OT? - Coming to town... Carl Palmer Tour 2023 - Return of ELP... Yay or nay ?

[K K]

In November, Palmer will be coming in several cities including mine to play ELP with Emerson and Lake on big screens and his own musicians as well.

 

A friend asked me if I will go, but I'm far from sure. I just think the concept is kinda weird. What do you think ? Would you go see such a concert ?

 

 

 

 

[GRollins]

I don't know what the current tour will be like, but I saw Palmer a couple of years ago when he was touring with Yes and Todd Rundgren. There were no keyboards at all. He had a guitarist playing the keyboard parts via some sort of synthesis thing--don't know the particulars. It was unnerving to hear keys when there were no keys.

 

Palmer, for his part, was in fine fettle. Powerful and nearly as fast as in the days of yore.

 

I loved seeing/hearing Palmer again, but found the whole experience disconcerting.

 

Again...I don't know what he's got planned for this go-'round.

 

Grey

 

P.S.: This was the Steve Howe, Alan White version of Yes. White was in a great deal of pain, not doing well at all, only playing part of the songs. Howe's son was filling in when White couldn't manage. I, being me, kept wanting to know what would happen if Palmer were to slide behind the kit and play Yes stuff. No, he didn't. It was just a fantasy of mine. It's still a fantasy of mine. A fusion of Yes and ELP could be quite interesting.

[KuruPrionz]

I saw ELP on the Brain Salad Surgery tour and a bit later I saw Carl Palmer again with Asia. He was MUCH better with ELP, they had better songs and better stage presence by far. 

 

ELP killed it, they were fantastic. A "reunion" with Emerson and Lake on screens is ludicrous at best and a profound insult to boot. 

I'd pass on that with zero regrets. 

[Mark Schmieder]

I didn't like what I heard on the internet from the guitar group. I just don't think it worked well. I would have preferred more radical rearrangements, such as Martin Barre sometimes -- but not always, and apparently not lately -- does with the Jethro Tull catalogue for his solo tours.

 

I saw ELP several times. I don't need to see holographic recreations, or whatever. Palmer is a very talented musician and a kind and gentle soul (I have a personal story that I won't share here, that got me over any question of his personal character). But crowds usually are conservative, so he may feel that other options are hard at this point.

[ksoper]

Hard pass.  Buy the Royal Albert Hall video and save your money.  

 

I say this having seen Emerson and Lake do their warm-up tour in 2010. Of the three he's the most replaceable by tracks.  

 

 

 

[Dave Bryce]

10 hours ago, ksoper said:

Hard pass.  Buy the Royal Albert Hall video and save your money.  

 

What he said.

 

Truth be told, I kinda feel like the concept is a bit ghoulish. 😬

 

dB

[K K]

Yes, that is what I think too about the concept. 

 

I won't attend also because since I saw them a few times before I am pretty sure it will be disappointing.

[time4jazz]

57 minutes ago, Dave Bryce said:

Truth be told, I kinda feel like the concept is a bit ghoulish. 😬

Especially since the show is called “Welcome Back My Friends”!

[Bobbo Fett]

This has an SNL "Natalie Cole Sings With Her Dad's Dead Friends" sketch vibe to it......pass.

[Jim Alfredson]

It's hard to see our heroes age and eventually pass. I saw the last Genesis tour. It was heartbreaking to see Phil Collins in the state he's in. But I'm glad I went. I'm seeing Peter Gabriel next week. Might be his last tour as well.

 

I'd go just to go and see Palmer. He's a legend.

[Anderton]

It's pretty weird. The only way it would work for me is if there were stellar multitrack performances, live and/or studio, that had never been heard before. You could remove the Carl Palmer tracks and have him play along, but more importantly, he could also be the "host" - showing rare footage of interviews, commenting on them, including interviews with friends of the band, telling stories about their tours, and personal reminiscing. To me, that would feel like a tribute to his bandmates, and I think it could be an enjoyable evening. Sort of a "Carl Palmer takes you behind ELP's Velvet Rope."

[o0Ampy0o]

There is an unfavorably disproportionate number of fans who have a musician's appreciation for musicians, and sorry but drummers are behind the others on this one unless you were John Bonham, even then his mystique was not appreciated by the general fan until after his death and he was elevated to drum god status to the average fan.

[Konnector]

This presentation is a very weird idea. Pass.

I was a big ELP fan and saw them more than once when they were at their peak in the 70's. I'll live with my memories. 

[D. Gauss]

big money to see Carl Palmer karoke? No thanks.  On the plus side, there will be a machine keeping time instead of Carl...

 

I have a friend currently out on tour playing shows in Humble Pie. Zero original members.  Also have a friend playing in Lynyrd Skynyrd. They're now down to zero original members as well.  To me it's the weirdest thing, but hey, i guess, a gig's a gig, a gig...  i just wouldn't pay to see it.

[K K]

2 hours ago, Konnector said:

I'll live with my memories. 

 

Excellent point that I was thinking as well. 

[David Emm]

4 hours ago, Anderton said:

It's pretty weird. The only way it would work for me is if there were stellar multitrack performances, live and/or studio, that had never been heard before. You could remove the Carl Palmer tracks and have him play along, but more importantly, he could also be the "host" - showing rare footage of interviews, commenting on them, including interviews with friends of the band, telling stories about their tours, and personal reminiscing. To me, that would feel like a tribute to his bandmates, and I think it could be an enjoyable evening. Sort of a "Carl Palmer takes you behind ELP's Velvet Rope."

 

I'd go for that, a la Adrian Belew telling the tale of Frank Zappa calling David Bowie CAPTAIN Tom. 😛

 

I enjoyed seeing Nick Mason tour with Floyd's early, sometimes Barret-authored songs. If Carl would just do improve on a kit with some e-drums included, I'd take to that like ice cream. I'd expect him to go for a few covers of songs where he particularly stood out with the band, but wouldn't you love to just hear him riff for a while? I'm sure there are many colorful tales he could tell to great effect. I'd be an easy mark for that, having seen the band live once and worn out part of their vinyl.

[Jim Alfredson]

2 hours ago, D. Gauss said:

big money to see Carl Palmer karoke? No thanks.  On the plus side, there will be a machine keeping time instead of Carl...

 

I have a friend currently out on tour playing shows in Humble Pie. Zero original members.  Also have a friend playing in Lynyrd Skynyrd. They're now down to zero original members as well.  To me it's the weirdest thing, but hey, i guess, a gig's a gig, a gig...  i just wouldn't pay to see it.

 

We opened for Foreigner last year. No original members. But they rocked. Still, it's like... is it really Foreigner or just a really good cover band at this point?

[Bobbo Fett]

Zero original members = tribute band

[marino]

6 hours ago, Konnector said:

This presentation is a very weird idea. Pass.

I was a big ELP fan and saw them more than once when they were at their peak in the 70's. I'll live with my memories. 

 

I feel exactly the same. Very weird.
I'm going to keep my mouth shut, to avoid saying unpleasant things.

[o0Ampy0o]

I wonder whether Ringo has a waiting list of musicians wanting to be part of his All-Stars band. He tours them in luxury. It's a better gig than many could generate for themselves. As long as Carl did not attempt the vocals on ELP songs I think it would be the best option for him if he could get a slot. I can imagine people appreciating ELP material presented that way given the status of ELP members.

 

Simon Kirke was drummer on a Ringo's All-Star tour and sang the Free and Bad Company songs. Maybe the volume and excitement of a live show helped mask it but he did not sound good in the videos I saw. He does not have that great a voice and singing Paul Rogers's vocals? Wasn't Steve Howe doing the vocals in some form of post-Wetton Asia? Greg Lake actually did not do that bad when he took Wetton's place. There is some similarity. Steve Howe? Lake was a decent singer. There is always at least one known decent singer in Ringo's band. Let them do the vocals and just play your instrument.

[D. Gauss]

10 hours ago, Jim Alfredson said:

 

We opened for Foreigner last year. No original members. But they rocked. Still, it's like... is it really Foreigner or just a really good cover band at this point?

Yup. A year or two ago, Cheap Trick and Foreigner went out on a tour.  Foreigner was the headliner.  Mick Jones was the only original member, but he's in really bad health. Cheap Trick had it in their contract that they refused to be the opener for a cover band and there that had to be at least an original member in Foreigner.  A few shows into the tour, Mick Jones left the tour and there was Cheap Trick opening for a cover band.  Not sure if the got paid extra or how they worked that all out.   

[Ivan May]

I love Emerson Lake and Palmer, but I think Carl Palmer is doing these solo tours in an effort to recapture his late seventies glory.

 

From what I read, earlier this year Carl Palmer underwent heart surgery, and I believe this is the first tour he’s had since the surgery.

[HammondDave]

Sounds like a pathetic money grab to me. At the ridiculous costs of today’s live performances, in this case I would question getting what you paid for.  I saw the Steve Howe “Yes” band a few years ago and it was just plain sad. 

[Anderton]

21 minutes ago, HammondDave said:

Sounds like a pathetic money grab to me. At the ridiculous costs of today’s live performances, in this case I would question getting what you paid for.  I saw the Steve Howe “Yes” band a few years ago and it was just plain sad. 

 

I'd pay to see the format I proposed above. I don't think it would be sad at all, if he could pull it off.

[AnotherScott]

Steve Howe's Yes is another that has no original members (not since Chris Squire passed). Though Howe has been with them long enough (and was on the earliest hits), he probably "seems" like an original.

[Mark Schmieder]

7 hours ago, AnotherScott said:

Steve Howe's Yes is another that has no original members (not since Chris Squire passed). Though Howe has been with them long enough (and was on the earliest hits), he probably "seems" like an original.

 

At any rate, it's not as extreme an example as today's "Guess Who". That band has had so many incarnations that it would be hard to say if there is even a standard to follow, in terms of judging the appropriateness of commandeering the band name.

[Moonglow]

I’ve seen ELP several times, but had the good fortune of attending the 2010 Emerson/Lake show where I had the opportunity to meet Keith and share a meal and conversation with him in the green room. I’m quite content with that being my last “ELP” concert, albeit with a drum machine prominently labeled “Carl in a box.” Anything else would pale in comparison.

 

I agree with those who feel the Palmer + EL video thing is a little weird, but understand how it might be appealing to someone who has never seen the band.

[Cece]

I did see his show this year in July and I enjoyed it. I never had an opportunity to see ELP and I thought this provided a decent similar experience. 

I am deciding if I should attend the next show or not. 

[JohnH]

On 9/17/2023 at 6:33 PM, Jim Alfredson said:

 

We opened for Foreigner last year. No original members. But they rocked. Still, it's like... is it really Foreigner or just a really good cover band at this point?

Paul Stanley said it best a week or so ago. If it's not the original band, and Kelly Hanson is a replacement and says he doesn't want to keep doing this, then why aren't they just hiring a replacement for him? - My comment- How can I fake touring band do a farewell tour when there's no originals? This lineup is really good though, saw them in 2018.

[bill5]

On 9/16/2023 at 11:05 PM, KuruPrionz said:

I saw ELP on the Brain Salad Surgery tour and a bit later I saw Carl Palmer again with Asia. He was MUCH better with ELP, they had better songs and better stage presence by far. 

 

ELP killed it, they were fantastic. A "reunion" with Emerson and Lake on screens is ludicrous at best and a profound insult to boot. 

I'd pass on that with zero regrets. 

Exactly. This just reeks of milking past (repeat past) fame for money. I wouldn't go for free.

 

Ditto for any "band" that isn't even the band any more. The last time I was tricked by that was when I thought I was going to see Little River Band. I saw a bunch of guys who are about as much legit LRB members as I am.