Errors-To: admin at elephant-talk dot com Reply-To: newsletter at elephant-talk dot com Sender: moderator at elephant-talk dot com Precedence: bulk From: moderator at elephant-talk dot com To: newsletter at elephant-talk dot com Subject: Elephant Talk #1106 E L E P H A N T T A L K The Internet newsletter for Robert Fripp and King Crimson enthusiasts Number 1106 Tuesday, 18 March 2003 Today's Topics: TPTB Re: Happy Family ticket prices and harrassment Re: Listening Loud Re: The Power to Believe Fripp Could Really Surprise Re: shouting requests The lyrics laid out THX-1138 Excellent Review of Toronto Show March 12 Steve Martin's Autograph Cameras My verdict Court of Poseidon Re: Freebird Power To Believe T-Shirt Re: Doors question Re: HWWYHTBHW lyrics GIG REVIEW: Massey Hall Toronto GIG REVIEW: KC DETRIOT GIG REVIEW: I believe! 3/13/03 ------------------ A D M I N I S T R I V I A --------------------- POSTS: Please send all posts to newsletter at elephant-talk dot com To UNSUBSCRIBE, or to CHANGE ADDRESS: Send a message with a body of HELP to admin at elephant-talk dot com or use the DIY list machine at http://www.elephant-talk.com/list/ To ASK FOR HELP about your ET subscription: Send a message to: help at elephant-talk dot com ET Web: http://www.elephant-talk.com/ Read the ET FAQ before you post a question at http://www.elephant-talk.com/faq.htm Current TOUR DATES info can always be found at http://www.elephant-talk.com/gigs/tourdates.shtml You can read the most recent ten editions of ET at http://www.elephant-talk.com/newsletter.htm THE ET TEAM: Toby Howard (Moderator), Dan Kirkdorffer (Webmaster) Mike Dickson (List Admin), and a cast of thousands. The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors. ET is produced using John Relph's Digest system v3.7b (relph at sgi dot com). ------------------ A I V I R T S I N I M D A --------------------- Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 02:26:34 -0000 From: "Wafo" Subject: TPTB In ET1103, Michael Brown asks: >I have not heard the new CD but a friend says it's "Red meets Discipline". > >Is that a fair Assessment? Damn right. In fact, it's that and more. If anything, TCOL was Red meets Discipline, at least in the sense that it was blending the heaviness of Red with the technical precision of Discipline. But The Power to Believe captures the spirit of them much better. I wrote a post a few weeks ago saying I thought it was the best record I've ever heard, and I really did think that by now I might feel embarrassed about saying that in some way. But nothing over the past 3 weeks has made me feel any different. I LOVE this record, with a passion I've not felt for any other since I was a teenager. (I'm 31, if that means anything) It's absolutely staggering. Level Five is the most elegant and powerful expression of the essence of King Crimson in existence. As it should be - surely that's the whole point. I suppose the title suggests that in itself. The Thrush bit - TPTB3 - is monumental. I've never heard anything like this before - the interplay between the drums and the bass - the actual SOUND of them - it's absolutely belief-defyingly brilliant. This album is like having Red/LTIA2 (Level Five), Fracture (Elektrik), Schizoid Man (Facts of Life) and Cat Food/Elephant Talk/Dinosaur (Happy With) all on the same album, with a gorgeous pop ballad (Eyes Wide Open) in the vein of Heartbeat, and both sides of the KC improvisations - the beautiful, expansive one (TPTB2, ie. Moonchild, Sheltering Sky) and the dark, brooding one (TPTB3, ie. Starless & Bible Black, but with a structure)... and then I forgot Dangerous Curves, which is Mars/Devil's Triangle and Talking Drum combined. All wrapped up in an In the Wake of Poseidon structure. And in each case, the ones on this album are better. More refined, more perfect. More genuine. There are so many great moments on this album. The drum break that leads into Fripp's solo in Facts of Life. Trey Gunn's bass twang just before Fripp's solo in Level Five. That horrible chord at the end of Dangerous Curves. The bit in Eyes Wide Open where it just rocks out for a bit and then comes back down into Trey's solo. "Six million ants crawling on a plate." I could go on. The production is stunning, the playing is exceptional, but what stuns me most is the structure of the compositions. To me, it's everything that's good about King Crimson. The best by far. Wafo ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 01:44:01 EST From: VincentDeBoule at aol dot com Subject: Re: Happy Family Well, there's lots of old stuff I think would sound interesting with the new lineup. A new incarnation of Happy Family (right up there with Moonchild as one of the most absurd songs for them to revive) would probably sound something like Dig Me, I'd think. As long as we're dreaming, I wish they'd bring back Seizure and complete it... it kicks ass on Heavy ConstruKction, and was one of the strongest ProjeKct pieces, IMO. I LOVE that bass riff. Also, we haven't had a Schizoid Man since the double trio... it would be nice if they updated the piece once again, possibly with Belew using MIDI sax. Chances are they won't bring back Talking Drum/LTiA II again, since Dangerous Curves/LTiA IV has taken its place, and Level Five has taken the place of Red (and rightfully so... I actually like Level Five better). I also don't see anything wrong with possibly bringing back Frame by Frame and Thela Hun Ginjeet... the pieces are pretty much ageless, and they played them as recently as the Level Five tour. I'd say chances are good they'll resurface later, and they're only on temporary leave. Unless Crim's pretty set on not bringing back the old stuff, regardless of how recently they've played it. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 11:27:05 -0800 (PST) From: Stephen Mahoney Subject: ticket prices and harrassment I have read many complaints about ticket prices, tour gear prices, etc. Let us attempt to break this down: Does anyone here have any idea how much money it costs to rent a venue for an evening? A ton, I'm sure. Next, the band must pay union wages for the stage hands. Light rental. Sound gear. Next they must pay their own sound guys, management, etc. They must rent trucks to transport their gear. They must pay people to load, unload, and drive these trucks. They must pay hotel and meal accomodations for these people. The band also must transport themselves from show to show, as well as feed and board themselves...this too, costs money. Promoters must get paid. Did I mention GAS in these trucks? (Adrian, who we know is a liberal democrat, burns probably 50 times more fuel per year than the average person, because of the business he's in...hippocracy? but I digress. . .) I'm sure I missed many things, but lastly the band would like to get paid for their hard work as well. Do you work for free? If you're self employed you do on occasion. Get it? Before you fools go on complaining about prices, run the numbers. Its not like the band gets 45 bucks per person times 3000 per night free and clear!!! Hell, I wish they did. In the future, think Damn it! ****************************************************************** I am going to the roseland to see them for 35 bucks- and for general seating in an older small-ish club setting with average sound quality thats alot of clams to pay. and so I thought the same thing before I read this about the business side of holding a concert. Fripp and co. have survived all of these evil promoters/club owners ripping him and his bandmates and/or the stagehands off, that now they hopefully all get paid a decent wage which would then jack up the ticket price......too bad alot of king crimson fans in america suffer from not getting a decent enough wage to pay the 35-50 bucks to see them. and too bad they couldnt play at the schnitzer(formerly the paramont) where the sound quality is better...oh well! There better not be any nazi bouncer types trying to say that I have a camera... Stephen, Portland, Oregon. np: moody blues- for their childrens childrens children nr: the air-conditioned nightmare- henry miller ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 07:47:51 -1100 From: "W. Stuart Kirkham" Subject: Re: Listening Loud In ET #1104, Rich Hovis writes: "Now Iave got the new one, and this time the cat actually puked! And she never does that. So now the question is, aAre these guys back, better than ever, or is my cat just sick?a " I am guessing that your cat is just sick. I just recently played P2B#2 on the house stereo, and one of the cats actively listened to it. Her (yes, female) back was originally to the music, and in the first part (VC-Shoganai), she would try to ignore it, but her ears would occasionally twitch back, and when the vocals kicked in, she actually turned around and looked. She left the room before the song ended. One poster to this forum, probably well over a year ago, described the reactions of her cat to "The Waiting Room" off of Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. I tried this with my cat, and it did indeed affect her similarly. Check it out if you can, although you may want to consult the SPCA first... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ W. Stuart Kirkham PhD Candidate University of Texas at Austin Department of Geography wskirkham at mail dot utexas dot edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 17:46:00 -0500 From: "DR" Subject: Re: The Power to Believe > From: MichaelWBrownSr at aol dot com > Subject: The Power to Believe > > I have not heard the new CD but a friend says it's "Red meets Discipline". > > Is that a fair Assessment? Well, in my view it's Red meets Discipline meets Poseidon, as "TPTB" 1,2,3 and 4 remind one of the "Peace" theme and one of the "Facts of Life" riffs sounds a lot like "Pictures of a City" speeded up. DR ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 15:34:33 -0500 (GMT) From: Patrick Gaudin Subject: Fripp Could Really Surprise I have a suggestion to Mr. Fripp that would most definitely create an almost riot situation in Crimson audiences while they are on tour. I suggest that Robert Fripp stand up in the middle of "Red" or "Sailor's Tale" and flaunt his instrument in unison with Adrian in a manner that would rival the antics of Marc Bolan (T-Rex) or Noddy Holder of Slade. Robert, it's only rock and roll and always will be. Come on. Give it a try. Patrick Gaudin Rochester, NY ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 20:12:30 EST From: AndyAcunzo at aol dot com Subject: Re: shouting requests "Jordan Clifford" wrote: >>Especially when that asshole yells "Freebird!" >>or some unwanted, loud whispers are heard during the quiet parts of Thrush > >It never fails.. ever. Except maybe in the case of that one DC show >some one was talking about. Actually something struck me at the 3/5 NYC show. Throughout the night the generally good crowd was overshadowed from time to time by obnoxious yahoos shouting things out. When P3 came out for the encore people started yelling all sorts of things. The band just waited for silence before beginning. Then Trey came in with that talking Warr guitar which seems to freak everyone out and for the duration of Thrush, there was absolute silence. I was amazed they had taken this excitable crowd and just put them into a trance. It was beautiful. Also at some point toward the end of the night, someone bellowed "SCHIZOID MAN!!!", to which the entire crowd, in unison, yelled back "SHUT UP!" Only at a Crimson show. :) Andy ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 13:23:30 -0000 From: Sandy Starr Subject: The lyrics laid out Antonio Maria Correia wrote: >>to start off, i think it's pretty easy to tell it's "to make them menacing" >>i do have some difficulty with the pre-chorus and second verse, if someone could help me out, i'd appreciate it: >>"then, i'm gonna have to write a chorus, >>we're gonna need to have a chorus, >>... something something, please help me with this line blue in the faceeeeee" >>and >>"and for a second verse >>i'll something something >>to pour another pot (?) >>of ambiguity, yeah" >>help would be appreciated Help is at hand! I hear: 'Then, I'm gonna have to write a chorus, we're gonna need to have a chorus, and this would seem to be as good a place as any to sing it till I'm blue in the face' And: 'And for a second verse of terse economy, I'll brew another pot of ambiguity, yeah' Very clever lyrics! Not as simple as some people assume. If this debate over the HWWYHTBHW lyrics continues, we'll have to start posting them to http://www.kissthisguy.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 13:32:07 -0000 From: Sandy Starr Subject: THX-1138 Mike wrote: >>Every time I see Trey play, he grows on me more and more; dressed all in white, he looked like he was on the set of THX1138!<< Jesus, ain't that a great movie? Never mind the Star Wars films, THX-1138 is George Lucas' sci-fi masterpiece. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 10:40:56 -0500 From: "Northey, Scott" Subject: Excellent Review of Toronto Show March 12 sat in front of Trey in the first row and couldn't agree more with the reviewer: a few obscure analogies and references (don't worry, I know all about Debussy and Ellington) but the over-all tone is dripping with respect and admiration. http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030314/RVKING/T PEntertainment/Music ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 12:54:25 -0500 From: "Stephen P. Carl" Subject: Steve Martin's Autograph Earlier this week I read the recent pre-tour/album interview which Mr. Fripp held for the European press. He was asked about his autography policy yet again, and spent a great deal of time answering it, more obviously than the questioner bargained for. Then again, most questioners received some historical perspective as part of the answer. So today I was reading a newspaper story about Steve Martin, the American comedian-actor-screenwriter-everything-else-he's-done and found that he has an interesting way of dealing with autograph hounds. >Indeed, much of Martin's comedy, especially as seen in his 1991 film, L.A. >Story, has centered on lampooning the entertainment industry's fascination >with the superficial and its self-important, preening celebrities. Martin, >personally, enjoys continuing the spoof by giving autograph-seekers a card >that states, according to several accounts, "This certifies that you have >had a personal encounter with me and that you found me warm, polite, >intelligent and funny." If some of our favorite musicians took a similar tack, there might be less abuse of them in forums such as this ;^). (the above quote comes from a story by Andrew Marton of Knight Ridder Newspapers) If you haven't seen Fripp's interview it's on-line at http://www.king-crimson.com/kcrfpc1f.html -spc ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 13:40:02 -0500 From: "Michael E. Conlen" Subject: Cameras Does anyone know if the actual problem Robert Fripp has with pictures being taken at shows is the pictures or is it the flashbulbs going off? -- Michael Conlen ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 19:37:53 +0000 From: "Dale Hoyt" Subject: My verdict Dear ETniks, does it make me a complete cretin if I prefer the pop/songy KC pieces to their orchestral works? I dig it all but I just am more satisfied with the shorter concise tracks on their albums. BUT TPTB has had the opposite effect on me. I adore the longer textural piece such as Elektrik and Dangerous Curves. I bought the CD yesterday and have listened to nothing else since then. Its entirely delicious-and while not a breakthrough its as good as anything theyve ever done. I love my life and I love King Crimson! Dale ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 20:20:07 +0000 From: Mr Tea Subject: Court of Poseidon This from rone (in ET #1104) >> However, the big difference for me is that while ITWOP was largely >> an inferior retread of 'In The Court...' > > In my opinion, its retread is superior. Well said sah! It's like they decided to do it over and get it right. And they did. A corker of an album. Always preferred it to the template it was built on. (Although some will consider such a view heretical.) Regards Mr Tea ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 15:34:05 -0500 From: "Bret Woolbright" Subject: Re: Freebird In response to the yelling of 'freebird', you people need to take the stick out of your arses. Yes I've been to plenty of concerts, guaranteed more than most folks reading this post, and I have family with many years experience and credibility in the music industry. I've been afforded the oportunity to meet some rather famous and influential musicians; and I've found them to be one thing that most of the folks who post here are not, having a good time. This was my first Crimson show however, and I must admit I was weary of going after reading alot of the posts from the 'fans'. Just because Fripp might be a little eccentric, and granted he actually has reason to be, does not mean the fans have to be anal, as if some sort of weird nod to respecting Fripp. The fact is when I yelled freebird (and I don't claim to be that guy from the subject at hand), it was not to be funny towards the band and sound witty, it was to poke fun at the anal retentive fans that would actually get mad that it was yelled out. I believe firmly in concert etiqute, when the band is playing quietly, please shut up so every one can hear, but when nothing is going on there's nothing wrong with having fun. REMEMBER THIS: IT'S ABOUT FUN, DON'T PRETEND TO BE A PRETENTIOUS MUSIC SNOB, BECAUSE ABOVE ALL ELSE, NO ONE LIKES THAT GUY. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 20:49:12 -0000 From: "Alan Gent" Subject: Power To Believe T-Shirt that's the good thing about this page,people can come up with this sort of request. However, do your really live in Uzbekistan, or if not,are Tshirts so hard to find?? Alan www.alangent.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 21:01:46 -0000 From: "Alan Gent" Subject: Re: Doors question Lance , your' re right, it has nothing to-do with KC, but what are you taking,can we help you, your are plainly not of this planet! embraces Alan www.alangent.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 16:24:16 -0500 From: "Chris Holderfield" Subject: Re: HWWYHTBHW lyrics "...then i'm gonna have to write a chorus, we're gonna need to have a chorus, and this would seem to be as good as any other place to sing it till i'm blue in the face..." "and for a second verse of terse economy I wrote another part* Of ambiguity*" hope this helps! Chris *- i also hear, "I brew another pot Of ambiguity", but i'm not sure which one is correct ------------- FROM ELEPHANT TALK #1104 i havent posted in a while, but here goes my contribution to start off, i think it's pretty easy to tell it's "to make them menacing" i do have some difficulty with the pre-chorus and second verse, if someone could help me out, i'd appreciate it: "then, i'm gonna have to write a chorus, we're gonna need to have a chorus, ... something something, please help me with this line blue in the faceeeeee" and "and for a second verse i'll something something to pour another pot (?) of ambiguity, yeah" help would be appreciated secondly, i don't think TPTB is so wonderful. it's definitely great but i think it's not as innovative as TCOL, although more organic, for sure. there's not enough adrian - apart from one of his all-time best solos on Happy -, it lacks one or two songs with lyrics and i think the album loses with the ITWOP structure (TPTB as Peace). I'm still very happy with it though, but i think the band should consider that most of the material released was already out, and i hope that KC will soon release another album with mostly new material. Until next time, Antonio Maria Correia United States of America "In God We Trust" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 00:44:36 -0500 From: John Trevethan Subject: GIG REVIEW: Massey Hall Toronto Massey hall - Toronto My wife Brenda and I made the four-hour journey from Erie, Pa to see the Toronto show. We had never been to Toronto before and had no expectations for the show, the city or anything else. We had no hotel reservations, no map... basically we were going for spontaneity. I did call the Massey before we left to ask about picking up our tickets. The gentleman on the other end of the phone said he could offer no information about 3rd party tickets. OK, I figured that we would just have to "trust the process" regarding SCI, so we set out for Toronto. We arrived in the city without any problems and drove around looking for a hotel. We settled on the Bond, one block from Massey Hall (we could see the Massey from our 18th floor room). Next we walked down to the Massey box office to pick up our tickets. The response from the gentleman behind the counter was "What's SCI?" Hmmm... expect nothing, I thought for a moment that perhaps we would get nothing as far as a King Crimson show. However, our tickets were found... but as others have mentioned they were mysteriously switched to a new location. I had chosen our seats carefully from SCI and had settled on the balcony, second row back on the left side. The seats that we were given were 8 rows back on the floor, right side. It all seemed a bit strange but then I though that maybe it would turn out to be a happy accident. This was confirmed when the view and the sound both proved to be excellent. Now about the show - this was the best King Crimson performance that we have been to. (We used to live in Nashville and saw all of the 12th & Porter warm ups, as well as the Double Trio in Cincinnati and Atlanta, and then later the Double Duo in Cleveland and most recently Buffalo.) My impression is that the band is definitely maturing, and the subtleties are really starting to come into play. Subtleties such as dynamics, space, silence and the tasteful use of elements from the band's entire history. It's all here folks: odd percussion excursions like Bruford/Muir, haunting and/or beautiful strings (now courtesy of the guitar rather than the Mellotron), interlocking guitars, McDonald-esque horn arrangements (again from the guitar synths), touch guitar, electronic percussion... we even have the The Power To Believe I: A Cappella in the grand tradition of Peace - A Beginning. It is all fair game, and what a wonderful palette to draw from with a history that stretches back to 1969. However, the treatment is always with an eye toward the future, never wallowing in nostalgia. Regarding the space and dynamics: for me the finest moments of last night's show were the quiet sections such as TPTB II or the beginning of Dangerous Curves. I truly experienced the power of this band, which has been stated as "the feeling that something is about to happen". Whether or not something actually does happen is inconsequential. (As Spock once said in and old Star Trek episode "You may find that the having is not nearly as interesting as the wanting.") Dangerous Curves literally came out of nothingness, and as it built the tension became sublimely unbearable until the cacophonous final chord shattered it all to bits. Certainly this is the new millennium's "Talking Drum"... but with a totally fresh approach. Then, during TPTB III (AKA the intro to Deception Of The Thrush) there was that little test for the audience. You know, the place where the band stops and Trey just stands there, the test to see how long the audience can stand the silence. Unbelievably, you could hear a pin drop during that moment. In fact I think that Robert may have actually broken the silence with the faintest swelling of his soundscape notes. This show was a turning point for me as well. Previously I would cringe in fear that someone might spoil a KC show with a flash photograph, or by calling out old song titles. Although there were a least three flashes at the Toronto performance it did not bother me. I finally realized that it is not my problem, and that there is nothing that I can do about it. If Robert were to walk off and end the show early then so be it. Rather than dread that happening I have learned to accept it. My wife noticed a small fleck of paint or the like falling from the venue's ceiling. I looked up and saw the ancient concrete up there and thought "this place could collapse tonight". The papers would read "No survivors, band and audience killed in collapse of Massey Hall last night". It could happen, but what could I do about it? There is no sense worrying about such things and that includes fearing a flash or a heckle at a King Crimson show. My only criticism is with the inflatable Rhino horns. Wouldn't it make more sense to inflate them during Dinosaur? Then they could be passed off as Mastodon tusks. -- John Trevethan P L A Y E R I E . c o m It's all about the music. http://www.playerie.com/staff/jt.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 12:05:53 -0800 (PST) From: Joseph Basile Subject: GIG REVIEW: KC DETRIOT KING CRIMSON STATE THEATER-DETROIT 3/14/03 COMMENTS AND REVIEW OF TOUR BOX & CONCERT COMMENTS: The place was a dive. Across from new Tiger Stadium. Drove from Pittsburgh to see em with Buddy Chico. Sat front row center of the mezzanine. (ya we were the ones who stood, hooted and hollered after the songs.) They are the 22nd Century Schizoid Band. Seeing the future of music today ! Best Crimson to date. Best of the seven times I saw them. I thought $40.00 for the Tour Box was high, but the interviews were insightful, and the last two frippertronics / soundscapes made me so glad I bought it! Expectations? Exceeded! REVIEW OF TOUR BOX :EXCELLENT! REVIEW OF CONCERT: GOOSEBUMPS! HIGH LIGHTS: COUNTLESS ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 06:43:48 +0000 From: "Dan Ceo" Subject: GIG REVIEW: I believe! 3/13/03 After my dad and I saw King Crimson in concert for our third time, the only superlative that we could give to the show was "tremendous!" We've just gotten back from the show that they played tonight in Detroit, at the State Theatre. I'll give you my summation of events. I can't remember the actual setlist, but I'll get it as good as I can. We left pretty early because we'd never been at the State before and internet directions are rarely ever accurate; luckily, we got there in good time and we didn't get lost, the directions actually led us right to where we were going. Since my dad brought me to see them at Royal Oak for my 25th birthday last time, I brought him for his 50th birthday this time. We got in line and we were only behind five people--last time we saw them, Robert Fripp came out to talk to the crowd, unfortunately not so this time. That was alright, however, at least we wouldn't have to wait too long in the cold once the doors opened. Once we got inside, I instantly got my copy of the brand new Tour Box for $40. I know a lot of people have said, "That's pretty expensive." If you think about it, at any other concert a twenty-four page tour program alone would cost that much...in this package, you get a program and a CD that has interviews with the band and demos/tracks which didn't make the current album. We quickly got to our seats and the State seemed like a very nice place, it's not all that common to go to a theatre that has a small bar in just about every alcove. I talked with my dad for a bit and looked at my program, thinking about the new album that I had bought upon release only a week ago, wondering how it would sound live (this was after I accidentally walked into the ladies room). Once the lights went down and Messrs. Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn and Pat Mastellotto walked onstage, the previously subdued but talkative crowd suddenly started cheering wildly and we all knew that this was going to be a great show. They kicked in with "The ConstruKction of Light" and from the first moment, I was so amazed at how tight they had sounded. Now, I'm not saying that the previous two times I had seen them were mediocre shows, or that they were bad. What I am saying is that it is evident on "The Power to Believe" that they have grown together quite well in this current line up in the last 3 1/2 years, but in this show, you can see that they're reaching the next level where comfort isn't everything anymore. Now, they were stretching out, changing some things in the arrangements, keeping it fresh and exciting for all involved, improvising little bits here and there, having fun. For instance, during "ProzaKc Blues", Ade had allowed a moment of audience participation and there was even a part where Pat and Trey had slowed down to a soft, jazz-blues crawl, while Adrian and Robert kept going at normal speed. The last time we saw them at Royal Oak, they had previewed "Level Five," "Elektrik" and "Dangerous Curves" for us. This time, they played the songs almost exactly as they are arranged on the album, however, yet again, they added little nuances here and there. Plus, the sound in the venue was perfect, even better than the sound on the album, which my dad noticed as well. Then again, lots of bands have stated that they were never able to get the sound on record that they could achieve onstage. What hit me again was how much the songs had developed since late '01; much more powerful and striking. An especially big treat for us was their performance of "Facts Of Life," in which Robert Fripp was playing more fast and more furious than we'd ever seen him do before. We knew how incredibly fast and super-humanly precise he was in his playing, but this time he seemed to be just incendiary and he even looked like he was actually digging his heels in and getting into it. Then they got into "Eyes Wide Open" which is a brilliant song anyway, but Fripp had again shown more dimension in his playing by doing a beautiful, understated, quiet solo. Then came "The World's My Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum" off of their last album. This one was another treat since I had not seen them play this one yet. Cool points: Trey playing two touch bass guitars at once, Adrian was simply on fire during his solo and "Spider Fingers" Fripp doing his wild guitar solo (the one where he makes his guitar sound like a piano). What was also impressive were the performances of the first to parts of "The Power to Believe." The interplay has become much more cohesive, again demonstrating the growth of this line-up. The gamelan/Handsonic parts were utterly breathtaking! "Larks Tongues in Aspic, Part IV" came up next and this was pretty much the show-stopper. Again, more little things were thrown in that you wouldn't even think they would try to throw in--I think they've been sort of abandoning total precision for more of a feeling of spontaneity on this time out (not a bad thing whatsoever). Once Robert finished with his lightning fast guitar runs, everyone was clapping enthusiastically...it almost seemed as if we were at a jazz concert. Only one encore this time, but they packed a lot into it and had maximum impact. Robert, Pat and Trey returned to the stage and slowly crept into "Deception of the Thrush." This one has always been a live favorite and of course has always been best facilitated during concerts. I couldn't believe the dynamics and the vibe of this particular performance: they slowly started off, Fripp elegantly strumming his Soundscapes, Gunn somehow touching off his talker through the touch guitar and Mastellotto sporadically hitting drums here and shaking shakers and little bits of sheet metal there. As it started gaining momentum, it stopped for a second......then two..... Then Trey kicks in again with more talker sounds and Fripp once again lets off another guitar salvo, this time fluctuating between languid and super-fast, just baring his soul as a musician. The song really starts driving hard, heavy and gets louder and louder and slows way down. Trey ends it all off with an incredibly touching touch guitar solo, even more so than the last two times I'd seen them play it; the emotion flows so sweetly that it seemed like all the lights centered on him, and that gave the piece the correct touch of poignancy. They ended the proceedings with "VROOM," a very powerful bang to end off with, to say the least. I don't think I could say anything more about this show. It would have been nice if they could have done one more encore and played a little longer, but I'm not disappointed at all. I feel as I have before, I've definitely gotten my money's worth. It's a shame that Robert's the only one who writes his diaries online now, I'd definitely like to know the band's opinions of this show. Nevertheless, I think they keep getting better every time I see them in Detroit and I think that the rhythm section has really found the grooves for all of the songs they played tonight--they definitely have proved themselves as worthy custodians of the Crimson name with this line up if nothing else. ------------------------------ End of Elephant Talk Digest #1106 *********************************