The four original members of Asia on tour

[See You In Hell]

I meant to post this last week but I was wondering how many of you would be interested in this tour, the four original members of Asia. Ah, the super group that.....well, didn't quite pan out. I'm actually giving this one some serious thought. I rather loosely followed Asia over the years with all the line-up changes but to see the original four I think would actually be kind of cool.

http://www.originalasia.com/

US - 2008
April 4 Wilkes Barre, PA - Kirby PAC
April 5 Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Casino Wolf Den
April 7 Harrisburg, PA - Sunoco Performance Theater
April 8 Alexandria, VA - The Birchmere
April 10 Collingswood, NJ - Scottish Rite Auditorium
April 12 Westbury, NY - North Fork Theatre
April 13 Peekskill, NY - Paramount Center For The Arts
April 15 Verona, NY - Turning Stone Resort & Casino
April 16 Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theatre
April 17 Englewood, NJ - Bergen Performing Arts Center
April 19 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
April 20 Chicago, IL - House of Blues
April 21 Indianapolis, IN - Music Mill
April 23 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
April 26 Marksville, LA - Paragon Casino
April 27 Dallas, TX - House of Blues
April 29 Espanola NM - Big Rock Casino
April 30 Phoenix, AZ - Celebrity Theatre
May 2 Agoura Hills, CA - Canyon Club
May 3 Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
May 4 San Juan Capistrano, CA - The Coach House

For those who'd be considering this show in the Dallas area I must report that the April 27 date is the same date as the Symphony X / Epica show in Fort Worth. Dammit!

 

[eaeolian]

I'm actually kinda interested in seeing this - how many times do you get to see Palmer, Wetton, and Howe on stages this size?

 

[J-Man]

I would go out of my way to see ASIA again, I loved them in the 80's and I have to admit I do have all their CD's errrrr Tapes and CD's.

 

[edgeofthorns]

I like Asia, but I don't consider myself a huge fan or anything. With that said, I wouldn't mind seeing one of these shows at all.

~Brian~

 

[Purveyor Of Evil]

I love every incarnation of this band! I've only seen the John Payne era version live, though. The first date in 2008 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. is only a few minutes from my house and it's a Friday night! ASIA Friday night, April 4th and SYMPHONY X in NYC on Saturday, April 5th. A rather splendid weekend I must say.

 

[Kenneth R.]

here's to hoping for a new album

 

[J-Dubya 777]

The respect is there for their abilities, but Asia just never did a thing for me, musically.

 

[spag]

I played the hell out of their first album. Good memories now when I hear it. I might check this out.

 

[Formerly known as Chris F5]

Gee what a surprise,no Fla dates

 

[J-Dubya 777]

Not THIS shit again!

:Smokedev:

 

[KingsGene]

Ah, the super group that.....well, didn't quite pan out.

Are you kidding me? They were one of the hottest bands of their time and sold tons of records. Sounds to me like it worked quite well for awhile...

Although I do remember when Whetton quit the band and they had already committed to an MTV live concert "Asia in Asia" and they got Greg Lake to fill in....and he was awful!

 

[speedy1383]

You do realize Chris Rifkin that they did tour Florida this year. I saw them in Clearwater at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Good show. Wetton still has the chops. So it isn't true that they bypassed Florida. They already played it.

 

[SkiBumMSP]

I'm actually kinda interested in seeing this - how many times do you get to see Palmer, Wetton, and Howe on stages this size?

I'll have to go see this myself. I have damn near every Asia album, as they were one of my favorites during the time. There most recent one, Silent Nation is pretty good in my opinion.

Now, I wonder if there is any way I can get tickets to the Birchmere show in Alexandria without having to go through TicketBastard? EDIT: I saw that I could get tickets directly at their box office, even though they still charge a $3.50 "service charge", which is still better than the TicketBastard Rape-n-Gouge fees. However, by the time I drive all the way up there to buy them, might as well just suck it up and get them through TicketBastard.

 

[See You In Hell]

Are you kidding me? They were one of the hottest bands of their time and sold tons of records. Sounds to me like it worked quite well for awhile...

Although I do remember when Whetton quit the band and they had already committed to an MTV live concert "Asia in Asia" and they got Greg Lake to fill in....and he was awful!

Well I remember the hype back in the early 80s when Asia formed and on the heels of their excellent debut album and the fact the band itself consisted of members who all seemed to be held in very high regard it seemed the sky would be the limit. As I recall, perhaps incorrectly since it was so long ago, the band seemed to lose steam with its "Alpha" and "Astra" releases which were not nearly as well-received as their debut. Then, of course, there have been the line-up changes over the years that seemed to basically raise the white flag as far as supergroup status was concerned. Don't get me wrong by my stating earlier that "the supergroup didn't pan out". I still like a lot of Asia's music over the years and have several of their albums myself from the debut (my personal favorite) to albums scattered here and there across the years. Despite the band's evolution over the span of time they did manage, for the most part, to stick to a musical formula I enjoy. But I recall clearly back in day when Asia were poised to do much greater things and truly seemed for a time to be destined to be the next rock supergroup. And in my opinion they just didn't reach that lofty ambition. Of course, just whose ambitions were they anyway? Perhaps with Asia, as it is with a lot of bands many of us in this forum seem to enjoy, the music is first and foremost and any lofty status associated therewith is icing on the proverbial cake. The matter is open to debate, of course, but in the end Asia has produced music I have enjoyed over these many years and, supergroup or not, I consider myself of fan of the band and the music.

Amen.

 

[mëtålspëd]

Thought I would bump this, as I saw one of my favorite ASIA songs today on "We Are the 80s" on VH1.. and we are in the midst of the tour (in case some had forgotten or not known)




I would like to see them on tour, but not knowing too much of their catalog, its a big investment for questionable returns. I really like a couple of tracks of theirs, but much seems too "pop" oriented for me (though I had wished for a more proggier lean from their previous bands). Does anyone have any recommendations?

 

[livingwithwolves]

Their new album is pretty good.

 

[OrbWeaver]

Going to see the Chicago show with Met-Al. Definitely excited for this.