What was your first prog concert?

Originally posted by The.Crimson.King Originally posted by humor4u1959 My first prog concert was Genesis on 'The Lamb' tour. I saw them on Thanksgiving of 1974 when I was 15. It was incredible! Wow, what a great start!  Has anything you've seen since matched The Lamb?

As a matter of fact, yes. The Lamb was tremendous from a theatrical point of view. However, Genesis made a big mistake by starting the tour before the album was released. So, they played 90 minutes of music no one had heard! That's all they played, plus 2 encores - The Musical Box and Watcher of the Skies. The Musical Box was the most dramatic thing I've ever seen done live. Very emotional, with the organ and the old man mask at the end.

But, musically speaking, Procol Harum was the best live band I've seen. I like them better and Brooker has a much better and stronger voice than Gabriel. I've seen Genesis 4 times and Gabriel solo 4 times as well. So, I like them both. But, Procol Harum moves me the most. And Gary Brooker & Co. are still doing it to this day. Check 'em out on You Tube. They opened for Yes on last summer's tour and I'm told they blew 'em off the stage. I did see Yes too, in 1978, and they sounded awful live.

Originally posted by AreYouHuman The.Crimson.King said: At one point in the show Keith was having some problems and a road tech came out and was working on his setup between songs. Keith steps up to the mic and says, "I'm having a little organ trouble...bet you can all get into that.    When I saw them, Keith did a solo during “Hoedown” on a theremin or like device, handling it in a “shocking” manner! More organ trouble? The.Crimson.King said: My 1st prog concert was July '76 : Yes and opener Gentle Giant at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. I remember getting there at about 4am to get a good spot in line. This was the Yes solo album tour with Patrick Moraz and I still remember him doing this incredible organ solo. The Roger Dean stage design was the 3 headed hydra and was the last tour Yes had an elaborate stage. Didn’t get the chance to see Yes until the 1991 Union tour. They came to Indianapolis while I was there in 1977, but it was after I had to move on, this being the Navy. Luckily they were playing in the Norfolk, VA area, but I was new there, and poor planning brought on by own inexperience made me miss that one. Next chance was the Big Generator tour in 1987, but several dates, including the one in Grand Rapids, MI, were cancelled due to Trevor Rabin’s health issues (his gallbladder, if I remember correctly). So if there was THE tour to catch them on, it had to be Union! Bill Bruford was a busy chap around that time; he’d just played in the area about 6 months before with Earthworks. humor4u1959 said: My first prog concert was Genesis on 'The Lamb' tour. I saw them on Thanksgiving of 1974 when I was 15. It was incredible! Ooooo! SO green with envy!!!! I so wanted to see Genesis on the Lamb tour in the spring of ‘75, but didn’t know anyone who was going and otherwise lacked the wherewithal to get there. A little over a year later they returned to the area, sans Gabriel…still didn’t get the chance. The.Crimson.King said: I saw Steve Hackett in '92 at a small club in Northern California. The best part of the show for me was the encore...Steve came out alone with a classical guitar and played about 20 minutes of unaccompanied classical pieces. Even greener!!!! He might have played in GR on that same tour, but his management missed the mark so inexcusably. He’s well aware he has plenty of fans in west Michigan, where he likely would’ve sold out a decent-sized hall.

I'm from Michigan too! I live in a suburb of Detroit. And the device you're referring to that Emerson played is the ribbon controller from a synth. It's a like a long, thin, bar. He slides his hand up and down, creating weird sounds. But, it's NOT a theremin. It's from a old Moog, I believe.

Lucky sons of bitches 

1977, Jethro Tull, Songs From the Wood. I will never forget it. Soon after was Blue Oyster Cult, also never to be forgotten. I think Alice Cooper was next, I pretty much forgot that one, except that it was cut short when someone ignited a tear gas canister and the place cleared out real fast.

Originally posted by The.Crimson.King Originally posted by humor4u1959 Originally posted by The.Crimson.King Originally posted by humor4u1959 My first prog concert was Genesis on 'The Lamb' tour. I saw them on Thanksgiving of 1974 when I was 15. It was incredible! Wow, what a great start!  Has anything you've seen since matched The Lamb? As a matter of fact, yes. The Lamb was tremendous from a theatrical point of view. However, Genesis made a big mistake by starting the tour before the album was released. So, they played 90 minutes of music no one had heard! That's all they played, plus 2 encores - The Musical Box and Watcher of the Skies. The Musical Box was the most dramatic thing I've ever seen done live. Very emotional, with the organ and the old man mask at the end. But, musically speaking, Procol Harum was the best live band I've seen. I like them better and Brooker has a much better and stronger voice than Gabriel. I've seen Genesis 4 times and Gabriel solo 4 times as well. So, I like them both. But, Procol Harum moves me the most. And Gary Brooker & Co. are still doing it to this day. Check 'em out on You Tube. They opened for Yes on last summer's tour and I'm told they blew 'em off the stage. I did see Yes too, in 1978, and they sounded awful live. I love Procol Harum too and think Gary Brooker's voice is one of my all time favorites.  I never got to see them live though.  Funny, they came through town last August opening for Yes and I thought about going.  When I researched the tickets, they had a "special package" $250/seat which got you in the 1st 3 rows and an after show meet-and-greet photo session with Yes.  After seeing Yes about 6 times in the 70's I wasn't interested in a meet-and-greet; but, if it had been with Gary Brooker I probably would've spent the $$$

Crimson King, you have wonderful taste! If you do like Procol, there are tons of clips on You Tube, even from their tour with Yes. Simply type in "Procol Harum Live 2012" and the results will lead you there. Gary Brooker is going to be 68 next month and still sings all the songs in the original key! We're talking about songs from as far back as 1967! That ain't easy. On the Genesis reunion tour in 2007, Phil Collins said they lowered every single song in key except 'Follow You, Follow Me' and another that escapes me now. Elton John said he lowered the keys of all his '70's songs for live gigs many years ago. And here, Brooker, who is a baritone with a tenor timbre, sings 'A Salty Dog' in the original key to this day! Now, if that ain't amazing, what the hell is? Okay, I'll shut up and get off my soapbox now. It's just that Procol never really got their due.

1990 Roger Waters - The Wall live in Berlin.

Originally posted by The.Crimson.King Originally posted by humor4u1959 Crimson King, you have wonderful taste! If you do like Procol, there are tons of clips on You Tube, even from their tour with Yes. Simply type in "Procol Harum Live 2012" and the results will lead you there. Gary Brooker is going to be 68 next month and still sings all the songs in the original key! We're talking about songs from as far back as 1967! That ain't easy. On the Genesis reunion tour in 2007, Phil Collins said they lowered every single song in key except 'Follow You, Follow Me' and another that escapes me now. Elton John said he lowered the keys of all his '70's songs for live gigs many years ago. And here, Brooker, who is a baritone with a tenor timbre, sings 'A Salty Dog' in the original key to this day! Now, if that ain't amazing, what the hell is? Okay, I'll shut up and get off my soapbox now. It's just that Procol never really got their due. Thanks for the compliment, and same to you   I completely agree that Procol never get the props they deserve.  A few years ago I found a DVD of a Christmastime German TV appearance...I think some of those clips have found their way to youtube.  Wonderful performance, only thing I wish was that it had Robin Trower & Matthew Fisher instead of Dave Ball & Chris Copping.  Dave & Chris do a great job of playing the original parts, but it would've been so cool to see the originals.