Week 9 Update

I'm sorry I haven't written anything in well over a month and a half. Can't believe it's already March and the middle of Week 9 of the winter quarter. Finals begin next Saturday for me. I have two on that day. Terrible day to have a final (let alone two!) if you ask me. We barely get any time to prepare for them.

Anyway, a lot has happened since I last wrote here. Firstly, I added a few more shows to my concert calendar for the rest of the year. On June 12 (on the one year anniversary of the Steven Wilson show in Anaheim!) I will be seeing Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills with my friend Xhana. I'm really looking forward to that because I haven't seen Justin since 2013 when I saw The Moody Blues at the NOKIA Theater in L.A.. Plus The Canyon Club is so close to my house. This will be my first time driving to a concert by myself. I've been on the freeway that goes to the venue many times in the past, so it's a pretty easy drive. I noticed that the Anderson Ponty Band will also be playing there in May I believe, but I saw them in November, so I'm ok with missing that.

A couple other acts are said to be coming to LA in October: Ian Anderson with his new rock opera called Jethro Tull and the Anderson, Rabin,Wakeman project. I think the statement that ARW will be in LA in October was just a rumor, but if it's true, I would definitely see that over Ian. From the reviews I read about the Jethro Tull rock opera, people either loved it or hated it. The most common complaint I read was the condition of Ian's voice which, I will admit, is not what it used to be. However, I will also say that the good reviews drastically outweighed the bad ones, so there's that too. I don't know. We'll figure it out when we find out for sure when the ARW shows are.

On February 20, I saw my first concert of the year: Al Stewart at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. He played two nights there, both of which were sold out soon after my Dad got tickets for the second show. It was a Saturday night so it was perfectly timed. It was a nice guitar shop. Business hours for the shop were closed so we couldn't look at any of the instruments, but they had a lot to offer. It saddens me that these types of places are so hard to find these days, with places like Guitar Center putting them out of business. Anyway, Al is 70 years old. However, I was blown away by how great his voice sounded. Literally, his voice sounds just like it did 40 years ago. Nothing about it has changed. That's amazing, considering that I've noticed that the voices of a number of older singers have reduced in quality. But Al's voice has held up amazingly. As expected, he played most of his biggest songs, like "Year of the Cat" and "Time Passages." I think he played about half of the Year of the Cat album. After the show, I picked up an Al Stewart Broadway Hotel poster as well as a CD copy of his 2005 album A Beach Full of Shells. I got both of them signed by him and talked to him for a bit. He was really nice to me fortunately, and said that I had the look of a singer songwriter. I found that interesting. No one had ever said that to me before. I realize that one could probably say that to anyone, but I still appreciated hearing it.

This July, I will be traveling to Portland, Oregon to spend some time with my friend Dylan. He's been getting me into the music of Phish since the middle of last year. I've only heard a couple of their albums but I think they're a really good contemporary American prog band. Dylan texted me one day telling me that Phish were playing two nights this July at his favorite concert venue, The Gorge Amphitheater in Washington. From the pictures I've seen, it looks like a really nice outdoor venue. Outdoor venues are generally not my favorite, but Dylan insists that this one is unlike any other, so I will take his word for it. Anyway, on the Phish website, fans can enter for a chance to win what are called Phish "lottery tickets." If you win, you get these cool ticket stubs to the show you're going to that have interesting artwork printed on them. If you lose, then you have to hope that you're lucky enough to get tickets off of regular ticket retail websites before they sell out. Apparently, when general tickets went on sale, Dylan told me that it took less than 2 minutes for them to sell out. We got lucky with those lottery tickets. I have my plane ticket now and I'm really looking forward to this.

My record collection is continuing to grow every week. I try not to overdo it with the vinyl, as I only have so much space in my dorm. I've really been interested in exploring more of Stevie Wonder's albums. I managed to find an original copy of Songs in the Key of Life last month. That was really cool, considering that original Stevie Wonder vinyl hasn't been the easiest for me to find, at least not at the stores I've been to. On CD, I also got Music of My Mind. Yesterday, Dylan sent me what he calls a "rare" Stevie album called Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta. I gave it a listen last night. It features Stevie's first wife Syreeta Wright entirely on vocals. If Dylan hadn't told me, and I had just happened to hear a song off that album, I probably never would have guessed it was a Stevie album. So far, I like all of the Stevie Wonder albums I have heard. I look forward to hearing more soon.

Aside from Stevie, I've also been getting more familiar with David Bowie's music. I'm liking Blackstar more and more each time I listen to it. I've also heard Diamond Dogs, Hunky Dory, Space Oddity, Heathen, and "Heroes." There's still a ton of music left to go through by him, but I have gathered that he really was a special part of the music world. He's been gone for almost two months. Hard to believe. Time really does just keep on going, no matter what happens. I just keep reminding myself, that his body is what's gone. He is still very much alive through the music. That's what makes music (and any kind of art, really) so special. Even long after the artists are gone, the art doesn't die with them. In this way, the artist lives on.

R.I.P. David Bowie

Yesterday morning, a little after 9:30, I received the following text: "David Bowie has died." However, knowing that people on the Internet have been known to make up stories about celebrities dying, I had to see the news form an official source before I believed it. I've seen it happen to people like Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones. Unfortunately, on the official David Bowie Facebook page, the following statement was made. :

"January 10 2016 - David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief."

So there was no way to deny it. The news was in fact true. Like most people, I was utterly shocked.  I had no idea that he had been struggling with cancer, but I understand that he kept the illness 

under wraps. Ironically, on January 10, I casually went to the local record store near campus and bought a CD of his new album Blackstar. Again, I didn't have the slightest clue that Bowie had cancer. I just bought the album out of pure interest. I never really dove into Bowie's massive discography like my dad did, but that doesn't mean I wasn't interested.

I gave Blackstar a complete listen last night, only to realize how dark it actually was. Reading the lyrics to some of the songs, particularly on the title track and the song "Lazarus," I realized that this was Bowie's way of saying goodbye to the world. I found myself completely inspired by that. Instead of dwelling on his illness, he decided to take all his strength and put out one last album for the world to enjoy. According to a statement made by someone who worked with him, he kept fighting until the very end. That's a true artist to me. Throughout the rest of the day, my Facebook feed was full of tributes posted by friends and many of my favorite artists, including Steven Wilson, Adrian Belew, Brian May, and Rick Wakeman.

David Bowie had a massive impact on many musicians I look up to. He was one of the first Arcade Fire fans, and even bought copies of their first album to give to his friends. Brandon Flowers of The Killers told a story when I saw him at the Wiltern last September about the day he heard Bowie's song "Changes." This was the song that inspired him to start a band that would eventually become The Killers. Brandon talked about how much he enjoyed albums like Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. 

I admired Bowie's constant deviation from the norm. He taught me and many others that weird is cool. Every album he put out had its own unique sound to it. He was not just a performer. He was a spaceman, a glam rock king, a Thin White Duke, a goblin king, and many other things that I can't recall at the moment. We will miss you, Ziggy!

R.I.P. David Bowie

First Day of the New Quarter

Had my first class of the second quarter today. It was an English class. This class is focusing more on writing essays that allow you to develop your own voice, which I like. It also focuses on analyzing messages found in music, movies, and various novels. The first thing we analyzed today was a song. That song turned out to be Another Brick in the Wall Part 2! I was thrilled for that. for our first essay, I need to write about a particular memory that had a significant impact on me as a person. It has to be an event that took place over the course of a few hours, and something that resonated with me in a very special way. I instantly thought of the King Crimson concert I went to, since that night taught me the importance of embracing the moment in a world full of distractions. This is going to be fun!

New Year Message

Well, friends, it's the last day of 2015. It's time for me to reflect back on this year in terms of what happened musically. First of all, I think it's important to acknowledge that we lost a number of people in the music world, notably B.B. King, Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and Chris Squire of Yes. These losses were quite shocking and had a major impact on the music world

On a more positive note, there were many good records that were released this year, like The Desired Effect by Brandon Flowers, Hand Cannot Erase by Steven Wilson and, best of all, Rattle That Lock by David Gilmour. I've got about five shows I plan to go to next year (two of them being David Gilmour shows), the longest wait being for Marillion on 22 October.

This year, I saw the most concerts I have ever seen in one year, the grand total being 9. All were worth it, but the absolute best was Brandon Flowers at the Wiltern in September. 2016 looks like it's going to be an eventful one for concerts, as many artists are going on tour.

I also gained more new members to this group than I ever have since I started it. Thanks so much to everyone who asked to join. I really hope you are enjoying it. I was hoping to make it to just 100, so I certainly wasn't expecting to reach 118 members, but I am so grateful that I did. I look forward to sharing more concert experiences with all of you as the year unfolds as well as sharing my thoughts on any new albums that I listen to and making new friends.

Happy New Year prog buddies! Here's to a great 2016! :)

A Message to the Crimson 7 from an 18-year-old (skip to the last two paragraphs if you want the jist of this entry)

Before I get started, let me quickly fill you in on what I've been up to lately. Well, it's the end of Thanksgiving break. Tomorrow, it's back to school I go, as we're about to enter the 10th and final week of the fall quarter. Next thing I know it's going to be time for final exams. Fun, right? ;) 

Anyway, I'm not writing about my apprehension over my first college final exams, mainly because this blog is about my love and appreciation of progressive music. Tonight, I'm writing about King Crimson. Pretty big topic, right? But in all seriousness, there's something about them that I've been meaning to write about for a while now but since my opinion had been shifting from one idea to the other, I couldn't sit down and write anything. Now that I've had time to think this through, I think it's time I got my feelings out.

Here's what happened: On November 19, King Crimson played the first of two nights at the Toronto Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto, Canada, as part of their 10-date Canadian tour. However, for this tour, they revised the camera policy they had made during their tours of the US and UK. Originally, once you were inside the venue, photos were entirely off limits until you left. Now, they have stated that no one may take photos until THE END of the performance, meaning once the music has stopped playing. That means you can take photos of the band before they walk off stage. Sounds fair enough, I suppose. It's definitely a step forward from when I saw them in October of last year at the Orpheum theater. The security was pretty good about being on top of people on their phones. As a result, most of the audience (I say that because I know at least one person did upload a photo of the band the next day) did what the band wanted them to do: they embraced the moment. I've come to really appreciate that concept. At every show I've been to since that night, my phone use has been kept to a minimum. I realize that this doesn't match their idea of not using a phone or camera AT ALL, but it's good enough for me. I manage to take a few pictures here and there throughout a performance, without being a nuisance to those around me.

However, despite this explicit request for respect, there were still people who felt that the rules didn't apply to them. During the second-to-last song (according to the setlist posted on setlist.com, it was "The Court of the Crimson King), apparently a few people were caught taking photos of the band performing. As a result, Robert then walked off stage, followed shortly by the other members of the band. The show was ended.

Now, shortly after hearing about this incident, being the big King Crimson fan that I am, I immediately felt inclined to side with the band only and treat them like the victims, but after considering multiple perspectives, both from band members, and concertgoers, I have decided the following: I'm not happy with either the band or the audience in this turn of events.

The next day, the following note was posted on the DGM site as well as on Facebook:

"The band went onstage at 20.15 in good spirits. Mel played beautifully over the Eb major / Cm Soundscape. IntoLarks’ I and onwards.

 

My experience was of pouring wine into a cup with a hole in it. Once upon a time, I would have attributed this feeling-experience to the presence of bootlegging. Several times the thought flew by: you only need one prick in a balloon.

 

The energy of a performance contains and embraces those within it, performers and audients. When the energy encircles and holds the event, the performance develops intensity, shifts gear, and becomes a qualitatively different undertaking: it takes off and flies away into a different world. When we are carried with it, sometimes a performance can be transformational: even, redirect the course of lives. A requirement of players and listeners is to remain engaged and present, hopefully with goodwill, to the extent that all can bring to bear. Tonight, strangely, nothing took off IMO; a first for this KC.

 

Persistent camera persons persisted, despite rounds of applause for the Revised Photo Policy announcement before the show, continuing into the encores.

The Guitarist Stage Left also persisted. Until finally, having been slapped around the face and stabbed in the heart too many times (this is how I experience violation in performance), it was not possible to honourably continue. Robert left the stage, followed shortly by the other Crims. The show finished, a result of ongoing photographic abuse.

 

The revised KC photo policy is a fair and reasonable way of engaging with those who hand over their hard-earned pay and feel the need to take a picture of the band. To photograph outside those parameters is at least rude, and discourteous to other audients and the players. At a certain point, given the intentionality that gives rise to an act, proscribed acts become aggressive; even close to an expression of ill will. This is what I felt tonight.

 

A report on tonight’s performance, presented from a viewpoint of playing in public for over 56 years."

I heard that it was Robert who posted this note, and if that's the case, apparently he refers to himself in the third person. Interesting. Anyway, there's his perspective on the matter. That same day, Gavin Harrison (one of three drummers in the band at the moment) posted this:

"A concert with King Crimson requires LOTS of concentration from the performers (and I dare say for the audience too). This music is very rich in detail and complexity. In fact everyone in the room needs to give it their absolute full attention. 

Having folks point cameras at you breaks your concentration and distracts you. I've had the same feeling when I've been watching a concert and folks around me are holding up their devices to film and take photos. It's very distracting for all."

So to give my own paraphrasing of these two posts, the band feels as though their request for respect was crudely and senselessly violated. They seem to miss the days in which cell phones and high quality cameras did not exist and, consequently, concertgoers had to watch a show with their own eyes and rely on their memory in order to truly take away the magic of the evening. Furthermore, they feel as though the use of cameras or phones during a show is disruptive, not just to them, but also to other audience members.

After doing a little outside research, I found the perspectives of various concertgoers. Most of them expressed outrage at the band's decision to end the show. One person compared the situation in a way that I found very relatable. To put it simply, the person wrote that walking off stage during a concert because a few people took photos is no different from a college professor giving all his students an F on their final exams because a few people cheated. This gave me a realistic situation to think about. As a college student just a week away from her first finals, I know that I would be pretty upset if one of my professors failed me due to the stupidity of a few people. In a perfect world, the few people who cheated should be the ones who have to suffer the consequences, rather than the entire class.

Now, in the case of this concert, the entire audience was punished because a few people couldn't follow the rules that were explicitly stated by the band. However, I'm sure none of those rule breakers expected the band to just get up and leave the audience in the dust. It certainly seems that the band didn't warn anyone that this was a possibility. Unless it's happened in the past, this certainly seems lie it came out of nowhere.

As a concertgoer, I understand the frustration that accompanies being stuck behind people that insist on filming or taking photos of every second of the show. However, as someone who has also expressed interest in being a performer, I also have to say that, if they're not using flash photography or filming, why should we care that they're using their phones or cameras? It's their loss if they miss out on embracing the show for what it is.

Let me put my view on the matter in simple terms: I get where the band is coming from and I get where the concertgoers are coming from. The band didn't want photos taken, as they haven't throughout their entire history of existence. They said that, people did it anyway, they got upset, so they ended the show. I thought that I would add my own perspective based on what I have heard. After taking both sides into account and thinking it over, this is what I've decided: 

It's not the 1960s anymore. It's not going to be. We're not going to go back to the way we lived in that time, as much as some people may want us to. A lot has changed over the course of 56 years. As much as some may not like it, cell phones and cameras exist, and they will only continue to improve. People are not going to stop taking them and using them at concerts. Unfortunately, while we can do our best to express our wishes in terms of cell phone use during a performance, we can't force everyone to abide by our rules. Now, that's not to say that I don't think there should be repercussions for breaking the rules. What I think should have happened at that King Crimson show, is that the rule breakers should have been escorted out of the venue, so that the rest of the people that WERE following the rules could enjoy the show. I know that I'm only 18. I wasn't around when cell phones and good cameras didn't exist, so that is where I'm coming from. All I know is going to concerts and seeing people on their phones. I'm learning to accept that as the reality. Not everyone these days will learn to embrace the moment, no matter how much we may want them to. That's their loss, though. However, don't let that stop you from continuing to spread the idea of embracing the moment to others, especially to people my age. Who knows? You might just be able to get through to some of them. You certainly got through to me. ;)

2015 concerts

I've seen a total of nine concerts this year. That's more than I've seen in any other year, andI've been seeing concerts since March 2010. for 2015, I enjoyed all of the shows I saw in their own way. Some, however, were better than others. Here are all nine of them, ranked from, what I consider to be, least memorable to most memorable:

9. Big Talk - 7/20/15 - the Troubadour

8. SubRosa - 9/9/15 - the Roxy Theater

7. Rod Stewart - 8/9/15 - the Coloseum at Casear's Palace

6. Halestorm - 10/16/15 - Riverside Municipal Auditorium

5. Yes/Toto - 9/6/15 - Greek Theater

4. The Anderson - Ponty Band - 11/20/15 - Saban Theater

3. Steven Wilson - 6/12/15 - The Grove

2. Steven Wilson - 6/13/15 - The Wiltern

1. Brandon Flowers - 9/26/15 - The Wiltern

Overall, this has been a great year for concerts in my opinion. However, from what I know so far, it sounds like 2016 is gearing up to be an exciting musical year as well. I've heard the following are going to tour next year: David Gilmour, Steve Hackett, Roger Waters, and Marillion. Hopefully, there will be others. Currently, I have the following shows to look forward to in 2016:

David Gilmour - 3/24/16 - Hollywood Bowl
Steve Hackett - 4/1/16 - Orpheum Theater

Sounds good to me! :)

An Evening with the Anderson Ponty Band

I've been at college for over two months now, making short trips to home here and there. Hard to believe we're already in Week 9 of the first of three 10-week quarters. Before I know it, it's going to be time to conclude this first quarter with finals. This first quarter of college has been an interesting one. It's been full of social and academic adjustments. I've met more people than I can count throughout the past two months, and I hope to develop some of those relationships in the future.

Without giving too much away, I go to university roughly 100 miles from my home, and about 47 miles from downtown Los Angeles. This makes it possible for me to still attend a concert here and there if time permits (meaning no tests or serious deadlines get in the way). However, despite having a car with me, I am reluctant to drive in the busy LA evening traffic in order to get to a concert venue. Luckily, there's another option: the train. About 3 miles from campus, there exists a Metrolink train station, with one route going to Los Angeles Union Station. I talked this over with my dad, and we decided that taking the train and getting accustomed to using public transportation would be a good experience for me, especially since I did not feel like dealing with city traffic.

Well, on November 20, I got the chance to try that out. On that evening, I traveled to Hollywood and Vine, where I met my dad. From there, we made a quick stop to Amoeba Music (many great memories at that record store) and had dinner at Stella Barra, another favorite place of ours. After that, we headed down to the Saban Theater to see Yes frontman Jon Anderson and French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty in their band, the Anderson-Ponty Band. I had not seen Jon since July 2012. However, at that show, it was just Jon alone on stage, with a guitar, and an endless supply of life experiences to share with the audience. Even though this show at the Saban was not going to be centered only on him, I anticipated an experience similar to what I had back in 2012. I have been to well over 30 concerts, all of different intimacy levels, but I find something particularly memorable about concerts set in small venues like the Saban or the Orpheum. You're one of a small, lucky number of people fortunate enough to be in an intimate setting with one of your favorite bands or musicians. I've had these kinds of experiences with people like Greg Lake, Steven Wilson, King Crimson, and Joe Satriani. There have been more, but it's more than I want to list right now. I'd rather just get to the show.

We arrived at the venue at around 19:30, so we would have plenty of time to kill before the show, which was set to start at 20:30. Dad wanted to stop at the Coffee Bean down the street, so he gave me my ticket so I could enter the venue myself. Once inside, I met and had a good conversation with my friend Brett. After that, as I was looking around the room at the abundance of longtime Yes and Jean-Luc Ponty fans, there was one face that I recognized instantly: Billy Sherwood! He had just finished up with Yes on the 2015 Cruise to the Edge, so he was just in time for the show, mingling with other concertgoers. This just goes to show you how music makes me an unusually outgoing person: I decided to go over to him and say hi really quick. Not too long, just a quick word. Personally, I have gained a great deal of respect for him within the last five months, especially since the tragic death of Chris Squire. Filling in for the one member of Yes to appear on every tour and studio album is most definitely not easy. While there are some Yes fans who believe the band must call it quits due to the absence of Chris, I think Billy has a strong amount of support from most Yes fans. At least, it seemed that way considering how many people were talking to him. Without saying too much, I reminded him that my friend Bill Snyder had interviewed him a few weeks before, which he recalled. After taking a selfie with me (using my phone), I made sure to give him a big hug and say thanks. He deserves it.

Jon, Jean-Luc, and their band went on a little after 20:30. Since it's been about five days, I can't quite recall the most specific of details, unfortunately. They played a surprisingly lengthy set consisting of songs from their recently released studio album, Better Late Than Never, and the discographies of Jon and Jean-Luc. The band put their own spin on certain classic Yes songs, such as "Time and a Word," "Wonderous Stories," and "Roundabout." That totaled to about 19 songs, if I'm not mistaken. Since I can't recall every detail as vividly as I could, I will just go over the highlights. Jon sounded just as wonderful as he did the first time I saw him back in 2012: beautiful, distinguishable, unforgettable. Even though I had picked up Jean-Luc's album A Taste for Passion at the record store near campus, I consider this to be my introduction to his talent, as I was able to observe it with my own eyes. After watching him, I definitely plan to explore more of his discography in the future. I have always enjoyed the sound of the violin, so to watch him display his skills was definitely enjoyable.

At one point in the show (again, I don't remember at exactly what point), Jon recited the following, which I recognized as being an excerpt from the Yes song, "The Revealing Science of God.":

"Dawn of light lying between

A silence and sold sources
Chased amid fusions of wonder
In moments hardly seen forgotten

Colored in pastures of chance
Dancing leaves cast spells of challenge
Amused but real in thought
We fled from the sea whole

Dawn of thought transfered through moments
Of days under searching earth
Revealing corridors of time provoking memories
Disjointed but with purpose

Craving penetrations offer links
With the self instructors sharp
And tender love as we took to the air
A picture of distance

Dawn of our power we amuse
Re descending as fast as misused
Expression, as only to teach love as
To reveal passion chasing"

I've always considered the lyrics of Yes to be its own language, that only certain people can understand. I, for one, still have difficulty digesting them. Here and there, I can understand bits and pieces, but the poetry overall is difficult for me. However, something about the way Jon recited these words really struck a chord with me. Hearing the words spoken rather than sung was quite different for me. I didn't have the music there to distract me, so I could really concentrate on them better. There's a certain beauty to Yes lyrics that you don't really find in a lot of other bands or artists. To me, they sound like they come from the deep, spiritual depths of Jon's heart. That is true poetry in my view. They are part of what make Yes, well, Yes.

At another point in the show, Jean-Luc expressed the strong emotions he had been feeling due to the recent terrorist attacks that took place in Paris. With him being French, I suspected that he would make such a statement about the matter. He pointed out that, while these kinds of incidents have happened, and will continue to happen, playing music is what gives him a sense of peace in an often distressed world. I'm not quoting him word-for-word, by the way. Just telling you my interpretation.

The last highlight I can really think of happened towards the end of the show. Jon, as expected, told the audience that not a day goes by in which he does not think of Chris. He told us he considered Chris to be the "Christopher Robin to his Winnie the Pooh." How cute. With that, he dedicated the next song in Chris' memory: "And You and I," from my favorite Yes album, Close to the Edge, a very nice tribute song in my opinion. Chris most definitely will not be forgotten. <3

This was a great, intimate concert to close out 2015, the year that now hold the record for the most concerts seen in a year: 9 total. The previous record holder was 2012, with 7 shows seen that year. I think this year has been a great one for music, in terms of albums released, and tours that have occurred.  Unless something special comes up, this will be my last concert until the big night of March 24: David Gilmour at the Hollywood Bowl.