[Diff_Drummer]

This had to be one of the best concerts that I have seen in quite a while. First off, it was in a great small club in Denver called the Soiled Dove. Very intimate. My wife and I had a table off to the side no more than 10'-12' from the stage and maybe 20' from Carl's new Ludwig chrome kit. To be able to sit at a comfortable table with a nice drink in hand, a few pub style appetizers, and listen to Carl Palmer was nothing short of fantastic. (The only problem was the guy sitting near my wife was having major gas attacks. We named him Mr. Methane.)

I have to say, I was skeptical and curious to hear a guitarist try to cover Emersons keyboard parts, but all I can say is that Carl has a good ear for young talent. His guitarist, Paul Bielatowicz, looks like he just graduated high school. In actuality, he is 33 and when not playing with Carl, has played with another prog great, Neal Morse, as well as teaching guitar lessons.

Paul avoids all the usual stage histrionics of most rock guitarists, and just stands there and plays the snot out of his guitar. Using the Van Halen "2 hands on the neck" technique, he plays Emersons arpeggios faster than Emerson did. With a masterful use of pedals and a nice Marshall stack, he created sounds that totally enhanced the material. For a good part of the show I was torn between watching him or Carl. At the end of each song, he'd look up, brush the hair out of his eyes, and give the crowd the kind of smile that says, "hey...that was fun, don't ya think?". (A lot of these looks were aimed at my wife, by the way.) Paul said on his web site, that the months he took to transcribe and develop his parts for Carls band were the most intense and challenging of his life.

Carl's bass player, Simon Fitzpatrick, is also a master. Typical of bass players, he is kind of non-emotional on stage, though still puts out an occasional smirk, and has a great sense of humor in his style. Greg Lake should only dream of playing bass like this. He uses a 6-string bass and also uses the "2 hands on the neck" technique at times to great advantage.

Carl was very generous with his time and gave each of these great young musicians their solo spots in the night, (see the set list below).

The audio was great. Of course we heard most of the sound direct from the stage, not through the PA, but it was always clear and balanced, and never too loud.

Carl was in great form in both his playing and his talking with the audience. At one point he said, "Every musician has one or two albums that they wish they had never done. Mine was Love Beach. Sorry, no refunds for those of you who bought it. You just don't go down to the Bahamas to make a progressive album. That's what you get. But there was one track that was decent." And he introduced Canario. The set list, as you will see below, covered some great material, with a few surprises. If you can catch this tour, GO!

1) The Barbarian
2) Hoedown
3) Peter Gunn
4) Bitches Crystal (Paul was very impressive on this switching sounds and moods to recreate Emo's different keyboard parts.)
5) Canario
6) Tarkus (Eruption and AquaTarkus)
7) Guitar Solo: Somewhere over the Rainbow
Flight of the Bumble Bee
The Liberty Bell March (Sousa) better known as the Monty
Python Theme
8) Entire band jazz improvisations
9) Bass Solo: Bohemian Rhapsody (Yes, a BASS PLAYER did the entire
Queen song, instrumentally, on a 6-string bass. You have to
hear it to believe it.)
10) Trilogy (Very shortened ballad section at the beginning. Played the entire up tempo 2nd half. Great surprise. Pauls recreation of the Moog solo was incredible.)
11) Pictures at an Exhibition (Played the ENTIRE suite from the original live album, including "The Sage", The Old Castle", and the blues variations. Something ELP hasn't done in a long time.)
12) Fanfare for the Common Man (Taped trumpet intro) This included Carl's drum solo. He was really having fun and showed a bunch of new tricks with his sticks.
13) Carmina Burana (A CP Band new arrangement of a classical piece)
14) Encore: Nutrocker

Great evening and wonderful memories. Thanks Carl. (And it was Emersons birthday too.)