Conference napalm::commusic_v1

As mst of you probably know, ABWH were with Chris Squire (still with YES) one
of the majr line-ups of the group YES during the seventies.  Others who
shared in YES membership as more than passing members are Alan White, Chris
Squire, and Tony Kaye (all still with YES).  For the 80s the YES lineup has
included guitarist Trevor Rabin (also still there).

ABWH has a CD this year (YES still exists without Jon Anderson).  Playing bass
for them is Tony Levan (probably spelled his name wrong) who was I believe
with King Crimson.

The concert last night featured ABWH and I presume Tony Levan.  Also playing
were two guys who looked early twenties and played rhythm guitar and keyboards.
I heard Jon Anderson (JA) refer to one of them at one point as Julio.

I stood about 250 feet from the stage to the stages left on the grass median
type strip at the Riverside park in Manchester.  I could see everything well
and hear well but at softer volume than in front (where I listened for a 
few minutes).

They played two sets.  They started within 5 minutes of the published start time
of 8pm.  Jon Anderson came out to start the first set with only the rhythm 
guitarist playing an acoustic.

Set One
---------

1. John Anderson and Rhythm Guitarist.  JA sang a medley that started off with
something familiar but which I can't place a name to.  This blended into
a minute of "Owner of a Lonely Heart".  Also in the medley were some more
of the thing that started out the medley and also a part of the song "Teakbois"
from the ABWH album (the middle non-latin part).

2. Steve Howe (SH) came out and played on acoustic "The Clap".

3. SH played from Fragile his solo song "Mood for a Day"

4. Rick Wakeman (RW) came out and jammed a bunch of stuff I didn't recognize.
I've never seen anyones fingers move so fast.

5. Group played "Long Distance Runaround" that merged into a few bits and pieces
of other YES tunes and ended with a massive Bill Bruford (BB) solo.

6. Group played "Birthright" from ABWH.

7. Group played "And You and I"

8. Group played "I've Seen All Good People".  There was a group jam (3-4 
minutes) towards the end of this.

---- end of set one.  duration -- 1 hour -----

announced 10 minute intermission.  lasted about 20-22 minutes.

set two
-------

1. Group played "Close to the Edge".  The whole song.

2. Group played "Themes" from ABWH.

3. BB and Tony Levan (TL) had a drum and bass jam.  A good 5 minutes worth.

4. Group played "Brother of Mine" from ABWH.

5. JA with Wakemand and Julio played "The Meeting" from ABWH.

6. Group played "Heart of the Sunrise".

7. Group played "Order of the Universe" from ABWH

8. Group played "Roundabout".

------end of set two. Lasted about 1 hour 20 minutes, maybe 25  minutes(?) ----

Then came the encore.  My friend and I wondered.  What could they do to top
it off?

We had forgotten one of my favorites.  The group played

"Starship Trooper".  The whole thing.

End of concert.

Now about the equipment and whatnot.  We were there about 40 minutes early and
so I walked up to the stage and looked at the equipment.  Visible in

Wakemans little alcove of keyboards were:

1.  Ensoniq VFX
2.  Roland D50
3.  Yamaha V50
4.  Not visible were some sort of piano or master controller (x 2)
no rack for him was visible.  Korg was conspicuously absent (unless it was
behind his little wall).

Tony Levan had a bass (of course) and a rack with amps and things like that
I didn't recognize along with a 1space Yamaha processor, one of the new Korg
1space processors and what looked like a quadraverb.  He also had an old style
Yamaha DX7 which he played with one finger in a few songs now and then.  For
you stick fans he also played a stick in many tunes. (looked like a bass stick
if there is such a thing).

John Anderson had a tambourine and some sort of wood block or something.

Bill Bruford used a simmons sdx, two big gongs, a million or so real cymbals,
and a humonhous set of electronic drums.  The pads including bass pad were all
hexagonal in shape.  He may have had a real snare, I couldn't see but probably
not.  He had 7-10 pads as part of the set in adition to the bass pad and the
cymbals (about 5-7 cymbals).  Behind him he had another nine pads and more
cymbals and what-not for weird percussion sounds.  The gongs were there too.

Steve Howe played various guitars of all sorts.  Not being a guitar player I
can't comment.  He had no visible rack that was obviously his.

The keyboard player and rhythm guitarist had a big rack or two and a bunch
of keyboards.  Others players may have been tied into the stuff.  Visible
keyboards were D50, a Roland x-50 (probably S50 -- the lettering was obscured by
the stand), and two older looking boards, one from Yamaha and one I
couldn't tell.  The rack included an Akai Sampler (I think S900), Quadraverb,
Casio FZ or VZ10, TX802, U110, D110, Matrix 1000, M1r, SRV2000 (or SDE xxx).
The rack (and Tony Levans) also had a one rack space box that I couldn't
identify.  Probaby signal processing.  With light Blue streaks and a big read
(light red) letter.  A double row of (2x5) small buttons and an LCD were on
it.  Not ART.

There was probably a bunch of stuff behind stage, or hidden.

Tony Levan has the longest fingers (or so it looked like) of anyone I've seen.
He was a mad man, running all around stage and jumping all around.  The
others played more in one place.  Wakemans fingers were so fast.  He is a big
man -- dressed in red tails last night.   JA was all in white.  Levan was 
shaved bald, howe had a light shirt and white pants -- later he had a white 
jacket on too.  Bruford had on a white sleaveless shirt.

The mixing was off now and again, both on guitar and keyboards.

It was fun.

Chad

(they play Hartford on Friday I think and Old Orchard Beach on Saturday)

Thanks for the review, Chad.  I like reading concert reviews in the Boston 
Globe (although I didn't see one on the YES concert), but they're never
anything like the reviews I read here -- COMMUSIC reviews are *much* more 
detailed.

...maybe because of our strange obsession with the equipment they use!

I once loaned a Keyboard magazine interview of Thomas Dolby to a non-COMMUSIC 
friend of mine.  He said he couldn't understand half of the interview because 
so much of it was about the details of his equipment.

Funny, I hadn't noticed...

Peter

    
    wot no minimoog?

Re: -.1

I thought the same thing.  I wasn't able to see it all so maybe it was there.

Wakeman had an alcove like wall about 4 feet high and he had stuff behind it
as well as the keyboards I mentioned.  I know he had at least one piano or
master controller controlling a piano module there as I saw his hands playing 
behind the wall on acoustic piano parts.  I think I saw him playing at least
one other board below the wall (based on position) but he played parts every-
where all at the same time (you could too if your armspan was 100 feet like
his :-)

He played his introductory solo at the beginning of the first set on all
the keyboards but he played a really fast part using something like 
digital-native-dance (not exactly) on the D50.

Chad

PS:  I forgot to mention.  All the keyboards stands (about 7 or so) were
APEX stands (2 tier) from USS.

    The set list for last night's concert seems identical to the set list
    used at Great Woods (Mansfield, MA) on Sunday (8/6/89).  For those who
    still want to be surprised, don't read any further.
    
    
    To fill in some gaps (presuming identical set lists)...
    
    The first thing Anderson sings is a medley of A Time and A Word (the
    familiar one you couldn't place) along with snippets of Owner of a
    Lonely Heart and the "Bobby Dread, Cool Running" song off of ABWH.
    
    The Wakeman solo seemed to be suilt around two pieces.  The first piece
    was an instrumental adaptation of an Anderson/Wakeman piece off of
    Tormato.  It's a quiet song with harpsichord and, for the life of me, I
    can't recall the name.  A guess at the second piece is that it might be
    something off of his "King Arthur..." album.
    
    An interesting observation is that all of the full-band Yes material
    (i.e., not the solo bits) was stuff that ABWH originally played. 
    Although I really liked the concert, I would have liked to have seen a
    bit more attention to later Yes (e.g., after Bruford's departure). 
    Just my opinion, of course.
    
    I'll be off to see them again on Saturday up in Maine.
    
    - John -
    
    P.S.  Not that I could see it, but at least one other person has told
    me that there was a MiniMoog behind Wakeman's waist-high curtain wall. 
    During some of the solos it certainly appeared that he might be
    fidgeting with some filter sweeps, etc. so it seems plausible.

    Skip this note if you're not interested in set list details...
    
    
    >>> An interesting observation is that all of the full-band Yes material
    >>> (i.e., not the solo bits) was stuff that ABWH originally played. 
    >>> Although I really liked the concert, I would have liked to have seen a
    >>> bit more attention to later Yes (e.g., after Bruford's departure). 
    >>> Just my opinion, of course.
    
    In my haste to generalize, I've been reminded that this is wrong.  What
    I should have said is that the full-band Yes material includes ONLY
    Yes songs on which Bill Bruford was the original drummer.  I'd
    forgotten that Wakeman wasn't on "The Yes Album".  Oops.
    
    - John -

    
    	RE: .0
    		Tony Levin IS bald. My fave bassist/stickist(?). I've
    seen him thrice with Peter Gabriel and twice with King Crimson.
    Total animal.

    In case your wondering, Tony Levin is from the Boston area.
    
    FWIW- He was in the new King Crimson., which we all know was alot
    different from the Lake/Burrell/Wetton basist days.
    
    jeff
    

I saw them at Great Woods last Sunday.  Great concert!

> Wakeman had an alcove like wall about 4 feet high and he had stuff behind it
> as well as the keyboards I mentioned.  I know he had at least one piano or
> master controller controlling a piano module there as I saw his hands playing 
> behind the wall on acoustic piano parts.

He was using a Roland A80 for the acoustic piano parts.  Very nice controller
- I'm in the market for a controller now - but Mega-$$$.

I was wondering what he was using for his acoustic piano sound.  It was very
good, whatever it was (particularly evident during his 'duet' with Anderson -
a song from the new album, I think).

Jim

RE: .1

From my vantage point at Great Woods, I saw this set up:


                                        Minimoog (Midi'd?)
                                Hammond C3
                       Yam-V50/Roland-A50               EnsVFX/???
                                   Roland-D50/Roland-A80

I also noticed the rack behind Julian Colbeck, which RW must have accessed.
Either the Akai or the M1r must've been the source of his piano sound,
I expect.  Every time RW played something that sounded like a Minimoog
solo, he played it on the V50, leading me to believe that it's a Midimoog.
He tickled the C3 once...  Whatever was under the VFX was used to do the
Pipe-organ piece in Close to the Edge, so I suspect sampler.  The "program"
shows some studio pictures of him with an M1.  So, an M1 perhaps?

>Tony Levan has the longest fingers (or so it looked like) of anyone I've seen.

He uses finger extensions on his right index and middle fingers.

It was a great show.  There is extensive discussion on the show in the Yes
note on the MUSIC notesfile.

andy

    < Note 2076.10 by TALLIS::SEIGEL "SYNTH when?" >
>>Tony Levan has the longest fingers (or so it looked like) of anyone I've seen.

>He uses finger extensions on his right index and middle fingers.

    I've heard of extensions for other body extremities, but never for
    fingers before.. could you elucidate, Andy ?  Is this like exercises
    or prostheses ?
    
    karl

>>He uses finger extensions on his right index and middle fingers.
>
>    I've heard of extensions for other body extremities, but never for
>    fingers before.. could you elucidate, Andy ?  Is this like exercises

They're just 8" (or so) plastic/wood/? tubes that he slips over the
end of each of the two fingers.  I expect they enable him to get more
of a "slap" sound than with just a thumb.  He dropped them in his pocket
when he was playing stick, or the once or twice that he was playing 
"normally".

The program showed them quite clearly as well.  Along with the bass with
his profile painted on it...  He's not only an outstanding player, he's
a very colorful individual as well.

    Just an update.  I stood about 25 feet from the stage for most of the
    Seashore Performing Arts Center (formerly the Maine Guides minor eague
    baseball stadium), Old Orchard Beach, Maine show on Saturday. (8/12).
    
    Same set list but the band (especially Steve Howe) was a bit more
    animated than the Great Woods show.  Probably tried a little harder
    since the weather wasn't that great.  The mixing was much better than
    Great Woods.  That could be related to this being a totally outside
    concert without the "roof" over the Great Woods pavilion.
    
    - John -

In the event that KEYBOARD magazine does an interview with Rick Wakeman, or
International Musician with AWBH, could someone post that info here, so I
can go buy them?

Thanks,
andy

    
    	The newest Guitar Mag (with Jeff Beck on the cover) has an
    interview with Howe. Informative on how they got back together and
    how they go about writing as a group again. Something about Squire
    playing bass in the Future?. So much for my mem span.
    			
    					Rich
    

    Keyboard is having an interview with Wakeman in the September issue!
    
    Bruce
    

    re -1
    
    oh, boy

    re -1
    
    Certainly no boy. Saw him on a cookery program in the U.K.. in which 
    he was taught how to cook barbecue food. A few grunts and a belch,
    but no keyboards in sight. Looks like he's a fair drinker, judging by
    the state of his nose.
    
    Richard.

RE :.-1

In the past, he was well known for his drinking.  THe tour program claims
that he's a tea totaler now...

andy

    
    
    Have you ever seen him standing sideways. 
    
    Why do you think he wears the cape !
    
    I should talk.
    
    				Paul.

    
    
      I recently purchased tickets for an AWBH show at MSG through
    Ticketron. And what do you think is printed on said tickets?. 
    
                             YES
    
       This leads me to believe Squire may be back.
    
    RC
      who prefers Levin's style.
    

Are they out touring again -- so soon.  This may be an ignorant question
but I don't read/hear any of the things where they talk about who is doing
what and I am always the last to hear.

Chad

    
    
      March 23 at Madison Cubed garden...............Rich