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Scale The Summit Concert Review

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

Upper Darby, PA (Philadelphia Area / Southeastern Pennsylvania) — Scale The Summit is a young band out of Houston, Texas. They are currently part of the Progressive Nation Tour with Bigelf, Zappa Plays Zappa and Dream Theater. Their show at the Tower Theatre showcased the talent of the band whose average age is 22.

Possessing good form and great sound, the band played their unique style of instrumental music. They refer to their music as “adventure metal” as it takes the listener on a mental journey.

Their lead guitarist, Chris Letchford, plays an 8-string electric guitar. “As far as fitting in with modern music,” Letchford says, “I don’t think that we fit in with anybody– at all.”

One of the highlights from their set was “Sargasso Sea” from their latest album Carving Desert Canyons.

Scale The Summit Photo Gallery
Bigelf Photo Gallery
Zappa Plays Zappa Photo Gallery
Dream Theater Photo Gallery

Asia Concert Review

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Jackson, NJ — The original members of ASIA are on tour with Yes:
Steve Howe – Guitars, Madolin, Pedal Slide, Vocals
John Wetton – Bass, Vocals, Guitars
Carl Palmer – Drums
Geoff Downes.- Keyboards, Vocals

The show started with two songs from the first self-titled album Asia “Wildest Dreams” (Downes, Wetton) followed by “Only Time Will Tell” (Downes, Wetton). The sound was sharp. This might have had something to do with Geoff Downes abilities as a producer. The third song was from 2008’s Phoenix, “An Extraordinary Life”.

Then, the show took a turn in an un-anticpated direction. John Wetton asked, “Does anyone remember MTV? I mean when MTV was MTV? Well, the first thing ever shown on MTV was Geoff Downes hands. Those hands on this song!” They then went into The Buggles’ hit “Video Killed the Radio Star”. The crowd got a real kick out of this as they danced and sang along. Next, they played a song from one of John Wetton’s former bands, King Crimson’s “Court of the Crimson King”. ["The Court of the Crimson King" (McDonald, Sinfield) including "The Return of the Fire Witch" and "The Dance of the Puppets".]

Hmmm… isn’t that kind-of like one of those six degrees of separation? Though John Wetton had played the song live with King Crimson, he wasn’t in the band when it was recorded. Greg Lake did the studio version’s bass and vocals. Of course, Greg Lake went on to play with Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP). Carl Palmer playing drums and John Wetton on bass and vocals was an interesting combination to consider for six degrees of separation. It would seem that six degrees from this combination would just about touch every musician you could think of… Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins to Eric Clapton.

The concert went back to Asia, again, with two songs from their second album Alpha. “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes” featured Steve Howe on a pedal slide guitar followed by Steve playing mandolin on “Don’t Cry”.

Next, it was Carl Palmer’s turn to be featured on a song ELP brought back to life on their 1977 album Works Volume II. Fanfare for the Common Man was originally written in 1942 by a 20th-century American classical composer, Aaron Copland. Asia had all the musicianship to pull it off. Though some of these guys have been playing live since the 60’s, they still had plenty of umph. Carl Palmer looked as fit as a 20-year-old athlete and played the drums in the same manner. He has to be one of the best drummers of all times. To see him play is like watching a fine artist create a sculpture, but instead of stone he sculpts in rock rhythms. The drum solo was a breath taking spectacle.

They concluded the show with two more songs from the debut album “Sole Survivor” (Downes, Wetton) and “Heat of the Moment” (Downes, Wetton). The journey from radio-friendly AOR pop-rock, MTV, new wave, progressive rock, jazz to classical came to an end.

Links:
Asia Photo Gallery

Yes Photo Gallery

Yes Concert Review

Also played in:
Steve Howe – Yes, The Syndicats, Bodast, Tomorrow, Anerson, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe and GTR
John Wetton – Mogul Thrash, Family, King Crimson (with childhood friend Robert Fripp), Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry band, Uriah Heep, UK and Wishbone Ash
Carl Palmer – Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Atomic Rooster, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Geoff Downes.- Yes and The Buggles

[*note: UK is a great band to check-out if you have never heard of them.]

Asia-In-Concert

Cage The Elephant

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

West Chester, PA — Note: The Note is a music venue. The Note is giving bands a great place to perform in the most difficult of economic times. Not only that, they also offer an “all ages” concert experience. More often than not when an up-and-coming band goes on the road, they can only find stages in front of “over 21″ crowds. The Note allows youth a chance to see artists they usually don’t get an opportunity to view live.

Courage Pills
The opening act, Courage Pills, is a local band that is growing in skill and popularity. The five-piece band is able to muster up a solid punk rock sound that evolves into an almost progressive groove. The lead guitarist pulls off some mean solos, as well as, fusing with keyboards to create a full sound.

Cage The Elephant at the Note, West Chester, PA

Cage The Elephant at the Note, West Chester, PA

Cage The Elephant
Cage The Elephant aptly describes the live performance of the band (kind-of like a bull in a china shop.) Their roots are in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Throughout most of their songs, you get that swampy blues and rockabilly inspiration. Surprisingly, their fan base isn’t home grown. For the past year, they have been at the forefront of a British invasion. After signing with EMI and releasing an album, they’ve returned to the states for a tour.

Brothers, Matt and Brad Shultz, handle lead vocals and guitar. Both Matt and Brad perform in a frenzied state that is reminiscent of a snake handling, tongue speaking religious revelation.

The band plays as a cohesive unit. When queried about songwriting, copyrights and publishing, Matt said, “We all work together on the songs and share the credits.” For many years, artists had to give up their publishing rights and ability to create outside of their recording contracts. Matt went on to say, “We’ve kept complete control over our music and can do whatever we want.”

Lead guitarist, Lincoln Parish, actually looks more like Matt’s brother than Brad. Lincoln has the ability to add a lot of the retro embellishments. Whether it’s a bluesy slide or a James Brown funk, he sucks you in with a catchy hook.

Coming out from behind the long hair covering his face, bassist Daniel Tichenor says he is shy. Perhaps, but he is actually quite personable. After admitting to stealing his setlist from the stage during the performance, he said, “That’s O.K. We’re pretty tight with the music and know where we are going.”

All members admitted that getting signed to a record deal and receiving a substantial radio airplay has not resulted in instant fame and fortune. “That doesn’t matter. It’s about the music,” said Matt.

And, so is the state of the music business — no plush hotel suite with penthouse windows for throwing TVs out. They had to hurry on their way. After sleeping on the tour bus, they had an eight AM radio interview. Not even able to remember what city their dawn interview was taking place in, they did know there was no rest for the wicked. Asked if he was going to have to play live on the radio, Brad’s face took on the yawning, sleepy, closed eye look as he started playing air guitar.

Following the morning appointment, they had to get back on the bus and head for their evening show in Washington, D.C. “I still ain’t got no money,” said Daniel.

Setlist

  • Dr. Dr. Dr.
  • Tiny Little Robots
  • Lotus
  • Monkey Song
  • Back Against The Wall
  • Back Stabbing Betty
  • In One Ear
  • Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked
  • Aberdeen
  • Japanese Buffalo
  • Judas
  • James Brown
  • Free Love
  • Sabor Tooth Tiger