Rick Wakeman - Somerville Theatre - Somerville, MA 10/30/03

Somerville Theatre
After traveling to London and Canada over the course of the past three years to see Rick Wakeman in concert, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to see him pretty much in our own backyard. We went to the show with Craig's brother Steve and our friend Barbara (after a delicious dinner at Redbones, the bbq joint near the theatre). Rick performed a one-man-show which consisted of Rick telling jokes and hilarious stories, as well as playing keyboards and baby grand.

Rick came onstage to a recording of Pachelbel's "Canon in D." He sat down at the baby grand under the light of two crystal candelabra and began to play along. From that pont on, Rick regaled us with songs on the baby grand and a bank of keyboards, as well as hilarious stories and jokes. During the first set, he played the 13-note "Buy a Broom" (the first song he ever learned to play on the piano). He also played "Elgin Mansions", "Wondrous Stories/The Meeting", "Nursery Rhyme Concerto" (a medley of several nursery rhymes done in the style of composer's ranging from Mozart and Ravel to Rick's bandmates in Yes), "Catherine Howard", "Journey to the Centre of the Earth/Dance of a Thousand Lights", and "Merlin the Magician". During "Merlin" he enlisted help from an audience member named Crystal to keep the keyboard sustain pedal despressed while he got situated at the baby grand. Story highlights of the first set included the hilarious tale of a drunken concert in Seattle where Rick played a Wurlitzer organ that crashed through the floor, a sory of Jon Anderson's painting of Douglas Harbour in the Isle of Man, and the time Rick's mum brought ten people from the old-age home to see Rick's rock opera "1984".

After a fifteen minute intermission,a Prokofiev song was played over the speakers and Rick entered the theatre from the rear, walking down the aisle in a KGB uniform. He recounted an incredibly funny story about how he obtained the KGB uniform and an admiral's jacket in the U.S.S.R. He then played "Children of Chernobyl" and "The Hymn/And You and I". He told a story about collaborating with Cat Stevens for the hit "Morning Has Broken" (although he was never paid or credited for his work on that song). Next he played "Jane Seymour" and "Help/Eleanore Rigby" (after announcing the birth of Paul McCartney's daughter earlier today). He ended the second set with an encore: "Claire de Lune".

After the show, Rick signed autographs in the lobby. As we drew close to the front of the queue, Craig caught sight of Jacintho, our friend from Brazil whom we first met at the Return to the Centre of the Earth concert in Canada three years prior. Jacintho was in town to visit his brother Fernando at Harvard, and to see the concert. It was such a nice surprise to run into him. When we got to the front of the queue, Rick signed our CD's and Barbara took a photo of us with him. We chatted with Jacintho and Fernando for a while longer, and then went home. It had been an amazing night.

Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman playing 'Merlin the Magician'
Rick Wakeman in his KGB uniform
Rick Wakeman  in his KGB uniform
Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Craig, Rick, Steph
Fernando, Jacintho, Craig