Allan Holdsworth live Wichita March 31, 1986 (audio)

Allan Holdsworth live at the Coyote Club, Wichita KS, March 31, 1986

0:00 Three Sheets to the Wind
8:31 White Line
19:11 Looking Glass
27:21 Non-Brewed Condiment
33:17 Tokyo Dream (inc)
39:41 Letters Of Marque (inc)
44:16 Funnels
52:16 Keyboard Solo- Band Improv
1:01:19 Atavachron
1:06:37 SynthAxe Solo- Pud Wud
1:19:08 Devil Take the Hindmost
1:31:43 Shallow Sea (encore)

Allan Holdsworth- Guitar, SynthAxe
Kei Akagi- Keyboards
Jimmy Johnson- Bass
Gary Husband- Drums

Backstory: Two friends and I made the 2-hour plus drive from Tulsa to Wichita to see Allan & IOU. Although it was a rainy Monday night, the Coyote Club was already nearly full 30 minutes before showtime so we huddled in the standing-room only section towards the back of the room. This venue was originally an old stone armory on the outskirts of town, and had boomy acoustics inside. All of this resulted in a less-than-optimum listening experience, and thus also recording. Still, this is Holdsworth and as all avid listeners know, his every live performance has its different nuances so although the quality has much to be desired, it at least exists as a musical and historical reference. This is the same lineup as the recorded show in Frankfurt, Germany, which was officially released in May 2020.
The stage was so small, Jimmy had to set up in a little space behind the drums- which is why when Allan introduced the band, he said "Jimmy Johnson...back there". They took a short break, which gave me an opportunity to buy his transcription book, 'Reaching For the Uncommon Chord'. Then I had a thought- I had played this venue myself about a year earlier, and I knew that the 'band greenroom' was simply a room in between the bathrooms on either side of the backstage area. Maybe I could get Allan to sign my book? I knocked on that door, pretending to be lost looking for the restroom- and Jimmy answered the door. He saw my face, and said "Wanna meet Allan? Come on in!"
They all couldn't have been nicer. Kei wasn't feeling well, he suspected food poisoning, but was trooping through the show like the pro he is. Jimmy was noodling around on his iconic Alembic 5-string, and said "Here, try it!" It was unbelievably heavy! He explained that in 1975, the new bass sensation was Stanley Clark and many players were adding a higher string to emulate a piccolo bass. Jimmy was the first to order one with a lower B string, and he's been rattling rib cages ever since. Unfortunately, that bass was stolen years later.
The pages the band signed that night are in this video, and the photo of Allan against the window blinds is from the book's cover. The other photos of the band came from the IN, no copyright infringement intended. Any and all monetizations go to the Holdsworth estate.