12/17/73- ELP -MSG

[doneg]

45 years ago tonight, I'm sure many here were at the show, a cold snowy wintery night. I remember living in NE NJ at the time, me and a friend heading to the train station in Elizabeth,NJ to catch the Northeast Corrider train into Penn Station NYC which is just below MSG, it was either snowing at the time or had just snowed that day but l remember a lot of snow on the ground and we got stuck in the snow on the way to the train, we thought we were gonna miss our train and the next train would've gotten us there late, but with the help of some passing motorists we got moving again and made our train. Of course the show was memorable, my first of many ELP concerts. Needless to say it was a great show, one of the highlights of the night that l always remember, being a week before Christmas, Greg Lake singing Silent Night with a choir and snow falling down, if I remember correctly, that was the last encore and ended the show! Wow, it's hard to believe it was 45 years ago!

[Jvalvano]

[JKL2000]

Sounds great! I was only 10, so I wasn't there (sorry, couldn't pass up the chance to feel young).

It's interesting how a snowstorm can help you remember events. For me, big snowstorms help me remember when I saw Rush on the Hold Your Fire tour (Binghamton, NY), and the day that Marillion's album "Brave" was released in the US.

[GuitarGeek]

I remember waiting outside Peabody's Downunder, in the freezing rain, to see Nik Turner's Hawkwind, February 94, I believe. A couple friends of mine eventually showed up, and summarily ordered me into their car, because icicles were forming on my glasses.

Another good bad weather show was Pink Floyd in 94, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. It rained all day, and reportedly, rain water got into one of the lasers and caused it to pack up, so that night, we got only half the laser show. And I remember seeing raindrops in the laser beams during Wish You Were Here too.

[PixelDelirium]

Sounds great! I was only 10, so I wasn't there (sorry, couldn't pass up the chance to feel young).

It's interesting how a snowstorm can help you remember events. For me, big snowstorms help me remember when I saw Rush on the Hold Your Fire tour (Binghamton, NY), and the day that Marillion's album "Brave" was released in the US.

I wasn't even born until five months later, but it's definitely a show I'm sure I would have attended if I could have! Oddly I don't recall attending many concerts in the winter (and I've been to many concerts over the last 25 years or so). The only snow I remember following a concert was the IZZ CD release party in 2009. Thankfully I only had to travel about half a mile to get home.

[chescorph]

Great story...I am from Union, NJ and have taken that train from Elizabeth to Manhattan several times in the 70s seeing everyone from Yes to The Dictators.

Never saw ELP, missed on a chance to see the Works tour although would have much preferred so see them when you did, before the Alembic bass sound crept in.

Oh and Jed I am a few years older than you although I would not have guessed that!

[AirBud]

I was at that ELP show at MSG and also recall it being a snowy, wintry night.

I was living in NE NJ near Patterson, NJ and working as a paid intern for a company in Parsippany, NJ. It just so happened that ELP was playing at the Phila Spectrum the very next night, and I attended that show too because I had a business meeting in York, PA the next day.

That same year, I attended a Tull show at MSG on the Passion Play tour, and remember driving across NE NJ on a snowy Route 80.

[Lopez]

It just so happened that ELP was playing at the Phila Spectrum the very next night, and I attended that show too because I had a business meeting in York, PA the next day.

I was at that Spectrum show. Great stuff even though I was in the upper tier almost under the roof way in the back. It was my third ELP show. If I'm not mistaken Stray (or maybe Stray Dog?) was the opener. My second was in the same Spectrum two years earlier in just about the same seats, too. Yes was the opener.

[GuitarGeek]

My second was in the same Spectrum two years earlier in just about the same seats, too. Yes was the opener.

I remember Steve Howe commenting about Yes and ELP on the same bill together as being "a lot of egos all at once".

[rickawakeman]

Third date with my lovely wife, Works with full orcehstra at MSG in '77.

The 107 bus from Vailsburg (Newark) took me right to Port Authority during my misspent youth.

[hedgehogweed]

I Attachment 12508

I was supposed to go to that show but it was also a very icy night on Long Island and the LIRR was not running. I was unable to get a ride into NYC and being
16 years old with insufficient means I was unable to get to the show. I would end up seeing ELP for the first time almost 4 years later also at MSG (one of the famous "by mail order only") shows that summer. I also had another wintry experience with ELP the following year at the RPI fieldhouse in upstate Troy, NY but was able to make this show as well with the assistance of those who were able to push my car up the steep hill ascending from the Hudson River bank below!

[Old Boy]

I was there as well. My third ever concert. Took the NJ Transit train from New Brunswick. I remember there were small fires along the tracks to prevent the switches from freezing. The 3rd Impression on Karn Evil 9 in quad was mind blowing at the time. Great memories.

[GuitarGeek]

, before the Alembic bass sound crept in.

You mean before Greg lost the ability to dial in a decent bass tone.

[JKL2000]

For a couple of years I lived just a couple of blocks away from MSG (which was weird, but fun). Two shows I was able to just walk over for from my apartment, in nice weather, were so much fun because there was no hassle: Roger Waters on the Radio KAOS tour, and the ABWH show. Good times.

[JKL2000]

I remember Steve Howe commenting about Yes and ELP on the same bill together as being "a lot of egos all at once".

The ONLY time I saw ELP was that tour they did with Tull where they each did a short set, after Keith had hand surgery. Kind of unsatisfying. Wait, or was it with Procol Harum? I think I saw Tull do a show with Procol Harum. Both these shows were at Jones Beach. Hard to remember!

[Mister Triscuits]

I saw them two months later than all you east coast guys, in February '74. No snow in San Diego.

[jefftiger]

ELP and snow... I saw them at the Spectrum in Philadelphia during the Works vol. 2 tour on 5 February 1978, an amazing show. It was snowing when my friend from Penn and I left the venue (I cannot remember his name at all!) and there was a huge snow the following day. Fifteen years later on 5 February 1993, I saw them at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, another excellent show where I met a woman whom I was corresponding with from ELP-Digest (thanks, John Arnold!). As I recall, there was light snow when I left the theater and it was extremely cold the next morning (single digits) as I drove from my parent's house in NE Philly back home to Virginia.

[GuitarGeek]

The ONLY time I saw ELP was that tour they did with Tull where they each did a short set, after Keith had hand surgery. Kind of unsatisfying. Wait, or was it with Procol Harum? I think I saw Tull do a show with Procol Harum. Both these shows were at Jones Beach. Hard to remember!

I saw the ELP/Tull tour too, but I remember it being a pretty good show, though. I guess I'm slightly lucky, as I got to see ELP a year later, when they did an "An Evening With..." show, though at the time I remember thinking it was a bit short (they played for 2 hours, I guess was a demanding young man). And I saw the Keith Emerson Band at NEARfest.

Despite Keith's hand problems, I thought he sounded great all three times. In fac,t the only time I remember thinking Keith didn't sound good was when I saw clips from that High Voltage fest deal, the last ELP show, where I thought he sounded terrible. Made we wonder if his troubles were "on again/off again" or if he actually sounded that bad all three times I saw him live and I was just too excited to be an critical listener.

[JJ88]

I read somewhere that Lake viewed these MSG shows as something of a peak.

I thought Emerson was playing well through most of the 00s; he'd adapted to whatever problems flared up in the mid 90s- see the (mostly) solo piano album Emerson Plays Emerson, the Keith Emerson Band album, and various live things. Sadly, circa 2009-ish there were further issues. But by that point I felt that he'd given us enough music already, he didn't need to prove anything.

On the High Voltage show they sounded rusty- even in a set without the more complicated material- and not in synch with each other anymore. How much rehearsal there was, I can't say. I don't think of it as a shining moment for any of the three in terms of musicianship.

[JAMOOL]

IDespite Keith's hand problems, I thought he sounded great all three times. In fac,t the only time I remember thinking Keith didn't sound good was when I saw clips from that High Voltage fest deal, the last ELP show, where I thought he sounded terrible. Made we wonder if his troubles were "on again/off again" or if he actually sounded that bad all three times I saw him live and I was just too excited to be an critical listener.

yeah he sounds pretty bad there but otoh he's pretty good on the "Moscow" KEB recording, which was recorded around the same time. dunno if his issues were in and out or if it's just the nature of the bands - for the KEB he's kind of a co-lead with Bonilla, as opposed to ELP where he has to handle a lot himself. not to mention working with Lake who was equally discombobulated.

[JJ88]

^The Moscow thing was recorded a couple of years before High Voltage, I think? As I said for much of the 2000s I thought his playing was still very good indeed.

[Progtastic]

On the High Voltage show they sounded rusty- even in a set without the more complicated material- and not in synch with each other anymore. How much rehearsal there was, I can't say. I don't think of it as a shining moment for any of the three in terms of musicianship.

i was at High Voltage for that performance, which is the only time I saw ELP live. I was so tired by the time they came on (started late due to Ian Hunter overrunning and then problems with the Moog) I could barely stand but really enjoyed the performance. Listening to the recording now I realise how poor it was.

[Jaco]

I think bit of a perfect storm at Hi Voltage, for me just very emotional to see them together. Just a bit too much to pull off in one go, practical issues at the festival and all 3 struggling to synch I think.

[per anporth]

I believe that the overrunning of Hunter, despite him being repeatedly called off (how arrogant, how utterly inconsiderate, by the way), had huge knock-on effects for what followed. Apparently, the monitor speakers were barely functioning, & the band members were really struggling to hear one another.

Whatever other tribulations beset them that day, this one significantly undermined their performance.