By: David Schultz

While fans salivate over the rumors of a Replacements or Smiths reunion, fans of the eighties have received a reformation that has been clamored for with the same fervor as a Supertramp or A Flock Of Seagulls reunion. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of their self-titled album, Asia, the supergroup made up of Yes guitarist Steve Howe, Yes keyboardist Geoffrey Downes, King Crimson bassist John Wetton and ELP drummer Carl Palmer have reunited for a summer tour and possibly to record new material. Not at the forefront of anyone's attention span, the progressive rock kingpins received their most publicity and airplay in years when Judd Apatow hung (and mocked) a framed Asia poster on Andy Stitzer's wall in The 40 Year Old Virgin, featuring "Heat Of The Moment" in the movie's last reel. Since they've become an obscure reference in cleverly conceived jokes, it's easy to forget that Asia made one of prog-rock's most successful forays into the commercial mainstream, once spending nine weeks atop the Billboard album charts. This past weekend, Asia's original lineup returned to New York City for a weekend's worth of shows at Times Square's Nokia Theater

Asia's Saturday night set, which mirrored their others from the tour, consisted primarily of songs from their 1982 debut Asia and their 1983 follow-up Alpha. To the delight of the crowd, they padded the show with material from each of their considerable solo careers, even when it didn't entirely make sense. Despite advertising on their Web site that they would cover material from their other bands, they acted like the inclusion of non-Asia material should surprise the audience. Sprinkled throughout the evening were Yes' classic rock radio staple "Roundabout," Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "Fanfare For The Common Man," Downes' prophetic Buggles' classic "Video Killed The Radio Star," and for Wetton, a thunderous reading of "In The Court Of The Crimson King." The latter was a puzzling inclusion as Wetton wasn't a member of King Crimson when they recorded the song.

A quartet of progressive rockers with a relatively limited catalogue might be tempted to pad the show with interminable solos. To the contrary: with the exception of a relatively constrained Palmer drum solo, the introspective excursions were kept to a bare minimum during the two hour show. Howe, who hasn't aged nearly as gracefully as the other members of the band, can still captivate a crowd with his guitar; his unaccompanied acoustic version of Yes' "Clap" showed that he hasn't lost his skills. Palmer criminally waited until the extended drum solo in "The Heat Goes On" before utilizing the gong that delectably loomed behind him. Thankfully, Wetton didn't treat the crowd to a twenty minute bass solo and Downes, when not blinding the crowd with his neon-silver threads wisely picked and chose his spots, not overwhelming the crowd with dated but nostalgically delicious synth riffs.

Asia cannot be faulted for failing to deliver the hits: with Palmer out front playing a tambourine and Howe seated on a stool - something he did often - Asia offered a acoustic version of "Don't Cry" and flawlessly recreated "Sole Survivor," "Only Time Will Tell" and, of course, "Heat Of The Moment." Their omission of their biggest hit from their main set made their encore break one of the least suspenseful in concert history. The odds of Asia failing to play "Heat Of The Moment" rank up there with the chances that Lynyrd Skynyrd will forget to play "Free Bird." In closing the evening with it, they seemed to revel in the crowd's unabashed enjoyment of the quarter century old tune.

Some concerts aren't about being hip or catching a band before their prime. In fact, there are many shows that can be quite enjoyable once you leave your pretensions at the ticket booth and stop caring about how hard people laughed when you told them you were going to see Asia, much less knew they reunited. Getting past the fact that Asia has become a sly, comical punch line (recall Cartman's a capella performance of "Heat Of The Moment" that spurred Congress to ratify stem cell research on South Park), they still put on a show that, while slight on freshness, provided a healthy dose of synthesized progressive rock eighties fun for anyone willing to be entertained.

Labels: Asia