Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Vienna (Wien) / Gasometer / Austria
Concert date: 22.03.2013
Attendance: 2200
The Gasometer hall was packed to the rafters for legendary art rock musician and producer Alan Parsons, who brought his backing band to Vienna for the first time in his long career. Performing as ‘Alan Parsons Live Project’, Mr. Parsons was right in the middle of an ambitious run called the ‘Greatest Hits Tour’, which means he played all the well-known and slightly less-known hits from the days of the legendary The Alan Parsons Project. The famed producer, who fills his time on stage with guitar, some extra synth and the vocals on those verses where the sadly departed singer Eric Woolfson once left his mark, brought along a crew of seriously talented musicians, three of whom also handled singing duties.
Alan’s crew opened the show with the cult instrumental »I Robot«, taken from the conceptual masterpiece of the same name from 1977. Mr. Parsons lives and breathes his musical legacy and constantly strives for perfect on-stage sound, but he’s also a sharp businessman, so it was no surprise that he enthusiastically reminded us mid-show that »I Robot« celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2012 and will be reissued as a special expanded edition to mark the occasion. He was a lot less enthusiastic about the fact that a huge number of years have passed since then, as the legendary producer turns 66 this year.
His bandmates, like the excellent lead singer Paul Josef ‘PJ’ Olsson, who first grabbed our attention that night with a great vocal performance on the energetic powerhouse »Damned If I Do«, were, as expected, noticeably younger. Alan and company served up one of the biggest ‘Project’ hits already in the first part of the set with the legendary power ballad »Don’t Answer Me«. Here Mr. Parsons stepped up as lead singer for the first time, while Olsson, guitarist Alastair Greene and saxophonist Todd Cooper backed him up superbly on backing vocals. Cooper also thrilled us with an energetic sax solo during »Don’t Answer Me«, and he proved himself a great vocalist more than once, too. Drummer Daniel Thompson tore into his kit with incredibly powerful swings that added a decent dose of punch to the mostly soft arrangements of Alan’s classics. Bassist Guy Erez stuck faithfully by his side, weaving rhythmic nuances that still sound innovative today. Guitarist Greene did great as the ‘stand-in’ for the legendary Ian Bairnson and floored us several times with vividly colorful solos. Keyboardist James Brooks, meanwhile, kept busy alongside Alan’s synth, supplying a rich variety of keyboard textures, especially the majestic orchestral arrangements, of which there were truly plenty that night.
The mostly gray-haired and thinning-haired crowd could barely contain their suddenly awakened zeal after the first few minutes, just about stopping short of leaping out of their seats, and listening to some of the biggest radio hits of their youth left plenty of eyes misty. That was followed by an incredibly crafty and witty medley of the classics »Breakdown« and »The Raven«, which successfully took us back in spirit to the early days of Alan’s output. The gorgeous ballad »Time« kicked off a run of songs from the cult album »The Turn Of A Friendly Card« (1980), Alan’s most successful record in Central Europe, or rather the German-speaking world, which meant most of the crowd knew it best. One of the nicer surprises among songs that weren’t a given for the live repertoire was the phenomenal performance of the epic masterpiece »La Sagrada Familia«, originally from the last ‘Project’ album, »Gaudi« (1987). The far better-known and more beloved hit »I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You« once again pushed the mood in the hall to absolute boiling point with its funky pulse.
A white-haired old-timer in a worn-out shirt from one of Alan’s earlier tours, under the influence of some alcohol and bellowing the choruses like a football chant, got more and more worked up by the minute in his urge to somehow draw the attention of everyone in the hall. Suddenly he forgot how many crosses he carries on his back and apparently thought he was thirty again, so he jumped onto his chair and started bouncing on it with all his might like some swooning, sweat-soaked teenager at a Justin Bieber gig. Predictably, the chair didn’t hold up for long under his not insignificant weight. The old boy finally lost his balance and, full length and full width, crashed in his own special way into the second row, where his mostly elderly compatriots watched in shock and disapproval. Long after this booze-fueled Alan devotee managed, with a buddy’s help, to pick himself up and wipe his hands of the beer remnants lying exactly where he fell, he kept one hand on his aching spine, which did nothing to dampen his noisy concert zeal, and he went on to belt out his favorite lines several more times during the show.
The rest of the crowd didn’t lag far behind in enthusiasm either. After the excellent »Turn Of A Friendly Card« medley, which included both »Card« parts, »Snake Eyes«, »The Ace of Swords« and the charming ballad »Nothing Left To Lose«, they suddenly rose from their seats, which delighted Alan and the gang but also surprised them quite a bit, since they’re surely not used to that kind of euphoria in the first half of a set. That night we also heard such cult tracks as the »Pyramid« (1978) standard »What Goes Up«, the instrumental medley »Lucifer/Mammagamma« and the still-hugely-entertaining »Psychobabble«. The second half of the set was time for the cream of the ‘Project’ hits, when the crowd pretty much lost it between fantastic versions of »Don’t Let It Show« and »Prime Time«.
But all of that was nothing compared to the long-awaited peak of the night, delivered through brilliant performances of the two most beloved and best-known ‘Project’ classics: the legendary instrumental »Sirius«, which the Chicago Bulls once used before games back in the Michael Jordan era, and »Eye In The Sky«, which plenty of people know even if they have no idea who the artist is when this evergreen comes on the radio. The encore brought an exceptionally nice surprise in the form of the »Tales of Mystery and Imagination« (1976) classic »(The System of) Dr. Tarr And Professor Fether«, where we were once again blown away above all by the superb vocal harmonies. During the ballad »Old & Wise«, many gray- and white-haired concertgoers who came with their partners embraced, quite fittingly for the moment, maybe even for the first time in decades of marriage. To close the show, Alan and his ‘subjects’ played »Games People Play«, one of the best energy-boosters in the career of the legendary producer, who in his younger years worked as a sound engineer with such legends as the Beatles and Pink Floyd.
Alan Parsons Live Project’s Vienna show can only be described as pure sonic perfection, the kind you can only catch these days at a handful of gigs by musicians who’ve spent most of their careers devoted to art rock refinement and polish. The sound was phenomenal the whole way through and every performance sounded like a carbon copy of the studio originals, while the band was in top form throughout and basked in the boundless support of an incredibly fired-up crowd.
Setlist
1. I Robot
2. Damned If I Do
3. Don’t Answer Me
4. Breakdown / The Raven
5. Time
6. La Sagrada Familia
7. I Wouldn’t Want To Be Like You
8. Turn Of A Friendly Card
– Turn Of A Friendly Card (part one)
– Snake Eyes
– The Ace Of Swords
– Nothing Left To Lose
– Turn Of A Friendly Card (part two)
9. What Goes Up
10. Lucifer / Mammagamma
11. Psychobabble
12. Don’t Let It Show
13. Prime Time
14. Sirius
15. Eye In The Sky
—encore—
16. Dr. Tarr And Professor Fether
17. Old & Wise
18. Games People Play
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