To: arnold@reluctant.com From: Josh Leibowitz Subject: ELP@ The Chance in Poughkipsie Date: 8/14/98 10:35 AM Hello John and Fellow ELPeers, I had the great pleasure of attending the ELP show on August 3rd in Poughkipsie, NY. It was at a small bar called the Chance- a very intimate setting for an ELP show. I was very excited about seeing the guys play that night, since the last time I saw them was in Philly in '97. When I originally went to buy the tickets, I thought that this would be one of the shows that had all three bands on the bill. To my surprise, it was only E, L, and P. Very cool to say the least. The Chance had the appearance of a scaled-down Irving Plaza. There was a pit in the front and a balcony in the back. Being the ELP fan that I am, I made sure I was right up against the stage on Emerson's side. Before the show started, tons and tons of ELP fans were conversing about past ELP experiences, and being 23 (old, but not old enough to have experienced the old days), I find these situations very informative and entertaining. It's quite a surreal picture, with complete strangers recounting their memories so candidly- kind of like a family that had never met! Anyway-about the show. When the lights went down and ELP hit the stage, I didn't know what to expect. What I heard was a new piece of music, which I now know (thanks to previous reviews) to be "Crossing the Rubicon." It was an instrumental that was sort of ELPowell-esque in nature. Needless to say, I really dug it. That carried right into Carl double-sticking the intro to Karn Evil 9 on the hi-hat- Very Powerful rendition. This was followed with a stirring rendition of Hoedown, a concert classic in ELP's set. To my surprise, Keith turned around and started jamming on harmonica during the improv section of the song. Man, we were off to a great start already! What came next was completely shocking- Keith was introducing the next song, and I realized that it was going to be the Sheriff. Trilogy is my favorite album and Sheriff is one of my favorite songs, so you can imagine my delight when they cranked into this one. It went down perfectly, without a hitch. Next up was Touch and Go- a fitting selection to pay tribute to Cozy Powell (RIP) and as always given the full treatment as only ELP can do it. Keith followed this on with the best piano solo I have ever seen him do. Imagine being five feet from Keith and being able to watch him play his Piano Concerto. Man, it was unbelievable! Everyone was going nuts. Time for Greg to do his thing. Out came the old acoustic and we were treated to C'est la Vie, complete with Emerson on accordian (wearing a beret and making funny faces at the audience). Greg's voice sounds great these days, much better than on the Black Moon tour. Following this, the band ripped into "A Time and A Place" from the Tarkus album. This worked VERY well live, even better than the Sheriff sounded. This surprise was followed by Knife Edge, another concert favorite. Next up-Honky Tonk Train Blues. Not one of my favorites, but I think ELP likes it a lot, since we've heard it on the last three tours! To end the show, the complete Tarkus was played. Just to hear "Battlefield" made the whole trip worthwhile. Not to mention, Greg's outstanding (brief but outstanding) electric guitar work. He must have been practicing between '74 and '98! The encores were 20th Century Schizoid Man and America. Like always, Carl's drum solo is mesmerizing. How does that guy play like he's thirty when he's something like fifty years old? At any rate, the band was totally into the music and Keith and Carl looked like they were having the time of their lives. Greg never shows much emotion, but I guess that's just the way he is! I think the band was definately surprised at how psyched the crowd was with the entire show. Bring on the new album!!!!!! See Y'all soon and have a great Summer! -Josh Leibowitz lebo@ucs.net