Qango (February 2000)

Date of Performance: February 4, 2000
Venue: London Astoria II, London, England, UK

It Takes Five To Qango
A Review Of Qango (featuring Keith Emerson)

Every so often in the music world something truly special happens. Something crazy, something odd, something funny, something that doesn't last... but something special. One of those special things happened in London recently. Read carefully, for it is unlikely that this will ever happen again. Actually, it was a bloody miracle it managed to happen this time...

The omens for Qango were not good ones, and that is something of a polite understatement. The seeds were sown in the preceding months when it was announced that there would be an Asia reunion, bringing together John Wetton, Carl Palmer and Geoff Downes for the first time since 1991. Getting Steve Howe back in the fold (although optimistically vaunted by a small but vocal section of the fanbase) was never on the horizon. Anyway, he was too busy rediscovering the joys of being in Yes and singing Bob Dylan songs to care. The obvious guitarist for the job was David Kilminster, otherwise known as "that flashy bloke from John Wetton's solo band" - an extremely talented performer who doesn't even have the manners to make playing that quickly look like hard work.

The press releases were out, the Japanese tour dates announced, and everyone was getting ready to rock like it was 1982 (with a different bloke on guitars) again. At which point Geoff pulled out for "financial reasons." Quite how the finances of reforming one of the biggest bands of the 80s and potentially playing sell out gigs in Japan and the USA compared with churning out another obscure Asia album with John Payne, I do not know. If anyone wishes to enlighten me please feel free to e-mail.

Left in the lurch, the Wetton and Palmer camp fell fairly silent, and then flyers for a one-off gig called Qango at the London Astoria in November 1999 were handed out during a Genesis tribute gig. Featuring John, Carl and David, along with Keiran Twist on keyboards, we were promised classic Asia, ELP, solo and new material. So everybody got ready to rock like it was 1982 (with a different bloke on guitars and another different bloke on keyboards) once again. At which point the gig was cancelled because they "needed more time to rehearse," or because of Wetton needing some medical treatment on his hand (depending on which official source you listened to). In the immortal words of South Park, this "sucked ass".

After a discreet period of not saying much, five Qango gigs were scheduled for February 2000. Tickets actually went on sale. Some of them were actually bought! A minor panic amongst the fans ensued when Keiran Twist departed from the project (other commitments apparently...) to be replaced by John Young. Young, a regular Wetton collaborator, had actually been in Asia for a while when Geoff decided that he wanted to be somewhere else. So once again, it was time to rock like it was 1982 (with different blokes to last time). And then, the unthinkable happened: Qango gigged.

The opening few seconds of "Fanfare For The Common Man" heralded their arrival on stage, before Asia's "Time Again" kicked the gig off properly. There was little doubt that later on in the evening Qango would perform the rest of this ELP standard, but nobody could guess what would happen during it...

From the outset it was clear that this gig was going to be much better than the doubters had predicted. First and foremost, Mr. Wetton was looking in finer shape than he had done for a long time. His running battle with drink is one of the worst kept secrets in Prog, and certainly no secret to his fans who have seen his stage performances nosedive in quality over the last couple of years. From the evidence at Qango he finally appears to be winning. John was significantly thinner than of late, and generally seemed to be healthier, and more importantly, happier. Gone were the sluggish movements around the stage, the fumbled lyrics, and the sloppy bass playing. His action was aggressive, his voice strong and sure of itself, and his bass loud. Very loud. This was good...

Carl was looking as well preserved as ever, and seemed content behind a smaller kit than usual. totally lacking gongs, he still had a double bass drum set up and a fair few things to hit. At the Astoria II there would have been room for the greater part of his usual array, but at the other four more modest venues there simply would have not been enough space to get it all on the stage. Let alone leave room for three other guys and their gear... Palmer would be the compare for the night and did seem to be in control of the band (apart from when he forgot what song was next on the setlist and incorrectly pulled them up a few seconds into one number!).

Kilminster and Young were always going to be in the shadows of the "John and Carl" show, but did sterling work none the less. In places it was noticeable that some of the traditional keyboard lines were played by David instead of on the keys, giving them an unusual edge.

"Sole Survivor" followed, before the first ELP piece of the night, "Bitches Crystal". Wetton proved himself perfectly capable of filling Greg Lake's role on bass and vocals, making many of the audience wish that the much-fantasised Emerson, Wetton and Palmer tour could actually happen. Which in reality is about as unlikely as it gets.

All bar Kilminster left the stage as the applause died down, and he kicked off his usual high speed acoustic solo with a brief snatch of "Pictures Of An Exhibition" (enough to get a rousing cheer!) before his standard guitar pyrotechnics. Wetton returned afterwards with his acoustic guitar for their well practiced version of "The Smile Has Left Your Eyes," before they moved into a surprise rendition of "All Along The Watchtower" (of Dylan/Hendrix fame). John's voice adapted to the song wonderfully, wringing every last drop of emotion out of the lyric. Palmer and Young ambled back onstage half way though and added thankfully tasteful contributions. All of which served to excite the readily excitable crowd.

The only known Wetton solo track of the gig came next: "Battlelines" - a song that carries extra emotion given John's personal tribulations. "Walking On Air" was the first real oddity - not the track from the Battlelines album but a Wetton piece from bygone Asia days that had never seen the light of day before this tour. A storming mid-paced rocker with a strong bass line and anthemic chorus; should the prospective live CD make it to the shelves "Walking..." will be one of the highlights.

John Young's solo - a cut and paste job of original rattlings and famous classical phrases which he seemed to enjoy - gave the other folks time for a sit down before a slightly abridged "Only Time Will Tell" and ELP's rocking "Hoedown".

The second virtually unknown piece that Qango performed was "Last One Home" - an Asia track that dated from Young's stint in the band in 1989. Its instrumental opening is identical to the Wetton solo track "Arkangel," leading many of the audience to believe that was in fact the piece they were playing. However the lyrics were very different, with the exception of a single line, and after two "Arkangel" verses the music transformed completely, into a perfect epic power ballad of the sort that John and Asia do so well. Truly majestic, it was a track that left the audience reeling. Building in intensity all the way through, this is a song that deserves to be released in its own right!

Finally it was time for the rest of "Fanfare...," the band picking up from where the intro cut out at the start of the gig. It was also time for John and Carl to take a back seat, pumping out the thumping rhythm track while Kilminster and Young traded blistering solos over the top - the guitar interpretations of original keyboard lines being particularly effective. Three members of the band eventually departed to allow Carl room to do his inevitable drum solo while the crowd spurred him on. Sadly the removal of his shirt still draws a big cheer. Have some dignity Carl!

And then... and then... it was time for a little bit of history to be made. It was time for something special to happen. Where three musicians left the stage, four returned: the extra man being a high spirited Keith Emerson! What followed was ten minutes of sheer Prog lunacy, with Emerson and Young trading lines, playing together in octaves, and generally goofing around. Musically it was one of the more cacophonous renditions of "Fanfare..." but nobody in the audience could take their eyes away from the sprightly legend that'd just wandered onstage. When they eventually brought everything to a halt the band looked as shell-shocked as the audience did! Emerson, Wetton and Palmer - three of the original Prog masters together at last!

Ending the main set in such a dramatic way meant that it was inevitable the encores would be anticlimactic. Rocking versions of "Heat Of The Moment" and "Don't Cry" reminded us that Qango was born out of Asia, not ELP. Yes the audience sang, and yes they danced, but afterwards there was only one topic of conversation...

For an band with such shambolic origins, Qango is currently showing a great deal of promise. Five further UK dates have been announced, Japanese dates are apparently in the pipeline, and so is a live album from the first UK tour. It will all fall apart in the end - everything always does. But until that day Qango will be a Prog treat for those lucky enough to see them. And for those lucky enough to witness Keith's unique intrusion at the London gig, the memories will not fade quickly.