Concert Reports
Asia
11/08/2012, Chumash Casino Resort
The British supergroup Asia, which took the music world by storm in the early 1980s, brought its 30th anniversary world tour to the Chumash Casino Resort’s Samala Showroom on Thursday, Nov. 8.
All Photos: Ray Soto/ Central Coast Rocks
Please Visit: www.OriginalAsia.com www.ChumashCasino.com
Very Special Thanks: Mike Traphagen
The progressive rock band is best known for its 1982 smash hit “Heat of the Moment,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, peaked at No. 4 on the Top Singles chart, and became the signature song of the band.
Asia’s popularity coincided with the debut of the MTV network, which further propelled the band’s hit “Heat of the Moment” into pop culture. Recently, the song appeared in an episode of the animated TV show South Park, had a prominent cameo in the film The 40-Year-Old Virgin and was included in the score of the musical Rock of Ages.
The band formed in 1981 when original members John Wetton (bassist/vocalist), Carl Palmer (drummer), Geoff Downes (keyboardist) and Steve Howe (guitarist) left their successful British groups — Yes, Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson and The Buggles — to work on this new project, which was quickly labeled a “supergroup” by critics and the media.
Asia’s self-titled debut album, which featured “Heat of the Moment,” “Only Time Will Tell” and “Sole Survivor,” spent nine weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart in 1982 and sold more than 7 million copies.
The band’s follow-up album, Alpha, was released in 1983 and received multi-Platinum status with hits such as “Don’t Cry” and “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes,” but inner turmoil began to break the band apart. Asia continued to tour and release albums while enduring multiple lineup changes throughout the years, but the original members have returned. Wetton, Palmer, Downes and Howe reunited for a tour in 2007 and released the albums Phoenix in 2008 and Omega in 2010.
This year, Asia released XXX (pronounced “Triple X” or “Thirty”) to commemorate the band’s 30th anniversary of its first album, and it has received critical acclaim in the United Kingdom.
Located on Highway 246 in Santa Ynez, the Chumash Casino Resort is an age 18-and-older venue. Tickets for all events are available at the Chumash Casino Resort’s Club Chumash, or call StarTicketsPlus at 800.585.3737.
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