One-Eye and Roland in Budapest

18 July 2004 : gig cancelled

Although this gig was cancelled, Palers Roland and Allen 'One-Eye' Edelist, with wives Linda and Pat, made the pilgrimage to Budapest; here are their reports and pictures, sent to BtP while they were making their journey.

The first report: Sunday 18 July, 15.03 local time
Allen and I, with Mrs OE and Linda, went to Lion Court Last night to see where PH were to have performed tonight. Colosseum were in the middle of Valentine Suite ... the sound was superb. All around, great baroque buildings ... Lion statues ... and soft gold lighting (that's not the colour I wanted but there is no 25th letter of the alphabet on this machine, so I cannot write the colour of mustard, buttercups, and so on).

So it was incredible to think that PH would be missing tonight ... but not hard to see the reason ... attendance for Colosseum was poor, with great numbers of chairs and tables void of people (cannot write 'emptie' properlie) ... so it looks as though there was not enough advertising at this end. No posters for anie of the bands. Hiseman's final solo was great and there was some excellent Hammonding.

OE has got a little celebration planned for us for later on when the heat has died down a bit.

Hope evereeebodeee is having fun.

Damn ... just found the Y lurking in the corner. Too late. Easy to be YYYYs after the event ...

Roland

Second report, same day at 23:54 local time
In the absence of a real Procol Harum concert, American impressario Al 'One-Eye' Edelist delighted the assembled fans at the beautiful Lion Court of Budapest Castle by supplying, from his own luggage, an mp3 player and speakers with which he was able (at the correct time and exactly the right place) to broadcast a choice set of live Procol and Brooker songs the like of which has never been heard in concert before.

Against a Procol Harum backdrop comprising the Union Chapel DVD and its multipictorial insert, the tiny speakers churned out the following songs to an audience of all the PH fans in Budapest ... and all four of them clapped each number, stood for an encore, and behaved in suitably Procoholic fashion. In the intermission we heard the only non-live PH piece, which was Dead Man's Dream ... Al had specially bought a CD and CD player for the occasion.

The immense cobbled courtyard was entirely deserted except for a few curious tourists who came and went, one man on a bicycle, a couple of nice Japanese girls, and a timid pigeon.

Setlist

A pictorial report on this excellent occasion, the first PH by Proxy concert that we know of, will follow in due course, including photos of the impressario backstage.