From elephant-talk at arastar dot comSun Nov 5 16:59:26 1995 Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 11:28:12 +0800 From: elephant-talk at arastar dot com Reply to: toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk To: elephant-talk at anthor dot arastar dot com Subject: Elephant-talk digest v95 #234 E L E P H A N T T A L K The Internet newsletter for Robert Fripp and King Crimson enthusiasts Number 234, Friday, 3 November 1995 Today's Topics: Talking Drums & Electric Uprights Internet World Expo '96 Ticketmaster makes good! blahblahblah Mellotron addendum Re: KC Logo? Red live Fripp on Eno's "I Fall Up" et subscription Live Albums... Earthbound Again Wanted: Adrian Belew instructional Video. (no subject) The Mighty 'Tron Vinyl? Wetton gig Weird ways of getting into KC re: Mellotron/ violin Mel Collins nonsense on ET? KC Tickets re: cgt and ticket confusion Re: Elephant-talk digest v95 #233 Elephant-talk digest v95 #233 Emmanuelle/LTiA pt. 2 Various... Earthbound Re: Mellotron People! Early Fripp collaborations Evil Mellotrons Re. ET #233: whose voice on TGD? RE: Elephant-talk digest v95 #233 GIG FUN KC at Will Rogers - Ft. Worth 10/31/95 KC Gig Review: 10/29/95 Colorado Springs, CO GIG REVIEW: silver goes to Austin, Nov 1st On the L.A. Wiltern shows GIG Report: Ft. Worth on Oct 31st. I hung out with KC in Denver King Crimson in Austin, TX, November 1, 1995 Austin concert Re:Review Fort Worth Show..halloween night Review, KC in DFW Austin concert/ followup post from Fort Worth concert GIG REVIEW: silver goes to Houston, Nov 2d KC in Austin [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] POSTS: Please send all posts to toby at cs dot man dot ac dot uk The ET archives: WWW Home: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/aig/staff/et/ Topic Index: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/aig/staff/toby/et/topics-index/etopics.html FAQ: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/aig/staff/toby/et/faq.html FTP The Americas: ftp.qualcomm.com, in /pub/et 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: Wed, 01 Nov 95 14:01:59 PST From: "Grant Green" Subject: Talking Drums & Electric Uprights >>Is this what Tony Levin plays in concert? I always thought he had >>some sort of electric upright. >Levin and Gunn play Chapman Stick - ten (or twelve) strings, tuned in >Guitar and Bass parts (point your browser to Toby's FAQ for more >info, and to the web page for a link to the Stick page) TL also has an electric upright, which he played (with bow) at the Warfield (SF) KC show that I saw. It might look like a Stick from a distance, but the upright has a stand whereas the Stick straps on (hooks onto the belt, with a strap over the head + right shoulder). >>And I had always assumed JM's solo at the beginning of "Talking >>Drum" was on congas or something similar, until I saw an actual >>"talking drum" advertised in a music catalogue. Is this an actual >>instrument? >Yes. I'm not even going to try to guess its origin other than a >vague "somewhere in Africa", but it's basically hourglass-shaped, and >has strings that stretch from the head and tie at the base. You hold >it under one arm, and make it "talk" by increasing or decreasing the >pressure with which you squeeze it - loosening or tightening the head >and varying the pitch. Very hard to play well. If memory serves, there is also a "talking drum" native to Brazil. It has a cylindrical body and one head. A stick is attached to the head, and runs out the bottom of the body. You play it by holding the body in one hand while rubbing your other hand up and down the stick (usually with a towel wrapped around the stick), producing kind of a squeaking and moaning sound. Grant Green grant_green at cc dot chiron dot com http://www.crl.com/~gdgreen/index.html [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Mon, 30 Oct 95 11:22:48 JST From: ohsawa at csg dot sony dot co dot jp (T. Ohsawa) Subject: Internet World Expo '96 Hi Everyone, I have a proposal for Toby and all our RF/KC friends around the globe. Since there is going to be Internet World Expo '96 from January to December next year, why don't we ET'ers join the Expo in an unique way. It is said that 6 countries will be connected by 45 Mbps lines to intall a virtual Expo framework. I am told that anyone can join the Expo. For those of you living in the US you should check IMS , the Netherlands NIKHEF and other European countries RIPE. In Japan WIDE. There is a site http://www.town.hall.org/fair/ set by Internet Multicasting Services (IMS) in the US. Although I do not have a concrete idea as to what ET'ers can do, we have two months to think about it and maybe someone who are knowledgeable in the area of Internet/Home Page/technology can raise their hands to create an unique site to be linked to the Expo. If there is a mojority opnion that we should be busy about our own staff only (ET), it's fine with me. But I think it's a great opportunity for ET'ers to be joining such a event. I'd first like to ask Toby for his opinion. Bye, Tom [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: E#KIRKD at ccmail dot ceco dot com Date: Wed, 01 Nov 95 16:14:22 CST Subject: Ticketmaster makes good! Hi folks, Its not often that one has occasion to say anything positive about Ticketmaster, but since we've all been bashing them in these pages, and I count as one of those who have, I thought I should at least applaud them now that I have a reason to. Let me explain. You may recall my posting a few ETs back, when I related my misfortunes of being sold the wrong tickets (to see Chicago - the band) after also getting hung up on twice before that. Well the day after, I received a call from a Ticketmaster customer representative who had been notified about my case by the person who eventually sold me the correct tickets. After apologizing profusely, he removed the $16.75 service charge. Quite clearly I hadn't received service warranting charges (I won't debate here whether one *ever* does). He then promised he'd do everything he could, short of contacting a scalper on my behalf, to try and get me better seats (recall I finally got 27th, 28th and 30th row seats way off to the right, when originally I had got through to Ticketmaster right when they had gone on sale). Well, one week later, he called back and said he was able to get 3 tickets in row H (8th row) just to the left of center! They had either been set aside by the Rosemont Theatre, or something like that, and were going to be returned back into the system. I have to tell you that this guy was extremely helpful in a situation where quite frankly he didn't really have to be given Ticketmaster's strangle hold on ticket sales. I guess it could be said that I went though all this for a purpose and was rewarded with better seats for it. Maybe. Or maybe I got screwed by Ticketmaster, and for once they tried to make good. Either way, I'll be there!! Bring on Bobby and the Boys!! Dan -- Daniel A. Kirkdorffer | "Though the course may change sometimes Email: e#kirkd at ccmail dot ceco dot com | rivers always reach the sea." R. Plant DanKirkd at aol dot com +----------------------------------------- WWW: http://users.aol.com/dankirkd/danhome.html [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 18:07:33 -0500 From: TwEbB2436 at aol dot com Subject: blahblahblah So much for live performances of the BIG NAME bands for me. I called inquiring of tickets for the Longacre shows in New York, and oh, shit, furgit it ma! We dropped thirty-plus bills per, for the Philadelphia show earlier. My girlfriend's seven-year-old daughter didn't get the chance to go, so we intended to see one of the New Yorks. Nope. Sorry sweetie. Whether it be King Crimson or whether it be Virgin or whos'n'what'not, but ya can take this tour and shove it where that sun never shone. Also- 'I Fall Up' was released on one of two Eno EP's [I don't remember which]. They were both collections of dance mixes, one of 'Ali Click' and the other of 'Fractal Zoom', pieces from Nerve Net. Also- the term 'frippery' refers to gaudy triflings and such, with absolutely no etymological connection to Robert Fripp. A distastful equation at best. And, even as Vonnegut is of my favorites, I'd be most surprised if he'd even heard a bit Fripp's non-frippery. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 01 Nov 1995 10:01 -0500 (EST) From: MARK dot KEEN at roche dot com Subject: Mellotron addendum If there is anyplace in cyberspace that should have complete information about Mellotrons it is a fileserver devoted to King Crimson. I would like to add a footnote to Tim Siefkes excellent description of the Mellotron in October 31st ET # (Toby, insert issue number here, thanks!) (Sounds like you owned one Tim!). I never could understand why the tapes were only eight seconds long and connected to springs that would "snap" the tape back to starting position when the pressure on the key was released. This was the mechanism that was always breaking down in these infernal machines. Why not make a loop of the tapes (better yet, support the tapes on a wheel!) and simply move the wheels against the tape heads when the key is depressed? The answer to all of the mechanical and engineering problems associated with the Mellotron came in an old issue of Contemporary Keyboard Magazine (does this mag still exist?). A man named John Chamberlin in CA developed an electronic keyboard in the late 50's-early 60's that used closed tape loops onto which he recorded orchestral instruments. Each keyboard key corresponded to a tape head that read each loop and by shifting the tracks on the tape head (much like an 8 track tape player) you could switch from a recording of a horn playing the particular note to a tape channel containing the recording of a string or a woodwind playing the same note. This machine, called The Chamberlin, immediately garnered the attention of the recording industry and the Musician's Union in California where Chamberlin worked and lived. Briefly, Chamberlin struck and agreement to make only a few of his machines in exchange for certain "considerations" from the Musician's Union and Chamberlin patented his machine. The Mellotron was later developed in England around Chamberlin's patents which is why the Mellotron is designed in such a awkward, "Rube Goldbergish" way (why attach a strip of magnetic tape to a spring? Despite all of these design and mechanical problems, the Mellotron found it way into English recording studios and subsequently became a staple sound of 70's prog rock recordings along with the Hammond B-3, Mini-Moog model D, Hohner and Fender Rhodes pianos. At one point, Genesis got so miffed at the company making Mellotrons for not providing them with "considerations" (i.e. free instruments) they referred to their keyboards in interview and liner notes as "Quigleytrons". So far no one in ET has discussed the Hohner electronic piano, a keyboard which constitutes as much keyboard sound as the Mellotron in the 70s KC recordings. The Mellotron and Fender Rhodes have so far eluded successful sampling and digitalization into the more sophisticated keyboards that have followed them. In this digital age, the Mellotron will now become as arcane and obscure as the Talking Drum or bamboo flute, which is why Bob Fripp will probably continue to love it and use it in KC recordings. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: gsmath at wisenet dot net Subject: Re: KC Logo? Date: Wed, 1 Nov 95 18:04:53 Central Standard Time+0000 Hey, all! Been reading this great newsletter for a few months now. Thought I knew a good deal about the band, but get blown away each time I read the posting here..."I didn't know _that_!" Anyway, a question which I'm sure has been asked & anwered many times (although I haven't seen it): what's the meaning -- if any -- to the KC logo? As someone who's in the advertising & marketing biz, I'm always curious to learn about the underying process used in creating such symbols. My guess is that -- like many good logos -- it's a metaphor for something...but what? Or, maybe it's just a Rorschak (sp?) that mutated? Saw KC in Milwaukee in June. Outstanding show. Have tix for the Chicago show later this month. This is the only band I've cared enough about in my 20+ years of concert going to see twice in the same year. But there was so much energy I just had to tap in to it again. Adrian used to live a few miles from me here in Southeastern Wisconsin. Would occasionally play gigs a few years back at one of the local watering holes as warm ups for his solo tours...never got a chance to see those personally. Would have really been a treat. Several of my acquaintances, though, had occasions to either do some contractor work at his place or otherwise engage him socially for brief times. Have heard nothing but nice things about him. Understand, though, he has moved to Tennessee...don't know whether he kept his recording studio here or not. Hope he comes back once in a while. Would love to see one of those "practice" outings. And, for what it's worth, I _really_ like his voice on the new Thrak album & in concert. With the exception of Greg Lake -- IMHO -- the best fit between KC music & vocals. Also didn't realize that he was able to get all those sounds out of his guitar...had always thought the more adventurous stuff was Mr. Fripp. All for now, fellow Crimsoids! -- Stewart [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 01 Nov 1995 18:12:18 -0700 (MST) From: ERIC DIXON Subject: Red live Hey, everyone-- In the last digest, someone mentioned that "Red" was never performed live until 1994 in Argentina. Actually, they performed it regularly in the eighties -- I have two different versions on tape played by the Discipline band. Eric D. Dixon eric at du2 dot byu dot edu [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 15:01:51 +1200 From: james dot dignan at stonebow dot otago dot ac dot nz (James Dignan) Subject: Fripp on Eno's "I Fall Up" Although I don't believe he's credited, that has to be Fripp on "I Fall Up" from Eno's boxed set. The liner notes credit the song to an unreleased album entitled "My Squelchy Life". Does anyone know for sure? (Or read the credits more carefully?) The song is good, and Fripp's playing is good, but somehow I feel the two do not synergize like the collaborations of ole. The boxed set has the following credits for that track: Eno - white & pink noise, vocals, Bulgarian pain synthesiser (!); Richard Bailey - drum kit; Laurence Cottle - bass; Robert Ahwai - conga, guitar; Greg Arreguin - evil wah guitar; Sugarfoot Moffett - resonant kick; Robert Fripp - pin trumpet guitar; Isaac Ospanin - percussion; Markus Dravs - mix consultant. My Squelchy Life was an album that Eno recorded and then pulled after disagreements with his record company. Many of the tracks finally appeared on Nerve Net, the rest (or most of them?) appeared in the boxed set. Perhaps some are still sitting on a shelf somewhere... James [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 00:13:10 -0500 From: TGross1842 at aol dot com Subject: et subscription got into the 6/5/95 nyc town hall gig for FREE w/ unused tickets from the previous nights show!!! good deal would like to have heard some starless and bible black material oh well. tgross1842 at aol dot com [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 02:03:25 GMT From: crimson at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk (ET Mailing List) Subject: Live Albums... FISHBOY wrote... > I can't wait 'til the inevitable next live album (hey, this is the > first time Crimson has put out a live album without breaking up or > being broken up already!) Everyone forgets about 'Starless and Bible Black', don't they? :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Dickson [Team OS/2], Black Cat Software Factory, Musselburgh, Scotland mike at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk - Fax 0131-653-6124 - Columnated Ruins Domino ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 05:03:47 GMT From: crimson at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk (ET Mailing List) Subject: Earthbound Again dave at verdant dot demon dot co dot uk (Dave Bevan) wrote... > If (when?) it comes out on CD, then I will certainly get it, despite > the music quality - which I dont think is so bad - this album is > worth it for the version of Schizoid Man. I have to admit hating this record for years until I played it one day (fairly) recently and realised that Fripp's greatest recorded moment is captured on it. Mike Dickson [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 22:49:19 -0800 (PST) From: James Murphy Subject: Wanted: Adrian Belew instructional Video. Hi I am looking for a copy of the Adrian Belew instructional video. I will either buy it off you or I could send you some bootleg tapes I have of Adrian, I have several from 1983-1994. James [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 02 Nov 95 07:10:37 0600 From: Steven Subject: (no subject) I saw the Austin, TX. show last night. Great show. Well received. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 07:05:06 GMT From: crimson at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk (ET Mailing List) Subject: The Mighty 'Tron MICHAEL JETER spake forth... > IMNSHO, the mellotron was the third most terrible thing to happen to > music in the last thirty years(that is third in a very tight race with > drum machines and samplers) if you want a sound that can be reproduced > accoustically, do it. I find this opinion hard to swallow. For one thing, a Mellotron was a convenient and relatively inexpensive way of getting a particular sound either onto a record or into an audience. For another, it had 'that sound' about it, becoming something of an icon in its own right. There's absolutely no way that I can now hear a Mellotron and think that it's really a string or brass section. Likewise I cannot hear the real thing and think that it's a Melltron. The instrument became an item on its own merit. Zappa maintained that he used the Synclavier partly as a means of composing and experimenting with any sound he liked, and partly to free himself from the shackles of having to pander to orchestral players' whims and vagaries. That isn't an invalid reason for wanting to use it. > into the development of the mellotron had been put into developing > amplification which would allow a violin to really be heard in a rock > context, amongst other things You could amplify a violin/viola as loud as you like (note that John Cale's viola often drowned the rest of the Velvet Underground out, sounding, as he put it, 'like a B52 bomber') but you won't get the same effect (like multiple voices) since they are two absolutely different instruments used for absolutely different reasons. Incidentally, if anyone has a Mellotron they are giving away... :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Dickson [Team OS/2], Black Cat Software Factory, Musselburgh, Scotland mike at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk - Fax 0131-653-6124 - Columnated Ruins Domino ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 07:13:24 GMT From: crimson at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk (ET Mailing List) Subject: Vinyl? Jason Thornton spewed forth... > > to cram about an hour's worth of music onto one LP and that is > > invariably a recipe for repellant sound quality. > Sorry, but vinyl is NOT "invariably a recipe for repellant sound > quality." Sorry, but you've entirely misread my message. I stated that trying to cram an hour's worth of music onto one LP would have a disastrous result on the quality of the sound. Yes, I understand all the reasons why 'audiophiles tend to prefer vinyl' (even though I tend to think a lot of it is outright snobbery) but vinyl has its sonic limitations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Dickson [Team OS/2], Black Cat Software Factory, Musselburgh, Scotland mike at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk - Fax 0131-653-6124 - Columnated Ruins Domino ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: "Niko P., 2743 (AUWI)" Organization: Uni O., FB Wirtschaftswiss. Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 10:15:14 GMT+100 Subject: Wetton gig Hi Crimheads! Long live the Crimson king... ..but also the earl of Wetton! Yesterday I attended the SAGA/WETTON gig in my home town Osnabrueck (Krautland - don't laugh, I really eat organic Sauerkraut every day!). I'm only able to give a short description instead of a proper gig review because the gig was actually very short and I'm not familiar with the Wetton solo work after the UK period. All in all, he only played 8 or 10 songs. There was no Crimson song and no UK song. It was a solo performance using a semi accoustic guitar. The last song was accompanied by a piano but I acually didn't see a keyboard player so I suppose it was a tape. He began with HEAT OF THE MOMENT. This was the only song I ever heard before. The other songs seemed to be tracks of his curred solo CD (BATTLE LINES?). The music was a kind of easy listening pop or soft rock. It's definitively not the stuff I'm usually listening to... BUT his voice was unbelievable! Some digests ago somebody mailed that his voice is still as good as in seventies. I even dare to say that >from a technical point of view his singing is perhaps better than back in the seventies! Apart from Peter Hammill I never heard a better rock singer on a concert. During the SAGA concert he shortly came back on stage to present a song accompanied by the SAGA musicians. But I do not know wheter this track was Wetton or SAGA song. I am looking forward to the UK reunion. Bye, NIKO (ixcuse da bed krautish englisch) [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 95 10:34:53 +0100 From: "Ivo Steyn" Subject: Weird ways of getting into KC I'm deeply impressed by how many people actually got into KC by hearing their first album, ITCCK. I must be one of VERY FEW people to actually get into KC as a result of hearing, wait for it, Earthbound. Yes, the recording quality was crap squared, the improvs were asinine at best and I can quite understand why Mr. Fripp would wish that this album never happened. However, when I first heard it (Sailor's Tale was played on the radio during a "new albums" news segment) I was dumbstruck by that unbelievable tension in the middle of "Sailor's Tale", and by the sheer violence of "Schizoid Man". I don't think anyone else was making music with this much sheer power at the time. Of course, I checked out "Islands" after that (and liked bits of it, such as - again - Sailor's Tale), but the first three albums never clicked for me. You can imagine how bemused/stunned/intrigued/apoplectic/awed I was when I was confronted with the 1972-1974 incarnation, first through the Amsterdam concert of which bits ended up on SABB (and I've got the rest of the concert on a bootleg, the only bootleg I have, and if mr. Fripp doesn't like it I'm very sorry but I WANTED TO HAVE A PERMANENT RECORD OF THAT CONCERT!) and later through LTIA and Red. Incidentally, I'm deeply distressed by the increasing percentage of 1981-1984 KC material in their current gigs. I've already admitted that those three albums are not among my favourites, and frankly, I can't see why bits like "Three of a perfect pair" and "Neurotica" should get played while other, in my opinion worthier items of the KC catalog like LTIA1, Discipline or even some of the Fripp solo pieces (Can you imagine the current KC playing NY3 live!?) are ignored. But I suppose everyone's bitching that their favourite KC bits are not being played. The current six-piece is just so damn powerful... Best, Ivo Steyn [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: "Johannes Korn" Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 11:01:08 +0100 Subject: re: Mellotron/ violin > just a couple of notes: > > IMNSHO, the mellotron was the third most terrible thing to happen to music > in the last thirty years Of course, if you compare a mellotron to a string orchestra, a real flute or whatever, it really sounds horrible. But I regard the mellotron as an instrument for itself, just because it sounds quite different. And I have really come to like that sound. > A sample of a violin does not come close to being a violine(sorry, I am > fruit for the sound of lead violin:-) >From my experience - playing violin in a rock band myself - the main problem is not the amplification. In theory, you could plug in a violin into a Marshall stack and turn the volume up to maximum. But if you use a normal acoustic violin with a pickup, you will get lots of feedback (same problem with acoustic guitars, by the way). The only remedy probably is an electric violin without a resonance body (just a stick of wood, as it were). Cheers, Johannes [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 09:39:16 -0400 From: Jose dot Douglas at turner dot com Subject: Mel Collins I was listening to ISLANDS by KC which I had not listened to in years, and re-reading the liner notes noticed that Mel Collins played saxophone & BOZ played bass & vocals. In BAD COMPANY's debut album BAD CO. Mel Collins played saxophone & guess who is the bass player (still is) for BAD COMPANY? No other than Boz! I imagine that it probably is the same BOZ. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 09:06:14 -0600 From: gdstrip at edge dot net (George and Dianne Stripling) Subject: nonsense on ET? Pete Wrote: >I still don't quite get Soundscapes. What? >I'm still waiting for the triple-trio KC-Primus collaboration. >I'm going to sneak a flashlight into the concert >Crash Test Dummies... BTW, if you don't have this one, get it! What is this shit!! Michael Jeter wrote: >David Cross.../... Violins in Rock Music Have you ever heard Jerry Goodman/ Jean Luc Ponty w/ John McGlaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orch.?!! >IMNSHO, the mellotron was the third most terrible thing to happen to music >in the last thirty years(that is third in a very tight race with drum >machines and samplers) ...blah blah blah... umm... What is this shit!! I can sample what ever I want to. There is a difference in replication and synthesis. Acoustic instruments originally imitated/ synthesized soungs of nature. Why can't I further synthesize that. What if I wanted to synthesize the sound of a malfunctioning Oberheim analog synthesizer trying to imitate a flute/ or violin? (as so many prog rockers seem to have been fond of). Has any one ever heard of an artist commenting on a society's culture?? Where is the spirit of art in such a gentrified traditional perspective? [ George, please. Seasoned Eters tend not to say "What is this shit!" too much around here. This is a happy place. :-) -- Thanks, Toby ] George Stripling http://edge.edge.net/~gdstrip/ [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 09:58:32 -0400 From: Jose dot Douglas at turner dot com Subject: KC Tickets I've been reading y'alls nightmares getting tixs for KC. I live about 50 miles from Atlanta, GA. I called ticket master the day before tixs went on sale to find out price ($29.00). They told me it was a gen adm show, which I found to be strange. I went to the (only) ticket master outlet where I live the morning tixs were to go on sale. There was no one there!!! I told the guy in the store that he needed to open early for me so that I could get my KC tixs. He finally opened five minutes before tixs went on sale. He told me they were gen admission tickets. I told him I don't think so! Two minutes later he realized I was right. He got into it, wouldn't answer the phone, wouldn't open the store, until he got my three tixs. I got 3rd row seats for Nov 11 in Atlanta. Not bad! [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 10:51:20 -0500 (EST) From: Michael Gaitor Subject: re: cgt and ticket confusion > Date: Mon, 30 Oct 1995 13:35:44 -0500 (EST) > From: brat prince > Subject: re: cgt and ticket confusion .. > re: nyc ticket weirdness > There are definately going to be shows at the Long Acre on the > 24th and 25th. Not that I can get the Longacre to confirm that > but that's the word I got from someone who spoke with Fripp's > secretary. I have no idea when the tickets go on sale. .. > Thanks. > -Racheline Just a note regarding the above post: the Longacre shows are 20-22 Nov, NOT the 20-25 as had originally been posted (unless they have the other dates held to be announce later). Tickets went on sale 9am 22 Oct (I know this for a fact, as that's when I purchased mine), but as of five minutes ago, are not sold out yet. Telecharge (212 239-6200) says there are tickets for all three nights available. (Hell, maybe, _I'll_ go another night myself!) Hope this is helpful. - Michael Solo Science Project/BFITA, NY [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 09:48:55 -0600 From: uchima at fncrd8 dot fnal dot gov (Mike Uchima) Subject: Re: Elephant-talk digest v95 #233 Craig Dickson wrote: > [snip] > The whole point of equal temperament > is that the notes are consistently spaced within the octave -- take any > note, multiply its frequency by the sum (1 + twelfth-root-of-two), and you ^^^ > get the frequency of the note a half-step above it. > [snip] Minor quibble (with an otherwise very interesting post): There's no "1 +". You just multiply by the twelfth root of two. That way, once you've done it 12 times, you've increased the original frequency by exactly a factor of 2 -- an octave. -- Mike Uchima -- uchima at fnal dot fnal dot gov [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 10:12:49 -0700 From: Paul Martz Subject: Elephant-talk digest v95 #233 > Date: Tue, 31 Oct 95 08:17:22 -0500 > From: Dretsim > Organization: P&LH > Subject: Kurt Vonnegut KC Literary Reference - NOT > > In ET232, Paul Martz wrote: > >And then the voice from the back of the theater could rumble, "To > >reproduce. Nothing else really interests Me. All the rest is > >frippery." > > _Webster's Ninth College Dictionary_ has, among others, the following > definition for "frippery:" > "2 a: FINERY b: something showy, frivolous or nonessential" > > This may clear things up a bit. I don't know how I managed to confuse so many people into thinking this was an actual reference to Robert Fripp. If I implied as much, it was tongue in cheek, I can assure you. -paul martz at shaft dot fc dot hp dot com [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: 02 Nov 95 14:39:29 EST From: "Robert C. Parducci" <76206 dot 3036 at compuserve dot com> Subject: Emmanuelle/LTiA pt. 2 In ET v95#229, Christian Hack writes: >A few days ago I watched (accidentally, of course!) on TV here in Germany >the so-called "soft-erotic"-movie "Emanuela" (from 1974 or 75/director Jus >Jaeckin). Did anyone ever notice that the music which is played throughout >the movie is nothing else than a slightly varied arrangement (partly >transposed) of LTiA, Part 2 played by a sort of pop-dance-orchestra? I do >not know if there are any credits for Crimso. Was this topic ever discusse >or does anybody know something about these facts? For the terminally curious, LTiA pt. 2 appears as "Emmanuelle Theme - Instrumental Variation/1'19" and "Rape Sequence/1'02" on the soundtrack album for Emmanuelle (Bande Originale du Film de Just Jaeckin. Musique de Pierre Bachelet. BARCLAY 900567). LTiA pt. 2 also makes a brief appearance at the end of "Emmanuelle Theme - Instrumental/2'44". Originally released in 1974, my copy is a 1978 re-edition; no mention of Fripp & company. Robert C. Parducci 76206 dot 3036 at compuserve dot com <> Shake this way, that way, do it right <> And you might get someone home for the night -R. Symzer [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 21:51:34 +1130 From: tsymeo at zenon dot logos dot hol dot gr (Tefkros Symeonides) Subject: Various... To Peter Cave, Brian Arnold and Mark Keen : Many thanks for the prompt replies. 1. Can anybody confirm the existence of a remastered LTiA? I hope it's worth the price, because the CD I have sounds like a recording of someone listening to the LP. 2. I find it hard to locate the Stick sound in KC songs. Maybe I'm under the impression it's a bass when I listen to it, but can anyone tell me on which song it's heard clearly enough? (I don't have B'Boom, only THRAK) 3. I read somewhere (some time ago) that the benevolent Mr. Fripp is planning to release two KC Live box sets, one from 1969-71 (can't wait for that one) and one from 81-84. How is this project proceeding? (and what about USA, and especially Earthbound, for that matter?) VROOOM on, Tefkros Symeonides. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: 02 Nov 95 15:19:10 EST From: Philip Curme <100535 dot 433 at compuserve dot com> Subject: Earthbound So according to a contributor in Number232 Earthbound should only be sought out by "anal collectors". What arrant rubbish - Earthbound is an excellent record notwithstanding its somewhat rough quality of sound.The whole performance is fraught,exciting and pumped full of energy.The opening version of Schizoid man remains my favourite KC recording.Distorted manic sounding vocals,sublime saxophone sounds and a real edge to the sound.This number aside, "Peoria" and "groon" both feature eerie sounding Fripp solos which seem to hang on the point of dissolving into a storm of feedback.Exhilirating stuff - certainly more likely to produce a rush of adrenalin than the antisceptic,sanitised,digital sound of B'boom ! Long live vinyl and risk taking and frantic music. Phil Curme. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 15:50:50 -0500 From: Rob Martino Subject: Re: Mellotron Michael Jeter wrote: > IMNSHO, the mellotron was the third most terrible thing to happen to music > in the last thirty years(that is third in a very tight race with drum > machines and samplers) if you want a sound that can be reproduced > accoustically, do it. A drum machine cannot duplicate a perc instrument, > whether one is playing electronic or acoustic drums. samplers shoul,d only > be used if one is trying to take a decidedly non-musical sound(such as that > of the electric fan that is blowing on me) and assign it to a pitch-system. > A sample of a violin does not come close to being a violine(sorry, I am > fruit for the sound of lead violin:-) and, If one tenth of the energy put > into the development of the mellotron had been put into developing > amplification which would allow a violin to really be heard in a rock > context, amongst other things, the genius david cross might have stayed in > KC a tad longer.(In THGD booklet, David explains that one of the main > reasons he left was that he couldn't hear himself) Actually I find the mellotron to be one of my favorite keyboards in that it doesn't really sound like a string section that much but has it's own unqiue tone due to the technology used for it (type of speaker it used, tape mechanism, etc.). For example the 90's prog group Anglagard uses the mellotron to great effect, in that the nature of the technology is exploited. In one key moment during one piece the tape is allowed to run out on a choir sound, and the pitch suddenly drops and cuts off altogether, which fits in perfectly with the sad, "I give up" feeling in the music at that point. Another example is when some type of woodwind "sample" is used, and it plays this sickly melody where the pitch seems to oscillate like tape isn't working that well, and again it fits the moment perfectly, communicating a sense of pathetic sadness. The choir and string sounds throughout the album give me goosebumbs, they don't quite sound real and have this haunting surreal quality to them. Rob [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 21:02:58 +0000 From: "Ward, Ted" Subject: People! During the slow part of People (on Thrak) does the guitar part remind anyone else of Billy Thorpe's Children of the sun album? Just something I have noticed, it is probably just me. Ted [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 19:05:23 -0800 From: zamla at ix dot netcom dot com (Dereck Higgins ) Subject: Early Fripp collaborations This is my first post so please excuse me if this is old or unwanted news. I haven't read all of the past ETs and wonder if any mention has ever been made of the 'Colin Scot' album that Fripp appears on, albeit very scantily. This record came out in 1971 on the United Artists label in the UK. Scot was a neo-folky popster who employed some 'names' to draw attention to his rather mediocre recording. Besides Robert Fripp the record includes contributions from Peter Gabriel, Peter Hammill,Jon Anderson and Jane Relf of the original Renaissance lineup. Fripp is most apparent on the track 'Nite People'. I enjoy reading ET very much and find it to be quite informative. Thanks to all for sharing their enthusiasm for this incredible grouping of artists named King Crimson. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 03 Nov 95 03:49:52 0500 From: tonyola Subject: Evil Mellotrons MICHAEL JETER says... > INSHO, the mellotron was the third most terrible thing to happen to > music in the last thirty years Oh dear - a Luddite in our midst. "Smash the machines! No chips allowed! Real sounds for real people! Hire an orchestra if you want string sounds, and damn the cost!" No mellotron, sampler, or drum machine is going to replace a virtuoso violinist - or Bill Bruford for that matter. Even I, a musician who uses electronic instruments exclusively, recognize that. The great thing about the mellotron is that raspy, slightly grungy stringish sound that is unique to the instrument. So what if it doesn't sound exactly like a string section - I could care less. It's that wonderful/nasty mellotron sound that gives "Court of the Crimson King", "Starless", and "The Devil's Triangle" their edgey ambience. It's those rude mellotron saxes on "Cirkus" that raise the hair on the back of the neck. I compose richly layered, complex, and tuneful music with synths, samplers (gack!), and sampled drum sounds (yuck!). To compound Michael's horror, I use a powerful Macintosh-based sequencing program as a substitute for a multi-track recorder. With enough work and fussing, I can accomplish remarkably subtle things. I enjoy using acoustic-type sounds to do things the equivalent "real" instrument cannot do, as well as creating sounds no "real" instrument can duplicate. To realize my musical visions without these tools would be impossible, or at least impossibly costly. Does using electronics make me less of a musician? - I think not. When the Hammond tone-wheel organ was first introduced in the late 1930s, there was a great hue and cry from many who argued that it would put musicians out of work, and that it wasn't a real instrument. Some groups (especially rival organ manufacturers) went so far as to attempt to have the courts prevent Hammond from using the word "organ" to describe the instrument. Isn't it ironic that, in the great debate as to whether synths and samplers are really musical instruments, the Hammond organ is widely used as a reference example of a real instrument? [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 3 Nov 95 11:26:46 GMT From: cbackham at uk dot mdis dot com (Clive Backham) Subject: Re. ET #233: whose voice on TGD? In ET #233, Gregory Faiers wrote: >One last last thing...I always thought on the Great Deceiver box set, that >it was Bill Bruford doing the talking with the audience (including the >"Rodney" comments). I reached this conclusion through some of the quips >made by RF in the associated "diary" as well as through hearing BB's voice >on the Live in Japan video.....Am I white or am I wong? The person speaking on The Great Deceiver is definitely Fripp. Assuming you are American, it is understandable that you may have difficulty distinguishing Fripp's and Bruford's voices. I am British, and cannot tell between East and West Coast American accents, but I am sure that the difference is obvious to you. In the same vein, the difference between Fripp's West Country "lilt" and Bruford's "public-school" accent are quite obvious to a Brit. (I'm not saying that Bruford went to a public school; just that his voice has that character). Clive Backham McDonnell Information Systems, UK email: cbackham at uk dot mdis dot com [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 3 Nov 95 10:31:22 EDT From: boganp at alpha dot montclair dot edu Subject: RE: Elephant-talk digest v95 #233 I've been away from ET for some time now, owing to problems with my net access, so my apologies if any of my questions are redundant. First of all, is there any word floating around about another KC studio album? The band is back on the road in the spring, and usually (at least in the '80's), a tour like that was to 'road test' new material... just wondering. Also, I noticed in the liner notes to a couple of recent DGM releases I have that the label's putting out an album by Gitbox Rebellion. What do they sound like (if James Dignan's still out there, I know he can answer that one), and when does the disc hit the shelves? Also, would anyone out there be kind enough to email me (at my address) the addie for Nerve Net? I can't seem to find it. Thanks. Paul ------------------------------------------------------------- |Paul Bogan | chaos is tasty AND USEFUL TOO | |boganp at alpha dot montclair dot edu | | |(English) | -donald barthelme | ------------------------------------------------------------- [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] GIG FUN [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: dhollist at iphase dot com (David Hollister) Subject: KC at Will Rogers - Ft. Worth 10/31/95 Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 17:18:25 -0600 (CST) I won't bore you all with the sordid details. It was a very nice show. A dream come true to see the great Crimson, esepcially from the 5th row. It's a shame there are so many idiots in the world. I think many of them were at this show. They must have thought that they were watching the Rocky Horror Picture Show and had to fill in the dialogue during Indiscipline. I especially despised the sub-human scum that threw something on the stage after their set and hit Mr. Fripp in the head. I'm impressed they still came out and did their encore. Anyway, if anybody out there has or has access to a DAT of this show, I'd sure love to hear from you! Got plenty to trade. -- David Hollister Software Engineer dhollist at iphase dot com Interphase Corporation Dallas, TX 214-919-9303 until 11/12/95 214-654-5303 after 11/12/95 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Wed, 1 Nov 1995 19:40:51 -0500 From: MarkJX at aol dot com Subject: KC Gig Review: 10/29/95 Colorado Springs, CO Review of KC/CGT Colorado Springs Show 10/29/95 The air was filled onomatopoetically (look it up!) in this small town of 300,000 as King Crimson graced the Pike's Peak Center with their presence. VROOM! THRAK! B'BOOM! and more occurred as the sextet plied their art. The Center was not sold out, but the devotees that attended (present company included) were enthusiastic and grateful that they could take in a KC performance in the comfort of their own backyard, unlike the earlier '95 Tour when they were required to pilgrimmage to Denver. The California Guitar Trio started off the night with acoustic guitar a la rondo. Particularly well received were their arrangements of classical music, 21st Century Schizoid Man, and a western piece to close whose name eludes me. This set was highly entertaining and musically enjoyable, though not significantly different from the set they performed four months earlier at the Paramount in Denver. The start of the KC set was slow (in my opinion). Of significance was the appearance of Robert Fripp before the house lights even went down. With most of the crowd still engrossed in conversations about such things as the new T-shirt showing the "King Crimson Family Tree", Mr. Fripp unassumingly took his seat on stage. A crescendo of applause followed, as people realized what was happening.... The lights went down, and they appeared as they had before; Levin, Bruford, Gunn & Mastelotto rising in a cocoph ony made complete with Adrian Belew's contributions. A pregnant pause, then.. Thela Hun Gingeet. I remember this song because it was first, and becauise it was a new addition. This and Neurotica were added for this set with tapes used for the spoken word parts. Red followed. Maybe the volume wasn't high enough, but I grew concerned about the enthusiasm of the band by this point. Maybe they had 2 tough nights in Denver, maybe it was the 6000' altitude. My fears were for naught, as the rest of the night was one powerful crescendo to the moment the house lights came back on. You'll have to get a songlist from someone else as I was too taken by the moment to take notes. This was a different band than I had witnessed in the summer; looser, yet tighter are the only words that do them justice. They improvised and adapted effortlessly all the while grinning (with the exception of Robert,and (usually) Trey). Were mistakes made? Yes, but I would be hard-pressed to cite a specific example, as emotional impact and not perfection was the course for the night. (I say, "If you want perfection, get the studio album!") At one point, the music stopped, with just single spotlights on the performers. The silence must have lasted for 4-5 seconds (which is really a long time). The audience didn't know WHAT to do; should we applaud?, should we wait? There were the usual ignorant "21st Century" heckles, then someone said, "What, no applause?" Everyone clapped and the band burst into the next number. One significant addition included a co-operative percussion piece to start the first encore (there were 3), with Adrian, Pat, and Bill symmetrically positioned around 2 conventional drums and several (3?) metal drums (for lack of a better description; they were rounded surfaces that you could drum and sounded sort of like cowbells). The drums were placed front and center. The piece consisted of cut-up solos (each drummer alternating playing with trying to make the others crack up laughing) interspersed w ith a triple-drummer basebeat that put your heart in your throat. The STICK/WARR GUITAR duet was given more space this time around and was better conceived than before. No longer was it a token, "Hey, we've got two guys with odd instruments!" sideshow, rather now the piece juxtaposed the playing styles of Levin & Gunn and displayed the differences in their attitudes towards their instruments. An outstanding "concert" in the true sense of the word, with 6 seasoned professionals turning thought into sound and operating in unison to bring discord and harmony together as it had never been. End of Review, but a few thoughts: * As I was waiting to return to the theater during B'Boom, the usherperson (whoa! PC) told me that this (meaning the song) reminded her of Gene Krupa. GOOD POINT! Historically, KC aren't the originators of all significant music, just the standard bearers for our generation. * At one point, my sick little mind conceived of KC as Madonna's supporting band. Don't ask me why, but it made me realize how fortunate we all are that we can see a band of this caliber in intimate venues all across the country. Why, if they were to back up Madonna, we'd have to go to Madison Square Garden, or the LA Colliseum and bring our binoculars! (My apologies to the band for even *thinking* such a thought.) * I still get the feeling that Trey & Pat have not been fully "integrated" and still suffer from "the new guy syndrome". Maybe if Tony & Trey switched sides, or alternatively, Bill and Pat switched sides, a stronger feeling of equality would emerge. * This concert was so impressive, even compared to this summer's tour, that I would gladly shell out another $28 to get a recording of it, mistakes and all! It is unfortunate that the "Official Bootleg" of this tour was produced from some of the earliest concerts, and in response to what I would guess would be considered an "Unofficial Bootleg" as opposed to the desires and expectations of those that adore and respect the music, musicians, and institution that is King Crimson. --PART.BOUNDARY.0.21256.emout04.mail.aol.com.815272842-- [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 04:16:11 -0600 (CST) From: silver Subject: GIG REVIEW: silver goes to Austin, Nov 1st *Brief Review* Again, on a 0-10 scale California Guitar Trio: 10 King Crimson: 20 The Audience: 9 *Rambling Review* What can I say? this show beat the living daylights out of Fort Worth. In my last review, I called Austin a bastion of intellectualism in a cesspool of hickness that is Texas. It also is known by many as the Live Music Capitol of the World, or 'The Music City'. Apparently, Crimson knew this coming in. I didn't have to make a trip this time. I just picked up my friend cb after work and meandered over to the show. It was general admission, and we only got there an hour and a half ahead of time, so we were in fourth row, but had aisle seats. Left aisle, again, because I steered us there to be on the Levin/Bruford side. I had just got paid today, so I had tshirt money. cb and I took turned guarding our seats and getting shirts. First off, the California Guitar Trio was once again Very Impressive. I feel like a really ninny for putting "and some piece, Bach or Beethoven, I forget which but I recognized it" because, upon hearing it again, I realized it was Beethoven's 5th Symphony. How the heck did I get through last night without recognizing it and attaching the name to it, I'll never know. I'm going to have to Run, not Walk, to get their disc(s). They really made a lot more sound than 3 guitars should've made. I think they cheated and had the hosts of the heavens playing with them, but I dunno. They didn't do the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly... but still had a half hour set... I couldn't identify which song replaced it, though. My memory of their Fort Worth set was failing me. After they did Beethoven's Fifth, they got a standing ovation from an audience that had been sitting in rapt silence, disturbed only by people yelling 'yah' or 'wow' or similar things when they did really impressive guitar stuff... then they got a standing ovation after Toccatta and Fugue in Dm... then they got a standing ovation after their encore. Three standing ovations and an encore for an opening act. Well, they're that good. Crimson came on the same way they did in Fort Worth... but after Red they got a standing ovation, too (we just had a stand up crowd, I guess, but it was this ovation that kept the opening act from tying the main act!) Adrian said it was good to finally be back in Austin after 13 years and then they did some more stuff... During he quiet parts of One Time, none of the sinister hollering I heard in Fort Wroth was present... if anything, the audience was quieter when the music was. Which is how it should be. I was impressed. Apparently, so was the band. The band played more and more improv stuff this time. B'Boom had an extra 2-3 minutes of drum duet, followed by a THRAK with roughly 10 minutes of just mellow, cool, improv 'stuff' thrown in the middle. The band was clearly playing around and having too much fun. And the audience ate it all up. After THRAK Adrian commented "they don't call you the Music City for nothing." The bass duet before Elephant Talk was longer and more interesting, as well... and there was more and more of Indiscipline... Adrian teased us during Indiscipline. When he did the first bit and got to "...and then looking at it to see if I still... hmmmm" then he sort of scratched his chn and looked off into space... then, suddenly "to see if I still liked it"... he played around with the next voice bit, and then after "it remains consistent" he just sorta stood in silence and adjusted the littlebar on his guitar.. then he made like he was gonna play it, and then stopped and adjusted the bar a little more... and then broke into "I wish you were here to see it" and tore the stage up. During most of this song, Levin was smiling broadly and occasionally threw his head back in apparent laughter. Adrian said it was a pleasure to 'work for us' and the band took their bows. Nothing was thrown on stage. The playlist for the set was much like the playlist Fort Worth, but with Matte Kudasai instead of People (a good trade, IMHO). The encores were the same songs as in Fort Worth. Amazing show. During this conert, I didn't dance as intensely to Lark's Tongues, but my intensity increased overall... so it was much more a prolonged release than a brief, powerful one. The overall effect was enhanced so greatly by having a good audience interested in hearing the music. I think this concert, too, was better than sex. Twice in two nights, it's my lucky year. Tomorrow night, Houston. I'm psyched. --silver Harloe-- silver at eden dot com http://www.eden.com/~silver "I am the soul of honor, kindness, mercy, and goodness. Trust me in all things." [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 03:20:57 -0700 (MST) From: sgoodman at primenet dot com (Steve Goodman) Subject: On the L.A. Wiltern shows I went to all three of the Wiltern shows in L.A. in June/July, and there's one more thing that was different about the 3rd show, that noone seems to have noticed: During the intermission, I came in from the lobby immediately upon hearing a Soundscapes loop start up, that was not one I'd heard before. (And this coming from a fellow who was listening avidly to 1999 while commuting) I rushed down to my seat, and was given a weird look by my friends, who had no idea that anything odd was occurring. Fripp was nowhere to be seen, but the loop continued, and of course changed over time. This same Soundscape eventually revealed itself to be live, though played remotely from backstage; Fripp was the first to appear, taking his place and obviously continuing to play, swelling the volume as the rest of the band took their marks onstage. The piece went on for about 15 minutes, at least. Not that I was looking at my watch, of course. But I'm convinced that it WAS live. Didn't anyone else notice this? Also, there was a nice-looking lady with long straight dark hair, and glasses, that I spied on the stairs at intermission for the first show. Shoulda talked to her, but alas. Hm, does she get this newsletter? :) Thanks again, and keep up the good werks. +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | "The American Dream has less to do with where we've been | | than it has to do with where we're going." | | - S. P. Goodman, 1995 | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: alan at ernest dot itg dot ti dot com (Alan Edmonds) Subject: GIG Report: Ft. Worth on Oct 31st. Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 07:55:57 -0600 (CST) Organization: Texas Instruments, Inc. Plano TX The Ft. Worth show on Halloween (Oct. 31st) was extremely satisfying. Here's some of the differences I noticed between the Ft. Worth show and what others have said about the rest of the tour. 1) Mr. Fripp wasn't that obscured during the performance. For several songs, he was back-lit by a spot and other times he was very visible. Then again, I was on row three :-) The fan in front of me spent 95% of the show looking through binoculars at Mr. Fripp. 2) Mr. Belew had a few more words to say during the show. He opened with 'Welcome to the first show of King Crimson in Texas' or something to that effect. He said they some something special planned for tonite. At one point during the performance he asked if anyone was hurt. Reminded me of the film Buckaroo Banzai. 3) Playlist seemed about the same. It was well received by the crowd. The only negative for the whole show occurred before the first encore. The entire band took center stage for a bow and a wave. Some crazed fan from about 10 rows back in the center section threw something toward the stage. Mr. Fripp ducked but was slightly clipped on the head. Major bummer. I couldn't tell what it was; it appeared shaped like a small Frisbee but colored red and white like a Coca-Cola can. The crowd groaned in shock and mumurs of 'there goes the encore' were heard throughout. Mr. Fripp put his hand to his head and started looking around for the object. The band left the stage and the crowd started clapping and hollering again. For some reason, the band came back out and did three songs for the encore(s). One of them was the three drum percussion number with Adrian, Bill and Pat. During this number, you could see Mr. Fripp walking around in the back with his hand to his head. No word was mentioned about the incident with the thrown object. I would say the show ended on a positive note. Interesting note: I was a guy with the red Discipline t-shirt on. It turns out he got it at the Agora show in Dallas in 1981; which I also attended. I also had the same shirt, purchased at the same show, but alas it was a few sizes too small to wear anymore. -- Alan Edmonds, KB5ZUY Texas Instruments, Inc. System Administrator, Composer Development M/S 8515 Phone: +1-214-575-6427 6620 Chase Oaks Blvd. Email: Alan dot Edmonds at ti dot com Plano, TX, USA 75023 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 15:19:58 +0000 From: "Ward, Ted" Subject: I hung out with KC in Denver Some interesting things about the show in Denver Friday. There were 2 shows, Friday and Saturday, we were sitting on the patio of a bar right next to the theater before the friday show. We saw two guys trying to sell tickets for about an hour. They were still trying when we went into the show. One guy had 4 tickets he was trying to get $5.00 each. The other guy had second row seats, and was saying "below face value." I was tempted to take those, but I was sitting with 5 other people. Another guy came by at one point and was giving a few tickets away. I don't know if anyone took them or not. Anyway, the show was great other than a very muddy mix. After the show, a friend of ours who had never heard of KC before, said that she had heard they were staying at the Oxford hotel, which has a bar and was not far away, so we decided to go hang out there and see if they showed up. We got the only available table which was in a corner with one or two other tables, which were by the windows, and 30 min. later, sure enough here come the boys in a van, they get out and go inside. We were thinking how cool this was, about 30 minutes later here come Bill Bruford into the bar! And guess what, the table he went for was the one right next to ours! I called him over to ask him about the giant sneeze guards positioned amongst the band members, and he talked to us for awhile, very nice guy. I saw the show a few months ago and it had been scheduled at the Ogden theatre, but the day of the show, it was moved to the Paramount. I had heard the equipment would not fit, but Bill said it was moved because they could sell a bunch more tickets to the paramount (bigger place). I also asked him if he read ET and he said they had given up on trying to get it. Presumbably because of the constant travel. I told him the Canadians were bitching because KC wasn't coming to Canada, his reply was that someones always bitching about something so they try not to take notice. He sat down at his table with a friend and a few minutes later, here comes Tony Levin, we never talked to tony too much, my friend did buy him a beer though, because he was trying to get one for about 5 minutes, and couldn't get noticed at the bar. 15 or 20 minutes later, and Adrian Belew came down. So Belew, Bruford and Levin are sitting right next to us for about an hour, then Levin left. Half an hour later most of the bands friends had left, just Adrian, Bill and some other guy. It was about 30 minutes till closing time, so we went over and started talking to Adrian (Bill was talking to the unknown guy) We talked to Adrian till they kicked us out. Bill left shortly after we started talking to adrian (he did shake all our hands first). Things I learned from Adrian: He doesnt sign his name with capital letters because he doesn't like the way the capital letters look. He loves Robert Fripp, but said it irritates him that Robert gets so much attention simply because he is weird (I told him robert looked bored up there in the dark). He said if that's all it was he would wear his underwear on stage. He is from Cincinatti. He likes to watch football. We had a female with us and talked about the fact that KC is a "guy band" the female disagreed. Adrian said that it bothers some of the guys that everyone in the audience seems to be male guitar players, but he didn't care. He told us that during the show earlier they were playing LTIA2 (which he said he could play in his sleep by now) and there was a part where the count was 17 (i think) counts and he saw some guy in the front counting the bars to his girlfriend who looked completely bored. I asked them if they every played Cat Food, and he said it didn't work with the vocals. One more thing was that we were the only people in the bar for the 2 hours or so that seemd to have any idea of who these guys were. When the waiter kicked us (and Adrian) out, one of my friends said "Hey this guys a famous rock star." and the guy said congratulations, you still have to leave. I commented that if he were "Hootie" he wouldnt be treated like that, and Adrian said "If I was John Elway I wouldnt be treated like that!" (being in Denver and all) Ted Ward [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 12:30:25 -0500 From: ohfuchi at csrp dot tamu dot edu (Wataru Ohfuchi) Subject: King Crimson in Austin, TX, November 1, 1995 Note: I am a big KC fan. That is why this review is very negative. Overall: The Austin KC show was excellent as a show but it was rather disappointing as a KC show. KC did not play anything which was different from my expectation and/or beyond my imagination. They reproduced what I can hear on ``Thrak'' and perhaps on ``B'boom'' which I have not listened to yet. KC had been very special to me because they played something unexpected and something unimaginable. I became a KC fan in 1976 or so when they were disbanded. I especially liked instrumental pieces such as ``LTiA'', ``Fracture'' and ``Red''. Then 1981 ``Discipline'' was not what I expected from KC. Simply put, `I liked it'. To me, any piece of music in ``Discipline'' would not fit in KC's previous albums. It was not music I expected from KC. In this point of view, ``Thrak'' was very disappointing to me. ``Thrak'' could have fit in ``Discipline''. Other instrumental pieces could have fit in perhaps somewhere between ``LTiA'' and ``Red''. All vocal songs could be in ``Beat'' or ``ToaPP''. In other words, KC did not present anything different from their previous works in ``Thrak''. Then KC reproduced the expected ``Thrak'' in the concert. It was true that some pieces such as ``B'boom'' or ``Thrak'' were different from the studio versions but these were just details to me. I enjoyed the show. I was very happy to be there. I was very happy to see KC very happily playing. Perhaps I just had a rather long drive of two hours from Austin back to College Station after the show and somehow ended up with this mixed feeling. The California Guitar Trio: 30 minutes were just enough for me. Their original pieces sounded rather similar to each other. I enjoyed these arranged pieces such as ``21CSM'', Beethoven's or Bach's more than CGT's original music. Perhaps it meant I did not like their music very much. CGT was very entertaining, and I enjoyed their show. I however will not want to see their full 2-hour concert. I will be bored. Sound: First of all, it was not loud enough as a KC show for me. Mixing was simply awful. I had my seat at center in the 15th or so row where I believe sound should be good. I could not hear TG very well throughout the show. When I could hear him, his sound was rather soft. As far as I could `see', TG was playing similar phrases to either TL's, AB's or RF's. TG should have been mixed much louder for his soft sound. Surprisingly, I could not hear RF(!) very well in some pieces. I could hear AB well generally but his solos on ``Indiscipline'' and ``LTiAII'' were a little obscured. Final Note: I expect many people would disagree with me. I am very sure there will be many positive reviews on the Austin KC show. BTW, I noticed near the end of the show that there was a furiously dancing woman in front of TG just below the stage. She was the one who enjoyed the show most. TG must remember her. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 11:13:10 -0800 From: Sonnenberg1/Apple at eworld dot com Subject: Austin concert Austin, Texas November 1st My first ever concert experience with a King Crimson occurred last night, after 23 years of fandom. I've got to admit, I fall into the B.A. (Before Adrian) school of fans: I've always seen Red as the last "real" King Crimson offering, and admired their work only from afar since then. (I similarly ignored most music of that time period for reasons of circumstance, not qualitative distinction). I must admit, though, that I've always been just a little uncomfortable with the humor Mr.Belew seemed to have brought into the mix... the seriousness (read "pomposity") that critics always seemed to hate in progressive rock was precisely what kept me interested. As the concert approached, I worried that my lack of familiarity with the most recent material would limit my enjoyment of the performance. I certainly knew I'd be incapable of the complex, exhaustive and nuanced explication I'd seen on these pages. Now I thank my stars. (Perhaps you should as well, for having been spared more discussion of song lists (ever had a good movie spoiled?) and blow by blow CD-to-performance comparisons). This music is visceral stuff. If you're going to see these guys, try to forget everything you've read about song selection, what a Stick sounds like, the CGT, porno soundtracks, etc etc etc, and simply expose yourself to what occurs. There were moments of harmonic and rhythmic dissonance so frightening I nearly soiled myself. There were instances of lyrical and visual beauty which I won't soon forget. (I never understood the word "dark" as it was always applied to early King Crimson. To me, songs like "Epitaph" and "Red", however terrifying, shed light on my own darkness, so it was the light I remembered. ) This concert also shed light for me on Mr. Belew's role in the current KC. I've seen him described as Fripp's alter-ego, and that rang true for me last night. While he has clearly hitched his wagon, at least for this project, to Fripp's blazing star (how could Fripp's authorship, however collaborative, of KC's exceedingly innovative path be denied?), it is his extroversion of Fripp's vision that makes it palpable. The humor he does bring, both with his lyrics and performance, is manic enough that it accentuates rather than breaks the delicious tension of the music. The 80's material, when experienced live with the current band, was clearly an extension and expansion of what came before, and a stepping stone to what has come since. Will I go out now and buy Thraak and B'Boom? Surprisingly, probably not. As the father of a very young child, I'm not sure I want to recreate last night's experience in my home just yet. I may have to content myself for a while with CGT, Soundscapes (though that gets pretty scary, too), and RFSQ-like projects for home listening. And the fact is, I know I never could recreate what occurred last night . Nothing I had heard until now prepared me for the experience of the band in person. The Austin audience was spellbound throughout (no mosh pits here!) and the band seemed amazed by both our attentiveness during the performance and the explosiveness of our ovations. "I guess this is why they call this Music City," said Belew. It sure was true last night!!!! Paul Sonnenberg [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 14:20:32 -0500 From: JPVMIDPAUL at aol dot com Subject: Re:Review Fort Worth Show..halloween night This is the 2nd Crimson show for me this year...the first was at the Bismark Theatre in Chicago in June which sold out in minutes...hung around for over an hour before being scalped at $50 for a $25 seat but what the heck...it was worth it...sat in the upper balcony ,center, last row in the house...great show in Chicago..sound was phenomenal...on to Fort Worth...Halloween 1995....it seems I have this thing for seeing Fripp on Halloween...I saw the Fripp/Sylvian Band on Halloween at the Park West in Chicago...had to scalp tickets for that on too because my space head friend thought there would be plenty of tickets left (he listens to way too much Gong anyway)...So Halloween night 1995 in Fort Worth for Crimson...sat in the 13th row slightly to the left for this show...bizarre coinsedence..very good friend from college days in the 70's who I haven't seen in 15 years recognizes me out front and happens to have seats in the same row as we do.......he also has an extra after show pass! neat! Ok..typical Texas crowd...age group however ranges from 4-60...it was great seeing a 45 year old guy with his 4 year old son...passing the musical torch...California Guitar Trio opens as a few crowd members yell out "Freebird"...they compensate by playing the "Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" theme, as their second piece...the crowd really got into them and they would set the tone for what would, for the most part be, a truely great evening...Back to what I mean by typical Texas crowd...I flew into Dallas from Chicago for this show...every show I've ever seen in Texas (and I've seen quite a few)..some asshole always screws it up for the majority who are there to have a good time...case in point #1: at the end of the show the entire band stands out front and bows together..some moron threw something at the stage and hit Fripp in the head...maybe it was a frisbee or a halloween mask...Fripp had this "Mr. Bill..Oh No" look of surprize on his face..grabbed the top of his head...and everyone walked off ...the crowd booed the moron who threw it and I hope whoever was sitting next to the guy beat the crap out of him...great..now we'll probably Not see any encores...not so! athe Band can back for their traditional 2 encore set....but Fripp would not come back to the front to take a bow..he mearley waved briefly from the back and left the stage...you can't blame him...we were fortunate the band came out at all after that incident... case in point #2:why is it that the beer guzziling good ol boys always sit behind me at Texas shows ..by the time Crimson was into their second song these guys were so wasted they were obnoxious...during the Stick solos..one of kept saying "Tony Levin man..Tony Levin Man...over and over...What part of "Shut the fuck up don't you understand"...Jesus...look, we are all fortunate to see these guys noting how infrequently they tour...don't mess it up for the rest of us.. The sets: Fripp came out at the beginning with house lights up and did some "Soundscapes"...joined by the band and into VROOM...then Thelma Hut Ginjeet..and an amazing version of RED followed...belew said" hold on to your pumpkins texas, things are really gonna get Bizarre" and the sound..(which was a little muddled for the first 3 songs..got much better...)The Will Rogers Theater in Fort Worth is a 3000 seat old Art Deco type theater...great sight lines from almost every where...I'm sure the sound was great for everyone else in the place...ok...RED was followed by DINOSAUR, FRAME BY FRAME, PEOPLE, NEUROTICA,ONE TIME, 3 of a PERFECT PAIR,...then the B'BOOM solos and into THRAK...into SEX,Sleep ect, Trey and Tony's stick solos...into INDISCIPLINE.. and finally ELEPHANT TALK...I may have a few of the songs reversed but this is it to the best of my recollection.../ Encores:#1- Vroom,Vroom and Walking on Air....#2 using Talking drums(I think) Belew, Mastelotto, and Bruford gave a great 10 minute drumming exibition followed by Lark's Tongue Part II... It's come full circle...the first time I ever saw king Crimson live was during the "Lark's Tongue " tour at Packard Music Hall in Warren Ohio in Spring of 1973...having them finish every show with what I consider to be one of the greatest pieces of music from the "Progressive Rock" 70's was certainly appropriate... There are some neat tour shirts and hats being sold at the shows...but the black "Court of the Crimson King " shirt was sold out...Not to worry.. contact Mark Perry at Possible Productions at PossProd at aol dot com and he may have some... I have tickets for the Palace Theater, Columbus, Ohio showon November 27th and will report back on that show.. A note to those fortunate enough to get "After Show Passes"...a Virgin rep hands out large Lp size covers of the Thrak album...and several band members come out to sign them..in Ft. Worth, everybody but Fripp and Belew came out...I had them sign my Thrak CD cover...oh well, I was hoping Fripp would show so that I could have him sign the Rimitti"Sidi Mansour" CD(he appears with Flea and East Bay Ray on this one)...you can get everything else from Disipline through Mark Perry at Possible's "Autographed Signature Series" So Long..see you in Columbus and the final show in Chicago Paul Ciminero- JPVMIDPAUL at aol dot com [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 17:06:25 -0600 (CST) From: Le Monsieur Damon Subject: Review, KC in DFW [ If someone has already sent this to you, feel free to avoid duplication, of course. -- Damon ] Here's the review printed in the Dallas Morning News following the Dallas/Ft.Worth show at Will Rogers Auditorium: THESE CATS JUST BELEW THEM AWAY King Crimson Scares Up Some Red-Hot Licks By Thor Christensen, pop music critic of The Dallas Morning News Fort Worth -- Some of King Crimson's loyal subjects showed up at Will Rogers Auditorium on Tuesday night dressed as ghouls, witches and space aliens. But the influential art-rock ensemble needed no Halloween costumes -- its dark, cerebral music was terrifying enough. Singer-guitarist Adrian Belew steeled the crowd for almost two hours of apocalyptic sounds. "Ready to be frightened?" he asked at the get-go. Later, after a particularly complex hailstorm of chords, he examined the audience and asked, "Anybody hurt?" It was no offhand joke -- the music did indeed feel troumatic. King Crimson created a wall of sound so think and jagged it made Yes sound like the Archies. { HA HA HA!!! -- Damon } At times, however, the wall was too high to scale. While diehard fans savored every note with rapt attention, some songs were simply too cold and experimental to interest nonconverts. But the band wisely kept its experiments evolving: Whenever its heavier- than-metal assaults got too dense, for example, it switched gears into slow, hypnotic owrks such as "Three of a Perfect Pair". Ignoring obscure requests shouted out by fans between songs, { I distinctly recall someone screaming "Easy Money". -- Damon } Crimson mixed oldies from the '70s and '80s with songs from THRAK, the new album that introduced King Crimson's "double trio" lineup (two guitarists, two bassists [sic], and two percussionists). Mr. Belew, standing at center stage, served as the band's de facto front man. Pounding on his guitar and bouncing wildly, he uncorked an amazing display of Mid-Eastern riffs, air raid sirens and elephants trumpeting. Tony Levin rubbed a bow across his upright electric bass for a _Psycho_-like effect while new member Trey Gunn fingered the strings of his bass-like Chapman Stick [sic] as if he were doing needlepoint. And Bill Bruford and new percussionist Pat Mastellotto slammed out tribal-funk beats. Guitarist Robert Fripp, who formed the band in 1967 [sic], looked like a bit player lurking in the shadows behind Mr. Belew. But his presence was deceiving. As tough as it was to see him, his edgy solos and computerized guitar symphonies often spurred the band. The acoustic California Guitar Trio opened the show on a whimsical note, tackling everything from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony to Ennio Morricone's Western soundtracks. *end of article* BTW, either whoever said there isn't much of a light show is lying or blind, or KC has added quite a few effects since. There was plenty of a light show at our show. Certainly not as intricate as Ozrics or Floyd, but plenty of colored lights and patterns. No lasers or videos, though. Also, something horrible happened when the band came to the front of the stage after the main set: one person had gotten a bit too drunk and, in a moment of over-enthusiastic applause, tossed what must have been a crushed plastic cup at the stage. It hit Fripp square in the middle of his head! Of course, everyone booed at this individual and Fripp walked off, rubbing his head frustratedly. Luckily, after over 25 years in this business, Fripp probably figured 1) he shouldn't punish the whole audience for one person's misdeed, and 2) the guy probably already felt horrible upon realizing what he had done. So KC indulged us with ALL the encores! VROOOM + Coda, new-percussion-thang, and Talking Drum + LTiAII. One other thing... near the beginning of the concert a few people kept on shouting "RICHARD!!!" for some reason... Damon Capehart | UTD Student Govt. Assoc., Communications Committee; dcapehar at utdallas dot edu | Society of Physics Students [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] From: saustin%onramp dot net at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Date: Thu, 02 Nov 95 05:58:45 Subject: Austin concert/ followup post from Fort Worth concert First of all, let me correct my previous posting that included a statement about the Fort Worth show's being this King Crimson's first concert in Texas. Obviously, El Paso was; however, my statement was based on a comment Adrian made to such effect. (So many cities, so many crowds...) Also, I undertsand that my statement about the concerts NOT BEING YOUR LIVING ROOM was in a completely different intent than the original poster; however, its point is even more abstract that the poster probably recognized. I contend that a balance of your personal vision of a crowd's behaviour should be balanced with the tolerance for others. *enough editorializing!* The Austin show was much more a flow event than the Fort Worth show. People were, in general more open to free expression, and less concerned with controlling people around them. The band itself seemed to gain energy and increase their vigor for the musics from the reaction of the general admission crowd. (btw: Most of the crowd stood (and danced!) for most of the concert). Fripp on, Steve [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 06:28:25 -0600 (CST) From: silver Subject: GIG REVIEW: silver goes to Houston, Nov 2d My last gig for this tour was in Houston, November 2d. Some of the people on this carbon copy list may not know why I'm doing this or why they're on the list, so I'm going to say something rather obvious to the ET'rs reading this. This letter is being sent primarily to the Elephant-Talk Mailing list, which is a list for King Crimson fan(atic)s. I'm following in the tradition of many other gig reviews I've read of previous shows on this tour. Everyone else I carboned mostly because I just thought they might find it amusing. My reviews here say a great deal about myself. Anyway. spoilers for the concert follow my brief review and stuff about my trip to Houston. *The Brief Review* CA Guitar Trio: 12 King Crimson: 19 The Trip: 1 The Audience: 10 *The Rambling Review* The Trip: it rained most of the way there, but I had fixed my windshield wiper, so it wasn't so bad. It had been so long since I had driven to Houston that I had greatly overestimated the driving time and I left about an hour early. On the other hand, I got all mixed up trying to find the Houston Music Hall and park. So mixed up that I would have been half n hour late had I left "on time" in the first place. The parking was cool in an underground garage with a tunnel under the street and to the Music Hall, so I was kept from the rain that way (though it had mostly subsided by then). After the show, the night was was clear and cool and rain free for 90% of the return trip. I was very very very tired driving in, but the show pumped me up so well that only the last half hour of the return trip was tiring (that and I had broken a 2.5 week 'no caffeine' streak to get some extra energy). 3.5 hours each way. Not bad, really, except for the fatigue-induced-hallucinations. When I got there, this one dude looked at me and said "din't I seee you last night adn the night before at these concerts?" Turns out he's another Austinite with he same idea I had of going to all the shows I could drive to. Turns out he's an ET reader, too, so he'll be seeing this soon (or is seeing this now, in his case).Sitting between us was another Austinite watching his second show (his first being in Austin the night before). I thingied both their names (I'm really bad that way). The dude who recognized me told me about CA Guitar Trio hanging out after the show selling copies of their cds and signing them, so I have him to than for the last part of the following: The CA Guitar Trio: Once again, they smoked. Impressive performance... Between songs audience members yelled things like "ya'll are great" and "awesome" and one guy yelled "King Crimson should be opening for you guys". I'm not sure I'd go that far, but these guys SHOULD be headlining their own show. They got three standing ovations, again. I recognized most of their set from the last couple nights... and now that I have their second disc (Invitation, 1994, Discipline GM Records), I can even assemble most of their playlist (I'm on my second listen to that disc as I write this now) 1. ?? 2. Train to Lamy Suite, pts 1-3 with Schizoid Man thrown in 3. Apache 4. Beethoven's 5th 6. Punta Patri 7. ?? (was the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in Fort Worth) 8. Tocatta and Fugue in Dm 9. (encore) ?? I imagine when I acquire their first disc (Yamamoto Blues, ~1991), I'll be able to fill that out even more. After the show I went and bought Invitation and waited for them to sign it, but some amount of giving the wrong discs to people went on until about 3 people who showed up after me had already got theirs and I was stuck without one. I had already been chatting to Paul Richards (the long, curly haired one) about this fine ET digest (he said he'd like to write again soon, but, he, like me, is several digests behind in reading). and after I asked after mine he apologized for making me wait and as a bonus, they didn't just autograph the disc, they also autographed their photo inside with an inscription to me. Whee! and Paul didn't even flinch when he asked my name and I said "silver. lowercase 's'"... guess he spends too much free time on the net. I told them I had seen them the last three nights and that I thought they should be headlining their own tour and he said that in March they'll be doing just that... in Italy. and in April in Hawaii. sigh. no way I can save enough pennies for those. King Crimson: wham. boom. thrak. vroom. snap. b'boom. crash. These guys are Hot. and the audience was even better than Austin's for what I like: quiet ;). The audience was rather close to acting like they were at a symphony rather than a rock concert. I was impressed. My seat was amazing. Front row center. There was no gap between front row and the stage this time for people to try to stand up in, but the band was set about 8 feet back from the end of the stage. (Incidentally, if you thought it was amazing coincidence that I sat next to two austinites, it really wasn't... the ticket seller reserved a few seats in the front row for Austin buyers... why they picked the best seats, I don't know, but that's what they did). But still, the audience was so quiet and my seats so good that during the soundscapy-interlude to Dinosaur, I could hear Belew's actual strumming, unamplified, unadulterated. It was great! The play list was the same as the other two shows. One of the roadies gave a copy of it from the floor of the stage to some guy who asked for it, and I read it over his shoulder, so I can give a more accurate version than I did after the Fort Worth show: Thela Hun Ginjeet Red Frame by Frame Dinosaur VROOM VROOM One Time Fripp doing some soundscapes B'Boom THRAK Neurotica Three of a Perfect Pair Matte Kudasai or People (appears to alternate, we got People in Houston) Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream Stix Elephant Talk Indiscipline --- VROOM + Coda Walking on Air --- B'Bish The Talking Drum Larks' Tongues in Aspic, part 2 Once again, the quality of the audience called for extra improvisation. Fripp's soundscapes was longer... the drum duet in B'Boom was much longer and more complicated... and much of it involved Bruford having set his electric drums to make a kind of bel-chime-xylophone sort of sound. then in the middle fo THRAK they had another 5 minute mellow whole-band improv. Interesting stuff, kinda reminiscent of LTiAp1 or some of the Wetton era improvs heard on the Live Boxed Set... after they played around for a good long while, with teh audience transfixed in rapt silence, they stopped playing or moving for about 90 seconds. There was a whole lot of audience hooping and hollering at that point. Finally, they tore the roof off with a return to THRAK. On a third listen, I like Neurotica more and more. the stick parts are incredible. They cut Three of a Perfect Pair from our show and went straight to people. I was hoping that would mean we got Matte Kudasai also, but, not, they were apparently cutting songs for time rather than to replace them... In the third verse of SSEDD, Adrian totally flubbed a line, so he tried to start at the next line, but apparently thingied i, because he opened his mouth but couldn't make anything come out... finally he said "or something like that"... but then the rest of the band rotated back and he redid the verse with greater force. Empty TV. There was much laughing and smiling from the stage. Stix had been a short little improv between Levin on his stick and Gunn on his warr guitar, but tonight it was extra long, including a whole lot of really good solo work by Gunn. This concert really brought home the fact that he and Mastellato aren't just 5th and 6th wheels, but contribute a great deal of sound to the band... the Elephant Talk and an extra long solo by Adrian... then the intro to Indiscipline turned into a 5 minute drum solo by Bruford with a little back beat by Levin on his stick. During this time, Mastellato got down and wandered around and stood next to Gunn and made little hand gestures which seemed to be an attempt to crack Levin up, but they might have been meaningful in some non-obvious way. Interestingly (to me), the dude that recognized me from Fort Worth and Austin dances much like I do - but to different songs. He did most of his head thrashing and stuff to songs like Frame by Frame and Thela Hun Ginjeet, while I was obviously there for the instrumentals and totally lost my mind during Red, VROOM VROOM, VROOM, and Larks' Tongues. And I believe Belew noticed our enthusiasm, he sure looked at us a lot... Anyway, after Indiscipline they did their bows and Fripp was laughing his fool head off, and promptly infected Adrian with peals of laughter by whispering something to him... they were really enjoying themselves. For the second encore, with B'Bish, they replaced the 3 tin drums they had been using with a panel of 4 square looking things which made a kind of xylophony sound... attached to the thingy were 4 cow bells. The three drummers bit was otherwise in the same pattern as the last couple of nights. Just sounded weirder. Apparently because they had spent so much time on improvs, they cut the Talking Drum, too. it was really strange hearing Larks' Tongues begin on anything besides the screech. At the end of the second encore, while he was waving to everyone, I gave Adrian a look in the eyes and made a little respectful bow to him. He bowed back, so this time I'm sure he saw me :). Belew is, in general, just an amazing performer. He obviously loves to play with his food^H^H^H^Hmusic and still produces great sounds... and he dances and makes eye contact with people in the audience. He's great. Crimson is great. My biggest regret about this show was that it's the last one I'll see this tour, barring some strange miracle. I didn't get to see them do Discipline, but, then, one of my favorite things about Discipline is its amazing precision, which they'd either play with and improv some in live, or else duplicate it so well that I might as well have just played my cd louder (of course, then I wouldn't get to see their finger's move, which is a big entertainment bonus for me). the guitar Trio could do it... they're obviously amazing at performing a more precise, less variable shows; and the arrangment would be different with an extra guitar, but no bass or drums... hrm. What a great band. what a great show. But now I must sleep. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 07:48:44 -0600 (CST) From: Martin Wagner Subject: KC in Austin Just caught the Austin show on the first of November, and must say it was one of the best concert experiences I've ever had. Hallelujah. Martin [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] 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 [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]