In my “tour guide” series, I’ll be setting up guides to certain tours by certain bands. This is an aspect of a project I have been undertaking in some form or other since the summer of 2017, with some collaboration. I hope it’s useful to fellow music historians and aficionados!
In early 1988, Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer teamed up once again to create music together. For this particular round, rather than ring up their old collaborator Greg Lake, they instead sought out American West Coast musician Robert Berry. Of the five musicians to be involved in the ELP music family, Berry is the only American. He is also the youngest member of the extended ELP family.
The band the trio created together, appropriately named 3, released a single album, To The Power of Three. The album was a more significant break with the original Emerson, Lake & Palmer than the sole album released by ELP’s previous spinoff band, ELPowell. While it received divided critical and fan reaction, this attempt at reinvention won itself some fans over the years. A followup to To The Power of Three by Robert Berry, 3.2: The Rules Have Changed and a supporting tour, helped bolster the legacy of this portion of ELP history.
To support it, 3 went on a single North America tour. Joining the trio on the road were guitarist Paul Keller and backup vocalists Debra Parks and Jennifer Steele. They frequented smaller establishments on the tour. Some of these, such as the concerts at the Chance, were apparently age-restricted according to tickets! Others admitted all ages, making it seem to me like this was a venue thing rather than something to do with the act.
In total, the band performed thirty-seven concerts, with a thirty-eighth planned concert cancelled. There were also at least two rehearsal dates. Of these gigs, ten have been recorded; two were radio broadcasts and one was video aired on HBO to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Atlantic Records, ELP’s old label.
Below is a chart of all their known gigs, rehearsal dates, planned gigs and TV appearances. There will be links taking you to gigs I’ve either covered or reviewed. Anything else pertinent (venue info from another gig, etc) will also be linked.
| Date | Location | Recorded? | Other Info |
| 1988-04-03 | The Chance, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA | No | Rehearsal |
| 1988-04-04 | The Chance, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA | No | Rehearsal |
| 1988-04-05 | The Chance, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-06 | The Chance, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-07 | Chestnut Cabaret, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-08 | Sundance, Bay Shore, New York, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-10 | Bayou, Washington, DC, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-11 | Hammerjacks, Baltimore, MD, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-12 | Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT, USA | Yes | Here |
| 1988-04-14 | The Ritz, New York City, New York, USA | Yes | Here |
| 1988-04-15 | Paradise, Boston, Massachusetts, USA | Yes | Here |
| 1988-04-16 | Living Room, Providence, Rhode Island, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-18 | Barrymore’s, Ottawa, CAN | No | Here |
| 1988-04-19 | Spectrum, Montreal, CAN | Yes | Here |
| 1988-04-20 | Diamond Club, Toronto, CAN | No | Here |
| 1988-04-21 | Syria Mosque Ballroom, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-22 | Agora, Cleveland, Ohio, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-23 | Harpos, Detroit, Michigan, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-25 | Bogarts, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-26 | Mississippi Nights, St. Louis, Missouri, USA | Yes | Here |
| 1988-04-27 | Vic Theater, Chicago, Illinois, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-28 | Billy’s Old Mill, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-04-30 | Uptown Theater, Kansas City, Missouri, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-02 | Boulder’s Coast, Boulder, Colorado, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-05 | The Fillmore, San Francisco, California, USA | Yes | Here |
| 1988-05-06 | Cabaret, San Jose, California, USA | Yes | Here |
| 1988-05-07 | Cabaret, San Jose, California, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-08 | Palace, Los Angeles, California, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-09 | Bacchanal, San Diego, California, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-10 | After the Gold Rush, Phoenix, Arizona, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-12 | Unknown Venue, San Antonio, Texas, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-13 | Unknown Venue, Dallas, Texas, USA | N/A | Cancelled |
| 1988-05-14 | Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, USA | Yes | Here |
| 1988-05-14 | Back Room, Austin, Texas, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-15 | Xcess, Houston, Texas, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-17 | Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Yes | Here |
| 1988-05-18 | Unknown Venue, Jacksonville, Florida, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-19 | Sweeney’s Club, Orlando, Florida, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-20 | Adventure Island, Tampa, Florida, USA | No | Here |
| 1988-05-21 | City Limits, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA | Yes | Here |
If you have any memories about this tour that you’d like to share or have any memorabilia, I’d appreciate it if you took the time to fill out this survey to help this be a better representation of all that happened.
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I would be happy to share my memories of the 3 gig at Sweeney’s in Orlando. HUGE night for me because it was the first time I got to see my musical hero Keith Emerson in person!
I have photos, an autographed tour t-shirt and a ticket stub.
I also got to meet Keith outside his hotel and he signed the back of a concert flyer for the show!