By Chuck Darrow
When 1980s chart-topper Asia hits the stage Friday night at Tropicana Atlantic City, there will be more than music on the agenda. The show by the reconstituted band–indeed its entire tour—is also a tribute to one of its charter members.
Bassist John Wetton—whose dramatic baritone was the signature of the unit’s career-defining single, “Heat Of the Moment”—died in 2017 of colorectal cancer at age 67. But his fellow charter member, Geoff Downes, is determined Wetton’s memory be front and center.
“It’s very much a tribute to him,” Downes recently told AL.com, describing him as “just a fantastic guy. Not just as a fellow bandmate or as a co-writer; he was very intelligent, very interesting to be with. We’d always have a good laugh about everything. So we were just like a couple of brothers, really, that was the thing. We did a lot of things together and just had a lot of fun.”
For the record, Downes is the only founding member of the group who will be at the Trop on Friday. The original roster was filled out by once-and-current Yes guitar whiz Steve Howe and Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame. In addition to Wetton, the current lineup features drummer Virgil Donati and multi-instrumentalists John Mitchell and Harry Whitley, with the latter assuming Wetton’s role as lead singer.
And speaking of Yes, fans of the British prog-rockers will be happy to know that Roger Dean, the graphic artist who created iconic logos and album covers for Yes as well as Asia, is billed as the program’s emcee.
For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com.
‘Ziggy’ comes alive
As noted here a few weeks ago, one of the summer’s highlights should be Saturday’s presentation at Resorts Casino-Hotel. That’s when the band that goes by the handle Classic Albums Live does its tribute thing for David Bowie’s 1972 world-changing masterpiece, “The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars.”
Not only was it the album that announced Bowie’s arrival as an innovative and important artist, it pretty much single-handedly wrenched rock music out of the hippiedom of the 1960s and thrust it into the future with its tale of a gender-bending extraterrestrial who becomes a superstar rocker before being destroyed by his own fans.
Incidentally, those who attend the show should not expect to see someone in a bright-red pompadour and PVC spacesuit on the stage of the Superstar Theater.
“Think of it as a recital,” insists Craig Martin, who founded Classic Albums Live in 2003. “We don’t dress up or wear any sort of costume. All of our energy is put into the music. We want the performance to sound exactly like the album.”
For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com
Fieri ‘Chickens’ out
And speaking of on-goings at AyCee’s oldest legal gambling den, Our Town’s newest casino munchies stop has been hatched at Resorts Casino-Hotel.
That would be Chicken Guy! from “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives” overlord Guy Fieri and serial restaurateur Robert Earl (Planet Hollywood, Earl of Sandwich, et al), which opened last week. Located at North Carolina Avenue and the Boardwalk, Chicken Guy! specializes in (wait for it!) chicken offerings in a fast-food format. The bill of fare features what are dubbed “Big Bite Chicken Sandwiches” and includes such fowl dishes (sorry, I couldn’t resist) as the Bourbon Brown Sugar BBQ, the Hot Honey and the Buffalo Mac ‘N’ Cheese.
Also on the menu are fresh chicken tenders slathered with such house-made sauces as Garlic Parmesan, Chipotle Ranch and Donkey Sauce. The tenders are prepared in fresh lemon juice, pickle brine and buttermilk and infused with herbs.
Dessert options include the Flavortown Shake, which comes in various flavors including triple double mint, vanilla, strawberry, Oreo and chocolate. And of course, there is a full-service bar featuring handcrafted specialty cocktails.
“We’re ecstatic about the opening of Chicken Guy! at Resorts. These restaurants are known for their fantastic chicken and exceptional guest service,” said Mark Giannantonio, President & CEO of Resorts Casino Hotel. “Chicken Guy! is a fantastic addition to our boardwalk front.”
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
