Super cool post, thanks! I was super lucky to see him play Journey to the center of the earth at the Hollywood Bowl with Orchestra way back when. A truly special show. -John
Another Flashback Friday - Rick Wakeman Final Tour Review
It’s another early morning (1AM) flashback Friday as I cannot sleep after attending last nights Rick Wakeman Final Tour at the Paramount Treater, Peekskill NY. At my age, the flashbacks and insomnia are not pharmaceutically induced but rather naturally induced by dopamine, cortisol, and endorphins from the virtuoso performance in the acoustically excellent theater, and memories from my youth the last time I saw Wakeman with Yes in June 1979 at the Nassau Coliseum. I will not comment on whether there were chemically induced states of the mind back then. Gone is the mid-back length golden locks, the lanky posture now stiff, and the gait now an Ozzy Osbourne like shuffle; but the fingers, the fingers, oh how they still move will lightning speed and laser precision with ability to convey the raw emotion of the complex compositions the fuse elements of rock, jazz, and classical music and, at times include comic passages. This ability to convey emotion remains through his music as one of his finest attributes. His whit remain razor sharp as he interacted with the audience about his career and personal life, at one point drawing analogy to his many wives and those of Henry the Eighth - Henry got to cut their heads off while he had to buy them homes and share the wealth and he stated his doctor told him to loose weight so he cut those locks and dropped 20 lbs. The set included pieces from The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth, a tribute to David Bowie playing songs he accompanied on, Yessonata, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, John Lennon and Paul McCartney numbers he accompanied on. The set was minimalist with none of the projected psychedelic art of past Yes concerts. A grad piano and a two keyboard synthesizer the only instruments. If you do not know the Paramount, it is an intimate, art deco (1930) theater with excellent acoustics. I tend to gravitate to theaters like this now, avoiding large venues. I always reflect on the ability of home systems, including some multi million dollar systems I have heard, in how far they are from reproducing the way the dynamics and imaging develop in an acoustically superior venue like the Paramount. I wish Mr. Wakeman well and thank him for his extensive prog-rock catalogue and concerts that have stimulated my mind, including getting lost in William Roger Dean album art. It was the last tour date in the US. I hope you caught one of the series. If you fell like, I would love to hear flashbacks you have of Wakeman and the Yes.
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l know this is now a dead discussion but l have a few memories. First time l went to a concert was in Exeter England in the 80s. “An intimate evening with Rick Wakeman” accompanied with guitar player and drummer he often played with. The best part was the support act… Dave Cousins from The Strawbs period of Ricks career. After a few warm up songs Cousins introduced him and they played 70s Strawbs songs. It was a very intimate evening because during the 70s both artists lived in Woodbrury Salterton and Sidbury in Devon, in neighbouring villages very near my home. There was a CD now quite rare released twenty years ago on Witchwood Media of the entire Strawbs set. |
@mylogic - Thank you for that story, MyLogic. I'm a hard-core Britophile and have visited GB many times without having gone to the continent; I never want to leave GB when I'm there, and like to take trains and go and stay in various places well outside of London. My favorite places so far have been York, Lincoln, Norwich, Keswick, and Rye. I've yet to make it down to the Devon/Cornwall area but hope to do so my next visit over. I used to love Strawbs in the Rick Wakeman days, and that is so cool having Dave Cousins open for Rick and do some Strawbs numbers together! I've seen Rick do a solo thing at a movie theater in San Francisco where he told stories and played pieces intermittently when doing so. I've heard that Rick is a very funny man who's all about humour, and indeed he was! |
Rick and Dave in East Devon and your proposed holiday next year. Rick was indeed a very fun minded musician. He even appeared in a TV series “Grumpy Old Men” and wrote a book on a similar theme. As l said before he lived in “Woodbury Salterton”, a sleepy village in Devon. With Gothic iron gates just like a fortified mansion it fit his persona after “King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table”. He lived between “Glastonbury” and “Tintagel Castle” both King Arthur legendary sites. Rick was known for wanting to play on and on trying to squeeze in extra tracks. The concert was in a residential area and that night they had to turn all the lights on to get him off stage. You mentioned next year you may fly over and seek out the Devon and Cornwall area in our West Country. If you do come l would recommend that you rent a car in Exeter or Plymouth. The train network here is not extensive enough for you to visit the best places like Dartmoor and towns in Devon and the beautiful fishing villages in Cornwall. For example you can not go by rail to “Lands End”, “St, Ives” or most of the lovely beaches on a train. Cornwall has been listed as having one of the top ten beaches in the world, “Kynance Cove” near “The Lizard”, the most southerly point in England. A car is key to unlocking the area as the peninsula is quite long with two coastlines. And remember there’s Dorset too. |
@mylogic - Thank you for all that! Yes, the Lizard Peninsula is on the list. Your suggestion is great, but alas, I do not drive (something the world should be grateful for).... I had this same issue in the Cotswolds a number of years ago. I was able to take tourist buses to some places the trains didn't go, even though I am loathe to do 'tourist stuff' - I like getting around and seeing things, sure, but my favorite thing to do in the UK is just going to pubs and chatting with local folk. I went to Bath a few years ago and never saw the Baths - but I did go to a great Heavy Metal pub with all these biker-looking blokes, where I regaled the regulars with tales of early Metallica in San Francisco, where I live! |