POP MUSIC REVIEW : Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Staying True to the ‘70s--and Themselves

The only real indications that it was the ‘90s at Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s concert at the Wiltern Theatre on Tuesday were the use of digital technology in the music and the addition of teal to the lighting scheme. Otherwise it pretty much looked like the ‘70s, smelled like the ‘70s and most certainly sounded like the ‘70s, as the trio trotted out all its old classically based or styled suites and songs.

While that may seem like a pathetic lack of progress for an act that was once at the forefront of the so-called progressive-rock movement, at least ELP has stayed true to itself, with few concessions to trends or fashion. Keyboardist Keith Emerson in particular gave the fans more than their money’s worth Tuesday in instrumental flash, while Greg Lake delivered his pompously existential lyrics with force and conviction and drummer Carl Palmer played his flurries just as fast as in the glory days.

But for all the circumstantial pomp, the best moments of the show came when the group undercut the stuffiness with a playful wink--planned or otherwise. During the inevitable organ-battering encore medley of Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” Bernstein-Sondheim’s “America” and Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo,” Emerson’s old Hammond sputtered out just before the knife-plunging climax. All the musician could do was smile and make the best of it.