Eric Martin and Ted Poley played in a very nice park in King Of Prussia, Pennsylvania on August 2, 2009. These vocalists from Mr. Big and Danger Danger performed tunes from their respective bands as well as their solo and other projects. Precipitation was projected and considered almost a certainty, and despite a large dark mass of clouds covering the area, not a drop of rain was cast.
Nice marquee, haha. Hey, it works.
Ted Poley opened his set with "Beat The Bullet" and continued with "Shot O' Love", a good one to get the crowd going. The third number of the evening was "Don't Walk Away" - the perfect song to listen to in an outdoor venue while hanging out ... it's one of those songs for someone to move his or her head to as it plays ... the violin was an excellent addition to this track too! The band carried on with the sentimental "Only Human" followed by a really neat acoustic version of the Danger Danger classic, "Bang Bang". Ted stayed with the Danger Danger catalogue with the Glam Metal ballad "I Still Think About You" ... a wonderful sing-along-song which included a long extended note before the first chorus and a fantastic guitar solo. The audience clapped along to "Did We Just Have A Moment" ... to which Ted asked, "Did we just have a moment?". We certainly did. The moody "Afraid Of Love" was next ... there's a great chorus in this one. Next up was a slow song titled "Crossing This Ocean" from the Poley/Rivera Only Human CD. The final tune of the night was the former MTV hit, "Naughty Naughty" ... the crowd exuberantly joined Ted and the band in yelling "Hey" five enthusiastic times to close out the song and the set. Ted literally walked out to the fans to personally say thank you for attending. As a final assessment I'd say Ted's vocals were very clean and spot on. It was a fun time. Ted hung out by the stage to meet the fans and stayed to the very last one who wanted to meet him.
Ted Poley's setlist for the evening:
01. Beat The Bullet 02. Shot O' Love 03. Don't Walk Away 04. Only Human 05. Bang Bang 06. I Still Think About You 07. Did We Just Have A Moment 08. Afraid Of Love 09. Monkey Business 10. Crossing This Ocean 11. Naughty Naughty
It looks like I'm about to do the signing!
Ted signing a photo of us taken in March of 2007:
Autographed set list!
Ted also signed an old Prophet album for me that night. I have it in a box somewhere. I'll post a pic of it when I find it again.
Here are two video clips of the show ...
Bang Bang:
I Still Think About You:
By the way, Danger Danger will have a new CD out in a few weeks and it is a must-have in 2009! I already heard a few tracks and they are killer - some outstanding Melodic Rock!
Eric Martin was the second and final act of the evening. He opened with the upbeat "Alive And Kickin'" and continued with the grooving "Voodoo Kiss". He played a few more songs including an outstanding rendition of the Mr. Big ballad "Just Take My Heart". The crowd was quite pleased with this one. Eric dipped into his solo catalogue from the 1980s for "There Goes The Neighborhood". He mentioned the track is going to be the theme song for a reality show of the same name. He got the crowd moving with "Goin' Sane" and later played the Cat Steven's cover that Mr. Big charted with in 1993, "Wild World". The band carried on with a couple more tunes before playing the chart-topping smash hit "To Be With You", a number one single in the United States and several other countries. Another Mr. Big track performed toward the end of the set was "Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song)". Eric Martin puts on a great show. He makes some funny comments between songs too. During the set Eric stated that he needs a haircut and I called out, "No. Don't do it!". He responded by repeating my words and said I am probably wearing a wig. A friend of mine told him the hair is real and we went at it a little more. Pretty funny. Eric came back out, and stayed with each and every fan well after the show was over. He had to be up at around 5:00 AM too so it was really cool for him to hang around for so long.
Behold the emotion ...
Look at this - someone caught me in the act! This was around the time Eric said I was wearing a wig!
Here we are looking at a photo of the two of us taken last summer:
It was great to see Joey Belladonna back in the area. He is one of the few acts I have actually seen in four different states (in his case, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York) over the years. There is a familiar face in the band on bass - R.C. is still jamming with Joey and two new members joined the band since I last saw Joey: Dave King on guitar and Monster Mike Merrifield on drums. They performed in a venue called Dingbatz and really delivered. The gig was hard, heavy and severe. The set mainly featured selections from Joey's time in Anthrax along with some cover tunes and one original. The opening number was "Among The Living" followed by a powerful version of "Medusa". Next up was "Madhouse" with a bit of "The Ripper" by Judas Priest thrown in during the introductory guitar part. The fourth song of the evening was "Antisocial" off of the State Of Euphoria LP. Two tracks from the Persistence Of Time era were next: "In My World" and "Got The Time" ... there was spirited audience participation for "In My World". The 22-year-old anthem "Caught In A Mosh" made the crowd go wild ... people were moshing, slamdancing, jumping off of the stage onto the floor ... crazy stuff but as can be expected at a Thrash Metal concert. It was truly raucous! The band carried on with "Efilnikufesin" with a few lines of "Bring Tha Noise" added in the beginning. After that tune was completed, Joey mentioned how he wanted to play an original called "Hard Life". "Hard Life" is a straight-forward rocker with a chorus perfect for headbanging and playing air-guitar ... hey, I still play air-guitar at these gigs. Joey even had a buddy join him on stage for the song. The band carried on with a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" followed by "Indians" from Anthrax's Among The Living album. Some of the fans had been calling for "Indians" throughout the set and they got their wish! A fantastic rendition of the song ... the crowd was pleased. At this point in the show, the fans got to hear some Ronnie Dio in the form of Black Sabbath's "Heaven And Hell" with a line from Rainbow's "Man On The Silver Mountain". The crowd was digging it. Only hardcore Anthrax and Joey fans would know the next selection ... "A.I.R." from the Spreading The Disease album. It was awesome to hear this one. The band ended the set with a savage version of the classic "Metal Thrashing Mad".
Final assessment: Joey gave the fans an excellent night of Heavy Metal music. R.C. was banging his head pounding the bass and had great stage presence. Dave was shredding on the guitar. Monster Mike was just that - a monster on the drums. As stated earlier, the performance was hard, heavy and severe! After the fourth or fifth song, Joey spotted me in the crowd (I was within two yards from the stage) with my rubbery Not-Man handpuppet, and mentioned the Not-Man I had and also said "You're everywhere". We made a couple funny comments back and forth and then he played on. During "Indians", Joey noticed a woman in the front row had her drink spilled. I am not sure if he kicked it over, but he opened a water bottle and poured some into the empty cup showing a thoughtful display of generosity. Headbangers need to stick together.
This was the full setlist:
01. Among The Living 02. Madusa 03. The Ripper/Madhouse 04. Antisocial 05. In My World 06. Got The Time 07. Caught In A Mosh 08. Bring Tha Noise/Efilnikufesin (N.F.L) 09. Hard Life 10. Foxy Lady 11. Indians 12. Heaven And Hell/Man On The Silver Mountain/Heaven And Hell 13. A.I.R. 14. Metal Thrashing Mad
Band members: Vocals: Joey Belladonna Bass: R.C. Guitar: Dave King Drums: Monster Mike Merrifield
If you want some REAL Metal performed fast and loud, be sure to check out Joey Belladonna on tour! Here are some photos of the concert (all taken, cropped and uploaded by the author):
Yes and Asia together ... a dream come true for many Progressive Rock and Classic Rock aficionados ... and with original vocalist Jon Anderson on the sidelines with an injury, fans' dreams of hearing obscure material could plausibly and finally come to pass as well. I have been a fan of the Yes/Buggles/Asia trio of bands (mainly due to Geoff Downes) since my early childhood. These photos will attest to that ...
Here I am with a Yes Tormato poster (photo taken in late 1979):
Here I am with Geoff Downes in August 2006 (holding a Buggles LP he signed for me; my sister gave the album to me in or around 1983):
I have a long history of interest in these bands so it was wonderful of them to tour together and as for two "new guys" performing vocal and keyboard duties in Yes ... no problem. I absolutely welcome them. The show must go on and the show did go on ... very well ... with the fans being treated to top-notch musicianship and with rare gems not heard in years ... decades in fact.
Asia hit the stage first and opened their set with "Wildest Dreams" followed by the well-received "Only Time Will Tell"; both tracks are from their self-titled debut. Next up was "An Extraordinary Life" (a song John Wetton felt compelled to write as a celebration of life after his bypass surgery) from their latest CD, Phoenix. The forth song of the evening was the very historic and influential "Video Killed The Radio Star" (the first video aired on MTV) from Geoff Downes' old band, The Buggles. Wetton used a megaphone for the first verse to replicate Trevor Horn's vocals as best he could. This was an entertaining number and the crowd showed its approval. This was followed by the King Crimson track "In The Court Of The Crimson King". Original King Crimson member Ian McDonald surprised the crowd when he joined the band onstage and played the flute during the song. After that, the band slowed it down a bit with acoustic versions of two Alpha-era songs, "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes" and "Don't Cry". Business picked up with the Emerson Lake And Palmer instrumental "Fanfare For The Common Man". Although the song was to feature the talents of Carl Palmer, Geoff Downes' keyboard playing was quite prominent as well. Incorporated into this early 70s classic was an extremely powerful drum solo by Carl Palmer. Despite being nearly 60 years of age, Carl played this with such commanding force and presence ... many drummers a third of his age would be hard-pressed to match his unassailable quality and manner. He even added some tricks to his solo by balancing a drum stick on one of the cymbals. "Fanfare ..." could very well have received the loudest, most exuberant response and applause of the evening ... and this includes both Asia and Yes. The band carried on with fan-favorite "Soul Survivor" and ended their set with the popular hit single from 1982, "Heat Of The Moment". There was fantastic audience participation on "Heat Of The Moment". The crowd bid the band farewell as they left the stage. This was not the final goodbye to Steve Howe though as he would return moments later.
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. Wildest Dreams 02. Only Time Will Tell 03. An Extraordinary Life 04. Video Killed The Radio Star 05. In The Court Of The Crimson King 06. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes 07. Don’t Cry 08. Fanfare For The Common Man/Drum Solo 09. Soul Survivor 10. Heat Of The Moment
Asia's members: Geoff Downes: keyboards, vocals John Wetton: bass guitar, lead vocals Carl Palmer: drums Steve Howe: lead guitar, vocals
Photos of Asia's performance (all taken, cropped and uploaded by the author):
Check out Carl - pretty funny:
After a short break, Yes, with Steve Howe pulling double session, hit the stage (as a recorded version of Igor Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite" was piped into the venue), and opened with the intricate "Siberian Khatru" ... a song that achieves a rare feat combining very technical arrangements with the kind of melody and beat that can get a crowd to dance and party! The performance and ability of new vocalist Benoit David of this song assured me that this would be an excellent evening of Yes' music. "Siberian Khatru" was followed by "Your Move/I've Seen All Good People". Chris Squire was very conspicuous during this song - he really got into it with his plucking of the bass prior to the final round of choruses. Fantastic stage presence by Squire. Next up was a track from the Drama album, "Tempus Fugit" ... a song Chris Squire would usually play during his bass solos, the latter end/final few seconds with help from other band members in years past. Yes has not performed "Tempus Fugit" live since the year 1980. Oliver Wakeman provided the electronic "Yes Yes" vocal parts. Speaking of songs not performed in a long time, the fourth number of the night was "Astral Traveller". The band dusted this one off last year and prior to that, it has not been in a Yes setlist since 1971. The song included a rousing drum solo by Alan White who smacked the skins with vigor so much so that one cannot see the retirement of this seasoned performer anytime soon. A fine display of bright lights accompanied White during his solo. The band carried on with a delightful rendition of "And You And I" - David shined on this one. After that, Steve Howe sat in a chair for his guitar solo which included "Pyramidology", a song from his Natural Timbre CD released in 2001. When his solo was over, he introduced the song as "Pyramidology" and then said, "It's a song about Pyramids". Pretty funny. The chart topping hit single from Yes' LP 90125, "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" was next and this was the only time Jon Anderson's voice could be heard during the set as the band allowed samples of the song to be played. Squire's brief bass part/solo during the second verse was very pronounced and Howe played his own solo in place of Trevor Rabin's original composition. This was followed by "Machine Messiah" with its foreboding intro. This is as close to Heavy Metal as Yes gets! During the slow part of "Machine Messiah", smoke was pumped onto the stage adding ambiance to this musical epic. The crowd offered loud and enthusiastic praise when the Drama-era track was completed. Like all the other songs from the Drama album, this too has not been performed by Yes since 1980. The audience instantly recognized the very familiar beginning of the ninth track on the evening, "Roundabout". This one showcased the talents of all the members of the band especially Wakeman and Squire who pounded the bass with energy and showmanship. Yes closed their set with the powerful and varied "Heart Of The Sunrise". All of them left the stage only to return with an encore, the 38-year-old masterpiece, "Starship Trooper", a song I recall hearing from my siblings' rooms in my very early childhood. Wakeman's solo during "Starship Trooper" was really cool and David did a really good job with this final song of the evening.
Final assessment: The incorporation of the two Drama selections into the setlist was without question a real treat for hardcore Yes fans and historians. I was glad to hear them and yes, I have been waiting a long time to hear these. The Drama line-up was scheduled to tour in 2005, but ultimately could not due to a visa situation. I was surprised Geoff Downes did not join the band onstage for the songs considering he played on the Drama album. It was also odd to see Steve Howe introducing the songs he did not perform on in the studio (songs from albums he was not on). I tell ya what though - Steve Howe can play ... that's for sure. Oliver Wakeman's keyboards were turned down a bit much and he was in the dark for a good portion of the show, but when he could be seen or heard, he filled his father's place quite well. All in all, it was an incredible event and I am glad I went.
The setlist of the gig:
01. Siberian Khatru 02. Your Move/I’ve Seen All Good People 03. Tempus Fugit 04. Astral Traveller/Drum Solo 05. And You And I 06. Guitar Solo/Pyramidology 07. Owner Of A Lonely Heart 08. Machine Messiah 09. Roundabout 10. Heart Of The Sunrise ---------------------------- 11. Starship Trooper
Yes' members: Chris Squire: bass, vocals Steve Howe: lead guitar, vocals Alan White: drums Oliver Wakeman: keyboards, vocals Benoit David: lead vocals, tamborine, rhythm guitar
Photos of Yes' performance (all taken, cropped and uploaded by the author):
