Reply-To: toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Sender: toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Precedence: bulk From: toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk To: toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Subject: Elephant Talk #198 E L E P H A N T T A L K The Internet newsletter for Robert Fripp and King Crimson enthusiasts Number 198, Tuesday, 13 June 1995 Today's Topics: Crowd Noise/Trey's Stick Schoenberg Concert crowd reminiscence Re: THRAK - The Movie youngest KC concert attendee Washington show at Warner words about drums, e& Albert Hall gig not loud enough? THRAK - The Movie Re: THRAK the movie Frippie the cat THRAK, the movie. Casting; between the acts items and a miracle in DC mellotron Levin's parents ARTICLE: Swedish int. with BB On the Road John Wetton - new CD Thanks Toby! Chicago Tribune article More laughing Fripp Moving Wheels Encores at Quebec City DISCOG: FSOL & FRIPP Crimson sighting (hearing?) Fripp's Mistake GIG REVIEW: spoiler? THRAK at the TAFT ! Cincinatti, Ohio (USA) GIG REVIEW: DC Spoiler GIG REVIEW: (Non Spoiler!): NYC & WDC GIG REVIEW: own Hall (squared) GIG REVIEW: Buffalo and DC GIG REVIEW: Washington, D.C. show, 6/7 GIG REVIEW: Washington, D.C. GIG REVIEW: NYC gigs GIG REVIEW: Cleveland / Nautica GIG REVIEW: CLEVELAND GIG-RF WE SAW YOU GIG REVIEW: Cleveland, OH 6/8 GIG REVIEW: Cincinnati GIG REVIEW: KC in Cincinnati GIG REVIEW: Kalamazoo GIG REVIEW: Ann Arbor Show GIG REVIEW: DC Show, with phone GIG REVIEW: June 2nd KC show...Boston, Ma TICKETS: Shameless begging for Chicago 6/14 Tix TICKETS: Sunday June 25th TICKETS: Minneapolis [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Please send all posts to toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk The ET archives: WWW: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/aig/staff/toby/elephant-talk.html FTP: The Americas: ftp.qualcomm.com, in /pub/et FTP: Rest of world: ftp.cs.man.ac.uk, in /pub/toby/elephant-talk EMAIL: Send "index elephant-talk" to listserv at arastar dot com [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 08 Jun 1995 13:33:55 -0500 (EST) From: MOONLIT KNIGHT Subject: MISC: Crowd Noise/Trey's Stick I was at the Boston show, and to respond to the comments on crowd noise, I believe there is a very fine line to walk which is also affected by personal preferences. In some ways a Crimson show can be too polite and tight (I would rather be standing), and bellowing between songs seems more a part of applause than an attempt to remind performers what their names are. (there's also some humor involved in this genre: the Rockyesque "Yo, Adrian!"). But I thought yelling out the Indiscipline lyrics had no class at all -- it's just so darn obvious, at least yell out something creative, eh? I know this was discussed, but could someone comment on Trey's stick and its body? It seems to provide not only more room for knobs (!) but also seems to allow the performer to strum it, which Trey did alot during the show. The NY Times carried an article on KC and the Orb -- the writer was knowledgeable about KC, which gave me some hope for the music coverage in that paper. Jeff [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 09 Jun 1995 15:28:15 +1200 From: Anthony 'Slug of Doom' Hobbs Subject: Schoenberg From: Tony Brown > Hope I'm not raking over old ground here, but has any noticed any similarity > between Arnold Schoenberg's stuff and KC?. Schoenberg? I don't think so, somehow. Fripp's compositions are dense and chromatic, but never go anywhere near all-out atonalism. However, there's *big* chunks of Bartok and Stravinsky in there. (esp LTiA) -- Anthony "Slug Of Doom" Hobbs Wellington, NZ hobbs_a at ix dot wcc dot govt dot nz Don't think it over. Always takes you over. Sends your spirit dancing. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 95 09:34:31 EDT From: jh at cadre dot com (Joe Hartley) Subject: Concert crowd reminiscence I remember seeing Crimso at the Orpheum in Boston in July of '84. Robert had stepped out to tune his guitar. He came out, sat on his stool, plucked each string and seemed satisfied. As a further test, he ripped into some sort of shredding guitar line for about ten seconds, then stopped to retune a string. When he stopped, some wanker from row ZZ in the top balcony shouts out "Hey, Bob-by!" Fripp looks up, mouths "Bobby??", shrugs, and goes back into the wallpaper-shredding mode. Pretty funny. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 09 Jun 1995 11:32:02 EST From: "Scott J. Klimek" <"island::cu14sjk"@meteor.syscon.com> Subject: Re: THRAK - The Movie > THRAK - The Movie > > Starring: > > Buck Henry as Robert Fripp > G. Gordon Liddy as Tony Levin > Meat Loaf as Pat Mastelotto > Tom Hanks as Bill Bruford > ??? as Trey Gunn > ??? as Adrian Belew I forget the actor's name, but the guy who played Riff Raff in The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a dead ringer for Belew. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott Klimek "The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive." sklimek at logicon dot com - Pvt. Joker ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1995 11:19:06 +0100 From: Julian Parry Subject: youngest KC concert attendee Having just read in this list about a guy's 3-year-old daughter singing "I'm a dinasaur". I'm prompted to remember another list commentary in which one guy's wife accused him of indoctrinating his 4-year-old daughter who could readily identify Fripp's playing on KC records. This has raised the question: What is the youngest recorded attendee at a KC concert? I'll start the bid at 16 years and 10 days when I saw them on March 13th 1982 on the discipline tour, Buckinghamshire, UK (I was short for my age and Belew spotted the little squirt in the audience and smiled at him- it was the best concert I'd ever attended). (2) on an unrelated note,for an unknown reason, I associate "One Time" with the death of Frank Zappa. Has anyone else formed any such associations? Julian Parry. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 09 Jun 1995 13:05:16 -0500 (EST) From: "M. S. AtKisson" Subject: words about drums, e& I just wanted to send on an excerpt from an ongoing conversation (both over the net and over coffee) between me and another ET reader, Sanjay Krishnaswamy. The first paragraph is part of his response to my gig review. >> Also, I think (except obviously on Indiscipline!) Mastellotto did >> as much counterintuitive and interesting drumming as Bruford (esp. on >> B'Boom). Like I said, I mostly watched him and Gunn (I've seen all the >> others before in one venue or another) and I thought he was absolutely >> powerful. > Oh. Oh. I did NOT mean to imply that that was all Mastellotto did. He > actually had some of the coolest stuff going--the tight cymbal stops you > pointed out, etc. Before the Talking Drum he re-arranged his kit a bit. > It looked to me as if he had put a cymbal on a tom-tom, then thrown a > towel over it. Sounded very interesting with all that muffled resonance > (oxymoron?). Anyway, as much as those two make my technical toes curl, I > really felt he added a warmth to the percussion that was lacking for me > in the '80's albums. __________________ I appreciated Anil Prasad's interveiw with Trey Gunn, yet I can't help but wonder about the opening quote. I thought it was Laurie Anderson who said, "Talking about music is like dancing about art." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * M. S. (Peg) AtKisson * (matkisso at opal dot tufts dot edu) * "...his frontal lobe Department of Neuroscience * a retread..." Tufts University School of Medicine * Boston, Massachusetts * Adrian Belew [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 95 18:14:06 BST From: cbackham at uk dot mdis dot com (Clive Backham) Subject: MISC: Albert Hall gig not loud enough? In ET #197, Tony Brown wrote: [regarding the second Albert Hall show] >Next night was on the 14th row of the arena, much much much better but >still NOT LOUD ENOUGH. By spooky coincidence I also happened to be in row 14 of the arena at this show (who knows, perhaps we were even sitting next to each other), and must disagree. I reckon the volume was about right; the acid test is how long your ears ring for after the concert. Basically, if they ring at all, it was too loud, and I am happy to report that after the event I felt my ears were on the verge of, but not quite, ringing. If you regularly expose yourself to sound any louder than we heard at that gig, you'll be going deaf fairly soon. The sound quality was very good indeed (especially for the Albert Hall: I forget who it was, but a famous conductor once stated that if ever a new work was premiered at the Albert Hall, the composer could be sure of at least two performances: one by the orchestra, and another by the echo). When sound is that clean and free of distortion, you simply don't appreciate how very loud it is in absolute terms. Clive Backham McDonnell Information Systems, UK email: cbackham at uk dot mdis dot com [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1995 14:03:16 -0400 (EDT) From: David F Maier Subject: THRAK - The Movie > > Buck Henry as Robert Fripp > > G. Gordon Liddy as Tony Levin > > Meat Loaf as Pat Mastelotto > > Tom Hanks as Bill Bruford > > ??? as Trey Gunn > > ??? as Adrian Belew > > Haven't seen Gunn live yet, but how about James Woods as Belew? :) > This is a good suggestion, as is Brent "Data" Spiner, but I'd like to see Peter Weller try it (if he can do William Burroughs, he can do anybody). BTW John Cusack is our Trey. Also, Pat reminded me of Vincent (Travolta) from Pulp Fiction. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1995 15:21:58 -0400 From: ASchulberg at aol dot com Subject: Re: THRAK the movie How about either James Woods or David Carradine as Belew and Steven Seagal as Gunn? [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1995 23:01:24 +0200 From: jhuisman at worldaccess dot nl (John L.S. Huisman) Subject: Frippie the cat Maybe silly, some 15 years ago I found a cat, and kept it. She had a son which I called 'Frippie'. He is still alive and lives with me. Are there any other cats with this name ? [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1995 18:21:24 -0400 From: TonyLevin at aol dot com Subject: THRAK, the movie. Casting; Harry Dean Stanton as Adrian Belew. Anthony Hopkins as R. Fripp. t.l. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1995 21:10:22 -0400 From: DCOBobW at aol dot com Subject: between the acts In ET #197, AyRon at aol dot com said: > I wanted the Soundscapes they were playing in between > the bands to keep going! I believe the music played between the CGT and Crimson in NYC was from Tony Levin's new World Diary CD. (And I agree that the Trio was great!) - Bob Wayne [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1995 20:00:45 -0500 From: dumela at databank dot com (tj) Subject: items and a miracle in DC Monitor Radio reviewed Thrak today. The comments were full of praise with only a few points of dissapointment. The Village Voice has a listen to the independent record label phone number with an item for _World Diary_. Buy the paper and get the number. I thought CGTrio was too loud. Of course they are still wonderful. The sound was distorted where I sat (11th row center). The DCers were mostly polite. I thanked Paul loudly for writing to us but I don't think he heard me. So it ended with _Walking On Air_ and I was awash with the wet afterglow of a hot date. I had hardly caught my breath when a friend who had been sitting a few rows back approached and said, "Do you want to meet Adrian Belew?" She then proceeded to introduce her friend who promptly, thanked me for selling them the tickets, AND... AND HANDED ME A GUEST PASS. coldbloodyturkey The following gleened from the boys (sorry no Robert): Adrian: The solo instrumental album probably not out until the end of the year. He likes National Public Radio and might do something with them sometime. + Good humored and Friendly. Belew's wife (Margaret??): No I don't think Robert will be making an appearance. We moved to Nashville and love it. Do the whole tour? That would drive me crazy. + Happy. Tony: He reads all of Elephant Talk. Getting Robert to move to another position on the stage was in the works and suddenly he agreed to it. ET was only a small prod for this idea. Can't wait to get to California. + Very approachable and warm. Trey: After Robert moved to between the drummers it was like a whole new band. We really came together for the first time in New York. Didn't stay long. + Hints of high intellegence. Pat: Drinking very dark red wine. On returning to do the southern US after Japan, "Definitely, probably, hopefully,...." Would like to do more Sylvian/Fripp but Sylvian (now in Minnesota) is in a writing slump. + Mysterious (perhaps tired) Mystery man all in black hanging close to Pat: "I've known Robert for fifteen years. It's his gig...Robert makes the decisions." + don't you dare ask me my name Bill: Yes I'm tired. He kept moving around, a bit out of sorts (?). [Memory lapse here. He told me something.] + soaking wet All expressed interest in ET. A dream come true for me. Autographs on the program which has excellent text from the MAN (who did rise from his seat once and also hugged Adrian after the first encore. It was him!!) I don't want you to eat your hearts out. I wish you had all been there with me. This missive is the best I could do. dig me, tj dumela at databank dot com tj [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sat, 10 Jun 1995 10:59:03 -0400 From: Diaphanus at aol dot com Subject: mellotron On 'Dinosaur' and other tracks, the sounds you hear on the recorded versions are NOT mellotron. They are originally guitar synth. The mellotron, I think only makes its appearance select places- like the beginning of 'Vroom' and 'Vroom Vroom' and at the end of 'Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream'. Check out the July issues of 'Guitar World' and 'Guitar Player' for their Crimso articles for more info on the Crimso sounds. Nick [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 11 Jun 1995 12:10:30 -0500 From: thequail at cthulhu dot microserve dot com (The Great Quail) Subject: Levin's parents A friend of mine was at the Boston show, where he found himself sitting directly behind an older couple. Then before the show started, a stunning woman with a British accent walks up to them and says, "You are Tony Levin's parents, right? I'm Bill Bruford's wife." and they chat awhile. It seems that Tony is from Boston. After the show he introduced himself and thanked them for "bringing such a gifted person into the world," and they were very happy. Funny old world, innit? ---------------------------------+-------------------------------- The Great Quail | TheQuail at cthulhu dot microserve dot com rivverrun Discordian Society | AOL: LordArioch at aol dot com c/o Allen Ruch | Sarnath - The Quailspace Web Page: 315 Second Street | http://www.microserve.com/~thequail Enola, PA 17025 | ** What is Schwa? ** "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents." -- H.P. Lovecraft [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 11 Jun 1995 18:38:14 +0200 From: Svante Pettersson Subject: ARTICLE: Swedish int. with BB Hi all! In the latest issue of "More Music" which is a freely distributed music magazine found in record stores all over Sweden, there is an article about KC's new album. The article is in Swedish and is translated by me. Sorry if there is any grammatical errors... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE YOUNG PERSONS GUIDE TO... KING CRIMSON by Anders Lundquist For close to three decades the excentric and "guitar philosofer" Robert Fripp has been driving King Crimson towards new goals. During his spare time he plays with people like Bowie and Gabriel. In times when the term "progressive rock" often stands for nostalgy, King Crimson remains creative. This is proved by "Thrak" (Virgin), a blend between the albums "Red" and "Discipline". The band's drummer, Bill Bruford (known from Yes, UK and various solo ventures) tells us: BB> - The 80's King Crimson was related to artists like Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel and Laurie Anderson. We were inspired by minimalist- and world music, used electronic percussion and guitarsynthesizers... Now it's the 90's and the younger rock audience have through bands like Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Primus become aware of expriment, aggression, dissonance and strange meters: just what King Crimson was known for. BB> - Kurt Cobain used to mention our album "Red" as an important influence! The power of "Thrak" comes according to Bruford from the line-up: two guitars, two basses, two drummers. LIKE MILES AND ZAPPA How is it to work for Robert Fripp? BB> - Robert is your typical band leader in the same tradition as Miles Davis and Frank Zappa. He chooses musicians he thinks are interesting, locks them up in a room, gives little hints and sees what happens. He is hard but stimulating to work with but I think that he has won a great deal by finding himself a wife and get rid of his manager instead of the other way around like most people do... Which is the most important record King Crimson have done? BB> - In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969). I was in Yes at that time, but I always sneaked out to check out Crimson after rehearsals and concerts. They were without a doubt the best band in England at the time. It wasn't until a couple of years later that Robert thought I was capable to join Crimson... The worst record you participated in? BB> - Probably "Union" with Yes. It was put together by a couple of engineers and I admire that person who can find any sign of human life on that record. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Svante Pettersson | "The world isn't flat. HTML-Dork, Kajplats 305 | It's actually +6 dBa at 5.7 kHz." | swepett at kajen dot malmo dot se | -FSCFRA 1994 http://www.kajen.malmo.se/~swepett/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 11 Jun 1995 12:53:10 -0400 From: PaulyRich at aol dot com Subject: On the Road Today is Saturday, June 10, 1995, We are headed up Interstate 75 North from Cincinnati to Ann Arbor. Another "on" show last night in Cincinnati. At one point during the Toccata and Fugue, I felt as if Mr. Bach himself was going to personally escort us up into heaven. Crimson played great, I especially enjoyed this evenings version of Thrak. A few noteworthy events over the past few days: New York, June 4th, I was in the foyer just after Crimson began to play and Lenny Kravitz arrived with a young woman. They wouldn't let he and his date inside the theater while the band was playing and so he began complaining saying "I ought to try doing this sh*t at my shows!" After a more complaining and the "do you know who I am?" thing, they finally let him in. I saw his dreadlocks bouncing wildly throughout the show, especially during Red. Red Bank, NJ. June 6th, Bruford was doing a photo session for a Drum magazine on the stage at the same time we were doing our sound check. They were taking pictures of him seated at his drums and they wanted some action shots, so he began to play along with us on some of our tunes. This was great fun! Afterwards, I asked him if he wanted to join our band, and he replied "So, I got the gig?". Cleveland, June 8th. (open air stage near the river) While we were setting up for our sound check, Robert was still busy tuning up and checking his sounds. Suddenly I hear a familiar blues tune. I look up and see Robert with a big grin on his face triggering a Hammond B-3 sound with his guitar synth and playing the main riff of "Green Onion"!!! That night, he was playing it again in the middle of Indiscipline!!! That same evening during the Crimson show, Bert and I were headed back stage and a security man stopped us to point out to us this man and woman (both weighing over 200lbs. each) engaged in oral sex at the top of the bleachers in the audience near the backstage area. (Live recreation of Emmanuel? Not quite I guess.) What will happen next?......... Paul Richards, California Guitar Trio [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 11 Jun 95 18:27 BST-1 From: psmarta at cix dot compulink dot co dot uk (Peter Smart) Subject: John Wetton - new CD On the latest catalogue from GFT there is a new CD listed which might interest those here John Wetton - Chasing the Dragon (Live 1994) due at end June Malcom's blurb says Only available as Japanese import - this superb live album features the 3 ex memebers of It Bites (not F Dunnery) as backing band. 11ukp incl p&p if booked before 19/6. GFT are on 0181 339 9965. A recent release that may be of interest to people here is Vulgar Unicorn's Under the Umbrella on Cyclops (the label closely allied to GFT). It reminds me of the best of many of the best progressive bands at their best but different enough for them to have there own sound. Very enjoyable. An introduction to the bands in Cyclops is available on a sampler for 6ukp. (This is a public service announcement - I have no connection with GFT other than that I send them money and they send great sounds quickly :-) Pete. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 11 Jun 1995 16:52 EDT From: MARKCH at midd dot cc dot middlebury dot edu Subject: Thanks Toby! This just isn't said enough: "Thank you Toby!" To anyone who still has doubts about the new line-up: See this band live! murkie [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 11 Jun 1995 16:30:00 -0500 (EST) From: "Arnold J Levitan 1-8134,Voice Page:46-556" Subject: Chicago Tribune article Date: Sunday, June 11, 1995 Source: By Greg Kot, Tribune Rock Critic. Section: ARTS Column: Rock. Copyright Chicago Tribune A MOVING TARGET, BACK IN VIEW `NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH,' KING CRIMSON REGROUPS For better or worse, King Crimson invented British progressive rock with its 1969 album "In the Court of the Crimson King." But by 1974, Crimson had moved on. That year, founding member Robert Fripp used the term "dinosaur" to describe prog rock, which had produced such commercial juggernauts as Yes, Emerson Lake & Palmer and Genesis. Fripp found the movement guilty of "bombast, exaggeration, excess, self-indulgence, pretension and long solos." These were occasional sins of Fripp's own band, as well, but they were seldom repeated. In contrast to their peers, who lumbered across the pre-punk landscape with increasing predictability, Crimson was like a moving target, never staying in one place for too long. All of which serves as a somewhat playful backdrop for the song "Dinosaur" on the recently released "Thrak" (Virgin), the first new King Crimson album in 11 years. On it, guitarist Adrian Belew sings: When I look back on the past it's a wonder I'm not yet extinct . . . I'm a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones. Despite Belew's tongue-in-cheek consternation, it's no mystery why Crimson remains very much a vibrant contemporary band while many of its '70s peers are sucking wind or already dead. Crimson has always been restless to the point of self-destructiveness, frequently changing lineups and at least twice coming to a halt completely. "I have noticed that when Crimson is about to get successful in a big way it breaks up, regularly," says Fripp, who made his comments in a recent essay distributed to the media in place of any interviews. Throughout Crimson's volatile history, Fripp has been the sole constant. A pioneering guitarist and music-industry iconoclast, Fripp had an uncanny knack for pulling the plug on Crimson before it could dissolve into self-parody, unlike many of its contemporaries. "The musical landscape is littered with burned-out corpses of groups that got too popular and ossified," says drummer Bill Bruford, who quit the more mainstream Yes in 1972 to join Crimson. "Yes is one of them." In 1974 Fripp ended the group's first volatile era, even though he, Bruford and bassist John Wetton had just recorded "Red," a triumph of improvised rock, and then followed it with an incendiary tour documented on the four-CD compilation "The Great Deceiver." Fripp regrouped in 1981 with Bruford, Belew and bassist Tony Levin, the latter two the first North Americans in the band. The quartet recorded three strong albums that blended virtuosic technique with some of Crimson's most commercially accessible material, only to disband once again, this time after a 1984 tour. "It was a horrible broadside to me," Belew now says. "I found out the band had broken up through an article in Musician magazine, and it's not a decision I would have made. I agreed with Robert that the band had lost some of its original vision, but I felt that could have been solved by taking a year or two off. I think Robert just got overloaded and decided he couldn't work within the record-industry machinery anymore." Belew went on to a productive solo career as an artist and producer, and also toured with David Bowie. Levin became one of the most in-demand bassists of the '80s, and worked steadily with Peter Gabriel. Bruford returned to his jazz roots with the band Earthworks and also briefly rejoined Yes. Fripp collaborated with David Sylvian and released two albums under the moniker the League of Crafty Guitarists, an outgrowth of his guitar seminars. He also slowly cleared the way for the third coming of Crimson by extricating himself from a management deal and putting together a four-CD boxed set of the band's earlier work, "Frame By Frame." Belew nudged the process along when he visited Fripp in England during 1991, and soon the 1981-84 era band was being reassembled, but with a twist: Fripp also invited a second bassist (Trey Gunn) and drummer (Pat Mastelotto), creating a double-trio lineup. As is usually the case with Crimson, the band's new form influenced its content. Whereas the previous incarnation of the band was deep into Fripp's "crafty" guitar style, which emphasized precise picking and interlocking rhythms, the new sextet creates a thicker, more menacing racket on the "Thrak" album. "It's not such a light, skittering thing anymore," Belew says. "This group is more about moving heavy chunks of sound." Although there is also remarkable delicacy displayed on the likes of "Inner Garden I and II," song titles such as "Vrooom" and "Thrak" accurately evoke the record's more rugged, brooding terrain. In a sense, the band is displaying a side of itself that first appealed to Bruford when he quit Yes to join Crimson more than 20 years ago. "It was a man's band, full of players who didn't say much," Bruford says with a laugh. "Yes was kind of a feminine thing, with a bright, A-major disposition, with lots of bright yellows and air in the music. I yearned for the more ambiguous, darker side that Crimson represented." When Bruford made the jump, he was paired in the percussion section with the legendary Jamie Muir, "a pagan werewolf character who would wear animal skins around his shoulders and chew on blood capsules that dribbled down his chin while he threw chains and things across the stage." Muir soon left to join a monastery in Scotland, but Bruford had received a proper indoctrination into the ways of Crimson: The group thrives on the tension created between opposites. Bruford laughs at how the current group, with its mix of Brits and North Americans, approaches the music from opposite directions. "Robert and I love to rationalize and discuss everything before we touch an instrument," he says. "Whereas the American guys will be off at the bar waiting for us to shut up so they can play." With the double trio lineup, each member of the band now has another musical personality in his direct line of fire. Bruford is a busy drummer, and has no trouble filling the space in any musical setting, so the addition of Mastelotto could have been reduced to a redundancy or blown apart in a competition. But Bruford was relieved to find that the newcomer "was not interested in being Buddy Rich or the fastest gun in the West. He's a very powerful drummer with a big, fat simple groove, and I'm able to do an Arnold Schwarzenegger around him, mowing through the thing. We've devised ways of working together, metrical stuff with one meter inside another, wheels going faster inside other wheels, some out-of-phase stuff where one drummer plays the same thing a hair later or earlier than the other." The bass counterparts found an easy alliance, with Levin laying down the foundation while Gunn used his "stick" more like a guitar, intruding on the sonic terrain already occupied by Fripp and Belew. "Trey and Robert already had a vocabulary established from working together in the League of Crafty Guitarists, so I've had to redesign my approach to make my sound more singular," Belew says. "They're creating more of a wide-screen, big-picture sound, whereas I'm looking to do more specific things to complement that." In a band that derives its energy from opposites, the relationship between guitarists Fripp and Belew is the most complex and also the most crucial. Fripp is the acknowledged leader and visionary, but since joining in 1981 Belew has assumed increasingly greater responsibilities. As the sole lyricist and singer, it is he, not Fripp, who is the group's primary focus on stage. "My wife, Martha, has pointed out that Robert has a different relationship with me than he does with just about anybody else," Belew says. "He's well known to be difficult on people, but he's not that way with me. We have a warm relationship and talk frequently. I do feel that even though it's still very much Robert's band and he has the last say, we also have a partnership that the band contributes to and follows." Bruford concurs, and notes that Fripp, "as is not commonly believed, runs a very open ship. Robert describes and suggests things, but leaves it up to us how to play it." Yet when the band performs Wednesday at a sold-out concert at the Bismarck Theatre, the difference in the two principals' musical personalities will be as apparent as their body language. "Robert is the quieter persona on stage, the thoughtful, academic maestro, poised on the stool," Bruford says. "While Belew is the naughty puppy dog trying to get away with something that Robert won't approve of. It's hellishly amusing from the back." The drummer chuckles and then reflects on a band where change and risk are the norm. "King Crimson," he says, "is not a band for the squeamish." PHOTO: The 1981-84 era band has been reassembled, but with a twist: Crimson now features a double-trio lineup. PHOTO: ``When Crimson is about to g et successful in a big way it breaks up, regularly,'' says Robert Fripp. Transmitted: 95-06-11 07:39:42 EDT (S5162083) [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 09:27:22 -0600 (MDT) From: E dot Roos at BURO dot KUN dot NL Subject: More laughing Fripp In ET 197 draco at mail dot hvs dot com wrote: >The incident also occurred during "Indiscipline". Something which I >didn't notice occurred on stage that caused both Belew and Fripp to >break up laughing. Fripp was leaning his head back and was >absolutely roaring with laughter and gyrating on his stool. This >went on for a good minute. >Absolutely GREAT moment, which I will never forget. And in ET 196, Mark2u at aol dot com wrote: >"Take a look folks, you don't see this every night!" and then looks >over to his left at Fripp, who was laughing his head off - actually >sort of gyrating on his stool with laughter. EXACTLY the same happened during the KC-concert in The Hague on May 15. During "Indiscipline" Fripp roared with laughter because Belew did something I didn't really noticed. The audience laughed too, seeing Fripp having so much fun. Maybe it's a 'band joke' that Belew does from time to time. Well, after the show was over Fripp thanked the audience "for making this a memorable evening". And a memorable evening it was! A great concert!! [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 12 Jun 95 12:23:21 BST From: Tony Brown Subject: Moving Wheels In ET #196, Mark (mark at coblt dot demon dot co dot uk) asked: > Is anything better than driving down the motorway with Red's Starless on > very loud?. Highly dangerous. ...yes there is!. Driving down a _bendy B-road_ (very fast) with Red's Starless on very loud :). Tony "I am wheels, I am moving wheels I am a 1973 Hillman Imp" [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 12 Jun 95 13:39:41 EDT From: patrick dot gaumond at fsa dot ulaval dot ca (Patrick Gaumond) Subject: Encores at Quebec City Francois Cartier wrotes: >I've read a few spoilers and I must say that I'm surprised... People are >always saying that there were only 2 encores... >I want to tell all the Crim-freaks out-there that we had 3 encores in >Quebec! I'm sure that you can pull a third encore if you give it a try... >The people in Quebec are a great crowd (...) What was amazing is that during performance we only heard the music ! No talk, no stupid guy shouting. Francois didn't mention that when we "receive" our third encore the lights of the theater were opened and there was only soundscape... It reminds me the Tori Amos show were the same thing happened ! I just want to add that before the show I said bonjour to Bill who was smoking outside The Grand Theatre and that I also met Adrian's technician who was very nice. We talked about Macintosh, Zappa and Adrian's volume control button that I got from his fantastic show in Quebec during the Inner Revolution tour of '92. Patrick _______________________________________________________________________ English is not my first language, french is it. Frank Zappa is my Elvis patrick dot gaumond at fsa dot ulaval dot ca http://www.fsa.ulaval.ca/personnel/gaumondp/ Julian Cope Page: http://www.fsa.ulaval.ca/personnel/gaumondp/cope/ [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 20:44:09 +0200 (DFT) From: "C. Kazzer Anglistik" Subject: DISCOG: FSOL & FRIPP Hi, everybody, Last Saturday I came across a new release of ISDN by FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON (plain white cover (refered to here as B)). As I already owned the original ltd. edition (the one that came with the black flapout cover (refered to as A)) I checked the track list and found that the new edition had three different tracks on it. So I bought it and at closer inspection came across a number of differences. Notably, the new release has a very nice piece frippian-guitar piece on it (track 15) which is not on the ltd. ed. There are also some more pictures in the booklet as well as another bit of text. Again the credits text mentiones "% guitar textures sourced from Robert Fripp live with FSOL Radio 1FM 14/05/1994" (This broadcast has been mentioned before. Does anybody have a dub of this?? maybe we could work out a trade?) but the sign shown to indicate this cannot be found anywhere on the track list. The notes to both say that the tracks where recorded during various ISDN transmissions but only give the origin of A: 12 out of 15, B: 10 out of 15 tracks. Also, track no 8 is given different sources on either copy, yet, both sound exactly the same to me. Furthermore, the track times differ on songs that should be the same version (eg. B3 is shorter than A3, etc.). So on the whole, confusion abounds. According to the sources given it should be likely to have RF on A:9;14,15 and B:9;14 as these songs are said to stem from the concert with Fripp. Yet, it seems, most of his was buried in the mix or he must have been silent (there are some sounds which are hard to identify though). Notable exceptions are A/B4, A14 and B15 where there are clearly audible frippian structures. B15 is my favourite as you can really hear what Fripp ads to the piece. On the whole I could identify what sounded like Fripp playing - or guitary anyway - on: A/B2 - guitary sound there A/B4 - frippian guitar squeaks A/B5 - guitary sound A/B8 - guitary sound A/B9 - possibly soundscapes A/B10 - guitar sound A/B11 - sounds very much like soundscapes in the background A/B14 - guitars A13 - soundscapes A15 - guitar at the very end (?) B13 - soundscapes at the end (?) B15 - now, this is very distinctly Fripp Anybody wanting more info, please mail me personaly (John, I'll send you details for the discog). Here the details for the new edition: published by Sony Music Publishing 1995 Virgin Records Ltd. CDVX 2755 7243 8 403387 2 4 Sorry if this got rather long, but I thought it might be of some interest to some people. Check out the last track if you can find a listening post. Enjoy, Claas [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 15:20:59 -0600 From: nash at chem dot wisc dot edu (John R. Nash) Subject: Crimson sighting (hearing?) On 6/11/95, the radio show "Modern Rock Live" played the Thrak version of "One Time." This was carried on our local "alternative" station (who isn't currently playing any songs by KC, despite my requests...). The host also read a quote from RF from a recent Mojo magazine article about touring with pg, multigrain meals, and wind. Fun stuff. In other news... why is "Waiting Man" missing from the US release of the ToaPP Live in Japan Video? The rest of the video is identical. While I'm on the subject, two moments to look for in this video are: - the band getting out of sync in Thela Hun Ginjeet, and then looking around at each other (esp. Bill and Tony) to get back in time. - BB trying his darndest to crack up deadpan-looking AB during Indiscipline by turning a ratchet excricuatingly slowly and staring over at him. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Tue, 13 Jun 1995 09:21:52 -0400 (EDT) From: terry kroetsch f Subject: Fripp's Mistake Man, Ann Arbor was fun. A hot show. I will leave the blow-by-blow for somebody else. I will say that having seen the band in Toronto two week earlier, I was amazed at how different it was. Energy, set list, audience etc...all different. This show was more menacing and sexy. Toronto was a polished gem - careful and proud. CGT were amazing, the crowd went nuts. I was thrilled to catch their little 21st Century Schizoid quote. A hoot. Favourite moment: Fripp coming in an entire verse too soon for his solo in Elephant Talk. The entire band burst out laughing and Fripp continued laughing through the bow and exit. I LOVED IT. My first Fripp error. I love Ann Arbor, BTW and hope someone could help me get hold of a review from any one of the newpapers around there. After Toronto, NOBODY published a review (except a lousy little paragraph or two in a local Waterloo Univ mag - it did feature a great Levin photo on the cover. Perhaps we could trade?). Contact me by private e-mail - with many thanks. They sold standing room tickets an hour before the show, BTW. Did other places do this? And those freebie Thrak pins - man, are they ugly. I would give it up for the world! [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 11 Jun 1995 22:57:34 EDT From: hiett at alpha dot caer dot uky dot edu Subject: GIG REVIEW: spoiler? THRAK at the TAFT ! Cincinatti, Ohio (USA) hoi elephont-talkers! I just experienced THRAK at the TAFT Theater in Cincinatti, Ohio. This is a home-town thing for Belew of course, and for the rest it's been forever since they were in these woods. I don't remember seeing KC since the early 70's in Louisville, KY...exploding Melotrons on stage in clouds of burnt resistor smells.....2nd row center in a hall that seats 20,000+ and now....1995 here I am 15th row center in a tiny little ornate old theater...appears to be an old movie theater or vaudiville house. 2500 seats and they told me 2400 sold. What a venue!!!!!!!!!! It is possible to have a bad seat in this house, if you were kissing a speaker, but in general the sound was very nice given the equipment available I was HAPPY!! Afte all of the "poor sound" reports...this one was fine. The Taft seats about 1200 seats on the floor and has two balconies. It is everything you could want for a small venue except for one thing.... AIR CONDITIONING !!! It was 90 (F) degrees outside during the day and now at night still very warm...we packed in and cooked like polite little sardines....I jumped up to get a T-shirt brochure to fan myself. We cooked...they cooked...the whole show cooked!!!!! Never have I seen a better "Wall-O-Music" pound me in the face so accurately. Basically the show was , as so many others have described...opening music...then the California Guitar Trio; these guys were GREAT! the crowd loved them....at this venue they could have sold their own show.... I'm sure someone that was also at The Taft will give a KC set list. Red was a big hit with the crowd and 2 encores were done at the end. Belew spoke of it being his home town, etc. The crowd was very wild and very into it. I foraged the t-shirt booth...many prices were in line, but I wanted the Larks Tongues shirt and it was priced at $28...in the brochure it was $13! So I walked on...I'll order it. Well the Taft looked small as I left overshadowed by the big skyscrapers of Cinci'...funny these weren't here when I saw Pink Floyd here in Nov. 1971.. yes, and then tickets were $3 too ! Back by the vans...people waited for signatures. CGT was signing at the booth...later Levin, Bruford and others would come out to sign and be freindly near th estage door.....meanwhile I head south in a violent thunderstorm......THRAK! -=john=- [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 8 Jun 1995 12:50:42 -0400 (EDT) From: Darren Hess Subject: GIG REVIEW: DC Spoiler Here's the lowdown on the Warner Theatre gig on June 7th. Not too many surprises for those who've been keeping up with their reading. CGT opened with a wonderful set. The only problem was the incessent chatter and moving about of an all-too-large proportion of the audience. This was true, unbelievably, even during KC's set. Aside from this, the show was amazingly amazing -- the sound in the venue was clear and powerful, and because of the layout of the space it is almost impossible to have bad seats (except perhaps in the balcony). Truly a religious experience. Set list (and some commentary): Coda (it's like they were beginning in the middle) Frame by Frame (the really pulled off this difficult song) Dinosaur (between interlude and Fripp solo, when there is a quiet moment ending in a short silence, there was applause and cheering. Come on, people, you're missing something.) One Time Red Soundscapes leading into B'Boom leading into Thrak Matte Kudesai Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream People Vrooom, Vrooom Bass Duet Elephant Talk Indiscipline (of course, not able too reproduce perfection as on Discipline, but it was better than the mid-eighties versions. Another case of imbecilic audience interference: at the end of the second spoken section, before the music blasts back in, someone yelled "praise the lord" to which Adrian smiled.) Encore #1: Drum solo leading into Talking Drum and of course Lark's Tongues Part 2. Encore #2 Vrooom and Coda Walking on Air Good night and remember; aspiration leads to discipline (which is not an end in itself). Become more sensitive. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 08 Jun 95 12:42:11 EST From: "Cohen, Jordon" Subject: GIG REVIEW (Non Spoiler!): NYC & WDC To all: I was lucky enough to catch the Sunday night show at Town Hall on the 4th and the Washington D.C. show on the 7th. We planned our vacation around the show in NYC. It was well worth it. My best friend since high school drove all the way from St. Petersburg Florida to hang for the shows (the 4th was his B-day show)! Anyway NYC was great! We even ran into a friend from St. Pete who we had not talked to before hand (millions of people and we happen to be on the same corner at the same time!). The city and good friends made the show all the more. I must say that KC is one of the most dynamic bands I have ever seen. Each member does his own thing that (generally) is not dependent on the others. This makes for music that is almost too much to take-in in one breath. Seeing the second show in D.C. , I was able to absorb things I missed in the first even though the set was basically the same. General comments about Town Hall on the 4th: Cafe Amsterdam (Elephant Talk lighted the place up) small venue (1500 people, farthest seat 90ft. from stage) Heartbeat was early in the show and absent in DC programs were sold out Tony was hanging out in the bar next door after the show (I only caught him coming out (bummer)) RF was in spot light most of night (he went off on his soundscapes the entire night more than in DC) General comments about Warner Theater on the 7th: RF was in darkness the entire night although he stood a number of times. Cafe Conservative Much bigger venue (>2500?) A photographer was taking pictures during one song directly in front of AB. Both shows were equally good although I think NYC involved about 15 more minutes of music. Sound was good at both places. I was amazed at how tight the band was. To not play together for 10 years and to add two new members is truly a testament to their greatness! I can't wait for the next tour. So much material (old and new) to come out live! "Evolution of a Tour" -> "Evolution of a Band" Jordon *** Maryland *** PS. I have equal reflections on the CGT. Truly terrific! Bravo! [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 8 Jun 1995 14:43:04 -0400 From: KB305 at aol dot com Subject: GIG REVIEW: own Hall (squared) My friends: I gotta spew about the Town Hall shows. I went to both (after all, goddamn it, I traveled all the way to NYC from Miami to see them,) and was also fortunate enough to meet 5/6 of the band after the Saturday show. IMHO: The Saturday show was tighter, more controlled, more powerful. The Sunday show was looser, riskier, more adventurous. (Hell, they even screwed up a tiny bit on Sunday, but you'd have to rewind to find it.) The set list changed a little bit: Sunday had a great Heartbeat but lopped VROOOM off the opener. Indiscipline was a crowd-pleaser, with Saturday's audience talking back to AB's monologue and cracking him up; Red burned furiously on both nights- it made me wanna play not just air-guitar or air-drums but air-EVERYTHING; THRAK was a free-for-all, with the middle section becoming completely free and improvised, and hilariously formed, with a great Dremel tool solo on Saturday from AB (you had to be there, I guess...) The first encore, Talking Drum into Larks Tongues III, was absolutely stunning. I tried in vain to hold my rhythmic comprehension together during the middle section-- perhaps for the first time ever, it could be done as intended, with two drummers playing the 10/16 vs.16/16 section. Everybody played together and obviously listened to each other; Trey shone on Saturday (so THAT'S what a Grand Stick looks like- I'll bet it's a heavy sucker!); Bill played amazing things on Saturday and then outdid all those things on Sunday. He has this new thing about superimposing whole tempi atop existing ones; it's a mindfuck. AB I've seen many times in various situations, but never have I heard him play like this. Obviously he has been practicing and searching and working on his instrument. He has clearly developed a very physical relationship with his (day-glo, thank you) guitar. Fripp? Well, Mr. Fripp... smiled hugely before the first encore on Sunday! He also played some truly amazing things on both nights, especially so on Sunday (THRAK leaps to mind), and did not repeat himself. His tone was of the type that he would describe as "able to shred wallpaper". The sound, from row M, was excellent, with all the instruments clearly palpable in the mix, and most of the instruments were in true stereo thru the PA; Fripp used this to great effect during the Soundscapes. After show Saturday the group sans Fripp went next door to Jimmy's Neutral Corner; all were wonderful people to meet and talk to, especially BB, who is apretty funny guy (has anyone noticed that he has not aged one second in the last 20 years?), and AB, who was charming but really wanted to sit down and eat with his lovely wife. After getting alook at her, I don't blame him. The man with an aim, indeed. Cheeers cheeers coda, Kevin [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 8 Jun 95 18:45:29 EST From: msmith at crt dot doj dot gov Subject: GIG REVIEW: Buffalo and DC Howdy Hippies, I've been lucky enough to see Crimson twice on their current tour: the first North American show in Buffalo and last night in Washington, DC. Though the set lists were essentially the same, the shows couldn't have been anymore different. Here are some rambling impressions: Well, it pays to have good seats! Both my friend and i were disappointed with the Buffalo show. We were in the 18th row but stuck way off to the right side, and the sound suffered. And like it has been said, Fripp was indeed in the dark. We both thought he sort of cast a pall over the proceedings; a black holeat the back of the stage--sucking a lot of the energy out of the performance. He was the proverbial "crazy uncle kept in the attic"--not seen, sometimes heard. Perhaps it was the time off, as they seemed lackluster in spots--or maybe it was the spotty sound. My friend came down for the DC show, and both of us were hoping upon hope that things would be different. Well, they were. First of all, our seats couldn't have been better. 7th row, smack in the middle--on a beeline to Adrian. We were close enough to hear Adrian picking the strings. The sound was close to perfect, just loud enough (Buffalo was not loud enough by a longshot). I suspect the Warner Theater has much better sound than the SUNY-Buffalo student union or whatever they were playing in... It's amazing what the difference of 11 rows and moving over a little can do. We can actually SEE them (even Fripp in spots). There was less of the black hole effect being closer. They played essentially the same set as in Buffalo (just moved the Vroooms around): Vrooom Coda Marine 471/Frame by Frame/Dinosaur/One Time/Red/soundscape(Fripp) into B'Boom drum duet into THRAK/Matte Kudasai/Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream/ People/Vrooom Vrooom(no coda)/stick duet into Elephant Talk/Indiscipline encore 1: intro/The Talking Drum/Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part II encore 2: Vrooom/Walking on Air No Heartbeat :( as has been played previously on some dates. Indiscipline seemed the most inspired; Bruford being a MONSTER. SSEDD really shread-- Fripp went nuts and even stood up--twice! Red amazing as always. Very nice to hear The Talking Drum though should have been louder and more building (Belew reproduces Cross's violin quite nicely) . As great as Red and LTiAII sounded, i would like to hear this band tackle Fracture or Starless. I don't see why they can't. I also missed the Sheltering Sky. Bruford and Mastellato complement each other very well, but i still don't see the need of a second drummer (especially since Bruford can seemingly play anything with ease). Ditto for the extra stick. Gunn just adds touches here and there for the most part, no real flourishes. Levin was, as usual, in great form, switching off between bass, upright bass, and stick. He really seems to be enjoying himself up there. Ditto with Adrian and Bruford. Bruford always seems to have a boyish grin on his face. During the beginning of Indiscipline someone yelled out "Bruford!!" and his face just lit up beaming. The crowd was generally well-behaved, as was Buffalo's; what's wrong with those people in Boston and New York? Belew didn't interact with the crowd at all. Just "Good evening and thank you." I wonder if Fripp frowns upon that. He did a little in Buffalo during Indiscipline, noting it had been 11 years and whatever since they played in the US. Belew did screw up during Indiscipline--he started singing the last verse too early and threw off both Levin and Bruford--who both started laughing. I could have done with one less Vrooom and say Sartori in Tangier or Waiting Man or *something* from Beat. The California Guitar Trio were *excellent*. Incredible playing. Good to be up close to see them too. Their set was a little different from Buffalo. I was very glad to hear them do Kan Non Power. That tune ROCKS! *And* during the middle of one tune they went into Schizoid Man for about 20 seconds. If anyone is wondering about the merchandise (and i haven't seen this on ET): there are three different THRAK tour shirts, each at $23; a long sleeve (not sweatshirt though) Larks' shirt for $28; a hat for $20; a pin for $5; and the tourbook for $15. I got the tourbook which looks good and has a nice essay by Fripp, but doesn't really say anything new (though i don't remember ever seeing that Genesis offered him the guitar spot after Hackett left). Well, my concert craving should be satiated until Marillion tours North America (again finally) beginning in August. :) Cheers, Mike in DC msmith at crt dot doj dot gov [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 08 Jun 1995 19:53:47 -0400 (EDT) From: 52FRAUNFELTE at CUA dot EDU Subject: GIG REVIEW: Washington, D.C. show, 6/7 I'll save the "blow-by-blow" account for someone else; just some observations. 1) Same "mushy" sound at the beginning and even after it was corrected, Fripp's sound couldn't cut through Levin's. Fortunately, the Warner is a small (and beautiful Victorian) hall and the imbalances were more forgiving than they would have been in a larger venue. (they did the Discipline tour here in '81). 2) Does anyone else think they appeared tired? Bruford didn't break out into his trademark grin until the first encore. I noticed while leaving through the alley that they're travelling by bus. I have many unpleasant memories of band bus trips from my own experience. 3) Alot of the new stuff seemed "churned-out" or uninspired (see #2); on the other hand, they really tore through Red, LTAII and Indiscipline. 4) D.C. can be a pretty staid place so no one would dream of dancing in the aisles. However, there was no shortage of jerks hollering crap anytime it got quiet enough. 5) Despite any and all criticism, its all moot considering Crimson with some reservations is far superior to no Crimson at all. 6) High point of the evening: my neophyte wife asking "what was he talking about?" re. the "lyrics" for Indiscipline. "I loved the Noise; shake to the core; that's what the Noise is for." -Peter Hammill Paul Fraunfelter 52fraunfelte at cua dot edu [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: 8 Jun 1995 09:26:10 -0600 From: "John Ott" Subject: GIG REVIEW: Washington show at Warner I'm still high (from the music) from last nights show at the Warner. I knew it would be a special night when the California Guitar Trio was announced and was greeted with warm and loud applause. They responded with a marvelous performance. There was a lot of energy in the house and they built on it. Go show gentlemen! KC was fantastic, very tight ,the house mix was great from my vantage point (mid-balcony left side). The set list was identical to the Boston show with the ommission of Heartbeat from the second encore. (still they played from 8:30 to 10:10) FR was center stage with plexiglass screens between him and the two drum kits. Highlights: One time: The sound was lush, well balanced and it washed the Warner with it's haunting beauty. I was taken away by the music. Truely a band working well together with a song that suits them. Indisipline: AB enjoyed himself, Played with the audience ( to see if I still liked it ... (stands motionless)...(looks at watch)... I DID!) then RF launches a blistering lead ( I believe I saw sparks come from the fretboard) People: really grooved (BB stopped playing to dance at one point, to have your cake and eat it too!) TL played with sticks on fingers, Very effective. Red: still a powerfull piece, doesn't thunder like when John Wetton played bass (TL bass line much tighter) but still very good. Talking Drum: I liked AB's guitar synth violin, BB really enjoyed playing this one. Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: RF came out of his seat on solo after second verse. The band seemed to enjoy this one. I know the crowd did. AB hugged FR after first encore. The crowd was generally well behaved. One photo flash when off early. Someone yelled "one Time" at the intro to it. (thank you sir we would not have know what it was!) and some idiot yelled Free Bird after AB's slide work on Matte Kudasai. All in all, it was a wonderful night. To KC, well played gentlemen, good show, thank you! [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: 9 Jun 1995 12:52:14 -0500 From: "tgrubb" Subject: GIG REVIEW: Washington, D.C. Thanks to the magic of the `Net and Elephant Talk, I managed to get a last-minute ticket to see KC in Washington, D.C. for their June 7 show. We've all read that the sound was muddy at some gigs, but it was near-perfect at this show. Much as I like the CD, sometimes I'm unable to hear the individual instruments. At the show I could hear the interplay of the six instruments. If their live CD sounds this good, it's going to be a real treat. It's hard to pick a high point of the show. I especially enjoyed Red, Thrak, LTiA, SSEDD, People, ET, the last version of Vroom, and most of all Indiscipline. I just wish that Fripp had played at least one long guitar solo. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1995 13:05:53 -0400 (EDT) From: reive Subject: GIG REVIEW: NYC gigs I'm finally getting around to writing this... through some weird series of events I went from having no tickets to see KC to getting to go both nights. This was the first time I have ever seen any of these musicians in concert and I was utterly astounded. First though I also have to chime in on how really annyoing certain elements of the audience were. Most notably people who thought it was a cool idea to shout out "sex drugs and rock n'n roll" at every opportunity. Flash cameras were extremely prevalent the first night and bags were not even checked as people went in. This changed significantly the second night. The California guitar trio was just excellent. Lucky me has managed to con my SO into driving me to Allentown for that gig somebody posted about. That's how impressed I was. The woman sitting next to me however arrived only as they were finishing up explaining how she hates anything related to Fripp except King Crimson. She started droning on and on and since she kept also mentioning that she was drunk and might fall over the balcony (we were in the front row) I just tried to ignore her. The show really floored me from moment one. All six of those performers have immense although very different stage prescences-- it was really hard for me to know where to look. Tony Levin in particular consistently drew my focus. Fripp was kinda sorta visible and actually stood up for about five seconds at the Sunday night show. And to echo an oft repeated sentiment, the stick duo was just not long enough! One thing that did seem to be different than most of the other shows I've heard about was that the sound was really good, Town Hall is known for that, and my ears weren't even rining afterwards. I found myself wishing I could hear individual parts of the music more clearly, but that was more out of musical curiosity than what I required for listening enjoyment. Now back to the dread woman sitting next to me, at one point (I'can't even remember which song) she leans over to me and says I should be more enthusiastic. I was concentrating on the music and performance so much I was being fairly sedate, but I kinda caught myself grinning at her remark, not so much to appease her, but because I found it oddly funny that she would both despise Fripp as well as my own stillness during the show. I also have to add that I really really liked that both evenings ended with mellow kinda quiet songs. Made me leave the shows humming in this real quiet content sorta way. It seemed like an unusual choice, but then that's why one listens to KC in the first place. Seeing it the second night was great, even though the sets were pretty similar, gave me time to catch a lot of things I missed the first time. Also, Levin appeared outside Town Hall briefly before the show began, was chatting with some epople or something, unfortunately I was about 10 feet away from where I should have been to have much ore to say about that. And may I just say that it seemed like everyone in creation near my seats were doing weed, which seemed so odd in Town Hall, but so it goes. Forgive typos.... my net connection only dropped 4 times while I was trying to write this. -- Racheline Maltese | "My neighbor with no arms wanted reive at phantom dot com | to know how it feels to let http://www.phantom.com/~reive | something go." -Jeffery McDaniel [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: mallende at Phoenix dot kent dot edu (mark allender - king of the universe) Subject: GIG REVIEW: Cleveland / Nautica Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1995 15:25:38 -0400 (EDT) it was cool someone at one time had mentioned that they didn't think KC would be good outdoors. Well, Nautica is an outdoor stage and i can see what they meant -- but the show was still wonderful. STAGE: Pat Robert Bill Trey Adrian Tony i remember someone mentioning that perhaps Robert and Trey had been in the opposite places as they were in Cleveland. it was good visually to have the three stationary poeople in a row. Robert... my first reaction to his motionlessness was "now that's classy..." but wearing black anmd being obscured in shadow in the back with little to no visual movement made me forget he was even there (my girlfriend who had never seen what they looked like before only noticed his presence halfway through the show). i was half believing that he wasn't playing anything. i don't mind. it's just that it played tricks on my mind the two drummers were awesome -- they just kept on changing everything moment by moment. very exciting. Pat was "the Purple Drummer" and Bill was "the Yellow Drummer." Tony playing his electric upright with a bow!! i liked that. Adrian remarked that we looked like a Pink Floyd crowd... and perhaps we did. No "Matte Kudesai." :( i don't think i'll ever tire of that song perhaps the band did. i thought it was a wonderful show. As a lot of people have said, i have a new respect for the album now that i've seen it live. i'd like to see them again. -- -makotu mallende at Phoenix dot kent dot edu uh... [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1995 16:26:12 -0400 From: ASchulberg at aol dot com Subject: GIG REVIEW- Cleveland, OH 6/8 What a great concert in Cleveland! It was cool along the lake and overcast and a very surreal setting for the concert at Nautica Stage at the Powerhouse complex in the Flats area of Cleveland. The industrial setting led Belew to announce, "This looks like a setting for a Pink Floyd gig. Am I at the wrong show?" The concert started at the stroke of 8 with the California Guitar Trio which very quickly won the respect, and then the enthusiasm of the crowd. One of their songs quoted "Schizoid Man" and we all got a chuckle as when we recognized "Hang 'em High" from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". The real ass-kicker was the Bach piece. Standing ovation from the crowd at the conclusion of the half-hour set. KC came on at around 8:50 and launched into Coda: Marine 475 followed by: Frame by Frame Dinosaur One Time Red (Arguably the high point; unarguably the first crescendo) Soundscape B'Boom THRAK (with some improvisations thrown in) Heartbeat (in place of Matte Kudesai) Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream People VROOOM VROOOM Elephant Talk Indiscipline First Encore Talking Drum Larks Tongues in Aspic Part II Second Encore VROOOM with Coda: Marine 475 (again) Walking on Air The setup was great with front line of Gunn, Belew and Levin and back line of Mastoletto, Fripp and Bruford. Lighting was okay, not particularly showy but even the furthest seats probably could make out everybody's actions and reactions. Some personal thoughts: I'm really glad I made the trip from Pittsburgh; although Belew promised it would not be another 11 years, 10 months and change 'til they'd be back, I've learned to grab the chance to see them when I can. PM and BB clearly do not duplicate the rhythms and there were only one or two occasions when the beat needed emphasis that they appeared to be playing the same thing. Not a mere division of labor by any means. And they keep watching each other as if transmitting, by a glance, the signals to keep the Big Red Machine purring and THRAKing. Fripp was so still and solemn that there were times that he looked as if he were not enjoying himself. And yet from that stillness he would launch a barrage of chords or a quick run that announced his continued vitality and desire to produce his musical vision. Belew, while not as energetic as he was in the 80's, is still an engaging frontman and a virtuoso guitarist. All those tricks!! For me the revelation (limited though it was) concerned Gunn. On both VROOOM and THRAK I have been trying, unsuccessfully to hear his contribution. However, I was listening down in the bass where TL keeps things bouncing and popping. Last night I saw that TG's stick has a much higher sound in the mix, sometimes playing Cross' violin parts and other times being a pseudo-mellotron. I still didn't make out all his parts but by seeing him play I began to understand where to listen for him. I missed Matte Kudesai and Sleepless, although I knew from the set list that the latter wouldn't be included. And, of course, I wished for another hour or so of material. Now I'll wait for the boots, authorized or otherwise and think about seeing them again in the fall. Maybe they'll come to Pittsburgh. See them if you can. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: j dot ppontorier at genie dot geis dot com Date: Sat, 10 Jun 95 15:42:00 UTC Subject: GIG REVIEW: CLEVELAND GIG-RF WE SAW YOU I had the pleasure of attending the Cleveland NAUTICA STAGE show on 6-8-95. I must say the whole day was great. Nautica is an outdoor venue on the "FLATS" in Cleveland right at the entrance to lake ERIE (or EIRE for those of you in the U.K.). As a result, I had NO trouble seeing Robert Fripp throughout the entire show (it was still light out when they came on and because of the city lights, it never really got too dark out!!) I was even able to catch the sound check. It was interesting to see Tony Leven in a baseball cap and a jean jacket. I must say, from reading the recent issue of ET, I was afraid of the sound quality (someone said in last issue something to the effect that the sound is better at indoor gigs). However I found the sound to be, in my opinion, OUTSTANDING.(my seat was directly in front of the soundboard) I saw IAN ANDERSON the night before at CLEVE MUSIC HALL (I got a seat near the soundboard there too) and the sounf was not near as good as the outdoor gig. The set list had no suprises. I'll leave the details to some- one else. About the members themselves: B.B. was incredible- I've seen him in YES Union tour and an EARTHWORKS concert and he never seemed to be enjoying himself as much as he was with K.C. Trey Gunn was a very VITAl part of the show !! He was playing alot of upper register things and doing alot of the ORCHESTRA type sounds. I could hear him VERY CLEARLY. I think some fans are used to Tony's BASS style of playing the stick and aren't used to hearing the other sound the TREY was getting out of his stick. A.B. was great (a liile trouble getting a chord chang on INDICIPLINE (maybe it was just me, but R.F. didn't seem too amused- what an expression on his face) Tony was FANTASTIC. Pat M. really impessed me also... I expected to see him just holding the beat-but to my suprise he was all over the kit- what a showman !! Well that's enough writing for now. I apologize in advance for th TYPO'S. ENJOY THE TOUR ! [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sat, 10 Jun 1995 12:19:18 -0500 From: gregdunn at indy dot net (Greg Dunn) Subject: GIG REVIEW: KC in Cincinnati The men with an aim hit Cincinnati's Taft Theater squarely tonight; Thrak! B'boom! VROOOM! And as the adrenalin subsides, I'm left trying to assemble a coherent review of a landmark Crimshow... It all started with the lucky draw; the manager of the local record store who let me in before normal hours and sat there repeatedly punching the request key on the terminal while waiting for the tickets to go on sale. It'll never happen again in a thousand years, but I got Row A, Seat 1. I knew then it would be worth driving 100 miles to Cincinnati to see this show. The weather was near 90 degrees, humid and cloying. The poor theater wasn't quite up to it, either; the air conditioning suffered greatly under the load of a thousand Crimheads, and we sweated throughout the evening. A minor distraction, but it affected the band a little, too... Belew towelled his face off at every opportunity, and Bruford was dripping all over his kit. Well, I promised Paul Richards I'd headline the review properly... not to put too fine a point on it, the California Guitar Trio were worth the price of admission by themselves. I guess they played a half hour or less (I wasn't clock-watching!), but it was absolutely intense. Tight, interlocking riffs which shifted from one player to the other; delightful musical quotes (including a few bars from the bridge of 21st Century Schizoid Man); and the show-stopping Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, which brought the Trio a well-earned standing ovation. Being in the front row, I watched the non-verbal interaction during the performance: Paul was apparently enjoying it too, as he grinned back and forth while Bert and Hideyo threw some awesome-sounding note groups at each other. I chatted briefly with Paul after the concert, and he said he's got another submission to ET coming up; I'm looking forward to more reports from the front line. Take a bow, guys. Oh yeah; I went there to see King Crimson, didn't I? Nor did they disappoint. I only noticed one omission from previous set lists: Heartbeat didn't show up tonight. Never mind, the Red menace took the stage and laid to rest any worries that a ten-year absence had affected the band's concert presence. A complete collection of observations would be too long and tedious to inflict on the members of ET; but I'd like to share a few things that really highlighted the performance tonight. Belew was a dominant and astounding figure on stage; without crowding anyone else out, he contributed some excellent guitar to every number in the set. I have seen this man in concert before, but he continues to amaze with his command of the six-string. He even induced Levin to bend the neck of his bass in synchrony during one tune, with euphonic results. And he was in fine voice (I *like* his voice)! His parting shot: at the final encore, he struck a few notes into the delay box, set the guitar gently down, and quietly left as the speakers emitted a soundscape to accompany the band's departure. Lovely. Levin was his usual energetic self, smiling, moving around, assuming that purposeful stance with the Stick, w-a-i-l-i-n-g on bass, Stick, and bowed bass; all of which made some awesome sounds at his command. The bowed bass nearly shook us out of our seats a couple of times, and the funk fingers were a welcome addition to his rainbow sound palette. The vigorous audience response to his Stick solo at the beginning of Elephant Talk lit up his face like he'd been plugged in. Oh yes; the performance of ET tonight *kicked ass* like I'd expected. Sorry, no comparison to the live version on the Dinosaur EP :) Please, Robert, put tonight's performance on the live disc! Bruford was Bruford, in command of his kit and a whirlwind of economic motion. He presented a gripping intro to Indiscipline, and did a beautiful job of interplay with Mastelotto, never sacrificing his rhythmic signature. Bill was right in front of me, and it was great to see every move he made; I can't get enough of this guy's playing. Fripp was, well, he was *there*. I do remember a couple of moments where some amazing fierce guitar was happening, and I realized in shock that Gunn, Belew, and Levin were silent while Fripp blazed away sounding like three guitars. And the nasty, scorching riffs always seemed to emerge from RF just when they were needed. Just because we could hardly see him... It is worth noting that when they dragged him up front to take a bow, he was beaming and hugging the other guys. It must have gone well from his viewpoint! I'm sorry to say that Mastelotto and Gunn were way down in the mix from my seat (stage left, enough that the far speakers were overwhelmed by the near speakers). Pat's percussives were crushing and spot-on the timing when I did hear them; he and Bruford were a treat to hear during THRAK, where they were playing beat and downbeat respectively. It worked! Trey was almost inaudible except during the stick duet with Levin, and a few lucky solos; a shame, as he did some fascinating things on the Grand Stick. Both guys were working their butts off the whole time, and I assume ET'ers with a slightly more distant seat will tell us that they sounded good even when I couldn't hear them :) The band as a whole didn't have an off moment; I thought "People" came off *very* well, as did all the new tunes. The sense of "over-practiced" I note on THRAK was completely absent during the show; the band seemed excited about each performance, and it lifted the audience to new heights of appreciation. It probably didn't hurt that they were greeted with a standing ovation just for walking out on stage the first time! Most concerts leave me a bit drained, glad to get home, unwind and reflect on the performance; after last night's set, I would gladly have gone back in and listened to another complete concert. Such was the energy that flowed from the band. I hope it isn't ten more years between KC concerts for me... -- | Greg Dunn | "Information is not knowledge; | | GregDunn at aol dot com | knowledge is not wisdom; | | gregdunn at indy dot net | wisdom is not truth." | | Greg at gdunn dot nawc-ad-indy dot navy dot mil | -- Frank Zappa | [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 14:15:05 -0500 (CDT) From: "Larry R. Nittler" Subject: GIG REVIEW: Cincinnati Bobby may hide but I still hear him No beat or perfect pair but still great HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!! ___________________________________________________________________________ | Larry R. Nittler Human beings were invented by water as | | lrn at howdy dot wustl dot edu a means of transporting itself from | | Interstellar Dust Buster one place to another. -- Tom Robbins | [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Tue, 13 Jun 1995 00:01:26 -0400 (EDT) From: Black Belt Jones <99tolsma at lab dot cc dot wmich dot edu> Subject: GIG REVIEW: Kalamazoo If this post doesn't make much sense, it's because I just got back from seeing those Crimso boys at the State Theatre in Kazoo, my "home" town. I really don't want to play guitar anymore. Or drums. Or bass for that matter. King Crimson played their watusis off, and entertained the crowd in their own fashion. I won't get into details over the set list because I'm assuming most people on here already have a good idea of what was played. First of all, Bruford was just ON. He and Pat make an excellent team as duo percussionists. By the way, his Star Classics sounded great; I wish I could have heard more of his Simmons pads though- they seemed to get buried in the mix ( which was very good with that exception). Belew had some great solo work and his voice was very strong and passionate. Indiscipline had some some funny interplay with his words and the drummers. Trey Gunn won me over at the show. With Crimson, it's hard to pinpoint what everyone is doing during a song. Seeing his phenomenal technique made me listen more intently for his contributions to the sound. Levin was also fantastic- his NS standup bass was giving him a little bit of a hassle during Vrooom, but other than that, he was bright and energetic. And that leaves us with Fripp... ...he really didn't need any lights to show me how much I need to practice! @8^) I lucked out and had someone sitting next to me with binoculars so I got to check out his scary technique. He looked like he was having a ball the whole time. I know I was...Aside from the people talking behind me throughout the show (why couldn't they talk AFTER the show if it was so important? ;), I was amazed by the show as a whole. I missed some of the California Guitar Trio because of work, but Tocatta and Fugue in D minor had me on my feet..I wonder if Fripp would consider going on stage with them some night and just rip...? High points for KC were too many to point out, but Indiscipline sticks out as breathtaking; Thrak came off a lot better live than the new version (IMO, of course). I don't know what else to say other than if you haven't seen them yet, MAKE SURE YOU DO! Cameron Taylor Ex- musician :) [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: r dot derousse2 at genie dot geis dot com Date: Tue, 13 Jun 95 04:50:00 UTC Subject: GIG REVIEW: Ann Arbor Show Thanks to Elephant Talk and Chris Savage (a subscriber), I was able to attend the Ann Arbor show last Saturday. This was my first King Crimson show, not really getting into the band until AFTER they had disbanded. It was an incredible experience - well worth the trip from St. Louis. I won't go into a detailed review or set list since many others here have covered similar ground, just a few observations: 1) Some have complained about Fripp being in the shadows and of his lack of stage presence. As a matter of fact, I heard some people at the show saying that too. Personally, I found it a plus. Why? Since there was so much going on at the same time, I found myself switching my attention from performer to performer, trying to determine who was doing what. After a while, I found this to be distracting - actually lessening my full appreciation of the performance. So, I thank Robert for not contributing to this visual pollution! ;) (BTW, after recognizing this problem, I started to visually focus on each musician for longer periods of time, and this approach worked.) The only time that I found Fripp's lack of prominence (visually) to be distracting was during some of his leads. Poor Adrian! The spotlight was on him, and he obviously wasn't playing the lead, yet he had to look interesting while not doing so. Not fair, Robert! :) 2) Trey Gunn is an amazing talent. His solo album is excellent, and I was fortunate enough to see him with the Robert Fripp String Quintet. Yet, during much of the Crimson show, I couldn't tell what he added to the mix. Tony Levin was clearly the dominant bass player. (Hey - no problem with me there - he was fantastic!) So what was Trey doing there? After a while, I noticed some of the textures that he was adding to the music. He contributed a lot to the fullness and intricate nature of the band's sound. This reminded me of the similar relationship that Bill Bruford and Alan White had on Yes' Union tour. Many of my friends felt that Bill didn't add much to the performance, but I strongly disagreed. He added all sorts of great percussive colour to the music, and it looked like he was enjoying himself. As a matter of fact, I speculate that he may have actually PREFERRED that role to the lead drummer's role since he was freed up to create some more interesting backing textures. I think that also characterizes Trey's contributions to King Crimson live. 3) As many others have mentioned, the interplay between Bruford and Mastellotto was one of the show's highlights for me. This was a very different relationship from the White/Bruford pairing on the Union tour. Bruford's parts had to be retrofited and inserted into existing arrangements there, while the music was constructed from the ground up for Crimson. It looked like they were having a lot of fun up there! I also noticed something about Bruford that I don't remember from other times that I've seen him (Earthworks, Moraz/Bruford, ABWH, Yes). It seemed like he had a higher degree of showmanship at this show, sometimes holding a pose for an extended period of time, for example. Maybe this had to do with having to leave some space for Mastellotto's playing... I don't know. All in all, a great performance, although occasionally, there was too much of a "wall of sound" for me. It was hard to hear the individual components of the music at times, but then again, that is probably the effect they were going for. I look forward to seeing them again on the Fall leg of the tour, when hopefully they will play in St. Louis! :) As an aside, it was great meeting Chris, his wife, and one of their friends. One of the great things about the Internet is the way that it can bring people together. --Roy [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 11 Jun 1995 12:07:11 -0500 From: thequail at cthulhu dot microserve dot com (The Great Quail) Subject: GIG REVIEW: DC Show, with phone OK, I can now die, I have seen KC twice. Happy Happy Joy Joy. I saw them in Philly, but that seemed to be just a warm up for DC. I mean that - I loved themn in Philly, but I really think in DC they just excelled beyond words. The acoustics at the Warner were phenomenal, and the theater itself is just gorgeous! I have already reviewed the show once, but I would like to make a few more observations on the Court: 1. Trey is even better than I thought. I totally agree with the person who remarked that at times what I thought to be Fripp or Adrian was really Trey. 2. The weirdness jam in the middle of THRAK was just fantastic, and much better than the one in Philly. Now, I don't think anyone has commented on this yet: The THRAKerator machine is started, loud, like an angel decending on a stuttering pillar of sonic flame, and then they grind it to a halt and play the oddest sounds, like little Toon imps loose in a factory. Now, the really weird thing is this: after a few minutes of spooky and dissonant improvs, suddenly the phone rang, I swear to God. They all paused for just a second, and a phone rang again, and then - THRAK!! back into the main riff. I thought this was hilarious, and my wife Karen and I debated about whose idea it was. I think it was Adrian's idea, like "hey guys - check this out, a phone rings, then we answer it with "THRAK," isn't that fucking great?" My one friend thinks it was Bruford's idea: "OK - I can do this. A phone. Heh heh." But my wife thinks it was Fripp's idea: "Gentlemen, would somebody kindly answer the telphone please? - THRAK." 3. Karen made some very good observations about Fripp (she is an artsy stage manager type person) She said that at the beginning of the show, his absence was funny - like "ok, little Bobby, you can come out now, you know you're really good, and we like the music you are making, really, you don't have to hide." But as the concert went on, he began to take on a very different appearance in the psychic landscape - the fact that he was the only one who was *not* lit actually shifted the emphasis to him even more - the artistic statement of absence. He was like a black hole in a constellation of stars, at times furious and tyrannical, at others beautiful and distant, but always in complete control. By the end, when he finally makes an appearance, it is sort of an epiphany of sorts. (she also said that it was because he was so short compared to the others, he was a little emabarrassed ;-). . . ) I must say that after hearing her, I found myself completely agreeing. Who do I remember most from the show? Fripp: the one who remained - consistent. 4. The strange round and roving lighting during soundscapes should be called "thrakbubbles" 5. Before the stick duet, people were chatting loudly - then spontaneously a few dozen people all around the Warner went "shhh" and everyone fell into a reverent silence. It was one of the most singular moments I have ever experienced at a "rock" concert! Once again, thank you Toby, and isn't it just great to talk to people who really understand whet these men are doing with music? I hate when my co-workers are like, "oh, you were at another rock concert." A snob's Black Sabbath, indeed! (And also - just because I am raving about Fripp doesn't mean that I still don't think he was replaced! Another hint for the conspiracy - look at the letter "I" on the Islands album cover.) "Thrak on, MacDuff, and woe to he who cries enough!" ---------------------------------+-------------------------------- The Great Quail | TheQuail at cthulhu dot microserve dot com rivverrun Discordian Society | AOL: LordArioch at aol dot com c/o Allen Ruch | Sarnath - The Quailspace Web Page: 315 Second Street | http://www.microserve.com/~thequail Enola, PA 17025 | ** What is Schwa? ** "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents." -- H.P. Lovecraft [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 11 Jun 1995 22:52:18 +0800 From: listman at arastar dot com (Anthor List Manager) Subject: (fwd) June 2nd KC show...Boston, Ma >From donews!shore.net!newturd Tue Jun 6 23:25 PDT 1995 >Received: from shore.shore.net by donews.cts.com with smtp (Smail3.1.28.1 #18) id m0sJAip-00034OC; Tue, 6 Jun 95 19:19 PDT Date: Tue, 6 Jun 1995 22:19:22 -0400 (EDT) From: "Hank w. Wright" To: Anthor List Manager Subject: June 2nd KC show...Boston, Ma. Mime-Version: 1.0 I was lucky enough to catch Crimso at the Orpheum theater in Boston on June 2nd. The Orpheum is my absolute favorite place to see a show... so I thought it perfect to be seeing my favorite band in my favorite spot :) How was the show, you ask? Amazing. Nothing less. As a bass player and a Tony Levin fan... I was very happy to be seeing him for the first time. His performance was inspiring... I have not put my bass down since. (I've even brought it to work with me!) But, what really blew me away was Fripp. He has been the biggest influence on my musical "career", and he was my inspiration to pick up an instrument (even though I took up something besides guitar!) Watching him sit between the drumsets... with no spot light on him... I was filled with awe, admiration, and a desire to be the BEST artist I could be! If you are reading this, Robert: Thank you! You continue to have a tremendous impact on me! Listening to you for the past 10 years has been one thing... but SEEING YOU... was a fantastic experience. I did not want the show to end. My only regret about the show: I was unable to see Pat from my seats. :( A question: Has anyone heard Trey Gunn's solo album? I've heard him with Sunday All Over The World, and on the Sylvain\Fripp albums...but, I never realized the extent of his talent until I saw him. I'm intrested to hear his solo disc. -Hank [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Sun, 11 Jun 1995 19:05:17 -0400 From: Wonko77205 at aol dot com Subject: TICKETS: Shameless begging for Chicago 6/14 Tix Ok, it seems that many people are in the same boat as me. I know, I know, there were plenty of clues that should have tipped me off to the tickets going on sales, but I foolishly placed all of my eggs in one basket and kept an eye only on the Chicago Tribune assuming that they would announce the on sale date at least the day before the tickets went up. I was wrong and now I pay the consequences. I've been listening to KC since my freshman year of high school ('88). The first notes on In The Court Of The Crimson King made my spine shiver. I was a man. I've bought their CDs, traded for bootleg tapes, compiled every interview with the various band members that I could find. I tricked a record store employee into selling me VROOOM three days before it was released. I saw Peter Gabriel three times on his last tour and each night I thought, "This is great, but seeing Tony with King Crimson...." After years of thinking that I'd never get to see KC live, my dreams have been answered with this tour BUT I CAN'T FIND A TICKET!!! I've called Ticketmaster every other day hoping that they'd release some unused promotional tickets back into the system for sale: NOPE. I've called every ticket broker I could find in the midwest (deplorable people BTW): Sorry, sold out or never had any to begin with. WXRT is sponsoring the show. I called them last week offering to pass out their key chains and static stickers if I could just get ONE crappy seat at the top of he balcony: DENIED. My only choice now is to go to the Bismark Theater on Wednesday night and A) haggle with scalpers or B) hang out behind the hotel and hope I run into someone in or connected with the band. I hate going online to grovel for tickets, but... Can someone PLEASE PLEASE help me? I'll pay whatever I have to to get into that theater. I'm a college student on a tight budget, but I'll skip lunch for however long I have to. If anyone out there has ONE extra ticket for KC @ The Bismark in Chicago 6/14, please please drop me a line ASAP. Here's how you can reach me: Email: Wonko77205 at aol dot com Business Phone: (800)437-6100 (8am-4:30pm, central time, ask for Chris) Home Phone: (708)639-0323 (5:30pm-6am, again, ask for Chris) Thanks very very much, Chris Berg [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 20:00:42 -0700 From: dmax at ccnet dot com (Dan Sonnier) Subject: TICKETS: Sunday June 25th Auggghhh! One seat. Sunday June 25th. Near center front balcony. Warfield in SF. Section LL3 Row AA Seat 7 Highest offer as of June 21st, 12:01 am. e-mail ONLY - not to Elephant Talk! Got to pay no mind to innovation... Just over and over with the same sensation Till your ego swells and your output dwindles. You can tell everyone that you've been swindled. -John Hiatt [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 14:51:17 -0600 From: keeks at maroon dot tc dot umn dot edu (Tom Keekley) Subject: TICKETS: Minneapolis If any of you are NOT an digest mode and get this before the MPLS show, Tuesday, the 13th, and you live in MPLS, I will be drinking ice cold beer at Rock Bottom Brewery in a red Nebraska sweatshirt if you want to hook up before the show . . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tom Keekley (keeks at maroon dot tc dot umn dot edu) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] The views expressed in Elephant Talk are those of the individual authors only. Elephant Talk is released for the personal use of readers. No commercial use may be made of the material unless permission is granted by the author. Toby Howard, Elephant Talk editor. http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/staff-db/toby-howard.html toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]