Errors-To: admin at elephant-talk dot com Reply-To: newsletter at elephant-talk dot com Sender: moderator at elephant-talk dot com Precedence: bulk From: moderator at elephant-talk dot com To: newsletter at elephant-talk dot com Subject: Elephant Talk #753 E L E P H A N T T A L K The Internet newsletter for Robert Fripp and King Crimson enthusiasts Number 753 Sunday, 29 October 2000 Today's Topics: GIG BIZ: Boston 11/21 Re: Kids and KC Re: Fripp rig and Fame SF Fillmore Gig 10/19 - Set List? Re: 80s remasters KingCrimsonTv.Com San Jose Mercury/B.L.U.E. Next remasters? GIG REVIEW: LA Monday 10/23 GIG REVIEW: 10/24/2000 Review GIG REVIEW: 23 Oct 00 ------------------ A D M I N I S T R I V I A --------------------- POSTS: Please send all posts to newsletter at elephant-talk dot com To UNSUBSCRIBE, or to CHANGE ADDRESS: Send a message with a body of HELP to admin at elephant-talk dot com or use the DIY list machine at http://www.elephant-talk.com/list/ To ASK FOR HELP about your ET subscription: Send a message to: help at elephant-talk dot com ET Web: http://www.elephant-talk.com/ Read the ET FAQ before you post a question at http://www.elephant-talk.com/faq.htm Current TOUR DATES info can always be found at http://www.elephant-talk.com/gigs/tourdates.htm You can read the most recent seven editions of ET at http://www.elephant-talk.com/newsletter.htm THE ET TEAM: Toby Howard (Moderator), Dan Kirkdorffer (Webmaster) Mike Dickson (List Admin), and a cast of thousands. The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors. ET is produced using John Relph's Digest system v3.7b (relph at sgi dot com). ------------------ A I V I R T S I N I M D A --------------------- Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 16:57:07 -0400 From: Jon Woodworth Subject: GIG BIZ: Boston 11/21 Hey all- I'm trying my best to get to the Boston show on 11/21 (its gonna depend on whether or not I can get back from school in time, and if I can get tickets). And I have a couple of questions: First, are tickets still available? If not, does anybody have any extras? Second, could anyone from the Boston area give me good directions to the Berklee Performance Center from Hartford, CT? Last, what's the skinny on the Berklee Center? Size? Standing/sitting? Any other useful information? Reply puclicly or privately. Your help is appreciated! -Jon ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 09:53:02 -0400 From: Martin Bradburn Subject: Re: Kids and KC I will be attending the second nights Berkeley (Boston) show with my 9 year old daughter, at her request! Obviously I have been poisoning her mind with Fripp, Belew, KC etc. since she was young., being the heartless, manipulative parent I am. She has accompanied me two Soundscapes performances (G3 in Boston, WFC in NYC) and loved both. Well, a couple of weeks ago my wife and I had been talking about going to see Liquid Soul, who I had caught in NYC and are one of the best live bands I've ever heard. We missed their show, but that night I was putting my daughter Lily to bed and she was sobbing. I inquired as to why and she said "You guys always go to shows without me, you didn't even get me a ticket to see King Crimson". I said " I didn't know you were interested but if you are I'll get you a ticket". I already had tickets for the first Berkeley show so I got onto Ticketbastard and got 2 balcony seats for the next night. Lily is thrilled. It's great that at 9 she can even listen to let alone like KC (She loves Prozac Blues! , SSEDD and Dinosaur are her favorites) and I feel so blessed to be able to share this experience and time together. A word of caution, High SPL's can be much worse on young ears, so get those good ear plugs it's worth it. Hey KC a bad the whole family can enjoy!!! - Martin ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 13:51:24 -0400 From: "John Ott" Subject: Re: Fripp rig and Fame > Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 14:39:20 -0400 > From: "V.D.Jones" > Subject: Fripp's Guitar Rack > > Does anybody have a detailed description of the components in Fripp's > touring rack? Maybe there's a link to some guitar magazine article you > could point me to. Haven't seen the band, but assume his guitar signal goes > direct from his rack into PA and monitors, using no conventional guitar amp. > All related info is much appreciated. Responses welcomed offlist as well. > John Sinks describes the Thrack rig in Guitar Player June 95. or see: http://www.guitargeek.com It has diagrams of Fripp's and Trey's rig from the Thrack tour and Gunn's rig from the Trey Gunn Band tour. Nothing on Adrian last I looked. > Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 15:41:40 -0400 > From: hwhitman at scte dot org (Howard B. Whitman) > Subject: Belew/Beatles Connection > > Adrian has played many times with David Bowie--"Stage," "Pretty Pink Rose," > tours, etc. David was a close friend of John Lennon's, and the two wrote and > recorded "Fame" together. Not quite, Alomar/Bowie/Lennon wrote "Fame" To not credit Carlos is a sin as the main guitar riff is his. James Brown claimed he stole it, but Carlos says he came up with the riff while playing for JB. later John DC-ET ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 12:44:17 -0700 From: Gregory Sandoval Subject: SF Fillmore Gig 10/19 - Set List? ETers, Not sure if this exists somewhere, I couldn't find it in the reviews, etc. Did anyone take note of the set list from the Thursday night gig (10/19) at the Fillmore in San Francisco? Unlike some, I thought it was a great show and would like to put together a disc to match... dr. beat ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 17:51:18 -0400 From: profesoresede at ichn dot cl (Profesores Sede) Subject: Re: 80s remasters Robert Fripp is a cheat. Somewhere in the scrapbook to frame by frame he says that he replaced the remixes for both Matte Kudasai and Sleepless for the original mixes in the definitive editions so people could now have both versions. Of course that was at a time when you could still find the old cd printings (Warner issued those three albums in the States, I dunno whether Polydor ever made the original album onto cd. Now is virtually impossible to find the old version on cd. My father has the Warner version of Three Of A Perfect Pair with Sleepless remixed by Bob Clearmountain (credits for the Virgin/Caroline version still credit this, even though they include the original mix). The hiss is considerable and I'd love Fripp releasing the album as originally intended. Besides, what's the point of doing a faithful reconstruction of the artwork if the album's contents have been altered. Perhaps we might try convincing/forcing Fripp by recruiting others who feel the same. I addressed the subject at the newsletter to little repercussion some months ago. I also left my impressions on DGM's guestbook. I guess most people raving about Crimson these days were never exposed to these albums when they first came around. I also read somewhere that there is a first edition of Discipline (on vynil) which includes the lyrics. About the further remixes from Sleepless (issued as a twelve incher), Elephant Talk and the mono mix for Heartbeat, perhaps the solution would be for Fripp to release an EP of alternate 80s mixes. So people out there, start complaining about this for a change. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 16:52:49 -0400 From: mike at duophone dot com (mike) Subject: KingCrimsonTv.Com Does anyone know the REAL reason why no one has updated the kingcrimsontv.com site since july? ------------------------------ Date: 26 Oct 00 15:29:40 -0700 From: "David Voci" Subject: San Jose Mercury/B.L.U.E. Hi Crimmers, Recently I had many friends call me reminding me that KC was coming to SF and such and one dude even brought an entertainment section of the local paper noted above to my place and KC was there as the cover story with 3 color pictures...a small pic of the band at the Fillmore, a pic of Belew that was 1/4 of a newspaper page in size and then the Frippster, looking pretty healthy and into his bag, in another small photo. This was the Saturday, October 21st Century Schizoid Man edition of the Mercury News. I mention this as some locals might want to save that type of thing. If anyone wants my copy, starting bid is 3000 dollars.(But I also offer a 100% discount if anyone wants it...offline please). I really like the Bruford Levin Upper Extremities-Blue Nights live CD. There are many good jams on this CD. Alot of the self titled CD material done live but other nice sound excursions as well...this is a tight unit. David Torn is excellent on guitar, shows some RF tendencies but is his own man on the instrument. Botti is great on trumpet and knows just when to fade out and then come back into the music. It's hard not to compare some of his intense blasts to the master, Miles. Cheers to Tony Levin for keepinig the whole thing together. I would like to ask Tony or any other member of BLUE about the infamous 'bread pudding' they raved about enjoying at that club in Boston...sure sounds good by the account in the booklet of Blue Nights...c'mon you guys, cut loose with the recipe. Stay well, dv ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 18:51:24 EDT From: GenoTT at aol dot com Subject: Next remasters? >>Has anyone heard anything about the 80s album remasters? I recall reading somewhere on the DGM site that the three 80s albums were tentatively slated for next April. Based on this, my best guess is that we may see them sometime around late June or early July. >Then there's the question of "Matte Kudasai," which had the >extra guitar part that Fripp removed in later editions. Will >the song on the album be the original version, or the 1989 >remastered version? Will both versions perhaps be on the album? >There's also the "Sleepless" remixes, and if any of those will >be included on the _Three Of A Perfect Pair_ album. I'd doubt it, since all the others have just been released in their original form without bonuses. I would have been thrilled to have the Poseidon remaster include "Groon" for example. Maybe a forthcoming compilation could include some of these alternate versions, maybe with some of Fripp's original Exposure takes thrown in? I guess I can dream... -g ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 09:34:18 -0700 From: Nancy Mack Subject: GIG REVIEW: LA Monday 10/23 We arrived at the House of Blues in Hollywood after a frenzied three hour traffic-nightmare drive straight from work in San Diego, just in time to find parking, pick up tickets at will call and make it inside. I'd never been to that venue, and was a bit concerned about the "standing only" bit. We ended up near the back, and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was plenty of elbow room, and the air conditioning kept the room quite comfortable. We had a great view of the stage. One gentleman in front of me said that Patricia Fripp had been walking around handing out buttons, but I didn't see any. There did seem to be some technical problems in the beginning. I noticed some fluctuations in the volume levels, but as I am not a technical person, I have no clue what was going on. Those guys are such pros, it didn't seem to faze them. From my spot near the back, I could see the audience start to warm up as the concert progressed. Standing wasn't that bad! I was so overwhelmed by the sheer talent pouring off that stage I didn't even notice sore feet or twinging back. And I think the fact we were standing gave the audience a little extra energy- heads were bobbing, feet moving. Adrian kicked butt. His solo acoustic "Three of a Perfect Pair" was the high point of the night for me, it gave me goosebumps, and we were all singing along. He was tossing handfuls of guitar picks into the audience after the last encore. Pat was a madman on drums- my date, who had never seem Crimson before, was completely blown away. Trey was fabulous, and I was so pleased to see both him and Pat given a chance to really shine. Robert was right up at the front of the stage, and he was wonderful, inspired, accessible! What a pleasure to see him clearly, see the expressions on his face, see him and Adrian work together. And no camera flashes! I was relieved. ( A personal observation, abandoning all political correctness and one's right to their own opinion, etc: Anyone who feels that Adrian, Pat & Trey don't belong in Crimson needs to remove themselves from this planet, right now! Thank you.) I am still floating on air, what an incredible show. I had bought the LA tickets before I knew they'd be in San Diego, but that long trip (and getting home at 3 am) was so worth it. What an amazing band, long live the King! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 09:29:46 -0700 From: William Heinrichs Subject: GIG REVIEW: 10/24/2000 Review Review: A very enjoyable evening! Highlights included Robert's lead on fraKctured, the Robert & Adrian's interplay on TCOL, and Trey's melodic solo in the new song during the encore. Go see them if you can. Here is a partial set list. Larks IV I have a Dream Prozak ConstruKction of Light ?? FraKctured Adrian & Pat Jam One Time ?? Sleepless Jam Session Frying Pan Red ... Three of a Perfect Pair ... New Song with Pat, Trey, & Robert ... Elephant Talk ... Oyster Soup Heroes ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2000 09:05:29 -0700 From: "Fazio, Lou" Subject: GIG REVIEW: 23 Oct 00 HOUSE OF CRIMSON, Oct-23rd-2000, West Hollywood, California We made it to the House of Blues last night without a hitch, no problems with the will-call replacement tix. The house filled quickly; i positioned myself in front of Trey's area-stage right, maybe 15 feet from the stage. it got a bit crowded up front so my wife Barbara took a side position off the floor near the bar (which actually was a better vantage point, but of course i wanted to be as close as possible). Anyone hard-core or even 'casual' KC fan who can continue kvetching about the absence of Bill Bruford and Tony Levin, or the continued presence of Adrian Belew as frontman after seeing them on this tour, is just flat out wrong. This was a magnificent, ass-kicking, and mind-blowing show. As much as i love and respect Bruford & Levin for the innovators that they are, i was very excited to see & hear Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto stretch out unencumbered and uncluttered by the huge assault of the other 2 rhythm beasts featured in the 6-piece line-up, and man did these two deliver the goods. Gunn is of course a total virtuoso, his hands dancing across the massive Warr guitar-bass fretboard; Pat M. *really* stood out as the lone drummer, with a splaying, 'fill-and-snap-all-round-the-beat-before-i-get-back-in-time' free-wheeling style. He had on a big playful grin all nite & seemed to be having the time of his life. Adrian Belew just fucking rules!!!! How can anyone seriously complain about this guy as frontman???!?!!? He was playful, exuberant, energetic as hell, and dynamic to watch. He is the yang to Robert Fripp's yin. Also it was jaw-dropping to watch how Adrian can play fluid, complex guitar lines while singing in a totally different rhythm. What talent! And of course, let us not overlook the mega-mastermind, Robert Fripp. This tour/show for me is more satisfying in a few ways than the two 1995 shows i saw, one of which is that RF is way more prominent, literally and figuratively. Not only is he no longer hidden in shadow, but his guitar work is *so* much more in the forefront than in the 6-piece juggernaut. Of course his playing is/was just monsterous; densely saturated, compressed tone, spewing out sinister, crawling, indescribably intense lead work. And of course his variety of effects added so much colour and such a wide range tonalities... it's like having 2-3 hidden keyboardists onstage! At 9pm (showtime) an announcement came that the show would begin in 15 minutes, reminding all of the no smoking/no photos policy. At 9.17 the band hit the stage to a huge roar from the crowd.... the four of them put their hands in a circle, with Fripp shaking his fist, and raised them overhead with a cheer like a sports team getting psyched for a game! *Very* funny, and the happy, fun atmosphere never changed thru the show. (Odd that such a 'dark' band can also be 'fun'... such is the Crimson enigma)! Setlist: 9.17-11.15pm: i sensed the opener coming a mile away..Pat counted off a mid-tempo four-beat, and we were all bathed in... RED! what can i say?!? killer opener, the crowd went nuts, hands/fists raised and heads banging. EXCELLENT mix/sound from the get-go which lasted all nite; my only slight complaint is that Pat M. might have been a touch louder (imho). a minor quibble. at this point i just grinned like an idiot and hooted and screamed for the rest of the show. ;-) Fripp was apparently in a great mood; all nite long he barely contained a wisened, happy smirk and raised his eyebrows amusingly at Adrian's hijinks. THELA HUN GINJEET. another crowd fave; Trey provided good backing vox. funky and driving. Adrian triggered the voice-samples on one of his 2 little keyboards... the 'this is a dangerous place' rap came thru loud and clear. THE CONSTRUKCTION OF LIGHT. wow! the interplay between Fripp & Belew is obvious on the album, but just must be seen & heard live to be fully appreciated. Adrian had to read some of the lyrics off a sheet on a music stand. FRAKCTURED. another big WOW!!!! Adrian played very little guitar in the middle portions of this workout, using his audio-generator keyboard thing to create clattering percussive noises and cartoony spring-boing sounds. Fripp's possessed leadwork in the 'loud' distorted part, coupled with tandem unison-runs from Gunn (who used a 10-string Warr Guitar Bass hybrid... what a beastly axe!) brought massive cheers from we heathens. (Gunn also had what i assumed was a baritone guitar near his rig, but he never touched it). FRAME BY FRAME. great and stately, as always. Adrian triggered some squiggly synth parts along with his delicate, lattice-work guitar parts. for me this was the only spot where Levin was missed, for his great backing vox (Trey did not sing on this one). ONE TIME. a fragile beauty. Trey played the tiny Guild Ashbory mini-bass guitar (a 4-string) which i think uses rubber strings. huge booming sound, though. the middle of the song featured a *slightly* extended, gorgeous soundscape from the mighty RF. IMPROV!!! boy oh boy!!!! wheeeeeee!!!! i'm smiling again as i write this. this was a 2-parter of sorts. 'Part 1' was spacey and threatening with dark ambience. Ade did more weird keyboard stuff; Trey had both the massive Warr git plus the mini-bass strapped on and alternated between them, mostly using the mini. Fripp unleashed some seriously blazing leads. 'Part 2' had Trey put down the mini and start chugging on the Warr, & Ade played more guitar... this part had a propulsive, headlong momentum, vaguely reminding me of 'Talking Drum' or even more like 'When I Say Stop, Continue' from the Vrooom EP. And they stopped it on a dime, perfectly in sync. big phat Yay!!! THE WORLD'S MY OSYTER SOUP KITCHEN FLOOR WAX MUSEUM. very fun and playfully performed. Adrian kept doing the hi-pitched 'Whoooooo!' over & over. (His voice sounded *fantastic* all night). After his crunchy, biting guitar solo, he says his patented line, 'play it for me, Spider Fingers!', and Fripp cuts loose with his guitar processed to sound like a toy piano/harpsichord. his fingers are indeed quite spidery! CAGE. Adrian played acoustic, Trey played the mini. Odd choice... but well played, longer than the EP version, Adrian added a few extra choruses, i think. this had a very maleable tempo, lots of time shifts. LARKS TOUNGES IN ASPIC, PART IV/ CODA: I HAVE A DREAM. Yeah baby!!!!! Massive, huge, stomping L4. Adrian played the living hell out of his Strat, bending the neck, riding the whammy bar.... huger than huge. (Fripp of course burned this one up too). As they segued into the coda Ade plays that mournful, crying melody before the lyrics.... very moving and cool as hell. Why is that 'sad' songs are often the best? ELEPHANT TALK. strong set-closer. more fun and games from Belew, with crazy 'elephantosity' noises bursting out his axe, and Gunn & Pat just funking the place up. First Encore: THREE OF A PERFECT PAIR. great acoustic solo spot for AB. the crowd sang along with the "complicated, aggravated, what a perfect mess" call and response vocals. again, how can he sing and play those guitar parts simultaneously??? the band rejoined him for... PROZAKC BLUES. very cool ! AB did the 'deep gruff' blues voice, without processing the vocals... he also played bitchin' slide guitar, going over the top of the neck/fretboard. Second Encore: (P3) IMPROV/DECEPTION OF THE THRUSH(?) i'm fairly certain this was 'Thrush'. this gave Belew a much-needed breather. Pat, Trey, and Robert began *very* quietly and gradually built into a big, slow, dirgey stomper.... again it seemed like a 2-parter, with the all-too-short end piece featuring the mighty Gunn creating haunting, lilting bird-melodies (the thrushes, perhaps?) on the guitar strings of the Warr.... stellar use of volume pedals and volume knobs. the piece ended delicately, the crowd went nuts. Fripp applauded Guun at length. AB returned for.. VROOOM. big and crunchy, it's "RED Part 2" to my ears(!) Great version, although there was no Coda Marine part, which i do like. exhausted, we thought they were finished and headed for the door, but lo and behold.... Third Encore: HEROES. great, straight-ahead cover of Bowie's melancholy masterpiece. Fripp's ringing sustain was a joy! they thanked the crowd which was just crazed with enthusiasm.....Fripp peered into the club depths, eyes sheilded, almost as if searching for someone in particular. Adrian threw a dozen picks into the crowd.... and it was over. whew!!!! DO NOT MISS THIS BAND ON THIS TOUR !!!! LF ------------------------------ End of Elephant Talk Digest #753 ********************************