August 1, 1998

I have just returned from seeing Emerson, Lake and Palmer live at the Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. A great evening's entertainment -- Keith Emerson is starting to show some signs of age -- his shoulder-length curls are now streaked with grey; Greg Lake is putting on more weight, and is thinning on top; only Carl Palmer, with his drummer's physique and buzz-cut hair, could pass for a 35-year-old marine sergeant.

Such enthusiasm! From the performers as well as the audience, which was composed of about one-third old farts like me, and two-thirds people who are young enough to be ELP's children (or grand-children, in some cases). Still, I guess it's not unusual -- thinking back to when I saw people like Muddy Waters, BB King, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, I was probably younger than their children at that time.

The trio played all of their old favorites, and the polished performance and perfect timing between the three attested to many years of playing together. Keith Emerson showed his keyboard virtuosity at every turn; Greg Lake's voice still has that operatic depth and clarity that few rock singers attain; Carl Palmer played the drums with a grinning display of frenetic stickmanship that showed his love of live performance. His ability to control the abrupt rhythm changes and his use of peripheral percussion instruments proved once again that electronic drums will never replace the real thing.

The band played for nearly 2 solid hours, and covered most of their musical history. They started with "Karn Evil No. 9", followed by the fastest "Hoedown" I've ever heard, which included Emerson improvising "Flight of the Bumblebee" for a few bars in the middle. The "Tarkus" medley showed off their modern jazz style, with wild keyboard arpeggios and sudden rhythm changes; Greg Lake on acoustic guitar faithfully rendered ballads such as "Lucky Man" and "Still you turn me on". During "Cest la vie", Keith Emerson showed a theatrical streak by strolling on stage with a piano accordion and beret to accompany Lake with a convincing Marseilles sound. At one point, Carl Palmer did a drum solo, showing great feats of dexterity, including taking off his t-shirt without missing a beat; throwing and catching drumsticks high in the air; and beating the crap out of a pair of enormous Chinese gongs hanging behind him.

After the false end of the show, the trio returned for a 20-minute encore featuring a medley of "21st Century Schizoid Man", "Fanfare for the Common Man" and one segment during which Keith Emerson closed his grand piano, climbed onto it, squatted over his organ keyboard and played "Toccata and Fugue in D minor" from the opposite side -- now _that's_ virtuosity! He also played the final movement from his piano concerto, which clearly shows his Mussorgsky influence, with a touch of Keith Jarrett improvisation thrown in for good measure.

After the show, the happy crowd dispersed quietly; I bought the obligatory t-shirt, and wended my way back to my hotel room, where I sit now, waiting for the tinnitis to subside before I go to sleep.