One of the high points of last weekend‘s NAMM show was a concert by the Tony Levin Band. Tony Levin is one of the most sought-after bassists in the world. He has recorded with such luminaries as Pink Floyd and John Lennon, and he spent many years as a key member of Peter Gabriel‘s band and of King Crimson. The outstanding musicians he‘s played with are literally too numerous to mention. He‘s also well known for his mastery of the Chapman stick, and he‘s one of my musical heroes.

The band played on Friday night at the Clarion Anaheim Resort, a hotel just down the street from the Anaheim Convention Center. Passes were free from beyerdynamic. The Orangewood Ballroom in which the stage was set was almost too small to accommodate the standing-room only crowd that was lucky enough to catch the performance.

Another Peter Gabriel alumnus, Larry Fast, has been part of Levin‘s band since it began in 2000. He held down stage left, playing a Kurzweil 2661. Fast is probably best known as the pioneering recording act Synergy, who had a run of electronic music success in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Once upon a time, he was a regular contributor to EM, and in 1986 he wrote the foreword to my second book, The Rock Synthesizer Manual.

Also on keyboards, stage right, was Tony‘s brother Pete Levin, whose playing credits range from Gil Evans to Korn. Like Fast, he has been part of the Tony Levin Band since its inception. Jesse Gress, a member of Todd Rundgren‘s band for ten years and the Tony Levin Band since 2001, proved his mastery of the Fender Stratocaster. I was especially pleased to see and hear Jerry Marotta on drums. He was a member of Peter‘s Gabriel‘s band beginning with the latter‘s first solo album. Marotta has played with Paul McCartney, the Indigo Girls, Sarah McLachlan, and others too numerous. He‘s another of my musical heroes.

The concert began with an impressive set by Marotta Griesgraber, a duo consisting of Marotta and virtuoso stick player Tom Griesgraber. The music was genuinely amazing, and the audience definitely dug it. It was almost difficult to believe that so much sound came from a duo performing live. With its complex textures and intelligent rock arrangements, Marotta Griesgraber won over many converts.

Then came the main act. The Tony Levin Band took to the stage with a barbershop quartet composed especially for NAMM, followed by “Break It Down,” the opening track from their latest album, Resonator. The band rocked their way through most of that album‘s songs and eventually included Peter Gabriel‘s “On the Air,” King Crimson‘s “Sleepless,” Synergy‘s “Phobos,” and “Back in N.Y.C” from the 1974 Genesis album, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, all of which members of the band had played on the original recordings.

Todd Rundgren joined them onstage about halfway into the set, whipping the crowd into a frenzy with a few of his hits, and then left the stage. He returned again for the encore, for which he sang a rousing version of the Call‘s 1984 cult hit, “The Walls Came Down.”

The evening‘s music certainly met my expectations, which were very high to begin with. A splendid time was had by everyone present. Unfortunately, the Tony Levin Band was so loud that from my position near the front of the audience, their entire performance was audibly distorted. Nonetheless, the concert was an experience I will remember for a very long time.