Keith Emerson and Greg Lake
Granada Theater
April 30, 2010
(Barely) better than: Listening to ELP's three-album live set Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends over and over.
Let's get one thing straight: As a kid, I liked Emerson, Lake and Palmer. While all my "friends" were rocking out to AC/DC and Journey, I found geeky solace in the nerdy classical rock of ELP. I thought songs like "Lucky Man" and "Knife Edge" were somehow of a higher intellectual class than that FM radio rubbish. I let all that nonsense about brilliant instrumentation cloud my rock and roll senses.
Anyhow, urban myth has it that one Johnny Rotten once claimed to have started the Sex Pistols immediately upon hearing an ELP record. Judging by what Keith Emerson and Greg Lake brought to their performance as a duo Friday night at The Granada, I can understand Rotten's disdain.
The night began auspiciously as several elderly fans struggled out of
their chairs to chant, "ELP, ELP," despite the fact that drummer Carl
Palmer would not be performing. The show was scheduled to start at 8,
but did not begin until closer to 8:45, causing many in attendance to
grumble about things getting past their bedtimes.
When Lake and Emerson finally did appear, amidst a ton of amps and
synthesizers, the sold-out crowd roared with pleasure. And when the duo
started the night off with "From the Beginning," one of ELP's
user-friendliest tunes, all was right in this geriatric world.
And then Lake announced that the next song was King Crimson's lovely "I
Talk To The Wind," a song Lake claimed he had not sung in over 20
years, although it's been on every set list since the beginning of the
current tour.
But I trifle; So far, two for two.
Then it happened. The progressive rock floodgates opened and nothing
could stop the onslaught of overindulgence. Lengthy cuts followed from
ELP's disastrous sophomore album Tarkus, an album that has a cover
nearly as ugly as the music contained within the grooves.
The show became all about Emerson's monstrosity of a keyboard set up.
Taking up over half the stage, this relic of technology past looked more
like a hideous prop than a functioning instrument. Music nerds in their
40s, 50s and 60s nodded along as Emerson soloed and soloed and
soloed. I swear that I think Greg Lake was taking a nap before the first
set thankfully ended.
The second set started off OK with "C'est La Vie," one of Lake's most
clichéd love songs. But then it was back to Emerson--a great player to
be sure, but why submit the audience to not one, but two lengthy, solo
piano selections? Up next were two songs from Emerson's pre-ELP days
when he was in a band called The Nice. And, believe me, there is nothing
nice about songs like "America" and "Rondo."
Suddenly, the duo stopped and walked center stage. Out of nowhere came
the most bizarre question-and-answer session I have ever witnessed. One
person asked Lake what was his favorite bass guitar. Not much of an
answer was given. Some guy asked Emerson if he remembered what
synthesizer he played back in 1977. Perplexed, Emerson went back behind
his barricade and the show started up again.
Yet only two more songs remained on the set list: "Pirates," an epic
length sea faring tale that has somehow managed to stay a part of the
band's live repertoire and "Lucky Man," a song with an actual melody. Go
figure.
Bruised and bewildered I made my way home, wondering what I had ever
been thinking back in my youth.
Critic's notebook
Personal Bias: Look, I appreciate great musicians. Greg Lake and Keith
Emerson are truly great musicians, but the overkill on display was
headache inducing. One poor teenager sat behind me, lugged to the show
by her parents. "This stuff is terrible," she said between sets. At
least I had beer to deaden the pain.
By The Way: It was sitting room only at the Granada. No wonder tickets
went from $50 to $100. And t-shirts were selling for $30. I guess
elderly prog rock fans have deep pockets.
Random Note: No opening act. There could not have been one. There was
simply no room, physically or symbolically.
