Finally...

Playlist
Mozart – Complete works (String Trios)
Edgar Froese – Ages
Asia – Asia
Asia – Alpha
Dave Mathews Band – Stand Up
The Blue Nile – Tinseltown in the Rain (CD-R)
Wetton Downes – Icon II Rubicon

Second listen of the day (after some late night Mozart) is Edgar Froese’s double LP “Ages” which I remember first hearing on the John Peel show way back. I don’t think Tangerine Dream and their main man, Mr Froese, get enough credit for today’s burgeoning electronic music scene...

Uptown and to FOPP where I purchase a disc by the Dave Matthews Band. Why? You may very well ask. A co-contributor to the Rheostatics Message Board recommended them. And the CD is only £3 (with a bonus 5 song DVD to boot)...

Back home early to await the arrival of Dr Prog. He called me earlier in the day to advise the ProgMobile had been taken into the garage for repairs and was not going to be available for our trip to see Asia in Glasgow tonight...

And so I decided I would drive. My arm is still sore but needs must and it’s either that or a couple of expensive train tickets and a taxi to and from the station....

After a quick plate of Anne’s home made and excellent carrot and coriander soup, it’s off into the rain and wind. Other than discovering Dave Matthews is distinctly average, the drive is uneventful, if a little slow - and I can’t really operate the indicator lever...

Asia are brilliant I must say – we made our way to the balcony (unreserved seating) for the best possible view....

The drumming of Carl Palmer is to the fore tonight and I finally realise (after almost 25 years) why it is the early Asia albums are not just the pop music they seem to be. Palmer’s drumming could be simple and just keeping time but he fills almost every bar with some complex drumming manoeuvre or other...

John Wetton’s voice is superb and his bass playing spot on. It looks a bit weird though but the uninitiated probably don’t realise he’s shortly due for an op on his hand as he cannot even hold a plectrum. He has a pick affixed to his thumb and so plays like that...

Steve Howe’s guitaring is similar to his Yes style but here, appearing in a totally different context, continually shines. His solos are, at times, blistering and his dexterity beggars belief for someone approaching their 60’s...

And Mr Geoffrey Downes? His keyboard skills are unsung, his songwriting skills being more usually highlighted. Seeing him live though, makes you aware of his talent as a pianist, keyboard player, soundscapist and indeed backing singer....

So here we are – four exceptionally gifted musicians playing what appears to be fairly simple pop music but closer listening is rewarded by an unexpected complexity in the delivery of these songs which dominated the American mainstream charts in the early eighties...

If you’ve never heard Asia, seek out their first two albums especially (“Asia” and “Alpha”) or one of their numerous greatest hits packages doing the rounds – but ensure Mr Wetton is aboard for the best entertainment...

By the time we get back downstairs after the performance (and after Dr Prog has had a bit of a set to with one the bouncers regarding the latter’s rather boorish behaviour during the concert) there is a massive queue to buy a 2CDset of the gig barely 30 minutes after its end – technology eh?

I eschew the chance to purchase, knowing I can buy online later and I also pass on the quartet’s meet and greet as it’s already almost 11 pm and we need to drive home...

I do buy Wetton/Downes second outing as Icon “Icon II Rubicon” though and we partake of some lovely pakoras on the way out of Glasgow...

Back home just after midnight and Anne is watching “This Week" which features Rick Wakeman – I watch the remainder before retiring with Icon on the headphones...

Highlight of the Day : Asia – Live at Last