I got an email late yesterday afternoon from a friend. “So, I’ve got an extra ticket for Asia at the Birchmere tonight. Want to be my date?” Since I don’t get to see this friend all that often, and since I’m always up for a good dose of geriatric 80s rock, I immediately agreed.
You know you’re in for a quality concert experience when the band advertises “ALL FOUR ORIGINAL MEMBERS” right there on the ticket. About halfway through the show, the lead singer thanked the audience for “keepin’ the faith for 25 years!” (In case you’re wondering, I’m 28, and was easily one of the youngest people in the room by 10 years.)
Since I wasn’t that huge of an Asia fan to begin with, I’ll dispense with the detailed concert review and tell you this:
It was the only time in my adult life in which I witnessed a non-ironic use of the keytar.
But it was a pretty good show- it got a little surreal when they covered The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star,” (I realize that Asia is a supergroup and that the keyboardist was from The Buggles, but that didn’t make it any less surreal) but they nailed each song, including the encore performance of “In the Heat of the Moment.” Someone needs to help them update their video screen graphical effects though- the band was not the only thing from the 80s, is all I’m trying to say.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs