Asia

Shepherds Bush Empire, London (£25)
Sun 16 Mar 08

Set:
taped intro
"Daylight"
"Only Time will Tell"
"Wildest Dreams"
"Never Again"
"Roundabout"
"Time Again"
Geoff Downes solo: "Bolero" (from "Cutting It Fine")
Steve Howe solo, including "Clap"
"The Smile has Left Your Eyes"
"Ride Easy"
John Wetton solo: "Voice of America"
"Open Your Eyes"

interval

"Fanfare for the Common Man"
"Without You"
"An Extraordinary Life"
"Court of the Crimson King"
"Video Killed the Radio Star"
"The Heat Goes on", including Carl Palmer solo
"Heat of the Moment"

encore:
"Don't Cry"
"Sole Survivor"

Steve Howe: electric guitars, acoustic guitar, lap steel, pedal steel, backing vocals
Carl Palmer: drums, percussion
John Wetton: lead vocals, bass, 12-string guitar
Geoff Downes: keys, Roland keytar, backing vocals

Buy Asia's Phoenix

(Or with bonus track.)

Another great show by Asia shows a band relaxed with themselves and playing great. In all, the debut album material comes off well in performance and the pre-Asia songs remain interesting.

This first leg of touring after Wetton's and Palmer's respective heart surgery saw nearly the same set list as prior shows and there's not much to say about the 2008 London show that I couldn't have said about the very similar show 15 months ago at the same venue. The big improvement was that the Empire did not overcrowd the standing section like last time and, arriving earlier, my gig companion and I got a good spot very near the front, just below Steve Howe.

And that's where you want to be at an Asia concert for, as in 2006/7, it was Howe who dominated the show with his playing. This is the beginning of a 6-month stretch of touring for Howe (Asia, then the Steve Howe Trio, then Yes) after an equally busy stretch of recording (three albums are due soon: Asia, the Steve Howe Trio and a new solo guitar album, Motif). Howe looked happy: he was playing great and interacting with the rest of the band. He even jovially played through a loss of amplification during his solo spot.

Compared to his bandmates, Wetton seemed slightly detached at first, taking a few songs to warm up. It was only really with "Roundabout" that he seemed as enthused. Being over to the left and near the stage, it was much harder hearing Downes in the mix, but even taking that into account, he seemed to slip into the background musically more than the others, just as with the 2006 show. However, in all, the whole band were clearly having fun. There was none of the stilted body language towards each other that we've seen at a Yes show or two.

"Never Again" was the first of two new songs from forthcoming album Phoenix. Had you told me this was a long lost left-over from Alpha, I would have believed you. Very in that album's style, I can but say if you liked Alpha, you'll like this, and conversely if you didn't like Alpha... Darn catchy too; I was humming it all through breakfast the next day. At first, I thought the lyrics seemed to be Wetton apologising to the world, but I think it's more an anti-war song, a complement to the sentiment of "Wildest Dreams" before it. The performance of "Never Again" was perhaps slightly less fluid than the rest of the set, but it received an eager introduction from Howe and the band seemed confident in it.

The opening set included an "acoustic" section, although this means just that Wetton switched from bass to 12-string guitar, Downes played a piano synth and Palmer used brushes or quieter percussion. Howe was on a lap steel for "The Smile has Left Your Eyes", then back to a regular electric for "Ride Easy". I'm not certain why, but I felt "Ride Easy" was less successful, a dip in a broadly strong night. A solo spot followed for Wetton, who sang "Voice of America", notable as an addition to the set and the only old Asia song after Alpha to be played.

The second half of the evening saw three of the pre-Asia songs. "Fanfare for the Common Man" remains a fun excuse for the band members to exchange licks. "Court of the Crimson King" sounded fractionally smoother than how I remember their 2006 performance. "Video Killed the Radio Star" remains fun and, as the other two, offered many opportunities for Howe to shine. That's also the case with the second new song to be premièred, "An Extraordinary Life".

In contrast to "Never Again", "An Extraordinary Life" sounds much more like Wetton's recent compositions, akin to an Icon track but crucially with more interesting guitar and drum parts. The song is on the theme of carpe diem (as the backdrop video and Wetton both pointed out) and was inspired by Wetton's recent health problems. Palmer, who has had his own heart surgery, voiced his agreement too in introducing the piece. A somewhat more complex piece than "Never Again", it has, like much of the debut album, room for Howe to work his magic.

A classic quartet of songs finished the show, including Palmer's drum solo (if you've seen it before, you've seen it before). "Heat of the Moment" was a particularly energetic pre-encore closer.

As I said, this is much the same from Asia. I loved the show previously and was happy to see it again. If you didn't like it last time, you won't this time. The new album, from what we heard of it, has some promise, but it isn't going to be any sort of radical departure from Asia's style.

The band, somehow, seem mercifully free of interpersonal tensions and I applaud their desire to play Yes/ELP/Crimon/Buggles numbers. If only all bands were as open in their set list choices. And Steve Howe remains a glorious guitarist to see perform. If Asia does not tax his versatility, I'm sure I'll be seeing some more challenging work for him in the Steve Howe Trio in just a few months.

Henry Potts, 17 Mar 08

Originally posted to alt.music.yes.

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