Usually after a subgenre of rock hits its peak, there are one or two bands that pop up in the years afterward, and often these bands have an overly commercial, somewhat cheesy approach to the defunct genre. After rap-metal we got Papa Roach, after grunge we got Creed, after hair-metal we got Warrant, and after the ’70s prog-rock boom, we got Asia. Not to offend the die-hard fans who packed the Bears Den at the Seneca Niagara Casino Saturday, Oct. 14, but many would say the band’s signature hit ‘Heat of the Moment” is a bit cheesy.
Of course, as is the case with most “one-hit wonders,” there is plenty of talent and musicianship in Asia, which didn’t get noticed by the masses but was on full display Saturday night. The quartet opened the show with “Only Time Will Tell,” an overdramatic, oriental-tinged piece. After several new and old singles, the band launched into “Time Again,” with drummer Carl Palmer banging on the two gongs behind his drum kit, and Wetton and guitarist Steve Howe grinding out low, heavy riffs.
The individual talent and musicianship within the band was best showcased during solo pieces, the first of which was a trio of solos by Howe, which mostly straddled a kind of middle ground between traditional folk-rock and the kind of medieval-rock of King Crimson (which Wetton performed with for a brief time in the mid-70s). After another slew of hits, Palmer banged through the wild drums of “Toccata,” which seemed to leave many in the audience stunned. Palmer’s tricks included playing with both ends of his drum sticks, pounding a bass-drum solo with no hands, and, of course banging away at the gongs. The close, intimate nature of the venue seemed to prompt concertgoers to shout compliments and praise. Saying everything from “we love you!” to “I’m sweating just watching you!”
Following “Toccata,” the band launched into several album cuts, featuring the kind of big, dramatic ’80s pop sound that has garnered love from fans and dismissive waves from critics. The band then left the stage, which was bathed in befitting red lights, and soon came back to perform “Sole Survivor” and “Heat of the Moment.” They extended their signature hit to let the audience sing along, which most did with passion. It was an interesting, devoted audience at that show; one guy bowed down to the band and another guy stood up as he air-drummed over the seats (there’s something you don’t see every day: a grown man air-drumming in public).
So, maybe the band did have only two successful albums thirty years ago, and maybe the band was mocked in the film ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin,’ but the 30 – to – 50 – somethings in attendance looked like they’d never been so happy to see a concert, and at the end of the day, isn’t that all that matters?
Set List:
Only Time Will Tell
Wildest Dream
Face on the Bridge
Time Again
Acoustic guitar solo
Don’t Cry
Smile Has Left Your Eyes
Cutting it Fine
Toccata (drum solo)
An Extraordinary Life
Here Comes the Feeling
Open Your Eyes
Encore:
Sole Survivor
Heat of the Moment
Photos by Jay Ritz. We would like to thank Tony Astran from the Seneca Niagara Casino for allowing BackstageAxxess.com to review the show.
