Concert Review: Carl Palmer Band at the Galaxy Theater, Santa Ana, CA: Legendary Drummer Celebrates the Music of Emerson, Lake and Palmer

Carl Palmer’s percussive talents, which came to light during the ‘70s as a member of the progressive rock trio Emerson, Lake and Palmer, place him in at the top of the drum pantheon alongside Rush’s Neil Peart.  For the past five years, Palmer has been touring Europe, recreating the music of ELP with a guitar replacing Emerson’s keyboards.  This summer, Palmer has brought his celebration to the States and is joined by two talented young musicians: bassist Stuart Clayton and guitarist Paul Bielatowicz.

The Galaxy is a small club in Santa Ana, CA, that holds 550 on the floor, by the bar, and seated at tables and Vegas-theater booths.  Though a small place, I was surprised to see the place packed for an artist who hasn’t been around or had any new material since almost a decade.  The crowd was mainly made up of 40- and 50-year-olds, fans from the band’s heyday, but there was a mix of young people, including Fantasma el Rey and a couple of his friends.  

I didn’t discover ELP until the mid to late ‘80s while attending college after the band had gone on hiatus.  I enjoy the classical/rock hybrid music they created while understanding how it can be too much for others.  I had seen variations live in the form of Emerson, Lake and Powell, and 3, which consisted of Emerson and Palmer, before finally seeing them together in 1997.  

The stage was set up with a microphone at the front of the stage for Palmer to come out between numbers and host the festivities.  He is a fan of the music just as much as the audience and had a great sense of humor, even self-deprecating at times.  When he introduced “Bullfrog” from Works II he asked if people remembered the white album, clarifying that he didn’t mean The Beatles’ version, and then quickly stated there would be no refunds.  Before playing “Canario” from Love Beach, he remarked that the band looked like The Bee Gees on the album’s cover.