Thursday, April 30, 2009
One of the Best Concerts, Ever!
Back in the 1970's, I bought a ticket to see Procol Harum. I knew about 3 hit songs of theirs, and had never heard any of their albums, so I made an effort to have absolutely no expectations of what most of their songs would really be like. The band came out and just blew me away! They were visually stunning, had incredible vocal harmonies, and the songs were fabulous. I clapped and clapped at the end of the very short concert and couldn't figure out why no one around me was demanding an encore or anything. I couldn't have been more enthusiastic.
They weren't Procol Harum. They were only the warm-up act. Boy, did I feel like an idiot. I should have noticed that they didn't play Whiter Shade of Pale. There was nothing on the signs or tickets indicating that there was a warm-up act, much less who. I asked everyone around me if they knew the name of the band. Someone nearby thought they might be named "Silver Queen" or something like that, but he wasn't very sure. Being young and stupid, and maybe not in a condition to confront authorities, I didn't go to the box office as I should have to find out who they were.
Procol Harum sucked. As soon as they began to play, I recognized their sound -- just like the hits I was familiar with. They weren't a tenth as good as the opening act. Their lead singer couldn't compare at all. I was particularly unimpressed with the piano solo "improvisation" in the middle of one of their songs that was Bach's C Major prelude from Book I of the Well-Tempered Clavier. The crowd loved it, but I thought it was a cheap shot playing on a rock audience's ignorance. What do you expect from a band whose signature song is based on Bach's Air on the G String?
I always regretted not finding out who the opening act was. They were so visually unique that I would describe them to people, hoping they would know who they were. The lead singer and guitarist had long, light, curly air that literally glowed in the spotlight. The bass player wore high boots and a bowler hat and stomped around the stage in an odd way whenever he got really cooking. My niece, on hearing this, recognized them as Cheap Trick. I bought Live at Budokan. Not them at all. I sometimes wondered if it was Queen, prior to them dropping "Silver" from their name and having a different sound. I rather doubted it.
In the age of Google, a few times I have searched for "Procol Harum Orpheum Boston" and the like, and could find that yes, they played the Orpheum in 1973 (too early, I thought) but no luck. Recently I decided to try again, and Google just turned up the same-old same-old, though I eventually wound up on Procol Harum's official web site, and browsing deeper into it, found their complete concert list put together by their stage manager. It even listed opening acts for some of them. I started looking from 1977 backwards, and found a concert in 1974, but it was at the Music Hall with King Crimson, so that one was out. They played Boston in 1973 at the Aquarius (*but see ticket image) with opening act Tranquility. The ticket image shows they played at the Orpheum, where I saw them.
Using Google for "Tranquility band" turns up not a whole lot, just a few enthusiasts wondering why they never made it big, and a CD on Amazon. When I saw their picture, I knew I hit the jackpot. The person in front had light, long, curly hair. There were six members, which should have disqualified Cheap Trick without buying an album. One of the members has a hat in one picture, but not a bowler. Maybe I was too far away to see well or maybe he has a hat collection.
Reviews of their first album on Amazon all wonder why the record company doesn't release the much-superior second album, Silver, on CD. That must be where my fellow concert goer got at least part of the wrong name from.
Tranquility is great. I bought their inferior self-titled first album. Only some of the songs have the sound that is characteristic of the songs on Silver and which remind me of the live concert. It is nonetheless pretty good and I like it a lot. You cannot buy Silver as it doesn't exist on CD. Because it doesn't exist for purchase, I suppose the RIAA cannot call it stealing to download the album from here. If it is released on CD, let me know, because I'll buy it in a second. (Several reviewers of Tranquility on Amazon said the same thing.) Silver is fantastic! Their sound reminds me a little of early Yes, with some 10cc mixed in. I cannot honestly say I remember the songs from the concert, but most of the songs on Silver and one or two on Tranquility sound somehow familiar.
I hope you give it a listen or three and find it as enjoyable as I do, as I imagine the singer with the glowing hair and glitter makeup, the snappily-dressed band (not a jeans and T-shirt slob-band) and stomping bowler-hatted bass player.
My theory on why they never made it big was that they never told anyone who they were.
They weren't Procol Harum. They were only the warm-up act. Boy, did I feel like an idiot. I should have noticed that they didn't play Whiter Shade of Pale. There was nothing on the signs or tickets indicating that there was a warm-up act, much less who. I asked everyone around me if they knew the name of the band. Someone nearby thought they might be named "Silver Queen" or something like that, but he wasn't very sure. Being young and stupid, and maybe not in a condition to confront authorities, I didn't go to the box office as I should have to find out who they were.
Procol Harum sucked. As soon as they began to play, I recognized their sound -- just like the hits I was familiar with. They weren't a tenth as good as the opening act. Their lead singer couldn't compare at all. I was particularly unimpressed with the piano solo "improvisation" in the middle of one of their songs that was Bach's C Major prelude from Book I of the Well-Tempered Clavier. The crowd loved it, but I thought it was a cheap shot playing on a rock audience's ignorance. What do you expect from a band whose signature song is based on Bach's Air on the G String?
I always regretted not finding out who the opening act was. They were so visually unique that I would describe them to people, hoping they would know who they were. The lead singer and guitarist had long, light, curly air that literally glowed in the spotlight. The bass player wore high boots and a bowler hat and stomped around the stage in an odd way whenever he got really cooking. My niece, on hearing this, recognized them as Cheap Trick. I bought Live at Budokan. Not them at all. I sometimes wondered if it was Queen, prior to them dropping "Silver" from their name and having a different sound. I rather doubted it.
In the age of Google, a few times I have searched for "Procol Harum Orpheum Boston" and the like, and could find that yes, they played the Orpheum in 1973 (too early, I thought) but no luck. Recently I decided to try again, and Google just turned up the same-old same-old, though I eventually wound up on Procol Harum's official web site, and browsing deeper into it, found their complete concert list put together by their stage manager. It even listed opening acts for some of them. I started looking from 1977 backwards, and found a concert in 1974, but it was at the Music Hall with King Crimson, so that one was out. They played Boston in 1973 at the Aquarius (*but see ticket image) with opening act Tranquility. The ticket image shows they played at the Orpheum, where I saw them.
Using Google for "Tranquility band" turns up not a whole lot, just a few enthusiasts wondering why they never made it big, and a CD on Amazon. When I saw their picture, I knew I hit the jackpot. The person in front had light, long, curly hair. There were six members, which should have disqualified Cheap Trick without buying an album. One of the members has a hat in one picture, but not a bowler. Maybe I was too far away to see well or maybe he has a hat collection.
Reviews of their first album on Amazon all wonder why the record company doesn't release the much-superior second album, Silver, on CD. That must be where my fellow concert goer got at least part of the wrong name from.
Tranquility is great. I bought their inferior self-titled first album. Only some of the songs have the sound that is characteristic of the songs on Silver and which remind me of the live concert. It is nonetheless pretty good and I like it a lot. You cannot buy Silver as it doesn't exist on CD. Because it doesn't exist for purchase, I suppose the RIAA cannot call it stealing to download the album from here. If it is released on CD, let me know, because I'll buy it in a second. (Several reviewers of Tranquility on Amazon said the same thing.) Silver is fantastic! Their sound reminds me a little of early Yes, with some 10cc mixed in. I cannot honestly say I remember the songs from the concert, but most of the songs on Silver and one or two on Tranquility sound somehow familiar.
I hope you give it a listen or three and find it as enjoyable as I do, as I imagine the singer with the glowing hair and glitter makeup, the snappily-dressed band (not a jeans and T-shirt slob-band) and stomping bowler-hatted bass player.
My theory on why they never made it big was that they never told anyone who they were.
