Review and Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Lucky Man (https://www.luckymanonline.com/ )
Venue: Marquee Theater, Tempe, AZ (https://www.marqueetheatreaz.com/ )
Date: Saturday September 11th, 2021
Tour: An Evening With Jordan Rudess
Having grown up in the 60s, my parents thought it was good for me to learn how to play a piano. I took lessons from a lady in my home town that believed that the only music that you should learn was the classics: Bach, Beethoven, etc. At this time rock music was starting to become popular and that was what I really wanted to learn. Since I was not allowed to play what I liked, I hated practicing. I was also horrible at it unlike my older sister that plays the piano and organ beautifully. The one thing I did learn was a deep love of music and an appreciation of musicians. But in rock n roll music, piano or organ was not very common. Then the Doors and Deep Purple emerged and all of a sudden, the piano/organ became cool.
In the late 60s and 70s I got to see two of my idles perform, Keith Emerson (ELP) and Rick Wakeman (YES). They really made keyboards part of rock n roll music. This was probably due to their showmanship and the multiple keyboards and Moog synthesizers they use. Then came the 80s and later with punk, grunge, metal and hair bands and keyboard players were again limited in usage and relegated to providing rhythm for the band.
Then around 2004 a friend of mine that knew I loved ELP told me about this band called Dream Theater. He loaned me a couple of CDs including Metropolis Pt 2 and Images and Words. Here was a band that was similar to YES or ELP but with a guitar player. They had this keyboardist, Jordan Rudess that was no longer relegated to the background but was an integral part of the band. In 2008 I got to see them live for the first time. Jordan had a spinning keyboard that also tilted and he played a keytar during the show. I was hooked.
So, I have been a Dream Theater fan ever since. Then in 2018 I went to a show where Jordan Rudess was performing solo. He had a grand piano and his apple iPad. Jordan was classically trained at Julliard, but like me he wanted to infuse rock and improvisation into his music. Jordan is a virtuoso similar to Chopin or Aaron Copland that has learned to put his own twist on his compositions.
This past weekend, I got to see Jordan perform solo again at the Marquee Theatre with just a keyboard and his iPad. He played a number of classical songs, songs from Liquid Tension Experiment and Dream Theater. One of the highlights of his performance was Jordan telling us about recording with David Bowie and then playing “Space Oddity”. For 90 minutes, Jordan played and told stories. It was a small crowd, but everyone there loved the performance. About half way through the performance, Jordan moved over to a table that had an iPad with his GeoShred software. This is an app that Jordan helped create that synthesizes different instruments and sounds and allows the user to create complete compositions just like a full band. If are a musician or studio engineer, you should really checkout this app and its add-ons.
In my life I have seen 4 truly amazing keyboardist. The first was in the mid-60s when I saw Liberace with my parents. He was amazing on the piano and a true showman. Then I got to see Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman. Both took keyboard playing to new heights and introduce me to Moog synthesizers. The other great keyboardist is Jordan Rudess. He has taken what these other musicians have done and stepped it up to a new level. If you love to see extremely talented musicians perform then I highly recommend seeing Dream Theater. They are starting a US tour in October and will be at the Mesa Center for the Arts on October 28th. If you love seeing a piano player perform solo, then go see Jordan the next time he tours. You can find out more information about Jordan Rudess, Dream Theater and Liquid Tension Experiment on their Facebook and web pages.
Jordan’s
Website: https://www.jordanrudess.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/jordanrudessofficial
Dream Theater’s
Website: https://dreamtheater.net/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dreamtheater
Liquid Tension Experiment’s
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ltexperiment
Photos by Fred Kuhlman, All Rights Reserved
