/ASIA\: "The Heat of the Moment Tour" 2024

Can't believe they're skipping Mid-Atlantic. But I guess it doesn't matter - the way things are these days, the shows always wind up in freakin' Virginia (at either Wolf Trap or Jiffy Lube Live.) Merriweather Post Pavilion has fallen off band management's radar, for god know what reason.

 

No Wetton, no Palmer, no Howe, no way.

 

Yeah I think they played a very small theater in the gross 'burbs on the Gravitas tour. I would've liked to go but I couldn't justify the cash at that point, I'd seen the original reunion in 2007 already.

If this lineup made some new music first, I'd be intrigued, as a big fan of at least 3 out of the 4 of the members. But of course, there's the conundrum: most people potentially going to this show aren't interested in new music anyways, so why bother. (And I'd say the 4 of them putting out a new album as 'Asia' would be doing everyone a disservice anyways, automatically boxing them into a certain sound and style despite being 75% a completely different band)

Doubt it. Howe obviously is free for these dates (touring-wise), my guess is he just isn't interested in doing more road work outside of Yes or maybe some low-stress solo gigs on his own time.

Carl has his weird "Return Of ELP(Even though the other two are dead)" tour, it's only a few dates as far as I can tell but they overlap with this, which I'm assuming Downes is squeezing in between Yes tours.

I don't really begrudge him doing this, I enjoyed some of the Payne-era stuff which was also just Downes+ringers, basically, but I'd be shocked if that many people show up for it. It made morse sense for a skeletal Asia lineup to be the opener for a bigger legacy act, like when they opened for Journey after Wetton passed. And three prog-tinged opening acts? I can't imagine any of them getting much stage time, although I suppose it will be rare US appearances for them so there's that. But none of them are big enough names to do these big theaters, IMO.

I will say, at least they're putting the band members' names right in the poster so no one is misled about who is performing...wish every classic rock band did that, honestly.

 

Wouldn't be the first time, though. The Aqua album (first of the Payne albums) was essentially Downes with a new cast, and that lineup went on to tour. (The album made it look like Howe and Palmer were still bandmembers, but their participation was very limited).

 

Of course not. That's why I pointed out I enjoyed some of the Payne-era stuff so I'm not begrudging him doing this. But also any Asia without the other three probably never played to more than a couple hundred people in the States, ever.

Give me an album with Downes, Donati and Mitchell though. That could be amazing. Honestly Donati is so overqualified for this gig.

 

This is true. I saw the first US tour by the Payne lineup and it was undersold despite Howe's presence as "special guest."

I fear that this tour will go the way of the "More Drama" tour.

 

John Mitchell was John Wetton's guitarist so at least there is some connection.

 

I suppose they need to do 2,000 seat venues to justify sending four full bands on a single tour, but ain't no way they're going to move that many tickets.

A lot of bands can sort of build up a "new" version of the group by starting small and doing the hard work to make it happen. As much as it's easy to make fun of Journey for being a band of ridiculous egos, they put in the work when they relaunched without Perry, almost willing the era of the band to happen. To a lesser extent, so did Foreigner with Kelley Hansen. I don't know if this would really be possible for Asia, not only is their legacy essentially only two albums, but they were comprised of at least 3 very known entities to begin with, and I think that is how most people remember them. I guarantee a lot of the crowd that saw them on their reunion tours were there because they were fans of Howe, Palmer, or Wetton as musicians, possibly even moreso than they were fans of the Asia record(s). But they definitely seem to be skipping some steps here and just going straight to the big theaters with a completely unproven and untested lineup, and, well, good luck to Downes with this, I suppose.

 

John Mitchell has had a bunch of different projects, but IMO his best work is Kino's Picture album, I can't recommend it enough.

Virgil Donati is an insanely accomplished virtuoso drummer, played on a bunch of stuff in the metal/fusion genre, coolest stuff is with Derek Sherinian's Planet X and Tony MacAlpine's self-titled solo album.

Not familiar with the singer, guess it's some bloke they found on Youtube. But the other two are certainly up to the task, if not even overqualified for it. But...at the same time, it's a tribute band without any new music.

 

Donati played drums on some U.K. 'reunion' dates as well. Granted, neither him nor Mitchell played on any studio recordings with Wetton as far as I know. But I think those connections are coincidence, 21st century prog circles are small and there's a lot of intermingling of musicians in these projects.

 

As a prog fan I'm drooling over the lineup, but there can't be more than a few thousand Focus fans in all of the US, and they're the best known of the support acts. Seeing Martin Turner would be great, but Wishbone Ash itself was pretty undersold when I saw them last year.

 

Well, the guy who plays keyboards in YES with zero original members says it is.

 

I think this is a great way to approach it. Geoff Downes and Friends playing Asia. Who cares what this band is actually called, it sounds like a good group of musicians, who will likely do the music well.

 

weird that they wouldn't make sure that Carl Palmer was involved.

no Wetton/Howe makes it a harder sell (even though some of the post Howe line ups) have been good, incl post Wetton.

 

Merriweather Post Pavilion holds about 18,000 more people than this show is ever going to draw, so there's that.

 

John Mitchell was guitarist on the Sinister & Rock of Faith albums. He also mixed & mastered Gravitas, Asia's last album.

 

this new singer...does he have the experience / stamina for this, quite extensive and gruelling, tour schedule?

3 in a row is a lot for a seasoned pro, and potentially something which can destroy the voice of someone with less experience...

Benoit David springs to mind....

 

Asia Minor

 

Carl has given it his blessing and says he’d consider future Asia projects but he’s already got a tour commitment

 

Huh. I thought there was something but they aren't listed on his wikipedia page. (Not that wiki is 100% truth, but there's a section on Wetton and it only lists a live album)

Oh well. Like I said he's very qualified for the gig, but also a bit of a waste of his immense talents to just go out and play covers IMO. Unless this exercise will fund more of his recording projects (but I can't see it being that lucrative either)

 

Malasia?

 

I missed the "More Drama" tour...I assume Downes was involved but who were the other players?

 

Geoff Downes Presents the Music of Asia

And that’s cool with me. At least he has a guy who can sing and it’s not Billy Sherwood (worst ever). I’m fine with Sherwood in Yes, but when he fronted Asia it was horrible, I thought.

I would prefer Robert Berry in the lineup. Can do the vocals justice, but still remain his own voice. This Harry kid they got is more of a clone.

 

The tour never happened.

 

It was a package tour with three Yes spin-offs, don’t remember which ones— maybe the Steve Howe Band, White and Circa?

As noted, there wasn’t enough interest and it didn’t happen. The new Yes with Benoit David happened a year or two later.