From sgiddens@juno.com Wed Oct 2 02:13:33 1996 To: app@roadkill.com Subject: Denver show (no spoilers) X-Juno-Line-Breaks: 1-5,7,9-19,21,23-33 From: sgiddens@juno.com (Scott Giddens) Date: Wed, 02 Oct 1996 04:04:05 EDT Content-Length: 1173 I just got back from the concert, just 20 minutes ago I spoke with Alan and Ian. The concert was better than I had expected, the venue was very small, not a single bad seat in the place. From what I could tell the place was sold out. I picked up front seat tickets from a guy out front for $30.00, plus my crappy row EE seats! I was allowed to bring my camera into the theater! I took a shot of every set. There were 23 songs played! Alan and Ian said their were only 22, but I don't think they counted Sirius and Eye in the Sky as two different songs. I could be wrong. Ian was spectacular, he is a show stealer. Everybody I spoke with didn't know about the new release, they kept commenting about the last album as being TAO! When I whipped out OA and showed it to them they died. Ian and Neil visited at least 1 radio station to promote the new album. But guess what, they had no copy of it, so Ian and Neil did a live set of Brother up in Heaven right there on the spot! To top that off, I ran into a guy from River North, after the show, backstage. I will have to talk about that some other time, right now I need some sleep. I have to stay awake at work tomorrow. From burgess@Intellistor.COM Wed Oct 2 08:40:45 1996 Date: Wed, 02 Oct 1996 09:27:10 -0600 From: Dana Burgess To: app@roadkill.com Subject: Denver show -- no real SPOILERS Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Length: 2659 Hi all. Went to the show in Denver last night. It was at the Paramount theater, which is a smallish place but an *excellent* location for a concert such as this. Rather than give a complete set list (which has been done already), I will give my impressions and rating of the concert. Mind you, some of this may seem pretentious to you, but I'm coming from a musical background. I've been an AP fan for almost 20 years now, so any seeming criticisms are meant constructively. So... Stage Presence ------------------ Very good. The band, particularly Alan Parsons himself, were *MUCH* more relaxed than last year. There were a couple of minor little mix-ups on stage, and Alan joked about the choreography not being perfect yet. Last year, it would have made him more nervous. This year, he made a joke about it. Ian is at home on stage. Excellent performer without trying to force his way into the spotlight. Execution --------- Flawless. And I mean *FLAWLESS*. Knowing all of the songs (except "Turn It Up") intimately, the musician in me was looking for musical flaws. There were none. The performance was as near perfect as one can get. But then, after all, it *WAS* Alan Parsons. Sound ----- About a 7 out of 10. The low end seemed to be mushed together. Not enough separation for the lower frequencies (bass, bigger toms on the drums, etc.). Part of this could have been a function of the theater, but those places usually have outstanding acoustics. The levels were all good, just not enough separation at the low end. Song Selection -------------- OUTSTANDING! Not just a repeat of last year's show. In fact, very few repeats from last year's show. I was very pleased at the selection. The cuts from "On Air" were particularly well performed. Rarely do I go to a concert and get goosebumps from the music, but when they played "Brother Up In Heaven", that's what happened. Chills up the spine. This was emphasized by Ian's frank and gentlemanly introduction of the song and its story. Length ------ Well, I could still be there and it would be too short. However, in deference and understanding to the musicians and how draining it can be to play for over 2 hours (been there, done that, 'taint easy) I will say that the length of the show was good. Overall ------- Outstanding concert. Well performed, good stage presence, just a good evening of musical entertainment. Recommend it to everyone. That's it. All the things that I look for in a concert, broken down to their individual components. Hope this helps, or at least gives a little insight without spoiling it for you. Your mileage may vary. -- Dana