Asian Invasion '08

40 Year Old Virgins unite! Asia returns to the Bay Area.

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Set List: Daylight / Never Again / In The Court Of The Crimson King / Video Killed The Radio Star / Roundabout / Fanfare For The Common Man / An Extraordinary Life / Steve Howe solo (nice slow song didn't recognize followed by Clap) / John Wetton solo (Voice Of America) / The Smile Has Left Your Eyes / The Heat Goes On / Carl Palmer solo / Heat Of The Moment / Only Time Will Tell / Sole Survivor / One Step Closer / Time Again / Wildest Dreams / Without You / Cutting It Fine / Geoff Downes solo / Here Comes The Feeling

Encore: Open Your Eyes

Many, many, many years ago there was a skinny geeky kid who saw an advertisement for a concert by one of his favorite bands in the "pink section" of the San Francisco Examiner. The advertisement said "Asia - Asian Invasion '83" and the kid cut out the advertisement and put it on his wall next to his Asia, REO Speedwagon and Journey posters. A few weeks later, the concert was cancelled. Then a few months later near his birthday was an MTV concert called ASIA IN ASIA where his band would play in Tokyo for one of the first concerts aired via satellite on the new video network. But just before the concert they switched bass/lead singers resulting in a concert that lacked "the voice" of Asia. It just seemed to be one of those things in life that wouldn't be and to paraphrase the Sundays here's where the story was going to end.

Last night the story received a big addition as I finally saw Asia live in concert. Since reuniting about a year ago, Asia toured the U.S., Europe and Japan but always avoided the Bay Area so once I saw tickets for a show in San Francisco I really wanted to go. It didn't matter that I hate driving in the city and had no idea where the Regency Grand Ballroom was, this was possibly a once in a lifetime chance to see the aging pomp rockers in action.

The Regency turned out to be an elegent setting filled with chandelliers and ornate artwork carved into the stone walls. There were a few rows of chairs packed more tightly than a high school graduation. Due to the small size of the room, the group was fully visible from all angles which was nice. The stage had a small, visible light set and no banners or artwork to speak of. Just the band's instruments. I enjoyed the ambience of seeing and listening to (mostly) guys who were like me that still worshipped a band largely considered a one hit wonder, as people in faded Yes shirts walked by talking about the powers of Genesis or Rush.

In a very progressive rock move where timing is crucial, the band took the stage very close to the 7:30 start time. The band seemed to be in good health, both Downes and Wetton appeared slimmer than I had seen in recent photos and Carl Palmer seemed fitter than ever. Steve Howe was standing upright which was an improvement over other concerts I had seen him in where he would need to sit for large portions of Yes songs. The overall sound was loud but clear and well mixed except for some distortion on the keyboards.

They opened with "Daylight" which was the B-side to "Don't Cry" and the cassette bonus track to the Alpha album. Asia sounded tight and invigorated, you wouldn't know they had health issues from hearing them. John Wetton's voice was as clear and powerful as it was in his prime. Downes still did the one handed keyboard playing thing while Carl Palmer bashed through his drums with speed and precision. But the true revelation was Steve Howe. I've seen Howe play numerous times since 1991 but other than the Open Your Eyes tour of 1997 he seemed more reserved than the videos I had seen of his younger years. That was not the case last night, Howe played with the awkward expressiveness that made him famous. He guitar faced all over, stiffly duck walked, balanced on one leg and just plain rocked out. My jaw dropped at some of the solos the man was putting out there.

"Never Again" from the new Phoenix album followed and came across well. The band then focused on songs from their prior careers introduced on the mic by Carl Palmer. The King Crimson classic "In The Court Of The Crimson King" was as ominous and epic as the original, even though none of the band members played on the original track. Wetton dug in for an emotional vocal selling the song as if he was Greg Lake incarnate. Then, Geoff Downes disappeared while John Wetton introduced the next song.

Downes reappeared in a silver glittery jacket and shades while Wetton picked up a mini bullhorn to start the Buggles "Video Killed The Radio Star". "Star" added a fun bit of 80's nostalgia and Downes reminded me of Hugh Grant in that Music & Lyrics movie. Howe then unleashed a torrent of notes at the end adding a distinct Asia flavor to the tune. Yes' "Roundabout" came up and was OK, Wetton's voice isn't anywhere near the tone of Jon Anderson and the over amplified keyboards made it hard to hear Downe's solo clearly. Asia tore into "Fanfare For The Common Man" and though it was ELP's song it was Howe and Downes that got the most face time. They traded solos back and forth for minutes, Howe in particular came up with some of his best playing I've ever heard from him live.

At this point I believe they played "An Extraordinary Life" from Phoenix though it may have come after the solos. I'm old and my memory isn't what it used to be. Steve Howe sat down for his acoustic solo, starting with a slow song I was unfamiliar with. I can't listen to Steve Howe without thinking of my wife (I don't mean that in a sick way, we're both fans of Maestro) who couldn't be at the show due to a school test :( . Midway through the solo Howe jumped into "Clap" which got a big rise from the crowd.

John Wetton then came out for what the audience perceived to be one of the "bathroom breaks" because people filed in and out during his solo. It was their loss as Wetton represented the Astra album with a great acoustic version of "Voice Of America" explaining it's inspiration drawn from listening to the Beach Boys. A subdued full band version of my personal favorite "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" followed which was pleasant though I missed the overblown melodrama of the original.

A song I really grooved to on the way to the show was "The Heat Goes On" which they played very effectively. And true to the Asia in Asia live version, it ended with Carl Palmer's drum solo. It was a treat to see in person what I consider the best drum soloist in the history of rock. There's showboating and there's Carl Palmer and I mean that in a good way. Palmer sped through his drums, did that multiple drum cymbal thing and the kick drum with the tambourine call and response beat exactly like he had throughout his career. By the time he was bashing his twin gongs the crowd was giving a standing ovation.

Which was the first real big pop from the crowd after the beginning of the show. It was a progressive rock audience so there was less yelling and frenzy and more sitting and studiously watching which probably made the band feel like it was playing in a vacuum. Then Wetton announced they would be playing the whole first album in it's entirety which made the fans ecstatic.

True to their word, Asia led off with "Heat Of The Moment" which was fantastic. They played it as if it was the last song of the night, it was longer with a lot of Howe soloing and Geoff Downes cruising the stage on his keytar. Wetton led the audience in the normal audience sing along that goes with playing the big hit. The smaller stage with flashing lights led to a flashback of playing the song on the Guitar Hero video game. Coupled with the drum solo, this was the highpoint of the evening.

"Only Time Will Tell" got a bigger pop from the fans that were warmed up by "Heat". The crowd sang along to the opening lines of the song which seemed to surprise Wetton. The third song from the album, "Sole Survivor", also cooked with all of the solos and fills known from the record in their place. Steve Howe did seem to get a touch off his game from here through "Time Again" but it didn't matter, his will to rock out didn't stop. "One Step Closer" was OK, it's one of my least favorite Asia songs but in this setting it was still great.

The thunderous "Time Again" followed and having heard "Fanfare" earlier I could see a little connection in the groove between the two songs. Though the split second timing from the record wasn't quite there, it kicked off the hardest rocking part of the night and fans went nuts. Carl Palmer hit his gong so hard towards the end that it nearly fell over! "Wildest Dreams" led off the Side 2 part as the audience pumped their fists in the air singing along to "For King!" and "And Country!"sections. Carl Palmer wrapped it up with another blast of drums at the end of the song getting another huge pop from the fans.

Steve Howe introduced "Without You" and I thought he said it was a different version but it sounded the same as the album to me. One of my favorite Steve Howe guitar solos is in this song and I liked how he slowly crouched and crept along the stage during it. The audience took another bathroom break during this tune.

The band members seemed to share a sense of camradere on stage and that was really present before the start of "Cutting it Fine". All four of them seemed to talk and look at each other as if to say "Are we really going to play THIS song?" I don't know why that would be, just the impression I had. Another part of this impression may be watching Wetton read the lyrics from a teleprompter while he sang them, but aurily it sounded killer. As on the record, the song ends with a solo by Geoff Downes which was well played.

Wetton thanked the audience as both he and everyone else knew this was the end of the record. Asia then burned through "Here Comes The Feeling" with even more power than the recorded version ending in a blaze of glory.

A brief break led to the one encore of the night, Alpha's "Open Your Eyes". A sort of forgotten classic track for me, I played that song to death back in the day on the cassette but haven't listened to it much since then. The real treat was the ending, which fades out on record but in the live setting allowed Howe to unspool a series of solos to a high speed beat.

And so ended one of the best concerts I've ever seen, an almost perfect show. The small venue was really good as it was the second closest I've ever been to the stage during a show (the closest was Night Ranger at the Cow Palace). My Mom went with me, which was nice and she had bought the first Asia tape which I then claimed as my own by playing it over and over. Unfortunately my wife couldn't go too because after all that benkyo she had to gokusei at the dojo (I have a feeling that's not correct Japanese) which is why she is a smart bunny.