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While my 13 year old son and I were walking around downtown Raleigh this past Tuesday evening, it was interesting to see the huge crowd of people heading for the Raleigh Amphitheater to see Maroon 5. We were headed in the opposite (less crowded) direction to see and hear classic 80′s pop/prog at its finest. That’s right, Asia in concert at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium (Progress Energy Center).

Yes, I admit that it took a bit of convincing to get the 13 year old to agree to come with me and that’s understandable. I mean, these guys aren’t spring chickens by any means and are more likely to appear on the cover of AARP than Rolling Stone magazine. But come on, John Wetton, Carl Palmer, Geoff Downes and Steve Howe are legends of 70′s prog rock! And this was the FIRST time they’ve come to Raleigh so I just had to go to show my support as well as educate the young one on how *real rock musicians* play live.

And fortunately Asia did not disappoint. Yes, the members of Asia all look like your average “grandpa” but they can still ROCK. Wetton’s voice sounds stronger than ever – even singing the majority of the old 80′s tunes in their original key. Howe still amazes on the guitar. Downes has reduced the size of his keyboard rig but can still get those signature synths sounds we all know and love. And as for Palmer – man, he’s still a monster behind that double-bass drum kit. Yes, Palmer still has issues with tempo but when you’re there in the audience being pummeled by the mammoth wall of sound that the four of them create, tempo can blissfully be ignored.

highlights for me included: Palmer’s requisite drum solo – definitely worth the price of admission alone, “Holy War”, the unplugged version of “Don’t Cry”, “Time Again” and “Sole Survivor”.

There were a few noticeable rough patches though. Wetton had a hard time remembering the words to “Days Like These” and had to use a prompter. and Howe fudged the signature riff during “Heat of the Moment”. But man, I still enjoyed the show regardless.

As for my 13 year old – he gave me a thumbs up at the end of the night and I’ll accept that since he basically went along to please his old man. Hopefully concerts like this one will instill in him a reference point for what great musicianship is all about. It’s sad to think about but this level of musicianship may not be around when my son gets to be my age.

other random thoughts about the show:
- I wonder what they’re using to flesh out the harmonies during the big choruses especially since Howe and Palmer don’t sing. I suspect some real-time vocal harmonizer device of some sort.

- it was disappointing to see that the 2200 seat auditorium was a little over half full. I guess the concert promoter overestimated what Asia would draw here in Raleigh. It’s not the band’s fault since they don’t decide on the venues. but hopefully the promoter didn’t take too much of a hit for this gig.

- that being said, I like Memorial auditorium (except for the small bathrooms). The seats are nice, the staff is laidback and the section near the stage has plenty of room to move around.

- Geoff Downes didn’t have his keytar on this tour. I miss it.

- love the deep bass sound Wetton was getting with those Moog Taurus 3 bass pedals. it shook the building whenever it was used. nice!!

- Steve Howe had a Line6 Variax on a stand for the sitar sound. I personally didn’t think it was worth the trouble. the variax didn’t sound all that great. maybe a mix issue?

- and kudos to the band for including a healthy chunk of their new songs in the set list. I’m sure it’s easier just to rely on old favorites but the new stuff held their own. The set included 4 from Omega and 2 from Phoenix.

retroGrade: A

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While in downtown Raleigh on business, I took this snapshot of Raleigh’s new downtown outdoor concert venue. As you can see, it’s no where near finished. They’ve got lots to do before the June 4th opening with the Connells.

Plus they don’t even have an official name yet. Well, for now it’s called the Raleigh Amphitheater. But the city is waiting for the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission to approve the naming of the venue as “Bud Light Amphitheater”. Apparently there’s a state law that prohibits alcoholic beverages as part of the name of a public venue. So, hopefully they can get that worked out soon.

Anyway, here are the upcoming acts scheduled for The Raleigh “Bud Light” Amphitheater:

04 June 2010 – The Connell, I Was Totally Destroying It, The Small Ponds
06 June 2010 – Backstreet Boys
23 July 2010 – Honda Civic Tour – Paramore, Tegan and Sara, New Found Glory
25 July 2010 – Carnival of Madness – Shinedown, Chevelle, Puddle of Mudd
28 July 2010 – Legalize It Tour – Cypress Hill, Collie Buddz
30 July 2010 – Chelsea Handler
09 August 2010 – Goo Goo Dolls, Switchfoot
10 August 2010 – O.A.R., Citizen Cope
13 August 2010 – Umphrey’s McGee, Rebelution
14 August 2010 – Heart
25 August 2010 – Sound Tribe Sector
17 September 2010 – Black Crowes
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OK, all you NC area Asia fans, head on over to ticketmaster right now to take advantage of exclusive presale tickets for the August 17th gig at Progress Energy’s Raleigh Memorial Auditorium. I checked this morning and there are plenty of great seats left for the show.

Asia presale tickets are available from now until 11:59pm Saturday, May 1st.

the presale password is : Omega

Tickets for the general public will go on sale this sunday, May 2nd at 10am.

So if you’re interested in going to the Raleigh show, be sure to purchase tickets ahead of the general public by taking advantage of this presale opportunity! I sure did! I’ll see you there.
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Eric Clapton stopped by The RBC Center in Raleigh this past monday to rush through his 16-song set and to completely ignore his fans. Yes, I know, Clapton is known for his lack of stage banter but come on, throw us a bone every now and then. The arena was pretty much filled to capacity, the least he could have done was acknowledge that we were there and maybe even say the name of the town he was in. He honestly looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here. Clapton fans would argue that he lets the music speak for itself but the living legend just seemed to be going through the motions, literally on autopilot the whole night. No spark of inspiration nor glimmer of enthusiasm were evident at this particular show. Another tell tale sign was Clapton plowing through song after song without pausing to allow the audience to give him some applause. weird. He was pretty much the same way when I last saw him live back on his Journeyman tour but his disinterest and disengagement seemed more pronounced this time around.

But having said all that, I have to say that the man is a guitar legend and I’m still glad I got to see the show. Clapton has a stellar band with him including Steve Gadd on drums and Willie Weeks on bass. Ya can’t go wrong there. And he also performed one of my all time favorites, “Old Love” that featured a nice extended solo. Other moments during the set that featured some tasty guitar work included “I Shot the Sheriff”, “Little Queen of Spades” and “Before You Accuse Me”.

As for Roger Daltrey, I wasn’t expecting much from him after seeing the poor half-time performance by The Who during this year’s superbowl. But surprisingly, Daltrey did a fantastic job and really got the crowd going. He was the total opposite of Clapton: engaging with the crowd, making a few jokes here and there and he genuinely seemed happy to be on stage. He had a well paced set with highlights like “Who Are You”, “Gimme a Stone”, “Young Man Blues” and of course, “Baba O’Riley”.

retroGrade: C+ (Eric Clapton), A (Roger Daltrey)

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On their way down the east coast, Journey made a stop at the Greensboro Coliseum this past friday night. Honestly, I wasn’t that enthused about this show since I saw them last summer on a better bill (Cheap Trick & Heart). When they announced that Night Ranger was opening the show a couple months back, I was very disappointed. But with third row seats, my disappointment in the lineup quickly faded away as the music started to play friday evening. The two pronged lead guitar attack (Night Ranger’s Brad Gillis and Joel Hoekstra) made things fun to watch and Kelly Keagy’s vocals sounded strong throughout the set. Jack Blades on the other hand needs to just shut up and play. His between song ramblings brought the momentum to a screeching halt and not knowing where they were (“It’s great to be here in GreensBURGH, North DAKOTA”) didn’t help things either. But songs like “When You Close Your Eyes”, “Sister Christian” and “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” went over quite well.

As for Journey, I simply had a blast being so close to the stage and having such a great view of the band. Friday night’s setlist was pretty similar to what they had played last summer but it was obvious that Arnel Pineda is now so much more comfortable on stage with the band. I enjoyed his energy, his jumps off the drum riser and his interaction with the audience.

They performed the usual crowd pleasers, with “Open Arms”, “Separate Ways” and “Don’t Stop Believin’” receiving the biggest reactions. I personally enjoyed hearing songs that weren’t played the last time around including “Send Her My Love”, “Keep On Runnin’” and “Still They Ride”. I was also hoping for “Be Good To Yourself” and “Why Can’t This Night Go On Forever” but I guess ya can’t having everything.

From what I saw, “Higher Place” didn’t go over well with the arena-sized crowd along with “Wildest Dream”. I honestly don’t know why they keep “Wildest Dream” on the setlist because it’s not strong melodically and there are better choices off of Revelation, in my opinion, including “Where Did I Lose Your Love” and “Turn Down the World Tonight”.

Another thing they should lose in the set is Jonathan Cain’s harmonica jam. It’s definitely a time waster in my book. Also the “Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’” encore is just lame. A good chunk of the crowd headed for the parking lot during that song including yours truly.

But overall, I still enjoyed the show. Pineda is a joy to watch and Deen Castronovo is just a monster on drums. Oh and Castronovo sounded phenomenal singing “Still They Ride”. and of course I could just go on and on about Neal Schon. He’s simply amazing.

I do have to admit though that the band performing these songs a half-step lower is sort of jarring at times. I’m not sure if the general audience notices that they are performing these classic songs in a lower key but it’s definitely noticeable to me. Is this because I’m a musician and I can hear the original notes in my head or do fans also notice this too? I totally understand the need to lower the key to help preserve Pineda’s voice but some of the energy or spark gets lost when things get tuned down. maybe it’s just me?

Not sure if I’d see them again next summer. Will they have new material ready by next summer? and will they go out with a stronger “packaged” tour like they did last year? I’ll be interested in seeing what they decide. …but I can tell you this.. if the setlist stays the same, you can definitely count me out.

**UPDATE: 22Sep09**: According to Neal Schon’s blog – the band will be working on new material in 2010 and won’t be back on the road until 2011!! So, catch Journey live while you still can! There are only a few more dates left on the 2009 tour.
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Cheap Trick, Heart and Journey
Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek
Raleigh, NC 10 August 2008

People tend to be a bit wary of all the “packaged tours” that end up at the sheds each summer. And I totally understand it because typically they’re made up of has-been 80′s bands who are way past their prime. And I’m sure in some people’s minds, the Cheap Trick/Heart/Journey triple bill could be lumped with the rest of ‘em. Call it what you want – 80′s nostalgia, a blast from the past, whatever. But last night in Raleigh, the three bands truly rocked the lil’ ol’ amphitheater and the nearly sold out crowd (including me) enjoyed every minute of it.

Cheap Trick probably got the toughest job on the tour, playing to a half-filled house at 7pm each night. With the sun still blaring on their faces, the band blasted through their set just like they always do. Unfortunately their set was marred by a muddy sound mix. But Cheap Trick is a class act and they delighted their fans with stellar versions of “If You Want My Love”, “I Want You to Want Me”, “Surrender” and “Dream Police”. I always get a kick out of seeing Rick Neilsen’s unique collection of guitars. Felt a little sorry for his guitar tech though – tuning and maintaining all those guitars each and every night must be a bitch. Robin Zander’s vocals sounded strong for the most part but still has a tough time with “The Flame”. Even performing it tuned down a couple steps, Zander couldn’t cleanly hit that last high note in the song. It was spectacularly cringe-worthy. Other than that, CT’s set was pretty flawless. Oh, and Ross Valory (of Journey) came out in the middle of CT’s set to yell “these guys ROCK!” to an unsure crowd who were all probably wondering “who’s that old man?” heh.

Heart nailed their set last night. Definitely made them a HARD act to follow. By the time they got on stage, the place was pretty much full and raring to go. Ann and Nancy Wilson proved once again that they could rock just as good (or even better) as the rest of the boys on the bill. They played a nice mix of their 70′s and 80′s hits plus a Who and Led Zep cover. And yes, Ann Wilson is singing the songs in a lower key but it doesn’t really matter in this case because she belts these out like no one else can! If there were any wine glasses around that night, they would have been shattered by the time Ann hit that otherworldly vocal run in “Alone”. wow! She is amazing. Oh and Nancy got her time in the spotlight with a nice acoustic guitar solo before the start of “Crazy on You”. plus, she still does those high kicks that we all know and love.

And how do you follow that? It’d be tough for ANY band to keep that level of momentum going. Journey stumbles a bit at the beginning with singer Arnel Pineda not quite hitting the high notes on the set opener “Never Walk Away”. But the band quickly recovers and get things back up to fever pitch by the time they hit “Only the Young” and “Stone in Love”. I’m sure the band tries to keep things “fresh” for themselves by mixing up their setlist every night but at times the sequencing seems so random. There’s an art to building a setlist and last night’s set didn’t have that great of a flow. For example, they followed Separate Ways with Rubicon and then went straight into two new songs off of Revelation, “Change for the Better” and “Wildest Dreams”. Talk about a momentum killer. But odd sequencing choices aside, the band was phenomenal. Neal Schon, Ross Valory, Deen Castronovo and Jonathan Cain are spectacular players and all the musicians in the crowd were most likely slack-jawed in awe of their skill. Schon and Castronovo were especially amazing to watch.

Going into the show I was a bit worried that Pineda’s voice would show signs of the wear and tear of the road but Pineda was in fine form after the initial hiccup at the start of the set. Pineda was up and down the stage, dancing, jumping and shaking hands with those up in front. He was a bundle of energy and definitely brought new life into these old favorites. I’m not so sure performing “Escape” and “Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin” for the encore is the smartest choice in terms of keeping the interest of a huge crowd but all in all I had a blast seeing the newly reborn Journey with Pineda at the helm. It’s a strong show and definitely well worth seeing if it comes near your neck of the woods.
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