Tuesday 17 July 2012

ASIA FEATURING JOHN PAYNE: A pleasantly rambling review

http://concerts2012.wordpress.com/tag/erik-norlander-keyboards-vocals/

Like Great White and LA Guns, there are currently two versions of Asia. Casual fans get confused about situations like these.

I was a huge Asia fan in the early 80s. They were my favorite band in 6th grade. It took me over 25 years to get to see them in concert. I saw them with all 4 original members in 2008/2009, but honestly, I was a little underwhelmed by their performance.

A few months later, I saw this “other” version of Asia in the same venue and they absolutely kicked ass. It was a more lively performance and everyone in the band absolutely shredded…. and then some. This was the first time I got to see Guthrie Govan on the guitar and it was an incredible experience. Erik Norlander played some phenomenal keyboard parts and I was happy to see Jay Schellen playing awesome as usual (I saw him quite a few times with Hurricane at the Country Club in Reseda back in the 80s and 90s- God, I miss that place.) I love it when concerts far exceed your expectations and this one did just that. I’ve seen the original Asia play again since then and that performance still didn’t compare to this show, either. (And my favorite song from either/both bands is “Who Will Stop The Rain?” and I’d drive miles just to hear that song alone.)

Read on...
And check out their dedicated Gonzo artist page for Asia featuring John Payne, and for Erik solo

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