>Speaking of ELP: I saw Asia a couple of weeks ago. The solos were great (youprobably know who was on guitar), but Palmer's drum solo was one of the best, perhaps the best solo I've ever seen. Even better made by the fact that it was in a smaller club with only a couple of hundred people - seeing the guys across a couple of m is still better than on big screen. Heavily reccommended if they are in your area - they are still masters.
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>Carl Palmer is a consummate professional - always working at his craft. Palmer and Neil Peart are definitely the top drummers in rock music.
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>I have not listened to Asia's newest album (Omega?), but I have never been a big Asia fan. I always thought Asia was less than the sum of the parts. For some reason, Steve Howe just flat out sounds better in Yes than Asia. I'm told that Omega is very good, so I'll have to check it out.

I had guessed something along those lines already <g>. And the concert was big on the first 2 albums as well. It is not like a big concert U2 will give, not even in the same ballpark as most other still current groups filling >10000 halls will give you. But the smaller atmosphere gives musicians still enjoying their gig a nice arena to show off their stuff: Chappo was fantastic in such surroundings, Nazareth more lackluster.
Ticketes cost about a fifth of U2, and while the show U2 put on was bombastic (and visibly expensive), the small show has IMHO more memory value per $ - and I still think the >600$ for U2 with a couple of friends were one of my better splurges.

>Don't know if you knew this, but one of the big reasons for ELP's breakups over the years was due to Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer complaining (with justification) that Greg Lake did not practice and didn't keep his chops and voice in shape. Having seen ELP in concert in their later years, it was obvious which band member is truly "over the hill".

I refreshed memory before the concert ;-)
As EL partnered with another drummer later, there must have been other issues involved as well. I beleive some groups are clearly more/better than the sum of their members (Stones, Who) others are dominated by a subset (Ian for JT, Springsteen for e-street positive, but also Fripp as an example of things not all rosy) while others remind me of amoebae exchanging information. Asia clearly falls into the last part - but perhaps those musicians just cannot form a "group" like the first examples. So yeah, perhaps not the best possible setting for those diamonds, but one stable enough to bring them together at a place I can see them ;-)

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>Also, Yes just released a new album - it was supposed to have Oliver Wakeman (Rick Wakeman's son) in it, but Chris Squire fired Oliver, and they used Geoffrey Downes to finish....and Downes will tour with Yes later this year. I listened to much of the new Yes album on iTunes - figures that Yes is touring with Styx, because the new Yes album has that same empty bombastic sound for which Styx is famous.

I can only urge you to go listen to them live - it's only the price of a dinner in better eating place and less calories.
Chances are you won't have too many options to see them later on. I heard Styx live early this century and they were great.
(But I like them - not so much the bombastic sound as such but the difference between a [s]low beginning
and the blast later, which should remind you of a piano at the start of a certain song ;-)
Ian will be around in August, only 40Km from here. Will be thinking of you, even if his voice cracks again.

regards

thomas