ELP Digest Thursday, 26 June 1997 Volume 7 : Issue 12 The "Got Your Letters At The Front Today" Edition Today's Topics: Hamburg date A modest proposal ELP Hats Tee-shirts badges etc. elp in hamburg germany ELP Tour HAMBURG 12 JULY ELP show announced in Washington DC area UK-Hamburg bound ELP in Boston! ELP At Wolf Trap ELP non tour (in UK) **** SPOILERS **** Las Vegas set list ELP @ The Joint/Hard Rock Hotel--June 12th Las Vegas Show ELP in Atlanta Z93 FREE-FOR-ALL CONCERT REVIEW - JULY 16, 1997 ELP Plays Atlanta ELP in Budapest ELP review on Genesis mailing list elp concert munich Prelude ======= I'd like to extend my apologies for the delay in getting the first news and reviews of the 1997 ELP Tour. It has taken me longer to port the scripts and procedures that I use for efiiciently building the Digest over to my home machine than I thought. I'm sorry that the delayed happened to coincide with the start of the tour but I really needed to do it now since the machine I was using at work needs to be moved from one location to another next week and, even then, I was concerned about possible internet connectivity problems since we have to move and remap one of our work domains. Anyway, we're back and this should be a one-time delay. Also, I'd like to let people know that, although I'm updating the ELP web site as quickly as I can, Keith Emerson's and Greg Lake's sites are getting the latest tour dates added more quickly (since they, obviously, get the information before I do). So, check those sites from the links on the ELP web site while I get my information back 'in sync' with their official itineraries. (Stewart Young - ELP's manager - has been very helpful in providing me with itineraries but the latest copy I received got mangled by a mail gateway somewhere that made it unreadable by me. But that, too, should be a one-time, short-term problem that will be fixed.) And, you should read Keith Emerson's "Letters from the Front" on his web site for some entertaining "band's-eye view" of the tour so far. It's a great complement to the "fan's-eye view" that you'll read here. Finally, I'm going to focus this issue on the news and reviews of the tour. The discussion, etc. will resume soon. Thanks for your patience and support. I appreciate it all; even the gentle prodding from the patient readers who asked when this Digest would see the light of day. - John - P.S. One more thing... There's a letter from ELP about the cancelled Ventura, California shows on the ELP web site, the Keith Emerson web site, and the Greg Lake web site. In summary, they weren't involved in the cancellation and are sorry it happened. The good news, they're adding a US East Coast/West Coast mini-tour at the end of the South American tour! And for those who have written asking... I don't know why ELP isn't playing in England this tour. ------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 6/12/97 4:07 AM From: Akiko Hada To: John Arnold Subject: Hamburg date Hello! I think most of your readers are already aware of this, but for those who don't know yet: another date has been added to the German leg of the tour, in Hamburg on 12 July at 9PM. The venue is Grosse Freiheit 36, apparently part of the University (only indoor gig in Germany, without seating) and the tickets can be ordered from the same telephone number as the rest of the German dates. Best Regards, Akiko Hada ------------------------------ Date: 6/12/97 1:13 PM To: elp-digest@reluctant.com From: Frank Sonnenberg Subject: A modest proposal I have been an ELP fan for 27 years. I own all of their albums on both vinyl and CD (All the Nice albums also). During that time I've seen ELP in concert several times. Not once could I get seats anywhere near the stage. At one concert (Madison Square Gardens, December, 1973) I actually was sold tickets BEHIND THE STAGE. My companion and I sneaked into a different section and watched the concert sitting in the aisle on the steps. The last time I saw them (last August at the PNCB Art Center in Holmdel, NJ) I couldn't get a reserved seat at all and spent the evening sitting on the grass watching the concert through binoculars. I'm too busy to camp out at Ticketmaster the night before tickets go on sale and I don't feel that I should have to pay a premium to ticket "brokers". My simple proposal is this: Set aside a modest number of seats (say, 100-200) per performance and offer them first to ELP Digest subscribers. You could notify subscribers via the Digest and let people e-mail requests for reservations. Then, when tickets go on sale, sell them first to people who made the reservations and then release any remaining tickets to the public. The Grateful Dead used an approach similar to this (before the days of e-mail) and it worked and was greatly appreciated by their fans. This won't reach all of the fans, but I think it's safe to say that anyone reading the Digest regularly is an especially loyal fan and a strong supporter of the group and deserves to be rewarded with good seats to a concert. It shouldn't cost ELP anything and would make the fans very happy. I'm suggesting this well in advance of the anticipated 1998 tour. I hope ELP's management is listening and will give this due consideration. -- Frank Sonnenberg [ Editor's Note: I'll see if ELP's management could do something to implement something like this next time I talk to them. - John - ] ------------------------------ From: bgg@latrobe.vic.gov.au Date: 6/13/97 10:40 AM To: elp-digest@reluctant.com Subject: ELP Hats Tee-shirts badges etc. Hi to all you lucky fans who will get to see ELP live in concert. Once again ELP will be touring and I'll never get to see them unless they come to Australia. I have a request for a kind hearted fan. If someone could purchase a hat, badge, tee-shirt, program or whatever from the current tour for me I would be forever greatfull. Naturally I would send payment to cover the item(s) before they are sent to me. During the ELP/TULL tour last year, I made a similar request but received no offers. Anyway it doesn't hurt to try again. Thanks in advance and enjoy the concerts. Bryan Glasper bgg@latrobe.vic.gov.au ------------------------------ Date: 6/15/97 9:56 AM From: TheGazzas@aol.com To: arnold@reluctant.com Subject: elp in hamburg germany elp will play a concert in Hamburg at the Grobe Freiheit 36 on Saturday 12 july 1997 and not in Ulm. The concert in Dortmund on the 5 of july elp are the first band on around 5PM. no news on any showsin the uk. the gazzas. ------------------------------ From: "Bernard Delmage" To: elp-digest-request@reluctant.com Date: 6/18/97 9:31 AM Subject: ELP Tour So although ELP playing Amercia (yet again), south America and most of Europe, they won't be coming to their home country. Us long suffering UK fans had been allowed jsu one tour since 1974 - what is wrong with the UK lads? I have heard that we are being left out doe to "financial reasons". Am I to believe that ELP make more money playing Luxembourg? If anyone with anything to do with ELP reads this digest, can you please explain to the UK fans why ELP do not play in their own country? Don't they care about us? I think we should be told! A very, very long suffering ELP fan who can't see his favourite band because he has the misfortune to live in the famous back water of rock culture (England) and cannot afford to travel abroad just for a concert. Bernard ------------------------------ Date: 6/19/97 8:19 AM To: elp-digest@reluctant.com From: Jane Armstrong Subject: HAMBURG 12 JULY I'm going on the Events Travel trip from the UK to Hamburg to see our favourite band. Are there any other list members going? If so, we ought to make ourselves known to eachother. Please e-mail me privately so we can sort something out. I'm going alone - my husband is not such an LP fanatic and someone has to look after the kids! Hope to hear from you soon Jane Armstrong Bracknell Berkshire [ Editor's Note: The "Events Travel" trip referred to here is a trip being organized by the folks at Impressions magazine for the UK-based ELP fans to travel to see ELP. They've arranged some group rates for the trip. For more details on the trip, contact Impressions at estazz99@intonet.co.uk - John - ] ------------------------------ Date: 6/20/97 8:14 AM From: John Krout To: arnold@reluctant.com Subject: ELP show announced in Washington DC area The Wolf Trap Farm Park ran an ad in the Washington Post on Friday, June 20 for an ELP performance on Saturday, September 8. The ad describes the show as "just added". The show is also mentioned on the schedule page of Wolf Trap's Web site, http://www.wolf-trap.org. John Krout ------------------------------ To: elp-digest@reluctant.com From: geoff@goostrey.u-net.com (G R Goostrey) Subject: UK-Hamburg bound Date: 6/24/97 7:46 PM John, I am travelling on the Event Travel run trip from the UK to Hamburg to see ELP on 12th July, but they want another 36 pounds supplement for a single room. Are there any single fans out there in a similar position. If you are prepared to share a twin room we could save a total of 72 pounds. Please either mail to agree arrangements. Thanks ^.-.^ Geoff Goostrey (UK resident) ((")) geoff@goostrey.u-net.com ------------------------------ From: cehart01@sprynet.com Date: 6/22/97 4:10 PM Subject: ELP in Boston! To: elp-digest@reluctant.com There was a Harborlights ad in this morning's Boston Globe - advertising an ELP concert on September 12. Tickets will be sold through NEXT Ticketing at 617-423-NEXT. Tickets will go on sale at 10:00 am on July 12. NEXT's website is: www.boston.com/next. Harborlights is a waterfront pavilion that is open air, but is under a big tent. It is a great place for a show. Thanks for the newsletter. ------------------------------ Date: 6/22/97 4:42 AM From: "Victor Arkilic" To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Subject: ELP At Wolf Trap Dear John, Last Thursday,June 20th,tickets went on sale for an E L P concert on Sept 6th at Wolf Trap in Vienna,Va outside of Washington,D.C. The concert venue is in an open air park run by the U.S park service! Concert to begin at 8:00 pm! For ticket info call 703-218-6500 or check out their web-site at www.wolf-trap.org! Tickets are under $30.00 US dollars for pavillion seating and much less for the lawn! Hope this info.will be helpfull to other E L P fans wanting to catch the show! Sincerly Victor M. Arkilic P.S.Still waiting for the reviews of the Vegas & Atlanta concerts! ------------------------------ Date: 6/21/97 11:01 PM To: BRUCETUNE@aol.com From: brianj@mail.ndirect.co.uk (Brian Johnstone) Subject: ELP non tour (in UK) Cc: estazz99@intonet.co.uk,elp-digest@reluctant.com Hi Bruce After seeing the apology from the band to their American audience in LA I felt compelled to wtite on behalf of all the fans in the UK. I keep in touch with several fans from the UK including Liv Whetmore, (editor of Impressions magazine) and the general feeling of fans in the UK is nothing if not incensed. Yet again we seem to be missed off the touring schedule (in favour of Costa Rica and Venezuela?!).We have no problems with the band taking their music to all people of the world - we do likewise - but we always seem to be the ones who ,on the face of it , appear to be treated with contempt:being completely ignored. Perhaps there is a sound reason for this and quite frankly we don't care - but it would be at least show some respect for the UK fans if the band acknowledged us and or make some attempt at playing somewhere closeby. I for one actually enjoy travelling abroad to see the band (having gone to Canada in 1996 and USA , Germany and all over the UK to see them in 1992) but y'know the budget can't last forever.My friends and I also personally provided the band with many hours of video and audio which they didn't even know existed. It is difficult enough to see the band without constantly moving the goalposts. Many of us are trying to get to Germany or somewhere but are never sure if the gig is actually going to take place.Why is the tour such a mess? Most other band seem to largely finalise tour dates months in advance of the tour but this tour seems to be a real arena of confusion.If it wasn't for John Arnold many fans continually checking web sites many people would not even be aware of the tour.I personally have to keep several fans in the UK informed as they are not on the Internet. So could you please suggest to the band that it may be appropriate to give a special message to the many, many UK fans who feel cheated and let down again. After all if they can apologise to the few thousand fans in Ventura about the postponement of two gigs surely they have the decency to give the same treatment to the fans in their home country. On behalf of all the UK fans could you please pass the message to the band and maybe even offer some glimmer of a reason why we are not even on the tour for one night? Thanx Brian Johnstone (Greenock,Scotland,UK) ------------------------------ ******************************************** ******************************************** ******************************************** *************** SPOILERS ******************* ******* Stop Reading if you don't ********** ******* want to see the 1997 ********** ******* tour set list ********** *************** SPOILERS ******************* ******************************************** ******************************************** ******************************************** ------------------------------ From: cmbuford@mindspring.com Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 02:23:28 -0400 (EDT) To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Subject: Las Vegas set list No surprises from the warmup show in Las Vegas, just a continuation from last summer with a couple more tunes than allowed in the Tull set. All three seemed in good humor. At one point, Keith donned bifocals(!) to read from "one of his favorite reviews" in Fox(?) magazine. ...It claimed he used to wear an armadillo suit in concert! ..At another point he joked about how the old patchcord synth has "been goin' for 30 years"... "Take A Pebble" was perhaps the most impressive number, as it was the first time Greg's voice was turned up to suitable volume and the only time Carl was allowed to play "quiet." Like last summer, it seemed to be a show of unity in that they played all songs together, with the exception of Keith piano solo and Carl drum solo. Keith wore a really bad '70s era blue pinstripe suit, with no shirt. Seems like the boy could afford some new clothes! Greg sounded as good as he does these days (no hoarsnesess, but can't hit the old high notes). A rousing 90 minutes, even if they're still keeping us waiting for the the "Brain Salad" revival and some heroic new stuff. 1. Karn Evil "Welcome Back" 2. Tiger in the Spotlight 3. Hoedown 4. Touch and Go 5. From the Beginning 6. Knife Edge 7. Bitches Crystal 8 Piano solos: Ginastera? Hammer it Down? (sounded familiar) Honky Tonk Train Blues - joined by other two midway 9. Take a Pebble 10. Lucky Man 11. Tarkus (first three parts)/Pictures finale encore: Fanfare/Rondo/drum solo/silliness ------------------------------ Date: 6/13/97 11:54 PM From: David Wax To: elp-digest@reluctant.com Subject: ELP @ The Joint/Hard Rock Hotel--June 12th Welcome back my friends, our boys are on the road again...ELP kicked off a new tour that will eventually take them back to Europe, South America and Mexico with a starting point of sin city, Las Vegas. Before an enthusiastic and intimate crowd in a terrific venue, the Hard Rock Hotel's "The Joint", ELP provided a strong, yet methodical performance. After the short (50 minutes) opening stints of last year's tour with Jethro Tull, our now headlining (with no opening act) boys were once again provided the opportunity to stretch out a little. It was classic ELP, playing their classics...while we have been hearing about new material, we heard no new material. However we again experienced some tunes brought out of mothballs...some pleasure in that, get into that, get into that... The set: 1. Karn Evil 9 1st Impression-Part 2 (in whole, not just the snippets of the previous appearance openings) 2. Tiger In A Spotlight 3. Hoedown (Keith is again using the big Moog modular, not just there for show. The ribbon controller comes out for some butt rubbing) Keith welcomes the audience, "Its good to be back." 4. Touch and Go 5. From The Beginning (teamwork from the entire group; its not just Greg as solo. Carl plays soft cushion drumsticks on african drums for a very nice warm sound and Keith kicks in with a nice synth lead at the end.) 6. Knife Edge 7. Bitches Crystal (the surprise of last year's tour remains an inspired staple for the current sets of gigs.) 8. Creole Dance (Keith's solo, very strong with "no pain".) 9. Honky Tonk Train Blues (teamwork again in the trenches as Keith, Greg and Carl get snazzy and jazzy....another surprise here and followed up by another. 10. Take A Pebble (one of my evening favorites, with Keith on grand piano. 11. Lucky Man (again the teamwork approach with Greg back on acoustic guitar and Keith with the great synth lead solo at the end. He didnt shake the building foundation...) 12. Tarkus (Eruption, Stones of Years, Iconoclast, Mass, Manticore and then the seque to: 13. Pictures At An Exhibition (The Hut of Baba Yaga, followed by The Great Gates of Kiev as finale). Encore: 14. Fanfare For The Common Man/Rondo (including Carl's drum solo and the old Hammond, knife wielding, reverse playing Keith act) The whole show was approximately 1 hour, 40 minutes (still a far cry from the old days) As the opening show, there appeared to be some snafus. Greg seemed a little ticked with his ear monitors at the beginning of the show and the sound mix appeared a bit muddy at points. Overall the boys appeared pleased with the kick off and were very friendly with the crowd at the end. My twelve year son was recipient of one of Carl's drumsticks, a souvenir he will always treasure. I was caught up with the fact that Carl plays his own autographed Pro-Mark drumsticks, kind of like our baseball hero's with their autographed model Louisville Sluggers. In any event, he was thrilled and it was great to see other second generation kids enjoying ELP--the musicians who really play their instruments. It was great to be with the ELP family of fans and to be part of the action. I also took note from Keith's web page that ELP will again play west coast dates in September, including the 25th at Universal Amphitheatre. The Mexico leg of the tour also finds them hitting the mecca of progressive music... Tiajuana on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, in closing, "The Joint" at the Hard Rock Hotel is a great place for a concert. Great sightlines, regardless of seating, bar service. However on my particular evening after the show, I discovered that rockers can rock, but they dont necessarily throw the dice very well. Thank you very much...cheers ------------------------------ Date: 6/17/97 12:59 PM From: Hicks To: elp-digest@reluctant.com Subject: Las Vegas Show Just got back from the Vegas show (travelled all the way from Pennsylvania-- glad I decided to go to Vegas and not Ventura!) Here's the playlist; I have no idea if they plan to do the same shows in Europe and S. America. Karn Evil 9 1st impresssion part 2 (the whole thing/not the abbreviated version they opened with last year) Tiger in the Spotlight Touch and Go Hoedown Knife Edge Creole Dance From the Beginning Lucky Man Honky Tonk Train Blues Take a Pebble (the whole thing folks!!! start to finish) Bitches Crystal Tarkus (through Iconoclast) then Gates of Kiev (medley like last year) Encore: Fanfare/Rondo with drum solo and Emo's trip I may have mixed up the order a bit (Hey it was so much fun, who was keeping track) but those are the songs they played. Emo had some MIDI problems going from Honky Tonk into Take a Pebble-- he had to stop for a minute-- joked around with the crowd about it being the first night-- he was about to explain what was going on with the MIDI when they got it fixed and he was given the go ahead to continue. I was trilled they played "Take a Pebble" in its entirety-- never thought I'd hear it like that. After the show, the boys had to catch a flight back to LA so they only had a minute to chat-- Carl said songs from Black Moon and In the Hot Seat will not be part of their show-- he indicated they have something bigger and better planned for the future. Also it sounds like September will be ELP month in North America-- See you all at the show that never ends. Brad Hicks hicks@redrose.net ------------------------------ Date: 6/17/97 11:07 PM To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com From: Brian Sharples Subject: ELP in Atlanta Hi John, My wife and I saw ELP last night at the Lakewood Ampitheatre in Atlanta (June 16, 1997). This was a free concert put on by WZGZ radio. A light rain fell on and off throughout the show. After a delay in the start of the concert, the opening band, Kansas, played an excellent opening set with one encore. After Kansas' equipment was moved it looked like not all of ELP's usual equipment was there. The stage lighting was basic, Carl's rotating drum riser was not there, nor was Greg's persian rug. Perhaps the missing equipment was in transit to South America (or the airline lost it!) The song list was: Karn Evil 9 1st Impression Part 2 Hoedown Touch and Go (no bass at intro) From the Beginning Knife Edge (the band took a break of approximately 5 minutes to take care of apparent technical difficulties -- sound?) Bitch's Crystal Creole Dance (Keith solo) Honky Tonk Train Blues (Greg and Carl join in) Take a Pebble/new jazzy interlude Lucky Man Tarkus: Eruption, Stones of Years, Iconoclast, Mass (moved right into) Pictures at an Exhibition: The Hut of Baba Yaga, The Great Gates of Kiev Encore: Fanfare for the Common Man Rondo -- Carl's drum solo -- Rondo with Hammond B-3 abuse There were problems with the sound at the beginning, mostly with Keith's equipment (sound cutting out, or not loud enough). This seemed to distress the band, and Keith seemed a bit "off" until Tarkus. Keith talked to Greg a couple of times early on, and then waved his arms, at which time Greg begged the audience's patience while they fixed the problems. "Just five minutes, it'll be better for you and better for me," Greg said. The audience took it well, despite the rain and the delay in the start of the concert. After the break the sound was greatly improved, although it did cut out for the keyboards a couple of times. Can we attribute this to the humidity? Carl's drum solo was flawless, although we missed the color and spectacle of the rotating set. Greg's voice was good. By the encore they seemed in better spirits, and Keith gave a final wave after the other two had left the stage. All in all a good concert, but not the best performance we've seen by these guys. We think this was because of the equipment problems, and the guys were rumored to be "nervous" for this warm-up show. Brian and Diana Sharples Atlanta, Georgia, USA ------------------------------ Date: 6/19/97 10:57 PM To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com From: "David S. Presley" Subject: Z93 FREE-FOR-ALL CONCERT REVIEW - JULY 16, 1997 Digesters have no doubt read that the only way to procure tickets for this show was to "win" them from the sponsoring radio station. What a joke! For the past month, I've stood in a dozen lines, gotten busy signals calling the station and even tried emailing requests, and only got seats so far to the left that you couldn't see Emerson (thankfully, halfway through the show a couple about 20 seats right of us departed thereby improving the view). Jeez - give me a good ticket scalper any day! Anyway, the Lakewood Amphitheater began rocking at 8pm sharp with Kansas. While it's been a few years since I've followed them, I think their playlist was: (1) "Point of No Return", segueing into (2) (3) "Miracle out of Nowhere" (4) "Song for America" (5) "Cheyenne Anthem" (6) "The Wall" (7) "Hold On" (8) "Journey from Mariabronn", segueing into (9) "Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel)" (10) "Portrait (He Knew)" With a single encore of: (11) "Dust in the Wind", segueing into (12) "Carry on Wayward Son" The set lasted an hour and sixteen minutes and was supposed to kickoff their 97 summer tour. This casual fan thinks that Steve Walsh should tone down the vocals just a bit (his voice was nearly blown towards show end); they should work on the sound (it was muddy everywhere except for Phil Ehart's two Yahama kick drums); and the band should get a little more fired-up (they seemed on autopilot until the encore, when Kansas of old reemerged). It took about 20min to break down Kansas and uncover/setup ELP. Emerson was stage left; Palmer was stage right; Lake was just right of stage center. Kits appear as described for last year's tour. House lights cut at 9:40pm and the sample-and-hold cranked-up. Greg appeared in a black-&-white floral shirt and khakis; Carl in dark (leather?) pants and sleeveless shirt; Emo in a charcoal pinstripe suit that, after shedding his jacket, revealed a sleeveless shirt/vest. Playlist was: (1) "Karn Evil 9 First Impression Part 2" (2) "Tiger in a Spotlight" (3) "Hoedown" (4) "Touch and Go" (5) "From the Beginning" (6) "Knife Edge" (7) "Bitches Crystal" (8) "Creole Dance" (9) "Honky Tonk Train Blues" (10) "Take a Pebble" (11) "Lucky Man" (12) "Eruption", (13) "Stones of Years", (14) "Iconoclast" and (15) "Mass", segueing into (16) "Curse of Baba Yaga and (17) Great Gates of Kiev With a single encore of: (18) "Fanfare for the Common Man", segueing into (19) "Rondo" Closing was taped "St Gregory the Great" from "Church Windows" by Ottorino Respighi. European and South American fans, get excited - the band of old is back! Lake's voice is as strong as ever (the raspyness from the Black Moon tour is gone). Emerson's Goff Professional seems to have him fired up to fling out those biting organ solos wherever possible. Palmer is forever unchanging - in typically excellent physical condition with chops to match. (1) was WBMFTTSTNE treatment (not the abbreviated form we've heard over the past few years) complete with drum solo and a wonderfully dramatic ritard ending. (2) was played on the midied grand and sounded very much like the studio version except an extra repeat of the last verse and the live album close. (3) was vintage WBMF... full speed, same samples, even got to see the ribbon controller throw sparks and double for TP. (4) was straight off ROTM - Emo had a neat abbreviated organ solo just before the final verse. (5) began with only Lake and Palmer, finishing with Emo's note-for-note synth solo at song's end (loved the black curtain backdrop with the white "ELP" logo projecting behind them). (6) was just like we heard on the last tour. Then, the unexpected: as soon as "Knife Edge" ended (30min into the set), Emo jumped off his platform, jogged over to Greg, whispered something into his ear and exited stage right. Greg announced that they were experiencing technical problems and, if we'd hang on for about 5min, they'd be back "sounding better than ever". Then he and Carl followed. House lights stayed down while stage lights stayed up. Didn't see any teckies doing anything - I rather suspect it may have been an emergency visit to the can! When they reappeared, Greg shouted "Bitches Crystal" and they resumed. I was very impressed at how closely they followed the sound and the form of the studio version. (8) sounded much as it did on the last tour, although the arrangement seemed to have more chords than melodies - I suspect it's been readjusted a bit to accommodate Emo's slightly diminished hand capacity. (9) was a lot of fun; begins solo midied piano through the first verse, joined by bass guitar for the second and finally drums to complete. (10) while not as lengthy as we hear on WBMF... it was an enjoyable blast from the past! Emo used the organ for some tasty accents during the instrumental after the first ostinato section, and there is a jazzy three piece arrangement reminiscent of the latter minutes of "Piano Improvisations". They returned to the traditional piano arrangement just prior to last verse. Fade to black with the projected logo again and Emo proclaimed "Lucky Man". Greg's guitar wasn't quite in tune - took about 10sec to get it up to speed. The organ was used for the first solo, with the stock, reverberating bass synth lead to close. It was nearly verbatim WBMF..., particularly with regard to Greg's melodic interpretation. (12) again was right off of WBMF... in both pace and timbre. (13) is now performed on midied piano (with kind of a string overlay); the instrumental section is a chordal syncopation that concluded in an organ treatment similar to what we heard on WBMF...; the piano resumed just prior to vocals. (14) elicited the same response as (12) - the bass line on the midied piano is a lot funkier than anything the organ can produce. (15) ditto (14) and (12) - except for a pure piano instrumental section with more syncopated chords. This segues to an ever accelerating (16) and a fully symphonic (17) to conclude. Arrangement for both is right off ROTM (and suits my taste more than the raw, "experimental", drawn out treatment from '71. The band exited for the proscribed time prior to the encore. As they did I noticed that Emo had his arm hanging somewhat limply at his side; he's also lost some muscle tone on that side. I couldn't detect the "sloppy play" a couple of others had alleged in previous digests, but clearly many of the arrangements are geared away from the blistering 64th notes of old. When he's playing, he's also favoring 1-2 and 1-3 fingering for any open chord a sixth or less. While he's forever one of my personal heroes, it's obvious he's only back to 90% or 95%. (18) began with the Palmer timpani for an arrangement right off the recent live album. The dormant-until-now Moog Modular was used to perform the Emin instrumental melody using the same timbre as on WBMF.../Aquatarkus. Then back to the Goff for a lot of chopping chords and hammer glissandos before returning to the Cmaj Copeland conclusion; a slow delay synth glissando led to (19) performed on the Goff, including "Flight of the Bumblebee". This segues to the classic Palmer drum we've come to love over the years, including the alternating tambourine slap and kick drum, and "the train". After a few minutes Lake reappears, and Emo enters stage left dragging that beat-up old L100! At this point, my wife (who'd never seen them before) grabbed the binoculars and watched in total amazement! 2 knives stab the treble end of the top register; he then left the organ running and returned to the synth for some melody lines, only to return for some upside down "Toccata and Fugue". Emo returned again to the synth to close, the band took bows and concluded my (I think) eighth show. Total time since start was one hour thirty minutes. I complained in a previous digest about the southeast being left off of last year's tour. I've mellowed now ... it was worth the wait. Thanks Keith, Greg, Carl, for making a roundabout return to your roots. Now, if those rumors are only true about a concept album in the making, it's gonna make me think I've died and gone to heaven! ------------------------------ From: BruceW8940@aol.com Date: 6/19/97 10:57 PM To: arnold@dartmouth.coordinate.com Subject: Re: ELP Plays Atlanta Hi there--I've never tried posting this ELP digest, although I've enjoyed it for the last year or so. I thought I'd try to share my recent experience seeing ELP perform in Atlanta Monday, June 16th. The warm-up was Kansas, which is now pretty much an Atlanta-based band, as I understand it, so that may be a one-off. While excellent musicians, they still can't write much of a melody, so it wasn't painful, but it wasn't exciting either--unless you're a Kansas fan, of course. No disprespect intended, my wayward sons. Having seen ELP's Atlanta performances since 1972, I wasn't sure what to expect. Mostly, I wanted my wife, who was in another marriage for 19 years previously and who missed all the good stuff over those years before meeting me, to experience an ELP show. But the magic was still there. I didn't take notes, but here's the highlights I can share. Caution: If you don't want to know the highlights of the set list--and there were some surprises--stop here now. They opened with the second movement of Karn Evil 9, hampered by some equipment problems. A couple of keyboards didn't seem very loud, so the impact was lost at some key moments. Keith looked rather disgusted, from the shots I could see on the image magnification screen. Then came a by-the-numbers "Tiger In A Spotlight", then my personal favorite, "Hoedown". Keith spent some time soloing on the old room-sized moog he still carts around, including the rod with a ring around it that shoots fireworks--which he picked up, fired off, and then set back down, rather perfunctorily. It was great to hear that old moog and watch Keith stretching to turn knobs amidst all those flashing amber lights. Things still didn't sound quite right, and Keith seemed distracted. After another song, I think it was "Knife Edge", Keith stalked across the stage, conferred with Greg for a minute, and then left, with a startled Greg saying, "We're having some equipment problems and we'd rather stop for five minutes to fix it, so please bear with us. We'll be right back." After a momentum-losing five minutes, the band reappeared and launched into an outstanding "Bitches Crystal", which I've never heard performed live--another highlight for me. The ELP fans in the audience got excited then, and the pace picked up (this was a free concert, with all tickets given away by an Atlanta radio station, so you had fans, the curious, folks who came to drink and talk, and people who came to kill time--it was a weird experience, not being amidst rabid fans.) Things sounded much better, and the band settled into a groove that included, not necessarily in order, "Honky Tonk Train Blues", "Touch And Go", "From The Beginning", "Lucky Man", "Take A Pebble", "Tarkus" through "Stones Of Years" and then turning into "The Great Gate of Kiev" (the last song in the regular set). I'm sure there were more songs than that, but that's all I can remember. The encore was "Fanfare for the Common Man/Rondo" and whatever else they wanted to throw in at that point, with a bar of "O Fortuna" thrown in before Keith whipped the old Hammond organ onstage to the crowd's applause. Highlights included lying underneath the Hammond while reaching over to play "Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor" and "Flight of the Bumblebee" one-handed on one of the other keyboards; the traditional re-wiring of the organ for whoops and screams and the wonderful electronic crash it makes when rocked back and forth; sticking knives in the keyboard to hold notes while playing on another keyboard; and Carl Palmer's drum solo, which just impressed the hell out of my wife. : ) An observation: Is Keith's carpal tunnel syndrome still a problem? It may be. He wasn't as fluid as he was in '91, his attention was incredibly focused and I couldn't tell if it was because he was in pain or not. But there were missed and smeared notes, which once or twice seemed to be from the aforementioned equipment problems as Keith would look down at a foot pedal in annoyance at times. After "Cajun Dance"--oh yea, he played that, too, Keith bowed his appreciation to the applause, but held his right hand at the forearm for a moment as if he was uncomfortable. Close-ups showed his right hand often had the last two fingers curled and he didn't seem to be using them all that much, but he plays SO fast, it was hard to tell. At times, his hands were literally a blur, and while I'm guitar oriented, Keith is my keyboard hero and always will be, missed notes or not. [ Editor's Note: Keith didn't have carpal tunnlet syndrome. He was treated for some problems with nerves in one of his elbows. At least I think that's what it was. - John - ] As a stage show, it was low key. No big effects, lighting or other effects--just three talented guys wailing away on a stage. It was kind of refreshing. For me, it was a good show, not the best show I've seen by them, with the air of a live rehearsal. I got the idea they wanted to know if Keith could make it through an entire show, and he proved he could--but he didn't look all that comfortable to me. Let me hasten to add that my wife breathlessly declared at the show's end that it was the second most amazing and best performance she had ever seen and it was wonderful to hear her discuss it to 42-year-old me as I once discussed a 1972 show to friends. My reaction may be more low-key than a younger fan, so I'm hesitant to say it isn't great, because it was--but on a comparative label, not the best for me or on par with the 1991 "Black Moon" tour. I look forward to reading other's comments about the Atlanta and forthcoming shows. ELP will always mean a lot to me, even despite "Love Beach" and their last studio album with the train on the cover. I hope the magic is there ten-fold for those who get to see the remaining shows! Sorry this is so long--I just wanted to post an opinion or answers to questions others may have about the current tour. Back to lurk mode. Bruce ------------------------------ To: John Arnold - ELP Digest From: "Dr." =?ISO-8859-1?Q?KER=C9NYI_G=E1bor?= Subject: ELP in Budapest Date: 6/21/97 8:32 PM Hello John, ELP Digest readers, ELP fans, Yes! I was in the Hungarian ELP concert yesterday with my girlfriend.I told ELP Digest in a previous message my disappointment of managing (ELP's guest is Joan Baez). I must apologize to the organizing managment: It did not matter at all to me whether Joan sang some songs before ELP. Reserved seats did not matter either, I stood up shouted, whistled and clapped at end of each song and we could ran close to the stage for the Finale. The boys played the following songs. (If You like surprises and have a ticket for a 1997 ELP show, just close your eyes and press Page Down button immediately) Karn Evil 9 1st Imp. Part 2. Tiger In A Spotlight Hoedown Touch & Go (from ELPowell 1986) From The Beginning Knife Edge Bitches Crystal Creole Dance Honky Tonk Train Blues Take A Pebble Lucky Man Tarkus (almost complete) The Hut Of Baba Yaga The Great Gate Of Kiev Fanfare For The Common Man (without beginning fanfare) Drum Solo Rondo (containing Bumble-bee, knifing the organ as usual :-), D-minor Toccata & Fugue from the back of his organ and Carmina Burana!) Well, I'm almost 25, and was there in both Hungarian ELP concerts (firstly they came here in 1992). Comparing these shows, sounding of the band in Black Moon Tour was much clearer, but they used some playback channels. Yesterday Carl did not wear headphones at all, and Gregs little ear-phones were only for monitoring as I think, so they played everything LIVE. Slower songs sounded very clear (FTB, LM, tGGoK). Wow! That BIG Square Wave patch in Lucky Man, I was really thrilled, especially the main deep tune before and during Keith's solo - YOU MUST HEAR IT!!! Stable pieces (KE9, Tarkus) and harder songs (T&G, KE, tHoBY) were also good. Hoedown had a little bit tempo-problem: Keith always wanted to play main theme faster than Greg and Carl. Maybe if Lake and Palmer could play their part faster, the song would sound better :-))) Boogie-woogie-honky-tonk section (TiaS, HTTB) made excellent atmosphere - it almost made my girlfriend dance. BC was maybe the greatest surprise to me. It was fantastic. Another surprise was Carmina Burana in Rondo. Have they played this earlier? I missed only one thing. When we clapped over 15 minutes at the end, why ELP didn't come out to play e.g. Nutrocker. Why not?! Finally, I felt very fine, and this show was one of my most impressing experiences in my life. Wish You to feel the same. Bye, Gabor ------------------------------ Date: 6/25/97 4:54 PM From: Jose Gil Dieguez Neto To: arnold@reluctant.com Subject: ELP review on Genesis mailing list [...] take a look at this message sent to the Genesis mailing list Paperlate on 18/6/97: "Hi! For any of those of you interested, I saw the Emerson Lake & Palmer concert at our local shed amphitheater, Lakewood, here in Atlanta last night. It was great!! I had never seen these '70's bands before so it was especially memorable On to ELP! After 5 songs, Keith Emerson ran over to Greg Lake, and started talking to him. Soon after, Greg announced to the crowd that the sound was so bad that they needed to take a 5 minute break to rectify it. That was really refreshing to hear! He sounded quite upset. Sure enough, after about 5-7 minutes they were back, and seemed much happier. Perhaps they needed a hit?? :^) At any rate, their performance was truly fantastic!! Banks has been quoted saying he was influenced by Emerson in the '60's, right? And Carl Palmer has my vote to step right into Genesis any time he wants. He has the right style for Genesis music I think. Plus of course he is a master of technique. I thought it was funny how Emerson dragged a keyboard on stage and played it upside down lying on the stage with the keyboard lying on top of him, nice view that way! He was really into the show at that point. Any comments? Keep Them Mowing Blades Sharp! Tom Oastler Atlanta, GA" I thought you'd like to know people are talking good things about ELP in other places too...that's great, isn't it ? Regards Aloisio Campelo Jr. ------------------------------ Date: 6/25/97 9:02 AM From: Prott Bernd 2933 To: John Arnold Subject: elp concert munich Hi John, yesterday, 24th June, ELP had their first Germany concert of the 97 tour in Munich. They had to play in a quite small circus tent and this wasn't the appropriate surrounding for the guys, 1974 they sold out the nearby Olympic Hall of 10.000 sets twice. This time there must have been some 1500 to 2000 people I guess. The sound was not perfect, but maybe this impression could also be because I was standing directly in front of the stage. For me this was the first time to see my all time favourites just 5 meters away, what a feeling even after 26 years of personal experience with ELP concerts. The show started at 20:15 h after a local munich band as an opening act. The welcome for the guys was nothing but frenetic and they paid it back throughout the show. The opening was like 92 with Karn Evil 9, but this time they played the almost complete part 2 of the 1st impression not just 1 and a half minutes. Great idea to bring back one of their best pieces to glory. What followed was a kind of best of ELP line-up of songs. I hope I get the sequence right and I don't forget a song they played 1. Karn Evil 9 2. Tiger in the Spotlight 3. Touch and Go 4. From the Beginning (supported by Keith and Carl, not Greg alone) 5. Creole Dance (Keith solo) 6. Honky Tonk Train Blues 7. Take a Pebble 8. Lucky Man 9. Hoedown 10. Knife Edge 11. Bitches Cristal 12. Tarkus / Pictures (Fusion) Encore: Fanfare to the Common Man, Rondo, Carl's drum solo (4-5 minutes), Improvisations on the L100 to include the unpreventable abuse, Rondo End. The show lasted a bit more than 90 minutes including the encore. I had the impression, everybody had expected at least 20-30 minutes more for their money (concert tickets in Germany are quite expensive) Even though the fans really fought for a 2nd encore for more than 20 minutes they couldn't bring the guys back on stage. Will Alexander and the road crew received a deaffening 'Boooooh' and whistle-'concert when they started to dismantle the equipment. I don't intend to review each song, but my personal highlights were Karn Evil 9, Tarkus and Take a Pebble which included a brilliant jazzy improvisation in the middle section. What I liked most in total was that Keith utilized a lot the organic sound capabilities of his C3 Hammond and his piano without overdubbing. Maybe this was also because it seemed that some of his MIDI stuff let him done sometimes. Nevertheless, intended or not, Keith produced some Hammond solos which were nothing but outstanding. Especially during Rondo where he used the C3 without any 'abuse effects', also the big MOOG was back and got its chances during Rondo to impress the audience with its uncomparable sound capabilites. Even though all songs were well known, each had its variations and suprises. For example Keith played a good portion of Tarkus on plain piano sound, great. In general all three guys were in great and relaxed mood, even Keith had a big smile on his face more than once, can you believe it, this guy can realy smile. Greg's voice was brilliant compared to the almost poor singing performance back in 92. Carl performed exceptionally with no signs of remains of carpal tunnel surgery. The only thing I personnally missed was some new songs, as in the past new titles were first presented live before they were released on albums (e.g. Tarkus, Endless Enigma, Karn Evil 9). I hope this doesn't mean that a new album might be only wishfull thinking, let's wait and see. The greatest info for everybody who has no chance to see ELP live, the 'Bayerische Rundfunk' filmed the complete show (sometimes one fu...ing cameraman was blocking the view on Keith for a whole song) so check the TV Guides for a broadcast date. I will try to contact them to see if they already have a scheduled broacast date. To conclude I would say, beside some small glitches by Keith and the sound quality, it was a great show. The audience was great and ELP proved once again to be one of, if not the best live act in the business. Maybe a more professional management would bring them back to stages where they belong. Now I have to wait until the 1st July to see ELP in Nurnberg. best wishes from Germany Bernd Prott ------------------------------ Digest subscrition, mailing address, and administrative stuff to: elp-digest-request@reluctant.com ELP-related info that you want to put in the digest to: elp-digest@reluctant.com Back issues are available from the World Wide Web ELP Home Page: URL: http://bliss.berkeley.edu/elp/ Note: The opinions, information, etc. contained in this digest are those of the original message sender listed in each message. They are not necessarily those of the mailing list/digest administrator or those of any institution through whose computers/networks this mail flows. Unless otherwise noted, the individual authors of each entry in the Digest are the copyright holders of that entry. Please respect that copyright and act accordingly. I especially ask that you not redistribute the ELP Digest in whole or in part without acknowledging the original source of the digest and each author. Thanks! ------------------------------------------------------------ End of ELP Digest [Volume 7 Issue 12] *************************************