To: elp-digest-web@reluctant.com From: Jim Allen Subject: ELP at Universal Review Date: 8/31/98 11:31 PM Well, the day of the ELP show, August 30th, at the Universal Ampitheatre in Los Angeles, finally arrived. I had a decision: to stay and watch Mark McGwire try and hit his 55th homer or get to the venue on time for Dream Theater. I choose Big Mac and I'm glad I did. I didn't like Dream Theatre at all. Talented players, true, but not my cup of tea. That 8,000 notes per bar, quasi Van Halen guitar style does nothing for me, the bass player had a terrible sound despite an equipment rack the size of an entertainment center and the less said about the ghastly Operatic Metal singer the better. Too bad for me, I guess. After a short equipment change, ELP hit the stage to what sounded like it was going to be "Introductory Fanfare" from "Works Live". It, of course, turned in to "Crossing the Rubicon". I enjoyed this; it sounded a little like the "Romeo and Juliet" adaptation and "The Score". Bodes well for the upcoming concept album. This merged into KE9, 1st Imp., Pt. 2. I didn't like the arrangement--no guitar, a verse and the organ solo cut and generally, kind of an odd way to do this song. The first signs of Greg's laziness crept in. Instead of playing all the bass riffs, he was kind of content to just hit the root notes. It's not 2nd Impression, Greg, you CAN play it. Voice sounded fine, a lot of echo. The sound in general was excellent--no excess bass drums :-), crisp keyboards and bass, excellent overall balance. "Hoedown" ripped. A much faster tempo than on the last tour. The solo on "Welcome Back" is one my alltime KE faves, but it was neat to hear the harmonica. Unfortunately, Keith had problems getting the mike to stand still, so most of it was lost! I've never liked the ribbon control bit being in this song. IMHO, it's much more logical during "Tarkus". Very energetic performance and great CP drumming. Next was "Knife Edge", kind of lacklustre and routine. Scary and resonant synth sounds from KE on the second verse, with CP adding nice little touches on his fills. Keith played some of the runs in the solo kind of poorly but what a melodic solo that is! I wish they'd play the Bach "French Suite" section as fast as the album version--it kind of drags. Great timing on the ascending portamento, Keith turn and leap and reprise of the Janacek inspired riff part leading in to "When the flames have their season". Might be time to give this one a rest for a while. The "Piano Concerto" excerpts were next. I kept humming the orchestral parts to myself--it's a good adaptation of the 3rd movement, with a little left hand ostinato/right hand jamming about half way through. The use of MIDI strings didn't really add anything--in fact, it kind of obscured the actual piano part so that the final statement of that grand theme got kind of swamped. Nice to hear something besides "Creole Dance", though I heard a monster version of that during a 3 show here in Los Angeles that just killed. "C'est Le Vie" sounded fine, Greg's voice a little husky at times. He obviously can't hit the high notes as easily and purely as in 1977 so he fudges by just glancing the note, not holding it. Keith's beret looked cool, but he didn't play solo cleanly and looked kind of uncomfortable playing the accordian. I wonder if it hurts his arm? Carl played some tuned percussion bits on the final verse that were buried in the mix.:-( What can you say about "Lucky Man"? I wish Greg would just sing it solo, but that of course would mean no gut churning low notes from Keith during his solo. It didn't appear that he was using the Modular Moog aka "The Most Dangerous Synth In the World". It sure looks impressive though. I was led to expect "A Time And A Place" next; instead the chorus sound at the beginning of "Tarkus" was played. A fine "Eruption" though, again, Greg doesn't play all of his parts. It's a little frustrating. "Stones of Years" had a very strong Greg vocal and then the solo. First piano, then organ. I don't like the slow, studio album tempo-- I much prefer the "Welcome Back" tempo. Again, Greg doesn't improvise much at all, just hits the roots--and Carl doesn't do the lightning fills anymore. Keith made up for it with a blazing organ solo that got some good "wows" out of the crowd. "Iconolclast" contained a near train wreck (caused by Greg) and Keith STILL doesn't play the opening augmented chords cleanly! Excellent stuff from Carl leads in to "Mass"--Greg's voice firm, singing the lyrics from the studio version (the WB version is slightly different). Now, instead of going in to the ribbon controller bit here, which makes musical sense, Greg and Carl do a little unison riffing while Keith plays MIDI piano. It then goes back the 3rd verse and I anxiously await the modulation to Bm--which never happens! They cut the 4th verse! Too high for Greg to sing? Instead they go in to "Manticore" with Carl really leading the way. Instead of playing this section on organ, it's played on synth and piano. Good little solo from Keith near the end and then to the part I've been waiting for all night: "Battlefield". Greg puts on a nice Strat; Keith's sound here was tremendous. GL does a brief little solo (a la the studio), sings the two verses and then solos. I've always loved his solo on "Welcome Back" especially the riff he plays over the Esus chord to start the second verse--which never comes! Only one verse for Greg to solo on and he played really well too! Wow, they cut 2 of my favorite moments. On to the "Every blade is sharp" verse; no "Epitaph" tonight but right in to "Aquatarkus", Greg again barely playing. Same tempo as the studio version; KE's first solo is on organ, then he switches to MIDI Piano and, for a brief, glorious moment, the Modular Moog. I had hopes that he'd really let rip on it, but alas, it's all too brief. Back to the "Eruption" reprise, no fuzz on the bass (to be fair it wasn't there on any of the other parts either), Keith's sound huge. It sent a chill up my spine to hear that ascending, Bach-like run leading in to the final chords. A slight pause between them, a la the end of Holst's (and ELPowell's) "Mars" and then in to the final statement of the "Aquatarkus" theme. A great crescendo, the final chord and wild applause and yelling as the 3rd Impression sequencer plays. The Moog doesn't spin or explode though. Despite my quibbles about cuts I've finally heard "Tarkus" with all 7 movements. They, of course, haven't done this since 1974 (they cut "Battlefield" in 1977 and it's been a medley item since). As I clap and yell, I think: "That was amazing! And what must it have been like in 1974!" I thought of the blistering version on a live tape from Buffalo in July in 1974. How did anyone surive the BSS shows with their brains intact? The "Fanfare", um, fanfare leads in the first section and a brief solo on the Em shuffle riff which leads to a rather fierce 2 verses of "Schizoid Man", Keith's vocals inaudible from where I was sitting. This seques in to "Rondo", Greg playing even less than before :-( Carl's solo is fine--the bit with the cymbals is aweinspiring (still) and he still has technique to burn--I wish he'd apply it to "Tarkus" though! Then the apparent reason for no "A Time and A Place": the L100 was brought out! It looks brand new and still gets mauled anyway. Keith does some nice work with the reverb springs, Carl standing to play, and then the knives come out. The first one falls out from the keys almost immediately, so the 2nd knife is plunged carefully in to the keys. The old backwards routine, the riding, all the usual stuff--but tonight, Keith gets some really amazing sounds out of the old thing. He throws it down, slams the piano lid down and jumps aboard. He plays to the crowd and it looks as if he might leap off of the piano to continue the L100 mauling. Nope, backwards "Toccata and Fugue in D minor" and the the thought crosses my mind: "He can play circles around Wakeman even playing backwards". Back to the "Rondo" theme, a great crashing crescendo and it's over, Resphigi's "Church Windows" filling the hall. They are very gracious with their bows and are obviously eating up the rapturous applause. I left right as the houselights come up--I'm exhausted and I'm not a big DP fan. I spend $30 on the "Manticore TV Special" video but can't justify $25 for a baseball cap. Random Impressions: Overall, I was very impressed. The band sounded great, with lots of energy and enthusiasm. Despite the mistakes here and there (ELP have NEVER been note perfect, like, say, Genesis), Keith's solos are excellent. He seems to be at about 80% of his old self. He fudges some things but 80% of KE is still a damn sight better than any other keyboard player (flame away Wakeman fans) in rock. At one point Greg said to Keith "I love you man" and Keith looked embarrased and said back "I love you too". Despite all the battles between the 3 they have a musical chemistry that is instinctive and amazing. The little moments when they play off of each other compensate for Greg's diminished vocal powers, the fact that Carl doesn't play blazing fills in every bar anymore and the occasional gaffes. My one cavaet was the mystifying arrangement decisions--the cuts and no guitar during 1st Impression, cutting out the 4th verse in "Mass" and giving Greg only one verse to solo over in "Battlefield". The cuts in "Tarkus" add up to what, 1:30? All in all, a great reminder of why ELP will always be my favorite band and a great appetite whetter for the forthcoming concept album. Jim