I mainly wanted to get my tour poster signed, but I didn't want to bring it out in this weather. We waited for about a half hour outside. One security guard told us the band had left right after the show, but I know they usually stick around for awhile, and I saw their van. We asked another guard, and he told us they were still there and it wouldn't be long.

It seems intimate to only have a few people waiting for autographs, but it didn't work out too well. Chris came out first. I asked him to sign something for me. He was very friendly, even asked what my name was, which he had never done before. He signed my Going for the One CD sleeve "To Rhea, Love, Chris Squire". I asked him if they could please play Parallels at the next show. Chris explained that there were complaints the show was getting too long and that it was a tough song to sing. While we were talking to Chris, Oliver, Benoit, and Alan walked past us and went into the van. I can hardly fault them, it was cold and snowing outside, and they weren't going to wait around to see if we needed anything! So nice of Chris to stay outside for a few extra minutes to make some fans happy.

When Chris had moved on to the other fans, I saw that someone was still standing outside the van. It was Oliver Wakeman. I walked over. Oliver saw me and asked if I was coming to have Alan sign something for me. I said, actually, I have (Oliver's) 3 Ages of Magick with me and I was hoping he could sign it for me. He seemed so happy to see his own CD, like I was doing him a favor. He saw that I did have the White CD sleeve in my pile of stuff, so he took my pen and CD cover into the van for Alan to sign, and then brought it back out to me.

Bloomington didn't have many nice hotels, and I made a guess of where Yes was staying. The band members are usually cool about people coming to their hotel and hanging out in the bar. Benoit saw us and walked over to talk to us. He recognized us from the show and said he wanted to talk to us. He said if he forgot the words to any of the songs, he'd know them by looking at me singing along! That's a nice first impression to make, in both directions.

Benoit chatted with Roy and me for a good ten minutes. We talked about how the tour's gone so far, how long we've been Yes fans, downloading recordings, why Bloomington had such a low turnout, how excited we were for a show in our own neighborhood in St. Louis. He said they try to keep the shows at the same quality level from night to night, even when there's a disappointing turnout, but I told him I enjoyed this night's show better than Milwaukee's. We also talked about St. Louis for a bit too. Yes did not have a show scheduled for the next night. Usually, they'd travel to the next city on their off-day, so they'd have some extra time in St. Louis. Benoit said he liked to do sight-seeing, but not museums, so we told him about the Arch and that he couldn't miss spotting it when they were arriving in the city. I was tickled after the St. Louis show when I got to talk to Benoit again, and he told me they went to the top of the Arch. High expectations and little windows, he said.

This was a longer conversation than I'd ever had with Jon or any of the other current band members. I can't believe how open and friendly this guy is.

I had joked to Roy that I was going to bring up Parallels to each band member I got to speak with. I didn't have to here. Benoit brought it up as a song they had dropped. "I know, and I was really looking forward to that one," I replied. Benoit mentioned that the band was talking about it, actually talking about my request to Chris earlier that night. Benoit brought Roy and me back to talk to the rest of the band; everyone but Steve was there. I'm afraid that when I should have been gracious, I pressed too hard. My goodness, these are my idols here. Everyone shook our hands as we left and were so friendly, it was just surreal. I wondered afterwards if I handled it well.

Roy and I joked later that we'll always have Bloomington. We got our Yes back that night.

Are We Not Yes?

2008-12-03T21:09:00.003-06:00

Howe Squire and White
of Yes
Riverside Theater
Milwaukee, WI
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Section 1 LT, Row F, Seat 12
$75

Eight years ago, YesWorld, the official Yes website, polled its readers. They wanted to know what two songs we wanted to hear live. I voted for Tempus Fugit and Astral Traveler. I finally got to hear them on Saturday. The only catch was, I had to see Yes without Jon Anderson.

Yes has been my favorite band since I was a teenager, and they hadn't toured since 2004. I had seen several of the band members since then in other projects. If you're reading this, you probably know the story. This summer's scheduled tour was canceled due to Jon Anderson's illness. He's on doctor's orders to rest the rest of this year, and no one really knows if he'll be up to touring again. The remaining members of Yes got a new singer and organized a smaller fall tour. Roy and I cut back too, we're only going to three shows - Milwaukee, Bloomington, and here in St. Louis. The new singer is billed as an "understudy", until Jon is well enough to tour again. His name is Benoit David. They are also touring with a new keyboard player, but this is less controversial. It's Rick Wakeman's son Oliver Wakeman.

I've been excited about the shows, but with some trepidation. The setlist would include some different songs from their catalog, songs Jon didn't want to do. But what would the shows feel like? I count ABWH in my number of Yes shows. Would these feel like Yes shows or just like a bunch of band members playing Yes music? And who could replace Jon?

We had a real easy drive up to Milwaukee. It's seven hours away, but with lunch and rest stops, it ends up taking nine hours. I drove most of the way there. I knew what hotel Yes usually stayed at there, so we booked it for ourselves. It was expensive, and really nice, but we didn't see the band there. Maybe they're doing something cheaper.

We had tentative plans to meet up with our friend Kevin for dinner. Unfortately, he got there later and I was anxious to get to the theater, so we didn't have long to catch up. Kevin is such a big Jon Anderson fan, Roy was surprised he went to the show. But one of his patients won tickets to the show and gave them to him. We didn't see him afterwards, but I'd love to know what he thought of the show.

Our seats were in the left section, Steve Howe side, on the aisle across from the center section. This section started with row D, so our Row F seats were only three rows back from the stage. Our row had eight seats across, and all the other people looked young. The crowd had a good mix age-wise. We had an excellent view, even for a short person like me. I bought the tie dyed tour turtle t-shirt and decided to buy a poster after the show, so I wouldn't have to carry it around during the show. The concert started about 15 minutes late.

The setlist was:
Firebird Suite
Siberian Khatru
I've Seen All Good People
Tempus Fugit
Onward
Astral Traveler
Close To The Edge
Steve Howe solo
Clap
And You And I
Long Distance Runaround
The Fish
Machine Messiah
Aliens (Are Only Us From The Future)
Starship Trooper
Owner Of A Lonely Heart
Roundabout

The stage set was simple, but looked nice. It certainly looked better than the weird inflatables they used in the last tour in 2004. There were some white sheets draped above the drumset and the back of the stage. Different colored lights or patterns would bring different effects. Roy liked the particular shade of green they took on during Close to the Edge, just like the album cover. I paid attention to the lighting more at this show than at the others. Oliver Wakeman's keyboards were to the left of Chris, like the stage setup at SLO with only Alan in the backline, unlike other times when the keyboards would be in back behind Steve.

It took me the first few songs to get into it. I don't know if it's because I was tired from the long drive, rusty from seeing Yes, something to do with their performance, maybe apprehensive about the new singer. Roy and I had already listened to one of the shows from earlier on the tour, and Benoit can sing these songs well. But it wasn't until Tempus Fugit that the show became alive for me. That song lived up to all expectations. I was so happy to hear it. From the moment you tell me ... YES!!!!!

Steve Howe introduced Astral Traveler. He gave a slightly different introduction each night for it, but said he got to learn it when he first joined Yes, and that it was part of the setlist for The Yes Album tour. Alan had a drum solo during it. I love Alan, but the solo hurt the momentum of the song. It was nice to have him stand up from the drumset so everyone could see and applaud him at the end.

The song that really affected me was Close to the Edge. I've seen this song performed live over 20 times, and I don't usually get emotional about it. But this time, it was like reuniting with an old dear friend. The harmony vocals during I Get Up, I Get Down and the music in the end really got to me. I turned to Roy after this song and said this was really Yes. You wouldn't think deciding whether to count these shows in my "official live Yes count" would matter so much to me, but it did.

After this, Steve went into his solo. I've read reviews where the audience was rude during this part, but everyone here was paying attention and enjoying it. The next song was And You And I. I didn't like Benoit's singing on this one. It's funny because And You And I was one of those songs we played on Youtube when we first learned about Benoit, and I felt much better about a new singer after hearing it. But here, I didn't like the tone of his voice, like it was scratchy or something. I noticed the same thing during one of the long notes in the I Get Up, I Get Down portion of Close to the Edge. Roy noticed something funny during And You And I. Steve switches between guitars on this song, and one of the settings must not have been correct. He looked over to his roadie, who ran out on stage and stomped on one of the pedals, with just a second before Steve had to use that guitar. Steve wiped his hand across his forehead, as if to say "whew, just in time".

When the next song started, I got nervous. One of the songs that got me so excited about the setlist for this tour was Parallels. It should have been at the start after intermission. But now it was clear there was no intermission, and they were already into the next set. I've been thinking a lot about this in the last couple days. Because of my age, I never got to see Yes in the 70s or 80s. I'm so excited every time they bring in another song from that era. I've seen them play every song on the Going for the One album, except for this one. And they dropped it just a few days before I had seen it. If I had gone to one of the earlier shows, I probably would have seen it. I know these things happen and I usually try to see a show early in the tour just for this reason. But I didn't this time, because I didn't know what to expect with the new lineup and I wasn't excited enough about/didn't trust my favorite band enough to travel more to see an early show. So there's frustration mixed in with a bit of guilt as well. Yes did something, and I missed it.

I was strangely removed from the rest of the show. I loved hearing Machine Messiah, but the rest didn't have much impact for me. The Fish ended abruptly, and before we were sure it was over, the next song Aliens started, so we never got to applaud just for the Fish. Roy gave Aliens a standing ovation, to honor Chris in general for his spotlight pieces and to cheer them for doing a new song.

Steve introduced Starship Trooper. As the long instrumental end section was starting, Alan stood up from his drums. He led us into clapping and then used his drum sticks to motion us to stand up. Some people started doing the stage rush thing, running up the aisles to stand in front of the stage. I joined them. I love doing this, but I had to really. My whole view of the stage had been from looking across the empty aisle over to the stage. Now that it was growing full of people, it would block my view. I didn't want to leave Roy, but I secured my purse and merchandise bag and went up to the stage. I was in the second row of bodies.

This should have been so excited, but it wasn't. My view was partly blocked, but the weird thing was that I was just standing there. I usually bop around in my seat and I love to get the chance to stand up and dance at concerts, but here, I felt isolated. The performance of Owner in the encore didn't help. It felt perfunctory and I was just watching people around me being more excited. Maybe I was just tired from the long drive up to Milwaukee and it was catching up to me. Or maybe all the people around me were distracting me.

The woman in front of me right up at the stage decided to leave just before Roundabout, and she helped me move into her spot. I was now in the front row, in the aisle in front of Steve. This is where I really missed Jon. I don't know, if asked about this part of the concert, if I would consider this band Yes with the thrilling concert experience that implies. I talked to Roy about it afterwards, and he enjoyed it very much, but it didn't seem like Yes to him either, except for the Drama songs and Aliens. He had trouble getting past the fact that Benoit wasn't Jon. I think we needed this show to accept the new lineup. The next two shows we saw were so different in feel for both of us.

After the show, I bought the tour poster. We talked with a friend of Kevin's for a bit, and some annoying guy who talked like he knew everything, but didn't. I gave Roy our secret signal and we left to wait for autographs. The Riverside Theater has a back alley where the bands exit. A bunch of fans were waiting on the sidewalk, half a block away.

Alan walked right out to our group. He was by himself, no security or managers around, and signed autographs for us. He signed my poster, and I asked him if they could play Parallels in either of the next two shows. They had played it just four days earlier, so it unlikely, but not impossible for them to bring it back. I just wanted them to do it when I would be in the audience. Alan walked off by himself afterwards.

The band's van pulled into the alley. We followed it in, and I saw Benoit David and Oliver Wakeman sign a few autographs before security pushed us back to the sidewalk.

The crowd dwindled down, but we hung around longer and talked a while with another friend of Roy's, a very knowledgeable and opinionated drummer named Tony. He was a blast to talk to. He invited us to a after-show get together with some friends of his, but the place was way too smoky, so Roy and I went back to our hotel. People were telling us Yes usually stays in one of two hotels - the Pfister, where we were staying, and another one. I felt bad about spending so much on a hotel without getting the side benefit of bumping into the band there. We thought about going to the other place to see if they were there, but it was already midnight. We just had something to drink in our hotel lounge and took some time to wind down.

The next morning, we walked over to the other hotel. It was in the middle of renovations and looked like a dump. We saw a tour bus there. There wasn't really a lobby or reception area, but we went up to the top-floor revolving restaurant to take a look at the view of Milwaukee. It was getting close to check out time, so we took a cab back to our hotel and packed and got ready for the (relatively) short drive to Bloomington. It was already starting to flurry a bit.

One Talking Head

2008-10-19T21:14:00.002-05:00

David Byrne
Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno
Fox Theatre
St. Louis, MO
Saturday, October 18th, 2008
Section VIP3, Row L, Seat 107
$75

David Byrne came on stage to a standing ovation. Instead of starting with a song, he talked to us first. Hello, did any of you go to Obama's speech today? was the start of the concert. I yelled yeah and applauded even more. I saw quite a few people with Obama t-shirts and pins in the audience, so I knew I wasn't alone.

I first saw David Byrne live a couple years ago, and I enjoyed that concert a lot. I'm actually a bigger fan now. I went to that earlier Byrne show because Roy wanted to go. I liked the songs I knew from the Talking Heads, but I was only familiar with the songs I'd heard on the radio. I didn't start listening to current rock until after their heyday in the 80s, and I never went back into their catalog to discover them, like I had with so many other bands.

All that changed when Byrne played I Zimbra, from the Talking Heads' Fear of Music album. It was my first time hearing the song, and it immediately reminded me of King Crimson's Thela Hun Ginjeet. I know Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew each played with the Talking Heads prior to the 80s lineup of King Crimson. This is what led me to dig into Roy's Talking Heads albums, to listen for the influences and cross-pollination of sounds from this band to my beloved Discipline-era King Crimson. Fripp played on the studio version of I Zimbra, and Adrian Belew played on their next album and tour for Remain in Light. It makes me wonder who brought what to the table.

When we got to our seats, we started chatting with another fan sitting next to Roy. He was younger than me, and it seemed like he was the only fan in the group of three people he was with. Seemed excited to be talking music with us. We discovered we were all King Crimson fans, so we talked about them.

The last time we saw Byrne was at the Sheldon Theater, a small venue that's known for good sound and good sitelines. Every seat offers a good view, even for short people like me. This show was at the Fox, which is a really nice place. I've always been worried about sitting in the orchestra section on the floor there though. The floor isn't sloped enough, so I'm worried about how blocked my view of the stage will be. I used to always get tickets in the balcony, with its tiered rows. But last year, I got free tickets to Avenue Q; the seats were far back in the orchestra section and I could see fine. And we had such luck getting tickets for Return to Forever up close in the orchestra pit. When tickets went on sale for Byrne, I thought we should try for the floor and get the closest seats we could.

I'm heading back to the balcony next time. We bought tickets as part of the presale, and we ended up in Row L, about 17 rows back. Freakishly tall people sat in front of me. I could see part of the stage looking in between the heads and shoulders of the people in front of me. But they were like lovebirds, constantly leaning towards each other to whisper or do other stuff and block my limited view. Roy suggested I switch seats with him. Right then, the guy in front of me turned away from his girlfriend and turned to the guy to his right to whisper something, and started blocking my new view. I can't win.

After David Byrne took the stage and asked us about attending the Obama speech, he and his band started with a song from his new album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. This is an album he did with Brian Eno, another musician with a big connection to Robert Fripp. This whole tour was called Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno, focusing on the albums they did together and the first few Talking Heads albums which Eno produced. That's the making of a good setlist. Byrne also did something smart - making his new album available streaming on his website, so people would at least be familiar with all the new music.

The show was also very interesting visually. I remembered that the last time we saw Byrne, he and all his backing musicians wore brown and it kinda reminded me of UPS drivers' uniforms. This time, they were all wearing white. He had a large band with him, Byrne sang and played guitar, and he had a keyboard player, bassist, drummer, percussionist, and three backing vocalists, one of whom also played guitar. He also had three dancers with him. It wasn't like the dancing singer and the backup dancers that you'd see at pop concerts, but they were integrated into the stage performance. The dancers first came out during I Zimbra, and I think they added to the energy of the song. Sometimes, the oddity of seeing them on stage, and even David Byrne joining in with them for a few steps, gave the concert a sense of whimsy. It added to the fun of the show and took nothing away from the music. They must have done a lot of rehearsals, because it looked so natural. Of course I want to dance to this music. The only unfortunate thing is, with all this fun stuff going on on-stage, it was really distracting to have these people's heads in my way.

I'm cheating with the setlist here. I'm writing this up a month after the concert and reading a setlist from a review on the Riverfront Times webpage. After I Zimbra, Byrne played One Fine Day, another song from the new album. He dedicated it to November 4, election day, and that was the last political comment he made.

The complete setlist was:
Strange Overtones
I Zimbra
One Fine Day
Help Me Somebody
Houses in Motion
My Big Nurse
My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks)
Heaven
Never Thought
The River
Crosseyed and Painless
Life Is Long
Once in A Lifetime
Life During Wartime
I Feel My Stuff

Encore One:
Take Me to the River
The Great Curve

Encore Two:
Air
Burning Down the House
Everything That Happens

At some point in the middle of the show, the freakishly tall people in front of me all got up and left, probably to get a drink. They were gone for 4 or 5 songs. Some people in the audience stood up for Heaven, which gave it a bigger reaction than I thought it would. I'm not sure I liked the dancers on Life Is Long. They brought out rolling desk chairs and moved around on those. The song was a slow one and the movements seemed forced.

The people in front of me returned just as Once in a Lifetime started. Here, the whole audience reacted. Everyone on the floor stood up and we all danced along. We stood for the rest of the show. I wonder why it's acceptable to dance to this music, but people never want to join in dancing to Yes or King Crimson. They all move me, and it was fun to be a part of it here. I have no idea what was happening on stage at this point, but after a while, Roy pulled me over to his other side. The people further down on our row must have left and when we moved over, I could actually see between the standing bodies to get a view of the stage. I don't think the bad views would have frustrated me so much if I hadn't also been tired from such a long day. We left home for the Obama rally at 8 that morning, and while I did get to take a little nap in between the events, it was a very full day.

One song on the setlist was a surprise. Burning Down the House was one of the few Talking Heads songs I had been familiar with since I started watching MTV as a teenager and I always liked it. It wasn't from the Byrne/Eno oeuvre and I hadn't seen it listed in the setlists I'd seen for this tour. I don't think he did it the other time we saw him either. It was nice to see performed. The final song was another new, slower song Everything That Happens, which brought an end to the frenetic feeling in the audience. It kinda quieted us down.

I am so glad I went to this show. I was just exhausted when it was over, the results of a couple very full days. There was a Jackson Browne concert at the Fox the next night. Roy and I were both glad we hadn't decided to go to that one, to get a day of rest and recovery before the work week started again. Both times I've seen Byrne, I've been very impressed.

Change We Must (or A Lot of Talking Heads)

2008-10-19T20:55:00.003-05:00

Change We Need Rally
with Barack Obama

Under the Gateway Arch
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
St. Louis, MO
Saturday, October 19th, 2008

I don't normally talk about politics on this blog. I try to keep it work friendly. I have strong feelings on the topic, but I don't want to make people uncomfortable. That said, I'm proud of my beliefs. I think some people on the other side have been dangerous to our country. Not everyone, but some of them. Every vote on that side strengthens them.

I've been a lifelong Democrat. My parents are Democrats and I was raised that way, same as I was raised Jewish. What made me *own* it, strengthening my own convictions, was the year I spent student teaching. I had gone to public schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade, and then went on to get a math degree from an Ivy League university. I was going to be a math teacher. I student taught at a school in my city, in the same school district I attended. But the differences were staggering. Only a handful of students were going on to college. Many bright kids could have had the same education experiences that I did, if they had had the same examples that I did of education leading to a good future, a good support system, motivated students around them to provide positive peer pressure.

Some social education classes I took at the same time helped me see the issue as clearly as a math proof. This was a whole generation of kids we were failing to educate. Not based on their intelligence, or even their race, but on their neighborhoods. The affects of red-lining from forty years earlier was still affecting these kids. It's all tied together with white flight to the suburbs, suburban sprawl, decline of public transportation, increased gasoline needs, McMansions, inner city poverty...It's not that middle class whites need to move back to poor neighborhoods to "save" people, but that this mess was created by bankers, mortgage lenders, real estate agents playing to people's worst fears. I don't know the solution, but it's not going to undo itself by telling people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. It's still a civil rights issue. Aside from the recent economic problems, the biggest political issue for me is support for our nations' cities. It's tied in with fixing education, using infrastructure we already have, and tearing down both racial and economic segregation.

I agree with most of Obama's politics. But for me, the clincher is his experience in Chicago as a community organizer. Even as a campaigner, he's got the ability to organize all these volunteers into a lean operation, focusing their energy. I can't wait to see what good he can do with the whole country if we are smart enough to elect him.

I grew up in Philadelphia, and it seemed that a lot of people there understood that the issues of race, poverty, jobs, etc. were moral issues and more important than people's sex lives. It's different in Missouri, and that's been hard getting used to. I think people here are too far removed from it. Anyway, this is why I support Barack Obama and why Roy and I went to the rally in St. Louis yesterday.

I found out about the rally on Wednesday. The paper said that it was going to take place, but had no details. We weren't sure if it was just a rumor or not. On Friday, we found that it was definite. The gates would open shortly after 10am and the rally would start at noon.

We planned to take the Metrolink down to the Arch grounds. I was afraid the Metrolink trains would be packed with people, so I wanted to get there early. We left home at 8am and walked to the Metrolink station. At the Laclede's Landing stop, there was a guy with a loud speaker explaining where we'd need to go. Roy and I were going to have breakfast first before getting in line, but this was good information.

There was just one entrance to the rally. The Metrolink station was at 2nd and Washington, and everyone would have to walk a block over to Memorial and down another five blocks to Market to get onto the Arch grounds. Googlemaps says this is 0.4 miles. We walked up to the Lumiere Place casino to have breakfast at their buffet and walked back down 2nd Street. It was maybe 9:30am, and the line now went past the Metrolink station.

View Larger Map

We had to walk a few blocks' worth into the park to get to the end of the line, which went out by the parking lot and metrolink station and around Washington to Memorial. People were selling bootleg Obama pins and t-shirts. We chatted with the couple in front of us and the line moved quickly. Once we got past the metal detectors, we followed the corralled pathways down to an open area. The pathways went towards the Arch on the south side, and then turned north a few hundred feet before the Arch. It let us through to an open area. Later on, as more people were let in, I think the north-south running path was used as a barricade. There were a lot of people behind us, but our area never got too crowded.

I've been to an event before at the Arch where the stage was down at Sullivan Boulevard, east of the Arch and right by the river, and the steps leading up to Arch formed a natural amphitheater. People could sit on the steps and have a tiered view of the concert. I hoped this would be the case this time, so there'd be a better view of Obama. Not this time. The stage was just on the west of the steps.

At first, we tried to get a spot in the center. Roy mentioned the band playing, and I couldn't even tell there were people on a stage. We settled on a spot on the far north side of the closed-in area. There was a fenced off pathway in front of us, so I wasn't surrounded by people taller than me. We had a side view of the band. I was able to see everyone speaking in profile. I think we were 100-150 feet away from the stage. I was in the de facto second row of our section, behind the people right up at the fence. We're still trying to figure out who the band was. They played a lot of R&B classics, and people were singing along and dancing during the wait. Roy thinks it was a quite famous band, Earth Wind and Fire, but we missed their introduction and haven't been able to confirm that.

I was chatting with the woman next to me, who had her daughter with her, a little girl who looked to be two or three years old. The girl looked bored, and I tried to amuse her, watching her making faces and copying them back. The loud speaker played songs like Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising" and U2's "It's a Beautiful Day". It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the 60s. I brought a jacket, but didn't need it. When the breeze died down, it got kind of warm. Volunteers were passing out free bottled water, for which I was grateful. I even got a little sunburn.

I remember looking back at the crowd behind me. At some point, the organizers must have closed down the one-person-at-a-time metal detectors and the narrow pathways. We just saw huge amounts of people walking down the center of the park. I don't know how far back they went, but it was just a sea of people behind us.

I read that the rally was supposed to start at noon, but the program began around 11. There was a whole array of speakers. I don't remember who went on first, but it was:

Robin Carnahan, the secretary of state of Missouri, talking to the first time voters in the crowd and telling them what to expect
Niko Smith, the American Idol guy, singing the National Anthem. I've never watched American Idol, but I guess I've seen one of them now
Lacy Clay, a congressman in the St. Louis area
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the Olympic track star
Russ Carnhan, another congressman
Jay Nixon, Missouri attorney general running for governor
Francis Slay, mayor of St. Louis, who got booed
Claire McCaskill, senator of Missouri, who introduced...

...not Barack Obama, but Keenan Morris. He was introduced as a math teacher from a city charter school. The guy actually did a good job speaking in front of the large crowd. He had a degree in engineering but became a teacher instead. He had to supplement his income by taking a part-time job. I feel guilty when I hear stories like this, that I'm not doing enough. I never did become a math teacher, after my experiences student teaching. I left grad school before getting my certification or MSEd. I did work for the next few years as a tutor, working one-on-one with students to help them outside of their classrooms. I got so much out of helping students. I took a corporate job when I moved to Missouri and I feel like I should continue to volunteer. But my time off work is so filled up with cooking and exercise to try to keep healthy and lose weight. Even cutting back on the exercise to take some evening classes affected my weight. I can't see making a long commitment right now.

The math teacher finished his talk. My 100,000 new friends and I started chanting for Obama. It was such a relief to talk to new people and to know you're on the same page politically. Not that we all agree on everything, but we agree on what matters most to us. It made for a friendly crowd.

Barack Obama came to the stage looking casual. He was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a tie. Most of the people before him had been wearing suits. His speech contained a lot of talking points I'd already heard on the debates or in commercials, but it was electrifying to hear it in a setting like this. Being able to cheer and hear all these people cheering with me. I don't feel like such an outsider in Missouri anymore.

Obama's speech focused on the middle class, how he's going to lower taxes for people like teachers, health care, housing, education, and college. He also spoke about folksy stuff like a diner not having sweet potato pie that made him seem a little more approachable. The crux of the speech was this message: "Because if we’ve learned anything from this economic crisis, it’s that we’re all connected; we’re all in this together; and we will rise or fall as one nation – as one people." I couldn't agree more.

I knew there was a large crowd in attendance, but I didn't realize yet that it was the biggest for Obama. I am so proud of St. Louis for that. I think a lot had to do with the fact that it was on a Saturday during the day, the weather was so nice, and it was a convenient location. But it mostly had to do with Barack Obama's message. I feel like I was a part of history.

After the rally, we walked back to the Metrolink station. There was a long line, easily an hour before we'd get on a train. I joked to Roy that it was only a 7 mile walk home. We decided to have lunch downtown and take the train afterwards. The restaurants in Laclede's Landing were already packed, but we walked downtown and found a hotel restaurant on Washington. We caught the train home after that. It was the Shrewsbury line, which doesn't stop at Delmar. But we live close to both lines, it would still be about a mile walk home afterwards. We got home around 4pm. I didn't think we'd be away from home for eight hours for this rally. We still had the David Byrne concert at the Fox Theater that night, so we both decided to take a nap. I didn't want to be exhausted for the night's concert.

Comedian Steven Wright

2008-10-19T20:47:00.001-05:00

Steven Wright
Lumiere Theater at Lumiere Place
St. Louis, MO
Friday, October 17, 2008
General Admission
$22.50

I've always liked Steven Wright, ever since a teacher showed a video of him in high school. I don't see many comedians live, but Roy and I decided to go a few days beforehand. This was also my first time going to the new Lumiere Place casino. We had dinner at the Burger Bar there.

Wright was funny. He's famous for deadpan one-liners like "If Miles Davis were in Europe, would people call him Kilometers?" I talked to Roy about it after the show, and we were both feeling that even though the one-liners kept us laughing, we were worried it would get boring. Wisely, Wright broke up the one-liners with some humorous songs. My favorite thing of the night was Wright playing a song on guitar that he said he wrote when he was three. It was the kitten song.

I'm still giggling over it. Here kitty, here kitty. I told Roy that the musical segment is why I had to include this show in my blog, even though it's not strictly a concert.

The show lasted an hour and a half, which was a good length for a one-man comedy performance. We both laughed a lot.

Lindsey Buckingham

2008-10-19T18:55:00.001-05:00

Lindsey Buckingham
The Pageant
St. Louis, MO
Monday September 29, 2008
Section Balcony-Right, Row A, Seat 10
$36.50

I'm using this entry as a place-holder. I plan on writing more about the show in the future.

This was Roy's and my second time seeing Lindsey Buckingham in a solo performance. His strength is his arrangements, all of the songs come across fully realized with nice harmonies. Roy described the performance as honest. To me, the vibe of the show was not what you'd imagine seeing someone who was a rock star for the past 30 years. It was more like Buckingham was a journeyman singer-songwriter still trying to make it and get recognition. Even he called his solo material "more to the left" than his work with Fleetwood Mac and he expressed amazement that the record company wanted to release a single from his new album.

From our seats, we were on the balcony, way over to the right. I could see the front-line musicians well, but I couldn't see the drummer at all. During the introductions, I was surprised to find out the drummer was percussionist Walfredo Reyes Jr. whom I had previously seen on the Traffic reunion tour in 1994. He also played on one of my favorite albums of the 2000s, Steve Winwood's About Time.

Robert Plant and the Queen of Everything

2008-10-16T21:15:00.007-05:00

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Fox Theatre
St. Louis, MO
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
Box T, Table 1, Seat 1
$55

I've always liked Led Zeppelin, and I've managed to see Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones in concert over the years. Never got around to seeing Robert Plant. I was intrigued when he did an album with Alison Krauss and moreso when he put off touring with a reunited Led Zeppelin so he could tour with her. Roy and I were so happy that they booked a date for the Fox Theater in St. Louis. This is a show I'd like to see. It's not a style of music I really love - I'm going to sound uneducated here and describe it as "old-timey" - but it was a chance to see a musical legend doing something he is clearly happy about in a nice venue. And I enjoyed seeing Alison Krauss last year at the Crossroads Guitar Festival too. We bought their album Raising Sand, so we'd be familiar with the material.

The concert was originally supposed to take place on Thursday, June 19th. It was postponed until September. It was really a bad night for me to be going to a concert. At work, we were having a week long conference. The day of the show, a coworker and I were giving presentations lasting almost the whole day. I figured I'd be exhausted and just want to crawl into bed afterwards to recover. If I had to go to a concert, I'd want something loud and upbeat. I was worried I wouldn't be in the right mood for this performance.

The company I work for owns one of the corporate boxes at the Fox. It's an employee perk that we're allowed to buy tickets for it at the same price as general orchestra seats. The box holds eight people, and I called our recreation office early enough to reserve seats for Roy and me. The boxes are in their own level, just underneath the mezzanine. Having tickets in the Fox Club Box Seats also opens up other Fox Club amenities. We were able to have dinner in the Fox Club Dining Room, great food in a setting that overlooks the lobby.

The box seats have waiter service, so theoretically, I wouldn't have to face the crowds in the lobby. However, I wanted to buy a program. It was really nice, a hard bound book, even though it cost $40. While I was waiting in line, the guy in front of me told me I looked like I didn't want to be there. It had been am upsetting day at work, and it still showed on my face. I chatted with him a bit, no, I really did want to be there, I promise. He and his brother had driven in from Iowa for the show. I think he was expecting a lot of Led Zeppelin material, I wonder what he thought of the show. I still wondered if I were in the right mood for it.

I shouldn't have worried. The show was captivating.

The opening act was a singer named Sharon Little. We liked the set well enough, but I was anxious to hear the headliners.

The pacing of the show worked really well. Plant and Krauss started out sharing vocals on their first song. They did a few songs like this, including a quite reworked Black Dog. Then, they each did some songs with solo vocals.

Robert Plant was a great frontman. He was entertaining, witty, charismatic and regal. He started out by apologizing to the audience for the delayed show, "so sorry, so very Englishly sorry" and described his singing partner Alison Krauss as "the Queen of Everything". I thought his voice sounded great, but he was mostly singing at the lower end of his register.

I wish our seats were close enough to really see both Plant and Krauss. I don't usually like dealing with binoculars at concerts, but I would have liked them for this one. I thought about buying a pair at the Fox, but they were selling cheap plastic ones. The vendor told me to look through them before buying, and it was blurry. Maybe I should buy a pair for the future.

As I mentioned before, the album Plant and Krauss did together, Raising Sand, isn't a style of music I know much about. It was produced by T-Bone Burnett, and like some of his other work, consists of songs with a pre-rock era Americana feel. One of the songs is from the Everly Brothers.

There were three highlights for me, all in a row. They really packed a punch. First was a song that Alison Krauss started singing a capella. For the second verse, Plant and some of the other musicians came back on stage to sing harmony vocals. It sounded beautiful!

Next, Plant announced they were going to do a Townes Van Zandt song. The song started off slow but built with intensity as it went on. I suddenly realized that this "old timey" backing band was playing with the intensity of Led Zeppelin. It felt so natural as the song progressed.

The third song that got to me was the Battle of Evermore. I had read that they were going to play this one, and it seemed like a great idea. The original version had Sandy Denny on vocals, and Alison Krauss certainly has the voice to pull it off. It's definitely the lighter side of Led Zeppelin and it fit in well with the rest of the material without being reworked. Hearing it just gave me tingles.

The concert put me mentally in a much better place. I needed it, because I got home after 11, and had to be at work the next day at 7 for another day of the conference.

Lord of the Rings Symphony

2008-10-14T21:27:00.001-05:00

Lord of the Rings Symphony
Ludwig Wicki, conductor
Powell Hall
St. Louis, MO
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Dress Circle Box X, Seat 3
$65

Roy is a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings story. He has the books in the trilogy, other books Tolkien wrote about Middle Earth, books about the series, the radio series, the DVDs, the special edition DVDs. It was a no-brainer that we'd see the score performed live by the St. Louis Symphony. Me? I liked the movies well enough, but never got past reading The Hobbit. It was kind of exciting to be heading to Powell Hall. This was my first time there, even though I've lived in St. Louis for eight years now. I guess I'm not as cultured as I think.

We got lucky with the tickets. Our seats were in the Dress Circle level, which is the equivalent of front row balcony. It provided an excellent view of all the musicians. Wonderful sound as well. The seats in this section were real chairs too, with lots of leg room and elbow room. Very comfortable.

I had some reservations about this performance coming into it. A movie score is designed to fit what's being shown on screen. Something that's a great score might not work well on its own. And the three movies combined are something like twelve hours long. Different bits of the score were put together to make up this two hour program. They would be showing visuals along with the music, but I still wondered if I'd get bored.

It was such a spectacle. In addition to the orchestra, there was a boys' choir, a choir of adults, solo vocalists. The program notes list well over 100 people. The visuals were illustrations by artists Alan Lee and John Howe.

I'm going to sound so unrefined here, but I got bored. The music was supposed to follow the order of the books, and the artwork was supposed to help. I couldn't follow it at all after the beginning section. Maybe I don't know the story well enough. The artwork was often too abstract for me to follow - pictures of individual characters rather than scenes. I liked the second half better than the first. I really liked the featured vocal soloists. Kaitlyn Lusk, the featured soprano, had a beautiful voice and the boy soprano did a good job too.

Everyone else in the theater loved it, and gave it a long standing ovation. I wasn't disappointed; I figured I wouldn't get much out of two hours of scenery music, no matter how well executed it was. It was a nice evening to get dressed up and go to a fancy venue and nice for Roy to get to add another LOTR event to his fan experience.

ProgDay 2008 Day 2

2008-10-04T21:59:00.003-05:00

ProgDay Day 2
Storybook Farm
Chatham County (Chapel Hill), NC
Sunday, August 31, 2008
General Admission

The first day of ProgDay this year had been alright, you know, it was good to see everyone and be at Storybook Farm again, none of the bands really excited me live. Day 2 however, was one of my all-time favorite festival days.

The day started out well. It was Roy's and my sixth anniversary. We actually got married at ProgDay in 2002, so our anniversary falls on or near the festival. People come up to us all weekend to wish us a happy anniversary. It's sweet. Anyway, we went to Foster's Market for a nice breakfast and then we drove down to Storybook Farm.

We set our chairs up in the second row of people. We were in the sun at first, but after noon, the sun shifted and we'd be in the shade for most of the day. This day's lineup was different than usual. There were five bands playing, and some bands were playing very short sets - less than an hour.

The first band, Cheer Accident, was great for a festival. They had so many different sounds, from more traditional songs to noise, that never got same-y sounding. They were interesting to watch too, with a lot of visual elements too. At one point a band member who wasn't playing on a particular song did a goofy dance on stage to the music. They looked like they were having fun, and they kept my interest the whole time. At first, I was worried the morning ProgDay crowd was too sedate for them. Then at the end of one song, they stopped playing but one note still lingered on. After the note died down, we all applauded. I hoped they could tell that we were really *listening*.

The next band Pinnacle, I didn't know anything about. They were one of the bands with a 45 minute slot. They were one of the big surprises of the festival for me. Nothing hugely special, but they were a power trio with vocals and harmonies. The bass player played upfront melodic lines, and that reminded me of Yes. I like things that remind me of Yes. They played with a lot of enthusiasm. It was a nice change of pace from some of the heavier or more experimental bands. I'm sure the short set helped, because I never felt like they wore out their welcome. They got to do an encore, and it was a cover of Peter Gabriel's Here Comes the Flood.

I grabbed lunch after Pinnacle's set. The next band was Canvas Solaris, a prog metal band. This type of music normally leaves me cold, but their MP3 samples showed some dynamics to their sound. I was sitting under the pavilion chatting with Richard and Mike, and they both left to watch the band, so I did too. This was the one band that day that didn't too much for me. The band's speed and heaviness just made it easier for me to zone out. I think I sat there by the stage for their entire set, but I wasn't really paying attention. Their set was also just 45 minutes, at their request. I heard different stories, that that's all the music they had prepared or that they notice the audience starting to zone out around then.

The next band was one I was really looking forward to, Mirthandir. I should explain that when I started going to festivals, Roy would buy CDs from all the bands' playing and I'd listen to those. Now, I'm not keeping up with the scene and I've gotten lazy. I might not even listen to MP3 samples beforehand, but Roy knows my tastes. If he tells me he thinks I'll like a particular band, he's usually right. Mirthrandir was a real 1970s symphonic progressive rock band that recorded an album that Roy considers a lost classic. He also said they'd remind me of Yes. That's always a good thing. Just before they started, it started to ever so lightly rain. I went to the car and got my raincoat this time.

I thought Mirthrandir were great. The thing that reminded me of Yes was their rhythms. Too many American bands seem to use a regular blues based backing to their music, but Mirthrandir's rhythms just skipped along. I'll mercilessly tease bands if I think they're influenced too much by Yes (like, when I can recognize what song they're trying to copy) but little parts like what Mirthrandir did made me happy. I thought they were a band that could have had a hit like Roundabout - something that found a mass audience but still was true to their sound. We recognized one guy in the band as having played ProgDay last year with the band Advent.

And then, here comes the flood. About halfway through their set, it started to rain. I have this cute little rainhat with a brim to keep water off my face and glasses. I use that at outdoor concerts. I put it on and my raincoat as well. Like the day before, most people moved undercover, either back to their tents or to the pavilion. Roadies covered the speakers and monitors with tarps. Sitting out there, you almost don't notice how much heavier the rain is getting. It wasn't until I looked through the stage to the back side of it and saw the rain coming down hard there.

There were only about six people left sitting in the audience in front of the band. The atmosphere got this epic quality to it, as if we were die-hard fans willing to whatever it takes for this band. And the band too, for playing through the distractions of the audience running to take shelter and the roadies moving around on stage. It was a special moment and it elevated the excitement level of sitting there and getting soaked.

Here's a picture that Debbie Sears took of the band. You almost can't see me. I'm wearing a black raincoat, sitting in a pink chair on the left. Roy's next to me with his umbrella up. Just this little group of people staying close by the stage.

During one song, we heard some thunder. Now a rainstorm, ProgDay can handle, but you don't want to play around with lightning. One of the stagehands came out and had the band stop in the middle of a song. Quite a few people bring their laptops to ProgDay and blog throughout the day. They asked if someone could check the weather reports to see if a thunderstorm was moving in. It looked like we were safe, so Mirthrandir continued. They picked up their song right where they had to stop it before.

After their performance, I went to the pavilion to get out of the rain. Bought a snack to tide me over to dinner. One thing I didn't do was move my chair out of the rain, or at least turn it over. A big pool of water was in my seat. Even though the rain eventually stopped and I tried to dry it off first, I got soaked all the way through.

The final band was Secret Oyster, another band from the 1970s that broke up a long time ago and recently reunited. They were a jazz fusion band, and were even on a major record label. The experience showed. Their polish, stage presence, presentation of music, it was all miles ahead of any other band at the festival this year. But it was fun and sincere too and the music was just wonderful. It was one of the strongest performances at a festival that I've seen. They actually go called back fo a second encore - some of the band members had already wandered away from the stage and had to come back to play some more.

I think I'm going to call Mirthrandir my favorite band at the festival this year, and Secret Oyster second. The festival ended with Steve Sly, the organizer, coming up and giving credits to all the volunteers who made ProgDay happen this year. Then, at the very end, Geoff Lodgson, one of the stagehands, came to the microphone to wish Roy and me a happy anniversary. A group of people behind us applauded. I'm not even sure who they all were, but it's so nice to be a part of this community.

I never really want the festival to end. After the show, Gerhard came over. He wanted to introduce us to his new girlfriend. A group of us stayed around and chatted for over an hour. We ended up not going out to dinner with anyone else, but Roy pointed out later that this was very similar. A group of friends catching up with a low key conversation. It's just what we would be doing waiting for the food to come. It's just nice to have this time together.

Roy and I went back to the hotel. By this point, we both wanted dinner quickly. There's an Outback in the hotel parking lot, so that was it. Roy got there first, in case there was a wait, and I went to the hotel room to put on some warm dry clothing. There's a big party by the hotel pool every year. I'm not much of a party person, but we checked in when we got back from dinner. It was still small and low-key and we knew everyone, so we hung out a while and talked. Once more people came, between the smoke and too many conversations going on at once, we said our goodbyes and went up to our room. That was the end of another fun ProgDay.

ProgDay 2008 Day 1

2008-10-04T20:22:00.005-05:00

ProgDay Day 1
Storybook Farm
Chatham County (Chapel Hill), NC
Saturday, August 30, 2008
General Admission
Patron Pass: $140

Welcome to my review of ProgDay, otherwise known as the 12th edition of Rhea versus the heat. I wrote up my general thoughts on ProgDay here last year and why it's so special among all the various progressive rock festivals.

Roy and I flew into Chapel Hill on Friday afternoon. We met another ProgDay person just as we were checking into the hotel. Mike was from the band Kinetic Element and was playing at the preshow that night. We chatted for a bit and he hoped we would go to the Local 506 for the preshow. We hadn't decided yet, but on the whole, I don't like going to preshows. It can make for a late night, and I like being refreshed for the festival itself. Plus, I like this area and there are better things to do than hang out in a smoky club. We ended up going to downtown Chapel Hill for dinner and looking around at the shops. Ironically, we walked right past the Local 506, but we were back at the hotel by the time the bands started.

On Saturday morning, we had breakfast and headed off to Storybook Farm. This is the first time in years that I didn't volunteer for any shifts. I like doing the early morning gate duty, talking to everyone as they arrive. Everyone's always so excited. I wanted to see the opening bands each day this time, so I took the year off. We did buy Patron passes to help out the fest. I always buy my ProgDay tickets right when they go on sale. Having low numbers on my tickets doesn't really mean anything. But Debbie needed to check off what tickets we were and it was fun to yell out that we were #1 and 2.

Roy and I set up our chairs in our usual spot, about ten feet from the stage. It was overcast, so it didn't feel too hot. Von Frickle were the first band. They are an instrumental band, with two guitarists, bassist, and drummer. What was far more exotic was how the looked. All four of them were dressed in white jumpsuits, with white head coverings and white masks. Roy called them "The White Man Group". Some people I talked to afterwards commented that the costumes pushed them to focus more on the music, since they couldn't watch the performer's facial expressions. I was the opposite; I watched for any bit of individuality like small hand gestures. The band had a good mix of sounds, some of the heavier bits were broken up by some more melodic stuff. I swear I heard a little of King Crimson's Vrooom being quoted. I enjoyed their set, but I had had enough after the first hour. Their set lasted about 90 minutes, and I was ready for them to be over.

I spent some time at ProgDay seeing how everyone else experiences the festival. Since Roy and I fly there, we can't bring along a tent and cooler. I wonder what it would be like to spend the whole festival sitting further back, always in the shade and comfortable, but with more distractions. Is the music more of a background to the whole festival atmosphere? I prefer to sit closer and really focus on the bands when I want to, and then escape to the shade when I need a break. Even getting our chairs was kind of ridiculous for us this year - it was actually cheaper to buy new collapsible lawn chairs at Kroger than to bring our own. The new ones were 2 for $10 and we would have had to check ours in for $15 each way on our flight. It seems like a waste to buy new ones when we have perfectly good lawn chairs at home.

I talked to a few friends during the next break. Richard and I talked about Yes, and then a little bit later, Cherry, Fred and I talked about the same thing. I'm writing this so far after the fact that the rumor has been confirmed. But at the time, it was just a rumor that they were going to tour without Jon Anderson, and that they were getting a singer from a tribute band. I have mixed feelings about this. I love the album Drama that they did without Jon, but it was much easier for me to accept an album that came out years before I had become a fan. This is happening now. So much energy at a Yes concert is focused on Jon. I wonder what the vibe would be like without him. I hoped they'd get someone who can really hit his notes, even if the singer doesn't have the same vocal qualities as Jon. I don't blame them at all for wanting to continue. But I won't be going to five shows and paying scalper's prices for tickets like I had planned to for the canceled summer tour.

The next band is one that Roy and I were both looking forward to. Holding Pattern was one of the first bands Roy got into in the early 90s, when he first got on-line and discovered a lot of lesser known or new prog bands. I had only heard their MP3s on the ProgDay website, but I liked it. Holding Pattern was a guitar/bass/drum trio led by the well-regarded guitarist Tony Spada.

Roy and I went back to our chairs to watch this set. It was a getting sunny out, and I didn't feel like dealing with the heat. The roof of the stage provides some shade to the people right in front. There was a "front row" of lawn chairs taking advantage of it. I sat on the grass behind them. The ground was cool, and I was protected by the shade so it was still pleasant sitting outside.

Pleasant is about all I can say for Holding Pattern. Their music sounded nice, but the performance didn't have a lot of energy. Lots of guitar soloing without a lot of structure. When Roy came over and told me he was ready for lunch, I joined him. That's the beauty of ProgDay - we can walk to the covered pavilion and eat and still be able to hear the music.

Next up was Abigail's Ghost, the only band with vocals the whole day. They weren't really proggy; to me they sounded more like modern alternative rock with some keyboards. I've heard them being compared to Porcupine Tree, but they only sounded like Porky's less proggy material. Anyway, it was a good change of pace to hear real songs. I've served on the band committee at ProgDay in the past and I know how hard it is to put a lineup together of bands that people will like and who also will want to play the festival. Still, it seems like traditional symphonic prog and song-based arty rock music haven't gotten enough representation. And, I haven't always enjoyed all their choices in these styles. But Abigail's Ghost was good music, performed with a lot of enthusiasm.

While I was getting lunch, some people moved their chairs to the spot where I had been sitting. I didn't put anything down to hold it. I moved my chair to an open spot in the shade, but further to the side near the speakers. About halfway through Abigail's Ghost's set, I was ready for a break. Storybook Farm has a big line of trees on its western perimeter. As the day goes on, they provide some shade on the lawn near the edge of the field. I went over there, spread my sweatshirt out like a blanket, and lay down on the grass to read and listen to music. And to duck from frisbees.

I was really looking forward to the last band of the day, Ain Soph. Like the rest of the bands that day, I wasn't familiar with their material, but I knew their reputation and Roy thought I'd like them a lot. Descriptions like "Camel-esque" and "Canterbury". I've been struggling with what to say here, part of the reason my blogging is so far behind. I don't want to sound like I didn't enjoy them. I liked Ain Soph's music, but the performance was so laid back. I didn't really connect with them. Roy and I thought maybe our expectations were too high.

Anyway, during Ain Soph's performance, it started to rain. I brought my raincoat with me, but it was in the car. I just threw my sweatshirt around my shoulders and put the hood on. (I had an umbrella, but I used it to keep my stuff dry. Lots of places don't let you open umbrellas because they block the view of the people behind you.) Ain Soph announced their last song. Roy ended up going to the pavilion for shelter from the rain. I didn't really notice how heavy it got until after the performance was over. He brought the car up to the pavilion and we loaded our chairs and other stuff in.

I was thinking at first that Ain Soph had managed to finish their set. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. They had a lengthy encore planned. This was their first show ever in the United States, and I think they had played Baja Prog, so their second in North America. It's too bad they couldn't play a complete set. Honestly, it was just as well for me.

We didn't have plans for dinner with anyone. This is really unusual for ProgDay, but our usual group of friends either didn't come this year or had other plans. Roy and I went to the Japanese Steak Huose by the hotel. We talked to some other people in the lobby whom we recognized from the festival, but we didn't sit at the table with anyone we knew. Still, it was a fun dinner.