ASIA!!!!!
Holy crap! I saw Asia in concert! And not just any concert, the original line up of Carl Palmer, drumming god of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, John Wetton, bassist/singer of King Crimson fame, also worked with Roxy Music among others, Steve Howe, legendary guitarist of phenomenal group Yes, and Geoff Downes, keyboardest of The Buggles (Video Killed the Radio Star). And guess what? I saw them in a bar! Like 100 people there! Freakin' awesome.
For those of you who don't know much about Asia (which, sadly, is probably most of you), they were a phenominally successful pop band in the early 80s. Their most popular song was "In The Heat of the Moment". The band was suprising, because they all, with the exception of Downes, came from noted progressive rock bands, not a genre known for scoring top hits. However, Asia songs tend to have simple, powerful, and catchy choruses which had broad pop appeal (6 of the 9 songs on their debut album scored on the top charts), backed up by skilled and often difficult instrumental portions, which appealed to their previous fan bases. They were so successful, in fact, that their debut album stayed at an unheard of 9 weeks at the #1 spot on Billboard!
Anyways, they're a pretty cool band, but all of the members have been pretty busy with their other projects, until they got back together for the 25th anniversary. For me, it was awesome seeing some of my musical idols (Palmer especially), performing in such an intimate environment. However, it was sad seeing that I was the only one there under 40, except for the kids that were brought by their parents. Why is it that progressive, innovative, and boundary-pushing music in rock and roll is no longer popular? Why does everyone want their rock to be punk'd, simple and short? And even within the current progressive community, musicians are always trying to find "their sound", never trying to emulate the masters first. I hope that punk and disco (disco, especially) have not really *killed* rock, but have only silenced it for a generation.
Holy crap! I saw Asia in concert! And not just any concert, the original line up of Carl Palmer, drumming god of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, John Wetton, bassist/singer of King Crimson fame, also worked with Roxy Music among others, Steve Howe, legendary guitarist of phenomenal group Yes, and Geoff Downes, keyboardest of The Buggles (Video Killed the Radio Star). And guess what? I saw them in a bar! Like 100 people there! Freakin' awesome.
For those of you who don't know much about Asia (which, sadly, is probably most of you), they were a phenominally successful pop band in the early 80s. Their most popular song was "In The Heat of the Moment". The band was suprising, because they all, with the exception of Downes, came from noted progressive rock bands, not a genre known for scoring top hits. However, Asia songs tend to have simple, powerful, and catchy choruses which had broad pop appeal (6 of the 9 songs on their debut album scored on the top charts), backed up by skilled and often difficult instrumental portions, which appealed to their previous fan bases. They were so successful, in fact, that their debut album stayed at an unheard of 9 weeks at the #1 spot on Billboard!
Anyways, they're a pretty cool band, but all of the members have been pretty busy with their other projects, until they got back together for the 25th anniversary. For me, it was awesome seeing some of my musical idols (Palmer especially), performing in such an intimate environment. However, it was sad seeing that I was the only one there under 40, except for the kids that were brought by their parents. Why is it that progressive, innovative, and boundary-pushing music in rock and roll is no longer popular? Why does everyone want their rock to be punk'd, simple and short? And even within the current progressive community, musicians are always trying to find "their sound", never trying to emulate the masters first. I hope that punk and disco (disco, especially) have not really *killed* rock, but have only silenced it for a generation.
VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
junkyardangel:
I didn't read the part about seeing them in a bar...that is cool, I have to say. WHERE??
clio:
