Errors-To: et-admin at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk Reply-To: et at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Sender: et at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Precedence: bulk From: et at cs dot man dot ac dot uk To: et at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Subject: Elephant Talk Digest #302 E L E P H A N T T A L K The Internet newsletter for Robert Fripp and King Crimson enthusiasts Number 302 Thursday, 29 August 1996 Today's Topics: 21stcsm-cd Asbury Park show & Fripp's Playing Crimson in Maryland Steve Hackett kill Axiom label/laswell/PFUNK dream threads now LoG official bootleg Brian Eno article Update- 10/95 Tokyo Video Twang Bar Rhino King ASCAP anyone? Weening kids on KC TL- the early days re: Crimson Goes Schizoid in Philly Leo's Philadelphia Review Greg Lake in Concert Weird Person's Guide to KC Belew's Op Zop Too Wah GIG REVIEWS Asbury Park 8/24/96 - King Crimson on the Boardwalk Review - 8/24/96 GIG review- Merriweather Gig Review with set list - Asbury Park Asbury Park GIG REVIEW - ASBURY PARK, NJ, 08/24/96 Aug 24 review Crimson at Asbury Park H.O.R.D.E. Hershey 08/23/96 A Different Look At The Philly Show ------------------ A D M I N I S T R I V I A --------------------- POSTS: Please send all posts to et at cs dot man dot ac dot uk UNSUB/ADDRESS CHANGES: Send a message with a body of HELP to et-admin at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk, or use the DIY list machine at http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/aig/staff/toby/et/list/ ETWEB: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/aig/staff/toby/et/ (partial mirror at http://members.aol.com/etmirror/) THE ET TEAM: Toby Howard (Moderator), Dan Kirkdorffer (Webmeister) Mike Dickson (List Admin), and a cast of thousands. The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors. ET is produced using John Relph's Digest 3.0 package. ------------------ A I V I R T S I N I M D A --------------------- From: Toby Hi team. Apologies for #302 coming out so soon after #301, but we had a bit of a backlog of posts to deal with. Normal (did I say normal?) service should now be resumed. Sort of. Toby ------------------------------ Date: 26 Aug 96 07:02:26 EDT From: Michael Ruesenberg <100603 dot 144 at CompuServe dot COM> Subject: 21stcsm-cd hallo elephant-talkers, unfortunately I'ven breen dropped from this list and I don't know why. Before I can successfully reinstall the subscription again, I'd be glad if someone could help me offlist with information on the cd with 5 versions of 21stcsm. virgin germany will not release it. so I would like to know: in which countries has it been released and what is the (virgin)-number? thanks a lot and hope to read your postings soon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 08:15:57 -0500 From: GBastug at essexusa dot com Subject: Asbury Park show & Fripp's Playing I attended the Asbury Park show Saturday evening, and, unlike a previous post which implied some "new" show would be presented after the HORDE gigs, this show, with a few song changes, was pretty much like the earlier tours. Nonetheless, they were extremely in synch and quite assaultive - only a few quiet moments (no Matte Kudas!) There's been a nagging feeling that this show confirmed, however, and as I brace myself for the onslaught, I'll just say it: I think Fripp's playing over the past year or so has become increasingly esoteric and unmusical. As a team player, he's a trooper. But when it's his turn to take the lead (and even in this democratic King Crimson, all the players do), his solos are often, well, uninspiring. If anyone was at AP show, I think you'll agree he kind of fumfered through his two leads on "The Sheltering Sky". When I compare that to the original work, or the Live at Frejus tape, I almost can't believe its the same player (I know, different times, different inspirations - but what's inspiring him now?) Even his Soundscaping is more often atnonal than not. Taken as part of a larger vocabulary of playing, this style can be immensely compelling. But without contrast, it can become tiring. He simply doesn't play lyrically, playfully, or beautifully anymore, even when the music demands it. I greatly admire his skills as a player or especially as a composer, but merely as a listener (and one that has listened closely since the 1980's), I find I'm telling myself its good only because it's Fripp. Is it possible that the New Standard Tuning, which seems to benefit the cross picking music of GC, is actually detrimental to this kind of playing? Does it favor certain ways of playing? Fripp said one of the advantages of the NST was that it forced a player to abandon his bag of cliches. Perhap.s even with NST, RF has developed a different set of them, and they're more limiting than before. I'd love to hear other opinions on this. Thanks Greg ------------------------------ From: tom dot myers at bbsnets dot com (Tom Myers) Subject: Crimson in Maryland Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 12:03:45 GMT Organization: BBS Networks & Hafa Adai Exchange Telnet BBSNETS.COM www.bbsnets.com The show at Merriweather Post was great. I don't have a set list but I know that someone will have it to post. They played 21st Century Schizoid man as one of their encores. also met TJ and Chris there who are fellow et'ers. great show!!! Thanks RF!!!!! Tom Myers ------------------------------ From: Jose dot Douglas at turner dot com Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 09:24:51 -0400 Subject: Steve Hackett Hi all, Steve Hackett is releasing a new album "in Japan only" on 25 August called "Genesis Revisited". Ok, so what does that have to do with KC? Well, special guests include: John Wetton, bass, vocals Tony Levin, bass, stick Bill Bruford, I forget what he plays! Best, Jose ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 09:46:22 -0700 From: ca dot qc at bdi dot hcc dot com (CA QC) Subject: kill Axiom label/laswell/PFUNK dream threads now Eters Can we kill this Axiom Label Bill Laswell Bootsy Collins George Clinton Bernie Worrell dream thread immediately? It'll probably get as out of hand as the Grateful Dead improv comparisons--which I found at least ever-so-slightly more relevant. --Thomas B ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 11:32:01 -0700 (PDT) From: "CHRISTOPHER K. MAHMOOD" Subject: LoG official bootleg Hello all, I finally found a copy of the LoG live cd--definitely worth the search if you can't find it, although it is much shorter than I expected. Did everyone let the last track play about five minutes past the end and hear the classic fripp announcements? "I really need a party!" are words i never thought i would hear fripp speak. I also found a couple copies of Tamm's Eno book at a local tower records...if you'd like me to pick one up for you email me. -ckm ------------------------------ From: Chris_Woods at kaplan dot com (Chris Woods) Subject: Brian Eno article Date: 26 Aug 1996 16:50:14 GMT Organization: Kaplan Educational Centers What follows is a Q&A from the recent issue of *Details* magazine with Brian Eno. Relevancy is questionable; high humour quotient, however-indisputable. (Although, Toby might think otherwise...) [ Nope. His book is very interesting, in a "celeb-egghead-DX7-jerk" sort of way :-) -- Toby ] Brian Eno The intellectual pop star on why he's published his diary, women's bottoms, and which bodily fluid tastes like white wine [pic-Brain Eno: Running out of time for politeness.] Q: One of the most frequent themes in your new book, *A Year: With Swollen Appendices*, is women's rear ends. A: *(aghast)* "Rear ends" sounds like a car. *Bottoms*. Women's *bottoms*. Q: Sorry, I didn't intend to denigrate them. A: No, it's sacred. Q: Well, the book is striking, because you present a very different version of yourself than the one journalists see. You come off in the book as kind of cranky and churlish. A: Yes. Which is *true*, actually. I didn't write it as a book, originally-it's a diary. Once I decided to publish it, I made a decision not to go back and clean myself up, because what makes people interesting is not their consistencies but their inconsistencies. You're all sorts of different people at the same time. There's this bit of you that you trade on-in my case it's Brain Eno: Intellectual Pop Musician-but that's only one of the many bits of me that are interwoven. I felt a real sense of risk doing the book, and I haven't felt that with records in a long time. Records are a sort of debased form, too-partly because it's so easy to make them. The book keeps oscillating between very small observations-very irrelevant ones, apparently, like the size of ladies' bottoms-to big intellectual propositions. I didn't hide anything, though it was quite tempting. Some of it is so embarassing. There's a lot of ammunition in the book for people who want to attack me. Q: You get idolized a lot more than you get attacked. Do you ever read your Usenet discussion group? A: I did once, and I never want to read it again. It produced a feeling of revulsion in me. I ought to appreciate that people are interested, but on the other hand, what the fuck does it matter? Q: Do you get lots of e-mail asking arcane questions like "How did you get that bass sound on 'Through Hollow Lands'? A: I do get that. I'm close to fifty-I'm running out of time for this kind of politeness. Go get your *own* bass sound. Q: In the August 26 entry you mention drinking your own urine. Perhaps the book will change your public persona from Brian Eno: Intellectual Pop Star to Brian Eno: Intellectual Pop Star *and* Urine Drinker. A: *(laughs)* Let's *hope* so. This will give them something to talk about on the newsgroups, won't it? "Does urine really taste like Orvieto Classico?" "No, it's more like a Sauvignon." I'm aware that a number of things in this book make me look like a jerk. I thought it would be great if everybody exposed themselves as being banal, dirty-minded, fallible, grumpy, churlish-as you said-as well as reasonable, clever, kind, and all the things we *like* people to think about us. Q: There's also a taboo you approach in the book about parenthood, that even if you love your kids, they are sometimes an irritating pain in the ass. A: "I love you, but go away"-yes. *(laughs)* Well, one of the lines I was a bit nervous about leaving in was the other side of the spectrum, where I say, "Darla has the loveliest chuckle when you tickle her, sort of 'Stop it-but don't.' The chuckle men dream of?" Somebody could say, "Look, he's treating his daughter as a sex object and she's four years old, it's disgusting." And it's true-I *was* aware that this child is the beginning of a sexual being. Now that's quite different from saying, "Okay, so I'll rape her." You can do all sorts of things in your mind, and you don't have to do them in your body. Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, a contributing editor at *Details*. This article has been reprinted without permission. May God (and Mr. Tannenbaum) have mercy on my soul. In no way am I associated with blah blah blah-just read and enjoy, OK? OK. Rarely does One Brain have nothing worthy to say. Jere P.S. What with the recent post regarding a product request for Mark Perry, I submit my own: a VHS version of "The Fruity Boys'" (Sylvian and Fripp) Japanese gig-"Live in Japan" at Nakano Sun Plaza. I would be more than willing to pay an (almost) equivalent price for such a video. Or, if any of you fellow subscribers have access to the laserdisc *and* a VCR, perhaps we can work out a deal... Anyway, thanks for your time. -- *------------------------------------------------------------------ K A P L A N - World Leader in Test Prep and more! *------------------------------------------------------------------ Corporate Office: 810 7th Ave., New York, NY 10019 http://www.kaplan.com Tel: +1 (212) 492-5800 Infobot: AOL/MSN: Keyword "KAPLAN" Books/Software (US): 1-800-KAP-ITEM Classes (US): 1-800-KAP-TEST *------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: 26 Aug 1996 14:03:13 -0700 From: "Jim Bricker" Subject: Update- 10/95 Tokyo Video All, I talked with Mark Perry at Possible Productions today; when asked about availability of the Crimso in Japan video (taped Oct 95) he mentioned it should be available this October. All they're waiting on now is the artwork. FYI... cheers to all. Jim Bricker, San Jose CA. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 19:15:06 -0400 (EDT) From: Christie Subject: Twang Bar Rhino King I don't know if this is old news or not but: I was listening to Adrian's Desire of the Rhino King CD, and Paint the Road sounds a LOT like Thela Hun Ginjeet. Weird, kind of like meeting someone you know while wandering around alone in the streets of Prague. Christie ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 19:58:08 -0400 From: Khosatral at aol dot com Subject: ASCAP anyone? To the lawyers in the house (sorry): Crimson's recent DGM releases (Thrak Attack, Schizoid Man, etc.) make no mention of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers). Fripp's liner notes seem outright hostile to the outfit. So how would Fripp recover royalties if I have "Schizoid Night" at, say, my bar/pub during which a play the CD over and over? ASCAP shakes down establishments for royalty fees on a regular basis. For that matter, how is Fripp recovering radio royalties? NPR's use of Thrak material as bumpers is one use that we know of. Likewise NBC's use of Thrak music during the Olympics. Could it be it is being used because of the absence of ASCAP? Most musicians I know have a love/hate thing with ASCAP. Hate when they have to pay the dues or to play somebody else's song. Love it when ASCAP wrangled checks show up. Fripp seems to have only, if not hate, at least disgust. What about other DGM stuff? Does Trey Gunn's new work carry the ASCAP imprint? Just poking my nose on the biz side. Kho PS--ASCAP made a stink in States last week by going after the GIRL SCOUTS for royalties on camp fire songs. These guys don't mess around. [ Maybe it's best to address such queries direct to DGM. -- Toby ] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Aug 96 01:06:00 BST From: robadue at uriacc dot uri dot edu (Donald Robadue) Subject: Weening kids on KC We are the "King Crimson family" Mike Stack was referring to in ET298. Our two sons, 16 and 14, and three of their high school friends qhad the grace and tolerance to accompany two over-40 KC fans on a rare foray into the rock festival world. Needless to say we were delighted with the chance to sit up front during the set, although the volume, even with ear plugs, was too high. Three of us saw the Boston performance last year, and the League of Crafty Guitarists in 1990 at the University of Rhode Island. It is true that our oldest was exposed prenatally to the 1970s studio albums, and his favorite song at age two was "Elephant Talk". Hearing Schizoid Man live was a great surprise, especially since my dear wife was none too taken with her first hearing of it on EARTHBOUND many years ago and now enjoys all of it, and is a special fan of Adrian Belew and Tony Levin. Lest there be any concern about negative effects of Thrakking, Vrooming and Soundscapes, these same boys spent the next day painting Warhammer models to the live broadcast of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, in an all Beethoven program. Well, the Beethoven has merit anyway. A topic rarely touched upon in ET are the many positive messages which a musical group like KC models in our complex, rapidly changing society beyond the aesthetic result of the music. The notion of highly talented people taking fiscal and creative control over their work, with uncompromising integrity and having an apparently good time doing it, is something I strive for in my own work as an environmental planner working throughout Latin America, and certainly desire beyond anything else for my children. I am continually struck by the similarities between progressive ideas about learning organizations, decentralizing work, acheiving a sensation of "flow" in one's work and life, discipline and mastery of a craft, and the ideas and aspirations of Robert Fripp and his collaborators. Even Wired magazine, that overwrought, selfconscious periodical for the cybernetti, recognized "B'Boom" as just the balm required for a long grind at the computer trying to make a deadline. Now if we all were spending our time instead creating music and getting ready to perform a concert, that would be doing something! Donald Robadue Latin America Program Associate Coastal Resources Manager Coastal Resources Center University of Rhode Island Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882 robadue at gsosun1 dot gso dot uri dot edu robadue at uriacc dot uri dot edu 401-874-2991 phone 401 874 6224 fax 401 792 5436 ------------------------------ Date: 26 Aug 1996 17:19:42 -0700 From: "Jim Bricker" Subject: TL- the early days All, I checked this link thru Tony's Papa bear web site and found out some info that may be on interest... For the full text, check out: http://www.cc.rochester.edu:80/Eastman/popsymp/alumni.html where you can find more info regarding TL's lecture on"The Player's Perspective: Proceeding Among The Classical and Non-Classical Fields of Music" ********************* Born in Boston on June 6, 1946, Tony Levin began playing classical music and jazz in grammar school and continued through high school. He attended the Eastman School of Music from 1964-68, majoring in double bass, graduating in '68 with a BA, and played in the Rochester Philharmonic in 1967. In 1970, he moved to New York City, and joined a band called "Aha, the Attack of the Green Slime Beast," with members of the Mothers of Invention. Soon after, he began working as a session musician playing bass on many albums through the '70's. [snip] Currently, Tony continues to record and tour with King Crimson and Peter Gabriel. He works occasionally with other artists, live and on record, and is updating his photo chronicles of King Crimson for a future book, working on finishing an upcoming bass method, and preparing for a photo exhibition next year in Milan... ------------------------------ From: Matt Walsh Subject: re: Crimson Goes Schizoid in Philly Date: Wed, 28 Aug 96 13:28:00 PDT >>This is in no particular order: Elevens, >>Thela, One Time, Red, BBOOM, THRAK, Lark's Tongues in Aspic Part II, >>Sleepless, Indiscipline, Discipline, Waiting Man, VROOM, Elephant Talk, >>soundscapes, Dinosaur, Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream. This was the main >>set. You were close. From what I remember "Sleepless" and "Discipline" were not played and "The Sheltering Sky" was. I didn't write down the set list but from what I remember the rest is pretty much correct. As for the show, it was awesome as expected, though I tended to find the sound kind of muffled for most of the set. I guess it's hard to get a good mix of six musicians of this caliber especially when the emphasis of each instrument varies throughout each song. High points of the evening were definitely Elephant Talk (Tony came out sooo well), Indiscipline, The drum piece opening the first encore, VROOM VROOM (unfortunately they always get the mix down perfectly during the last song!) and of course, witnessing "21st Century Schizoid Man". My biggest disappointment was the removal of "Frame By Frame" from the set list. This is the song I feel is most improved by the double trio and has become my favorite KC song since witnessing them in Wilkes-Barre last year. Other than that, the sound wasn't as clear as last years show but in all an incredible performance. I have not picked up "THRAK ATTACK" yet but I will most likely be picking it up shortly. I was impressed with Vernon Reid's Masque, though was very suprised to see a band like that open for KC. I will be seeing them again in a few weeks as they are opening for Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel here at the Trocadero on the 10th. Claypool of course is the bassist\vocalist for the obviously Crimson-influcenced Primus. I have no idea what they (LC&HM) sound like but Claypool is worth going alone. Well, just thought I'd chip in my 2 cents. Matt Walsh mattw at smginc dot com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Aug 96 13:32:33 EDT From: c62op27 at ibx dot com (Victor Fiorillo) Subject: Leo's Philadelphia Review This is a plea to Mr. Fripp and the band on behalf of Leo Korein, mopobeans at aol dot com. Please do not improvise. Please do not play anything with more than two time signatures, key changes, dynamic levels. Please avoid all selections other than One Time, Matte, and the other more balladesque tunes. Leo writes in #300, "... I hate Thrak. Not only do I had Thrak, but I hated the improvisation... it was the only point that Fripp improvised and he seemed determine to ignore the rest of the band... [the result] was a jumbled mess of talented musicians lost in their own worlds... Red and Vroom Vroom back to back, especially at the beginning of a show, is simply too much of a sonic assault." The Philadelphia concert was my tenth Thrak listening, excluding live recordings that I have heard. It was undoubtedly the best Thrak from all aspects. This was the only point at which Fripp improvised? Oh, please. Fripp improvised in almost every song. What is Leo's definition of improvisation? Is it the point at which he does not understand what is happening? Is it when there is more than one time signature, or one time signature not based in 4? I think Mr. Fripp would be amazed to learn that he ignored the rest of the band and the band likewise. The musicians were not lost in their own worlds. They were exploring different parts of the same world. We are honored guests in their world and we should be able to respect the complexity of this work, even if we do not understand it. My second point of contention with Leo is his comment regarding the musical selections Vroom Vroom and Red. "Red and Vroom Vroom back to back, especially at the beginning of a show, is simply to [sic] much of a sonic assault." Who would expect to go to a Crimson show and undergo a sonic assault? I am sure that the band will take this under advisement. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 13:04:11 PST Subject: Greg Lake in Concert From: alstew at juno dot com (Al Stewart) Just a quick mention that The King Biscuit Flower hour has released a q"Greg Lake in Concert" c.d. w/ a fantastic version of 21st csm, also feartured is, In the court of the c.k. It is from 1981, but just recently released. Al, alstew at juno dot com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 23:42:32 -0700 From: Bert Rubini Organization: Hillsborough Community College Subject: Weird Person's Guide to KC Hello all: I recently saw something in the KC bin at a local record store, a disc entitled "The Weird Person's Guide to King Crimson, Volume 2" (no sign of vol. 1). It was a boot with about 4 or 5 live cuts from 1973 (Jazz Club, Manchester is listed as the venue), a live cut from 1969, and some "studio outtakes" from Giles, Giles & Fripp. There was also what appeared to be a cut from a Greg Lake solo project, or maybe another band of his - there wasn't any explanation, really. What seemed most interesting to me was a recording of KC on television in Britain, playing LTiA part one. (I think it's cool that they played that song on TV - I can't imagine that happening today, Olympic background soundbites notwithstanding). The disc was manufactured in Germany. I'm not usually interested in bootlegs, I'm generally disappointed with them, so for all I know this may be a pretty common disc. But I've never seen it, and I thought others on the list might be interested. I'd be happy to pick it up for anyone for the same price the store is asking, 19.99 US$ plus my postage. (I would guess that's about 2 or 3 bucks). First one to e-mail me gets the disc. E-MAIL ME PRIVATELY, NOT TO ELEPHANT TALK, PLEASE. (Of course, I can't promise it will still be at the store when I go to get it). see you Bert R. ------------------------------ From: aprasad at ccs dot carleton dot ca (Anil Prasad) Subject: Belew's Op Zop Too Wah Date: Wed, 28 Aug 96 23:45:02 EDT Well Belewheads, it's the album you've been waiting for. _Op Zop Too Wah_ is certainly the most adventurous vocal-based album Belew has ever attempted. In fact, I'd say only _Desire Caught By The Tail_ is the only album in the Belew discography the beats it for "sheer weirdness." Seems his time in Crimson has rubbed off on him. The disc is an amalgam of nutzoid guitar noises, processed vocals, inter- connected songs, jungle percussion word fragments, gentle acoustic sounds and... well... this is literally an "everything *and* the kitchen sink" release. And Crimson-heads, you may be happy to hear the thing has *no* commercial potential. Dare I say it's even Zappa-esque at times in its absurdity? It's perhaps weirder than anything Crimson has attempted during the _Thrak_ phase, and probably possesses moments even more "out there" than _Thrakattak_. Other than the occasional banal lyric (man, Belew, you can sure toss out some clunkers sometimes...), this is a wildly entertaining album... those who have abstained from Belew because of his seemingly all-consuming Lennon/Orbison-sydrome can breathe a sigh of relief. Belew has made a truly self-indulgent, pompous, pretentious and totally whacked-out album with _Op Zop Too Wah_. It's about bloody time too. ~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~ Anil Prasad aprasad at ccs dot carleton dot ca ~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~ INNERVIEWS: Your ticket to exclusive, in-depth interviews with the world's most interesting and innovative musicians! http://www.carleton.ca/~aprasad/ (Netscape 2.0 enhanced) New interviews: Alain Caron (ex-UZEB), Rory Gallagher & Kit Watkins Coming soon: Bill Forth, Mike Keneally Tony Levin & Victor Wooten ~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 09:41:22 -0400 From: bruce higgins Subject: Asbury Park 8/24/96 - King Crimson on the Boardwalk Armed with what turned out to be a woefully incorrect map, my brother and I drove down Sunset Ave (Drive east down Sunset to the sea), listening to Salif Keita (Turn that jungle music down), looking for the Paramount Theatre. Quickly approaching the coast and running out of room, we saw this giant rambling brick beachhouse/pavillion, looking as if it were about to tumble into the sea. It bore a large sign "Convention Hall". "Wow, wouldn't it be cool if the concert was there?," my brother asked. "Yeah," said I "...hey, what are all those tour buses doing here?" Yahoo! King Crimson on the boardwalk, in spooky Asbury Park, NJ. A truly weird scene. Right next to the hall is a decaying George Jetson era Howard Johnson, which makes up for slow business by charging $4 a beer. The legendary Stone Pony is a few blocks down the street. Pretty much everything else for the next mile is decrepit and long-closed. A large, well-manicured square fronts the hall, though, offering ample free, easy-exit parking and a nice place to BBQ. 8:00 pm We go in. The hall looks *much* better from the inside. Less worried about falling into the Atlantic now. Fairly small place, certainly more cozy than Merriweather or the Mann... Soundscapes. No opening act ! Fripp comes out and tinkers with soundscapes. Lights go down Drum duet (Elevens?) Thela Hun Jinjeet Red Dinosaur One Time Vroom Vroom Waiting Man Three of a Perfect Pair 21st Century Schizoid Man The Sheltering Sky Soundscapes> B'Boom> Thrak/attack Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream Indiscipline LTIA pt II E1 : Drum trio (Prism?) Vroom/Marine Coda e2: Elephant Talk Observations: -Adrian successfully defended his Twang Bar King title on Thela -I am really bored with Red. They ought to open it up like Thrak or retire it. -Waiting Man is tremendous. -ToaPP is a treat, love that loping bassline. Short but sweet. -Schizoid Man was the surprise of the night for me. I was underwhelmed by word of its return - I am much more a fan of the 73-75 and 80-84 material. But it simply cranked. Adrian took a nice crack at the solo, but Tony's funk-fingering took it way over the top. Standing ovation after this one. -Sheltering Sky was *very* nice Robert bathed it in tasty soundscapes -Thrak was slightly more "inside" than I have heard it. Thoroughly excellent, Robert laid down some chunky riffs in this angular version. No power drill tho... -During Prism, nearing the end of a mesmerizing run, Bruford dropped his drumstick, caught it and continued uninterrupted. Pat and Adrian laughed - we went nuts. -The Vroom encore (I may have reversed Vroom and Vroom Vroom, I still can't tell them apart) was only the second time, after Thrak, where Robert really came to the forefront and dealt dirty. I don't mind if he wants to sit in the dark, or hide behind a curtain, but I would like to *hear* him more often. Ultimately, I thought this show was a notch less inspired than the one in Rochester last fall. (This is actually very high praise ;-) I'm guessing that the act is starting to get just the slightest bit stale and the road is taking its toll. Now is a good time for them to get off the road, write some new material, rework some more oldies (my suggestions: add improv to Red, bring back Starless, rehearse the dance remix of Sleepless), play with some other people, then come back and blow our doors off in '98. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 09:58:47 -0400 (EDT) From: "ROBERT HICKSON (908) 218-6296" Subject: Review - 8/24/96 King Crimson - 8/24/96 Paramount Theater, Asbury Park, NJ Set List: 8:00: Fripp soundscape 8:08 KC takes the stage 11s Thela Hun Ginjeet Red Dinosaur One Time VROOOM VROOOM Waiting Man 3oaPP 21st Century Schizoid Man Sheltering Sky B'Boom>Thrak SSEDD Indiscipline LTiA2 (9:26) E1: Prizm VROOOM>Coda: Marine E2: Elephant Talk (9:50 end) It was a dark and evil night. The band was big and noisy, tight and trashy. As to be expected with a New Jersey rock crowd, a significant number of people in the audience were there for the party, to get drunk and scream inane commentaries. This was particularly disturbing during Robert Fripp's brief but welcome soundscape to open the show (and which returned throughout). It was unfortunate that the theater chose to leave the house lights up, indicating to the bulk of the crowd that it was o.k. to continue talking/yelling/bellowing like rutting moose... It seems as if the band took this misdirected energy and turned it right back on the audience - Mr. Fripp in particular. His guitar playing (at times) was loud, fast and aggressive. Some cords were so angry that I feared someone might get hurt. He used quite a variety of different sounds. At one point during "The Sheltering Sky" Mr. Fripp's playing sounded like water drops (ploink!). He was, on this night, simply brilliant. Being in the 14th row, far right side, I had an excellent view of the band - except for Bill Bruford. Oddly enough, unable to see him playing tuned me into his sound - which was as we have come to expect from Mr. Bruford - subtle, complex, loud (make up your own -> he does it all!). Watching Pat and Bill together is always a delight, dense rhythmic conversations which are impossible to fathom yet a simple pleasure to hear. Adrian was charming and weird. Tony, charming and steady - the anchor if you will. Trey, I'm sure he's charming too, and I am getting closer to finding his sound(s) in the mix. I could have sworn he was playing bassoon, mellotron like string sounds, guitar licks, as well as bass. I think, at times, when I can't hear him, I'm just not listening in the right places (or, perhaps, time might be better spent listening to the interplay of the whole ensemble rather than attempting to dissect the beast). ------------------------------ Date: 26 Aug 1996 09:46:45 -0600 From: "John Ott" Subject: GIG review- Merriweather I got to the lot at 7:30 with some extra tickets to unload. I was just about to close a deal when a scalper came by and undercut me by 10 bucks. (these guys are scum). Anyhow I guess he felt bad cause he later let me trade up to the pit (5 row center), and I did sell my remaining tickets at a loss. ( I should get firmer committments befoer buying tickets) The couple sitting on my left took way too much of something. The guy stomped on my foot and knocked off my new KC hat. The wife just wandered up and down the isle in a daze. I didn't let it ruin my evening and the husband was sincerely sorry for the minor annoyance they created. Veron Reid opened and played a great set. This guy was smoking. Don Beyer played some great sax and clarinette. I was also impressed with the drummer and bass player. The drummer was really good. They also had a guy scratching turntables and a guy with chorded keyboard running a synth and midi effects. And a rapper in the comfty chair. I had bought Reid's "Mistaken Identity" release a couple of weeks ago in preparation (I highly recommend it) and they played most of the tracks (excepting the mutations tracks). Good stuff, kind of a Rock/Jazz/Hip Hop fusion. They were well received by a sparse crowd. (merriweather holds 5k in the pavillion and 10k on the lawn, Someone said the gate was around 3k. We may have been small in numbers but not in enthusiasm. The ovations were very loud. Crimson was very good. Highlights for me were the songs they did not do at the Warner last year. Theta Hun Gingi, Three of a perfect pair, Waiting Man, The Sheltering Sky, and 21st Century Schizoid Man. The Sheltering Sky is one on my favorites, and athough Waiting Man was never one of my favorties I can't seem to get it out of my head last night or this morning. I'd have to say it was the best song performance last night. The band was definitely on and tight. (although RF accidently opened an effect loop he had running when they were setting up for a song, Tony Laughed and RF gave a wry smile back.) The only new song missing from the set was People. They did Red and Larks Tongue (without the The talking drum intro). The sound was ok for Merriweather (too much sound bouncing around the half empty side louge seating) I was spoiled by the sound at Warner show last fall. It may have been better in the back or the lawn seating. (anyone back there?) Setup was the same as it has been. RF in back between drum kits. AB front center TG left in front of TM, TL right in front of BB. I had great time thanks to two bands of talented musicians. thank you gentlemen. john ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Aug 96 00:00:11 BST From: Michael Kelly Subject: Gig Review with set list - Asbury Park After the incredible show last fall in Springfield, MA and the same high quality (if abbreviated) set at Horde (Great Woods) last week, I decided to do the spontaneous 7 hour + drive (1 way) to catch the Asbury Park show. I'll try to limit my customary fan dribble (best live band ever blah blah blah brought to tears blah blah) and say that it was worth the effort although I thought there were a few uneven moments in the set. Asbury Park was a bit of a shock - a truly "dangerous place". As you travel through the neighborhoods towards the ocean front, there are lots of "Neighborhood Watch - We Call The Police" signs. When you get to the ocean front, it's predominantly vacant lots, abandoned buildings and "random animal parts" like the unwashed and somewhat slightly dazed cross dresser with an apparent drug problem who ran out in front of my car. During the pre-concert conversation some locals told me it is definitely not an area to visit on a non event night. What makes it even more strange is that 1/4 mile down the beach front is Ocean Grove which has the feel of a retirement community. 9 out of 10 people were over 60 and the town is DRY - no alcohol, even in restaurants. I felt like I was moving between sets of the Twilight Zone. I always thought the "NJ jokes" were exaggerations but after this and my experience in "scenic" Seacaucus earlier this summer, I'm changing my mind. The recently renovated Paramount Theater was very nice - a great place to see a show although it too is part of a larger, apparently unused building. Back to the reason for being there... below is a set list with some limited observations. Soundscape - there was recorded soundscapes initially, then RF came out and did one live with the house lights still on and the audience still chattering away (insert tired "audience behavior bitch" here.) Drum Duet - once again simply GREAT! Thela Hun Ginjeet - the sound was a little funky at first but got better. Red - standing ovation from much of the crowd. Dinosaur One Time - the ethereal middle section of this piece was fantastic. Vrooom (one of em)- performed well but not my favorite composition(s). Waiting Man - nice surprise as hadn't heard this live over a decade! Three of a Perfect Pair - ditto above! 21st Century Schizoid Man - an obvious crowd pleaser as evidenced by the unanimous standing ovation. I found the middle guitar frenzy to be wonderful in an otherwise clunky rendition. The sound was terrible initially and what I assume was an effect used with Adrian's vocal essentially lowered his volume by at least half. Still fun and a nice addition to the set. The Sheltering Sky - again, it's been too long since hearing this gem live. I thought Trey and Pat gave this version something special. B'Boom - there were some great PM/BB interactions throughout the evening with lots of eye contact, laughter and BB giving PM a thumbs up/big grin at one point. Thrak Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream Indiscipline - As Adrian quickly ran through the vocals on this one, someone near me said "slow down". I agree. The rushed nature of recent renditions combined with Adrian's comment at the beginning "Stop me if you've heard this one before" make me wonder if he/the band is getting tired of this one. Larks Tongue - having finally heard this with "The Talking Drum" intro, I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with just LT. It felt like half of a piece. 1st Encore Drum Trio (BB, PM, AB) - Great and on top of that we saw Bruford make a mistake! He dropped a stick much to everyones delight including AB and PM. Vrooom (the other one)- just personal preference I guess but I wouldn't miss one or both versions being removed from the set. 2cnd Encore Elephant Talk - It's always fun but like Indiscipline it was accelerated. I wouldn't be disappointed if it was moved into the body of the set as it seems almost anti climatic at this point. There are plenty of other great last songs. I have always liked the way Gabriel has put many obvious encores in the middle of his set, like "Sledgehammer". I wouldn't care if he omitted it entirely but it is much more palatable as something other than an encore IMHO. "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered!" Number 6 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 20:05:35 -0400 (EDT) From: FISHBOY Subject: Asbury Park Hello, On Saturday, August 24th, three friends and I drove three and a half hours each way to see King Crimson in the post-apocalyptic ghost town of Asbury Park, NJ. Was it worth it? Well, the Schizoid Man reared his head in Asbury Park for the first time in 22 years; of course it was worth it! Being a huge Springsteen fan (and the driver of the car), I dragged my friends there early to see the Bruce-related sites of the town. We were taken aback by how desolate and boarded up this place was. After we found the theater and drove around a bit, we went inside the lobby of the theater just in time to hear part of the soundcheck. Incidentally, the Paramount Theater is beautifully rennovated and stands in stark contrast to the rest of the town, which looks ready for the wrecking ball. We were pretty excited when we walked in the theater and heard instruments. What timing! Riffs from different instruments and different songs could be heard in between the noise - here a piece of Red, there a bit of Waiting Man, etc. Then IT happened. We heard Adrian say "21st...21st century..." then, singing, "21st century schizoid man...21st century schizoid man..." The funny thing was watching people's reaction to this. I knew they had been playing it this tour, but I didn't tell two of my friends. All I said was that there was something that would surprise them. After Belew sang that line, they were looking at me with a look of complete shock. "That's the song!" I said. Other fans grabbed their heads in disbelief and ran out, not wanting to hear it before the show. A few seconds after Belew sang that line, the band broke into the song. It was an instumental version, so you could hear Fripp's nasty guitar chords during the verses loud and clear. It stopped and started up a couple of times, and they played a good chunk of it before going on to something else, I think "Three of a Perfect Pair." ......fast forward a few hours.... Showtime. Fripp came out right at 8:00 and did soundscapes for 7 or 8 minutes, then the lights went out and the show began. They played 4 songs they didn't do at the two shows I saw last year - Three of a Perfect Pair, Waiting Man, Schizoid Man, and Sheltering Sky. I'm pretty sure they were done in one block in the middle of the show, too. Perfect Pair was nice, with Belew impressing me with his simultaneous singing and picking. A split second before Schizoid Man, you could here this buzz over the PA, as if someone had just stepped on a distortion pedal. Then they ripped into it, and it was ferocious. The place went nuts. You could see the disbelief on people's faces. It seemed tough to hear the vocals at the beginning of each verse, but the audience helped out, and the whole place sang the title. :) The crazy improv part was wild and extended. The Fast Part was tight and intense. I regret not using my binocs to zoom in on Fripp's hands, but I was just trying to take it all in. Belew sat that part out, and I think Gunn and Levin were playing single notes, while Fripp did the insane picking stuff. Toward the end of the song, the entire band was going full throttle, the stage was completely bathed in Crimson light, and I was holding on to my seat preparing for the roof to be blown right off the building. Needless to say, that one got a complete standing ovation and the loudest response of the night. What else is worth mentioning...the Thrak improv was nice. After a while they returned to the main theme and then did some more improv before bringing it to a close. The Sheltering Sky was gorgeous and full sounding, not harsh and annoying like the album version. It was also one of the few pieces where I could tell what Trey Gunn was doing. Although there were a number of people in the crowd who tended to yell out during quiet parts of the show, Bruford must have had them mesmerized at the end of The Sheltering Sky - after everyone else had finished playing, he was still strolling around the stage playing that wooden box thing (can you tell I'm not a percussionist?), gradually getting softer and softer until he ended up squatting at the front of the stage as the sound faded off into nothingness. The place was completeley silent until it had ended. That was a beautiful moment. Vrooom Vrooom got one of the biggest responses of the night; I thought that was interesting (well they did play the hell out of it!) Fripp's first guitar break in Dinosaur wasn't loud enough, but after that it cut through just fine. Indiscipline, while having a great intro, was rushed, as was Lark's Tongues. That annoyed me. Maybe Belew has to rush Indiscipline when he knows the crowd will yell out during it, and this was one of those crowds. Belew missed a whole verse of Elephant Talk because he was coughing. There were a few shouted requests for "Asbury Park." :) Bruford dropped a stick during his solo in the drum trio encore but quickly recovered. You could hear a hush come over the crowd when that happened. Belew seemed more talkative than at either of the shows I saw last year. Mastelotto was playing a lot of wacky pieces of metal (more technical terminology) at different points during the show. After the show, we got to meet Bill, Tony, and Adrian. We also saw the other three exit, but Fripp doesn't hang out, Trey just said hi and left, and Pat...well, I wouldn't hang around either if the only thing people said to me when I came out of the building was "Is Bill still in there?" :( Someone really said that. Tony and Bill were nice, and Adrian was extremely cool - taking time to sign a lot of stuff, pose for pictures, and talk to the crowd of 20 or so for a good amount of time. He made sure to plug his new album, too. :) He also said, "The HORDE tour was nice, but it wasn't our show. It's nice to be back playing to our fans." Someone asked him what it was like to be doing Schizoid Man, and he said "I prefer playing the newer material, to be perfectly honest." Oh well. He said Robert would be visiting him in December to begin working on new material. "That's usually how we start writing - just Robert and me, then we drag the other guys down and torture them." :) He also said he didn't see why they couldn't continue long-term, as long as they take breaks and each guy has time to do his own thing. Bruford echoed this sentiment. All in all, it was a great day. I'd say the concert was better than the one I saw in Buffalo in May of 1995, but maybe not quite as good as the one I saw in NYC last November. That show, at the Longacre Theater, was very intimate, with a great respectful crowd. This crowd was larger and more prone to shouting "BRUFORD!!!" at the most inappropriate times. Also, I remember the band being a bit tighter on some of the song endings at that show, whereas they didn't always seem completely in sync at this one. Still a great show, though (I can't believe I can criticize these guys at all!), and Schizoid Man alone was probably worth the trip. chit chat, Andy Acunzo aacunzo at ccmail dot sunysb dot edu ------------------------------ Subject: GIG REVIEW - ASBURY PARK, NJ, 08/24/96 Date: Tue, 27 Aug 96 00:09:38 GMT From: rrrossi at nextstep dot net (Richard R. Rossi) GIG REVIEW - ASBURY PARK, NJ, 08/24/96 This is the first opportunity Ive ever had to see KC in any flavour, format, fashion (words that begin with an F!), even though Ive been following them through their releases since 1975. I will try to do justice to those whove preceded me with their reviews; some of which have nearly brought me to tears for never making the effort until now to see the band. Forgive me if I err slightly; it was a near-overload experience. Asbury Park: decayed, desolate, decrepit - words that REALLY begin with a D! Paramount Theatre: weathered on the outside, a diamond on the inside. Cozy, intimate, a warm feeling. Next to theatre, a well-manicured lawn/flower garden. While waiting for the doors to open, two white stretch limos pull up. The band? VIPs? Unannounced opening act? Actually, a bridal party stopping off to have pictures taken in front of the flower garden. Many wondered at the same instance who was more bemused, bewildered and quite possibly a bit nervous: the bridal party, consisting of approximately 15 African-Americans, or a few hundred King Crimson fans, ethnic origins and home planets/solar systems too numerous and complex to even try and figure? However, the spirit of Ebony and Ivory lives on to this day: pictures were snapped, some Crimheads threw rice (was it REALLY rice?), and everyone danced the Tarantella. Doors open!! Soundscapes playing while the audience makes their way in. Airy, spacey, yet a little bit of an edge to remind you why youre here. Take a walk to the front lines to examine the troops: equipment that would make a non-musician drool. Enough cables, electrical panels, and circuits that make a stockholder of an electric company drool as well. At exactly 8:00pm, RF takes his place, centre stool, raised up on the same level in the back row with the two drum kits. (WRITERS NOTE: Id like to take this opportunity to introduce the RFPW - Robert Fripp Persona Watch. Since I began reading ET in April 96, Ive enjoyed the comments of others whove pointed out RFs onstage traits. I thought Id share my virgin prospective.) RFPW #1 - Our man is wearing a white, long-sleeved puffy shirt (not THE puffy shirt!?!?!), no tie, unbuttoned black vest. Pants? Might have been nude from the waist down; wasnt really looking. Live Soundscapes sounded great! He added some interesting harmonics to the taped stuff. BB and PM come out, taking their places facing each other in front of their kettle drums, standing ready as if two knights prepared to joust. As they begin, I notice the body english PM uses, while BB is all forearm and wrist. After Elevens, the rest of the band comes out. AB greets the audience with Its been a while since weve played a full two-hour King Crimson show. Right into Thela. Sound is excellent right off the bat. The song I most eagerly awaited came next: Red. Hard, clean, pulsating, intense. Dinosaur. As the song was nearing the break, I remember a past gig review and thought OH MY GOD - will someone break the silence? Will RF shoot back a look and melt the offender? RFPW #2 - A shout or two pierced the silence towards its end, but RF did not break a sweat. One Time. Nice time. Vroom Vroom. Great! Great! BB and PM joined forces on BBs kit for the syncopated melodic drum patterns that start Waiting Man. How DO they do it? Three of a Perfect Pair? Perfect, perfect, perfect. I was a little skeptical about hearing Schizoid, as I lost my affinity for it back in the late 70s, but HOLY BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES, Batman - what a job they did! One minus: ABs vocal got lost in the mix at the beginning, but kicked in full force three-quarters through. RFPW #3 - About 6 times throughout the show, camera flashes went off. Did RF sic one of his henchmen (a.k.a. roadies) after the perpetrators? NO! He just kept going and going and going........... BB walked amongst his bandmates with a wooden block/drum for Sheltering Sky. Device had a warm, resonant tone, and reverb was added at the end to finish it off. Beautifully done. Soundscape/BBoom/THRAK - unfortunately, this was the NATURE CALLING portion of the show. Much hustle and bustle as concert-goers did the latrine thing. Not me!! I stayed, I heard, I went HUH????? (Now I know why Mother had to hold down the chicken while he shaved its lips). Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream - play that funky music, white men............... AB began his Indiscipline rap with Stop me if youve heard this before.... Not on your life! And then, they said their first good-byes. RFPW #4 - While rest of band was accepting their just rewards, RF stood, (YES, STOOD!) put hand over eyes to shade from lights, and surveyed the scene. Was he looking for cameras? Tape recorders? (this isnt HORDE, you know!) ENCORES - LTIA II - USA version will always be my fave, but they could change my mind with this one. Drum Trio - BB, PM, and AB won the gold in the Synchronized Drumming event, scoring a 9.9. Would have been a perfect 10, but BB flubbed under pressure and dropped a stick during one of his solos. The look on his face!! Half horror, half amusement. Vroom - the penultimate composition (for the moment) that shows just how good they really are as individual musicians and as well as bandmates . Elephant Talk - saved for last, in honour of this fine newsletter. On way out, someone asked if the band seemed bored (I would imagine based on some gig reviews where it was reported that some of the band were more animated then usual). On the contrary - I think they were really into performing the music, and knew they didnt have to try and win anyone over). RFPW #5 - Rumour has it that the band crashed the wedding reception, took over the house band, and played rock and roll into the wee hours of the morning. They were led by one R. Fripp, who did an amazing impersonation of Chuck Berry (Go go, go Bobby go go go.............). Thanks for reading; hope you enjoyed....................RRR ---- Richard R. Rossi R R R ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 02:46:11 -0700 From: andre Subject: Aug 24 review Paramount Theatre-Asbury Park(!) NJ Sat Aug 24 the evening started at 8:05 or so with the inimitable Mr Fripp, bathing the still-lit theatre in "soundscapes"...washes of synth clouds, much like the middle of "this night wounds time" on thrak attak.. i thought it was great, although, a lot of people felt "the real show" hasn't started yet - so they continued to mill around and talk (!!) I hate to get preachy here...but we've all waited so long for this guy to be here (or anywhere on a given night)...so we can talk thru it ?!? Anyway..a great set - Adrian announced that it was "the first 2 hour show" in a long time.. and they hit all the great stuff, pretty much most of the 2 latest albums and more..VROOOM, VROOOM VROOOM, Dinosaur, THela hun ginjeet, waiting man(!), sheltering sky, of course 21st C.S.M. (amazing!) one time, larks tongue, red, a brilliant THRAK - the improv section here was amazing - this piece has just evolved into a sonic diamond, the Soundscape/B'boom was stellar - with the rest of the band offstage - Fripp again cocooned the room in lush, swirling digital clouds...then was joined by the (full-time) drummers - Mastelotto is very underrated - and it's great how he & Bruford work as one, or cooperatively as two.. Fripp seemed to continue his evolution into more & more synth sounds for his solos - that would be the one thing i missed - there were no classic 'ripping, overdriven singing-tone' solos at all...he seemed a little more up front and commanding on a lot of the rhythm parts - and he's so chameleonic you can hardly tell when he morphs from clean guitar to distorted to synth patch and back.. Adrian's soloing on the other hand was mind-blowing. I've seen these guys about 6 times, and Adrian solo many times - but he was in TOP form!! His solo on elephant talk (an encore) just shredded - perfect dirty sound (sometimes he's too chorus-y & clean for solos, to MY ear) His voice was perfect last night, also.. Tony also had an outstanding night - jumping from (mostly) bass to stick and standup bass..it was great seeing everyone re-acquaint themselves with the tunes they hadn't been playing - with all the kidding and humour, esp. between AB, TL, & BB.. Speaking of Bruford - again - a joy to watch a musician so relaxed, so confident, while playing the craziest stuff!! He and Mastelotto are so locked it's ridiculous - go see this man whenever he pops up !! Last but certainly not least is Trey - he plays great -but you can hardly hear him!! He needs to be mixed up louder or something. make sure you go see these guys!! who knows when the next tour will be!! andre ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 22:05:30 -0400 From: Edward Banatt Subject: Crimson at Asbury Park Hello ET These are the songs played: (in somewhat jumbled order) Thela Red Vroom Vroom Dinosaur Bruford/Mastelotto drum duet 21st C Schizoid man Waiting Man (Bruford and Levin duet "prelude", which continues throughout) One Time Sex Sleep,etc Bboom,Thrak 3 of a PP Larks pt II Indiscipline Elephant Talk Sheltering Sky Vroom Coda Mast/Bruf/Belew drum trio (Bruford drops a drumstick, he catches it UNDER the drum, and continues barely missing a beat) My first Crimson, we sat up front, very gloomy theater, made for creepy atmosphere (a Plus). Highlights B'boom start with Fripp (his ears aglow with red lights) doing a soundscape intro. He then begins to contribute only his presence onstage as Bruford and Mastelotto begin their Duet, during which my brother claims to have had a staring contest with Fripp....:) Sheltering Sky!! Thela Hun Gingeet!! Elephant Talk!! 3 Of a Perfect Pair!! I've seen Tony Levin with PG, and with Levin/Anderson/Bruford/et al really enjoyed his contribution with KC. Levin's upright looks like a giant Eureka vacuum cleaner. Reform the Clams!!!! Belew sounded great!! he's really upbeat and enjoys playing,.... ... I believe he missed a few words in one tune... Fripp opened up with a Soundscape, and fidgeted around until he found his center. At the concert's end did he kiss his guitar, or was he breathing on the strings??? :) Crowd seemed to really respond well to 21st Century......I thought Red sounded more interesting, but let's hear some new creations!!! Solo pieces?!! Trey Gunn really wasn't given a time to shine, he sounds great on the RF String Quintet. In the event a member of the band reads this, thanks for the music. Edward Banatt Fairlawn, NJ ebanatt at internexus dot net http://www.wp.com/EBANATT/ ------------------------------ From: leslabb at prolog dot net Date: Sun, 25 Aug 96 22:04:31 -0500 Subject: H.O.R.D.E. Hershey 08/23/96 This is not so much as a gig review, but some observations about Crimson's last H.O.R.D.E appearance. I was one of the volunteers who were handing out the DGM postcards at this show. I arrived at 12:30 and wandered through the parking lot handing out the cards and encouraging people to make sure to see Crimson. The gates to Hershey stadium were opened sometime between 2:00 and 2:30, I think closer to 2:30. By the time Crimson took the stage there must have been close to 200 people up front to see them jam, there were also some in the stands as well. I should explain. Hershey stadium is just that, a football/soccer/trackandfield venue. It has two grandstands on each side of the football field. It can normaly hold between 24k-28k depending on the stage setup. Since all of the H.O.R.D.E attractions were inside the stadium gates it limited the number of people. But at 15,000 this was still a large crowd. Back to the gig. Crimson started out with Elevens and into Thela Hun GinJeet. They even played Waiting Man, Yeah!!. The crowd was truly into it. By the time they went into THRAK the crowd, myself included, was mesmerized. A couple of times during the set Adrian mentioned that "Were King Crimson." He also commented on how nice it was to see so many Crimson shirts in the crowd. All in all it was a great set. It was also nice to see Crimson mentioned in the H.O.R.D.E review in the next day's paper: "King Crimson, the 70's progressive rock band that has been reassembled as a double trio jammed in a style much heavier and jagged than what most H.O.R.D.E. fans are used to. It still quickly grabbed the crowd's attention, however. Opening with a loud, repetitive bass-drum pounding, followed by one of it's most humorous songs Thela Hun GinJeet." (excerpt, taken without permission from H.O.R.D.E. review by Jennifer Danner that appeared in 08/24/96 edition of The Harrisburg Patriot) Luckily I will able to see Crimson one more time at the Mann Music Center. Hopefully this will hold me over till they tour again. Les Labbauf Email: leslabb at postoffice dot ptd dot net There is a fun and easy to use fixpack for WIN95, it's called OS/2 Warp http://home.ptd.net/leslabb/~index.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 28 Aug 1996 11:28:17 -0400 From: Jazzin12 at aol dot com Subject: A Different Look At The Philly Show Hello, ETers! I have been subscribing to ET for quite some time and have not posted until now. I have been a Fripp/Crimson fan since 1978. I have seen Crimson live in the Philadelphia area since 1980 and any Robert Fripp performances, such as the Soundscapes / CGT gigs last year. For me, Monday night's show at the Mann Music Center in Philly, represented several crossroads. My first impression was that the show was poorly attended, however, most everyone who came, was attentive and sensitive to the material that would be performed during the evening. The opening act, Vernon Reid, was toe tapping although the songs lacked any compositional flavour. It was like Praxis (Laswell) with a funk/rap beat over a pedal chord. The hi-light, when you could hear him, was Don Byron on clarinet. The KC set list, as best I can recall, was: B'boom style drum intro Thela Hun Ginjeet Red Dinosaur One Time Vroom Vroom Waiting Man Neuturotica Elephant Talk Sheltering Sky Soundscape...into...B' boom Thrak ThrakAttack Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream Indiscipline LTinA 2 A drum piece with Pat/Bill/Adrian - it may be called Eleven or Prism 21st CSM Vroom...and I think into the Marine Coda 475 thing (chromatic descend) I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I do feel that the improvisational sections were too short. Which brings me to one of crossroads I mentioned. I got the feeling that the band is close to some significant changes...whether it is a long hiatus...or adding or loosing personnel...or a new approach to the double trio concept. I feel strongly that the potential of the double trio has not been scratched yet. It is odd to me that the band is playing so many older tunes and not developing new compositions based on the double trio's intrinsic possiblities. I am hopeful Mr. Fripp and company are inspired to take the next step with the band. Maybe a project combining the Crafty Guitarists Orchestra and the band and maybe Eno. It would certainly be dynamic. And I would be remissed if I did not lobby for my dream project to Robert Fripp engaged in a project with guitarist Pat Metheny. I also want to mention that I was dissapointed that Possible Productions were not at the show selling their wares. I assume there are prohibitive reasons, such as vendor licensing or the venue wants a percentage, however, it would have been a great service to be able to purchase CDs and other KC goodies without having to deal with the US Postal Service and handling charges. Oh well. Well keep the faith. Faithfully yours, Jay Jones jazzin12 at aol dot com or trailhead at juno dot com ------------------------------ End of Elephant-Talk Digest #302 ********************************