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 #895 E L E P H A N T T A L K The Internet newsletter for Robert Fripp and King Crimson enthusiasts Number 895 Tuesday, 20 November 2001 Today's Topics: GIG BIZ: Selling KC ticket forPhili show on 12/11 How's this for Ear Candy? Ear Candy Album Cover Art Crimson king---Devil Re: Frippocrite She's a beauty! prog shmrog What is a sell-out? Unfulfilled Audience Expectations- Phoenix- 11/17/01 Crimson Sounds & Scrapes Selling Out Reply To "Younger Generation"... sound mix? Ear Candy Re: GIG REVIEW: November 16, The Web Theatre, Phoenix, AZ GIG REVIEW: Phoenix, Nov 16,2001 GIG REVIEW: JPJ/KC at the Warfield SF GIG REVIEW: Level Five and Zooma live in Los Angeles GIG REVIEW: - San Francisco Re: GIG REVIEW: Not "Fripped Off" At All in LA GIG REVIEW: Denver GIG REVIEW: S.F. 11/14 ------------------ A D M I N I S T R I V I A --------------------- POSTS: Please send all posts to newsletter at elephant-talk dot com To UNSUBSCRIBE, or to CHANGE ADDRESS: Send a message with a body of HELP to admin at elephant-talk dot com or use the DIY list machine at http://www.elephant-talk.com/list/ To ASK FOR HELP about your ET subscription: Send a message to: help at elephant-talk dot com ET Web: http://www.elephant-talk.com/ Read the ET FAQ before you post a question at http://www.elephant-talk.com/faq.htm Current TOUR DATES info can always be found at http://www.elephant-talk.com/gigs/tourdates.shtml You can read the most recent 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: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 23:21:37 -0500 From: "Travis Flower" Subject: GIG BIZ: Selling KC ticket forPhili show on 12/11 I have one ticket for the Crimson show at the Tower in Philadelphia on 12/11. It is a great seat: KK 8. You can find the seating chart at the website for the Tower. I am only selling b/c I realized I can't make the show. Will let it go at less than my cost: $45 (I'll just go ahead and eat the rest of the outrageous mailing fee they charged me for the ticket.) You can email me at travflow at home dot com or call at (302) 377-9647. Leave a voicemail if I don't answer. -Travis ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 13:47:32 +0000 (GMT) From: Nicholas Whittaker Subject: How's this for Ear Candy? Yo! I love the furious complexities of KC and other 'stressful music' (as a friend once said of 'Larks' . . . pt. 1') like Henry Cow, Faust, Can, Gentle Giant, Van Der Graaf Generator, 2066 & Then, Magma, FZ etc & 1 of my favourite LPs is Lou Reed's 'Metal Machine Music'. But sitting alongside these wonders I have to admit is 'Paint The Sky With Stars, The Very Best Of Enya'. I do like most of it but it is the 1 CD i own that i am a little embarrassed about! I also have a rather unusual but urgent request to make to ET readers living in the US. I'm afraid this has NOTHING to do with KC but this was the only forum i could think of to raise this in. I desperately need a box of 'Lucky Charms' cereal before Christmas because it would make the PEREFECT gift for a good friend of mine. They have been unavailable in UK for a while & i am willing to pay whatever it would take to get a box shipped to me. I would be eternally grateful if anyone who thinks they could help would reply to me privately. Thanks! Nick Whittaker. np: Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes, 'Loaded For Bear: The Very Best Of Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes' Nicholas Whittaker njw100 at soton dot ac dot uk ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 09:25:33 -0500 From: "John Spokus" Subject: Ear Candy Funny,I never catagorized Dead Can Dance as a "non progressive artist".They are progressive,but in a different realm than Crimson. I would call them world music meets neo-classical. John Spokus Baltimore, MD ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2001 16:16:42 -0500 From: David Vella Subject: Album Cover Art Jordan Clifford said: > while we are on the subject, and by all means dont do it if its just > gonna turn into a waste of time no one cares about, maybe people are > interested in sharing their top 5 or top 10 album covers of all time. > i couldnt off the top of my head, but if anyone else wants to give > it a go id love to check them out. I value the music too much to place an emphasis on the "whole album" concept, maybe I just had too little to spend on albums and wanted to be sure not to waste it. I usually refused to buy an album - even one with interesting cover art - until I could hear it first. There are disadvantages to this - I had seen ITCOTKC in the record stores for nearly two years and was intrigued by it, but could never bring myself to buy it without hearing it. So this modus operandum caused me to miss - or at least to delay my purchase/appreciation - on many albums. Nevertheless, I do appreciate the cover art and packaging of the 'whole album', secondary to the music of course. So here are some of my all-time favorite album covers, in order of preference: 1) King Crimson - Lizard (with Honorary mention for ITCOTKC, ITWOP, LTIA) 2) The Beatles - Sgt. Peppers 3) The Moody Blues - In Search of the Lost Chord 4) Cream - Wheels of Fire (with Honorable Mention for Disraeli Gears) 5) Jefferson Airplane - After Bathing at Baxters (with Honorary mention for Blows Against the Empire, Baron von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun) 6) The Mandrake Memorial - Puzzle 7) Yes - Fragile (with Honorary Mention for The Yes Album, Relayer, & Steve Howe's 'Beginnings') 8) Gentle Giant - Three Friends (American version) (with Honorary Mention for Octopus, Glass House, the Power & the Glory) 9) Grateful Dead - Blues for Allah 10) Jimi Hendrix - Axis, Bold as Love Well, that's 10, plus the 'Honorary Mentions'. Here's a few more that I liked, in no particular order: Blind Faith - Blind Faith Pink Floyd - Ummagumma, Meddle Stevie Wonder - Innervisions Frank Zappa - Hot Rats Fleetwood Mac - Bare Trees Fripp & Eno - No Pussyfooting Incredible String Band - the 5,000 Spirits Jethro Tull - Thick As a Brick Santana - Abraxas Spirit - 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus Steely Dan - Royal Scam Traffic - Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, Traffic Miles Davis - Bitches Brew, Live/Evil Weather Report - Heavy Weather Adrian Belew - Mr. Music Head Talking Heads - Remain in Light, Little Creatures, Naked etc.... But it's the music that counts, which is great on all the above albums, and on many more albums with less striking cover art. Cheers, David Vella ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 10:21:38 EST From: TOOL3rdi at aol dot com Subject: Crimson king---Devil Hello Chaps, I was wondering if anyone knew about the stance of Robert Fripp and the early incarnations of King Crimson on satanism and the like. I am in the middle of building my Crimson catalog up and am not going in any particular order, ( I own In the court of the crimson king, poseidon, red, discipline, thrak, construction..) and I am finding things to look as though Mr. Fripp has a great attraction to things of this nature....and that there is this common thread in his attraction. If anyone has any insight into this, I would like to know... thank you @tm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 10:51:40 -0600 From: "Grant Colburn" Subject: Re: Frippocrite Ira Aronin wrote: "I am prompted to write by reports of poor sound reinforcement on the current tour. To me this points out a major flaw in Fripp's persnicketyness regarding the audients creating an environment where he/KC can create optimal music ---to put it plainly, the band has a responsibilty to play in venues where the sound is good and to monitor the quality during the performance." Its too bad that for Ira's first post, it had to be such a nasty accusatory post.... What the band has a responsibility for is to TRY to play in good sounding venues and to TRY to monitor the quality. Your post makes it sound like you think the KC possibly sounded bad ON PURPOSE! I am sure that there was no intent to play with bad sound. Why would ANY band try to play sounding bad? You really are going to attempt to say that this is an actual flaw in Fripp as a person? You blame him PERSONALLY for intentionally not giving you the sound quality you desired? Jeez.......... "Particularly, having the sound at volumes which is causing auditory damage is indefensible. Whatever creative wounds the music may suffer from the flash bulbs of ignorant or maladjusted persons in the audience are far less important than permanently damaging people's hearing." Sounds to me like you don't get out to rock shows very much. I've seen KC twice now and I'd never consider them to be an overly LOUD band. I mean, I saw Motely Crue with free tickets and THAT was LOUD!!! Louder than I even thought was technically possible and I can't imagine for a moment that KC played at a comparable volume to that. You are very quick to blame personally the members of KC and Fripp in particular for bad sound. Why would you think that the band on stage has a clue what it sounds like? Have you been in a band playing live? There's almost no way for one to be on stage and know what the sound is like. Yes, maybe there was a problem. Yes, maybe the venue or the sound guy can be blamed, but if you're going to try to blame Fripp PERSONALLY for all this, maybe you should add yourself to the list of potential "ignorant or maladjusted persons." ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 09:16:16 -0800 (PST) From: Bill Messinger Subject: She's a beauty! When we get into a discussion about what is progressive rock versus ordinary rock, or what makes some music more substantial to a "real" connoisseur, we are entering into an age-old debate that seems somewhat irrelevant: what is art, (and if there is any such thing) what is good art versus bad art? These questions, however, are not trivial. We think about what music to listen to, whether or not to pierce that nipple, whether the Ferrari should be black or red, etc. Some extraordinary people even go so far as to make music, pierce nipples, etc. It is a shame that art is often thought of only in terms of fashion, and although many minds are trapped by the fashion industry, subjectivity is still useful to paint an overall picture of aesthetics and to contrast with the only meaningful theory in art: objective theory. The very idea of "progressive" rock'n'roll is a nod to significant form, and naturally, to the idea of beauty as a thing existing beyond human standards. We may not be able to agree on much anymore, but 2+2 still = 4, the music of the spheres is still in harmony, and the ass on Jennifer Lopez is a manifestation of heavenly beauty in the physical world. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 09:23:08 -0800 (PST) From: Man In Space Subject: prog shmrog Hi, I sometimes wonder where this hoity toity snotty snobish 'prog'attitude comes from. Is it a deliberate or maybe unconscious attempt to make oneself stand out? Is it just closed mindedness? Whatever... No wonder punk happened in such a big way. I also often read the statement that 'proggers' (what is that anyway) think their music is for intelligent people. Is it that intelligent to be fixed on a genre name or a certain musical form? I like lotsa tunes, be they complex, simple, rock, disco, jazz, techno... and I think all this forms are just as good. 'Do A litte dance, make a little love, get down tonight' contains much more wisdom imo than most lyrics from so-called progressive bands. Really, 'prog rock', say it a loud : it sounds like some Klingon beverage anyway. Jan ps current ear candy : BPM&M, FSOL 'Lifeforms' (with a little Fripp'n'Broof), Britney's last single, and what dj's Smos & Baby B set last saturday night on fire with. Wham bam thank you ma'am. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 12:43:59 -0500 From: "Michael V. Campiglio" Subject: What is a sell-out? I guess my put on all this talk is; there are two types of music: 1. music for music's sake. 2. music for money's sake. Occasionally, the two meet. It's easy for an outsider to misinterpret - bottom line; if you like it , who cares. Regards, Michael Campiglio ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 12:05:16 -0700 From: jrunkle at pinnaclepeak dot com (Jeff Runkle) Subject: Unfulfilled Audience Expectations- Phoenix- 11/17/01 The Phoenix show "sound" was fantastic- loud, clear and tight. Unfortunately, as previously reported, Fripp DID sit in the dark & was angled away from the audience. With his well documented position regarding fans respecting his privacy, IMO he was disrespectful to the audience by not allowing himself to be seen. When you buy the ticket you may not have the right to take a photo, but you DO, & SHOULD expect to be able to see the performers. I love to watch him play (having seen KC 8 or 9 times since 1972). During the THRAK tour he sat in a position on stage that gave the audience a terrific view of his economy of movement, subtle expressions & masterful playing. I took my 17 year old son and his friend to the show & talked to them on the way about watching Fripp, about how fantastic he is. So they saw the show & yet, cannot understand exactly what I was talking about! That's a big part of what I paid for, and when the concert ended I felt angry at Fripp's selfishness & I felt ripped off. If some of you are inclined to disagree with me regarding what to expect at a concert, save it for someone who cares. I didn't write this post to start another stupid E.T. controversy. Jeff Runkle ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 15:01:12 -0500 From: mike Subject: Crimson Sounds & Scrapes Boy, it seems a lot of ETers have been displeased with the shows in Oregon & LA. Apparently, it seems the people who do sound-check have left some with earaches, and headaches. The "sound gripes" aside, I'd like to comment about bobabuoy not liking the mix. I agree with his right to say it sucked, but hey, the set isn't made up with any one individual's particular desires in mind. Myself, I don't like much of the newer Crimson (from Discipline on) but still have seen them at least a dozen times since the 'Discipline' days. Usually I am quite pleased with everything, but like I said, they aren't necessarily playing what I like. I just get to see, what I think are, exceptional musicians perform. I more or less know they're not going to play most of my favorites (as those are from over 25 years ago). But I know they will please me. I guess if I went to a show with expectations like "this will be like this, and that will be like that", I should let someone in the band know in advance. I'm off to the Beacon for the Thursday the13th show in NYC (I don't even know if the Friday the 14th exists, as nowhere are tickets being sold), and hopefully I don't come away with the 'it sucked' attitude bobabuoy did. Doubtful, as I know in advance that this 'expose' is not being composed purely for my satisfaction. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 16:27:16 -0500 From: "Brown, Ken" Subject: Selling Out Kris M (who I was not really attacking (I just used his email as a jumping off place for my rant) and I am glad he sees that says about selling out) >>The best example I can think of [even if this is a different genre] is Shania Twain. If you've ever heard her songs, they're not meant to be country songs, as they're classed. They're meant to be hits on pop charts - and they usually end up there, too. She's a sell-out to the blatant extreme. I am not trying to imply for a moment that KC is or ever was a sell-out.<< First off if anybody in Crim looked like Shania Twain they would be more famous then they are. Not that looks or talent have a lot to do with making it, but having the two plus a lot of luck does. But seriously has Shania sold out if this is the music she really likes to do (as it goes with most of today's pop bands)? In large part I agreed with Kris assessment of things, but to me what makes an artist 'sell-out' seems to be very subjective in nature. If Shania or any other artist likes what they are doing how can they be selling out. And if they are famous and rich for it, more power to them. And I certainly think bands have moved in directions I would consider 'selling out', but I could also find fans of said artists telling me that that the 'sell-out' stuff is the good stuff. Again not really picking on Kris but to all 'selling out' and what is 'good' music people out there. The Music Biz is about selling product. So what is good is what sells, plain and simple. N'Sync sells 2 million copies in their first week they are very good. Crim sells 20,000 they aren't. That is the real world in the music biz. Just be thankful the Net and cheap recording/producing process allows bands like Crim and all those less known bands we all love to create the music most of us listen to. Keep the Faith (in the Music) ken brown ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 17:03:35 EST From: Kissman24 at aol dot com Subject: Reply To "Younger Generation"... >"MTV is truly the biggest waste of time." How true! Ditch the boybands, MTV! VH1 is cool now...remember when they were all country and everyone hated them? Well they're cool now! Still no KC though...no surprise. Seriously, MTV is bad now...Jordan posted everything I wanted to say in that last post of his...Bravo ::clap clap::! ..Rock On.. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 22:25:50 -0800 From: don lind Subject: sound mix? I wonder if anyone connected with KC are aware of what a horrible job the FOH mixer is doing. The sound should go from a whisper to a roar. It should breathe. You can not have loud without quiet. This guy is is in WAY over his head. SOMEBODY please listen. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 11:07:25 +0100 From: Franz Neulinger Subject: Ear Candy IMHO the following are a must for all true KING CRIMSON fans: TOWERING INFERNO, Kaddish Tim BUCKLEY, Starsailor Kate BUSH, Hounds of Love CENTIPEDE, Septober Energy CAN, Tago Mago Franz ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 15:28:16 +0100 From: "Marcus Enochsson" Subject: Re: GIG REVIEW: November 16, The Web Theatre, Phoenix, AZ Christopher "HeKcman" (more commonly known as Heckman) once upon a time wrote: >Overall? I have been to several concerts that have made me want to quit >mathematics and become a musician instead. This wasn't one of them, though. Hey, don't forget we're talking King Crimson here! Where lies the difference? Cheers, Marcus ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 11:11:50 -0700 From: "Moshier, John T" Subject: GIG REVIEW: Phoenix, Nov 16,2001 SET LIST Intro-Improv? possibly Dangerous Curves The Construkction of Light Into the Frying Pan New Material introduced as "New Material" possibly Elekctric Thela Hun Ginjeet Dinosaur Frame by Frame Level Five Prozakc Blues Larks Tongues in Aspic Part IV Encore 1 The Deception of the Thrush Red Encore 2 Begged for but not provided I applogize if this is inaccurate. I was not keeping a running set list, and I might have missed a song or gotten some out of order. THE VENUE The Web Theater in Phoenix is the converted auditorium from the old Phoenix Union High School. It seats 500, more or less. My 19 year old son and I were in the 20th row, about 2/3 of the way back, dead center, but behind the sound board (and standing sound and light personel), and a large post. The hall was about 95% full. Our tickets were "premium" tickets from SCI, but I didn't order until 8 days before the show because I didn't know if I could go. They cost about $10 apiece more than they were selling for through the ordinary local outlet. They were not "premium" vis-a-vis other seats but in a small hall they were good seats, and I probably got them because I ordered so late. The crowd was mostly 35-55 years old and 90% male. A few ladies walked down the aisle during the show out toward the exit with very unhappy looks on their faces. Unfortunately the people immediately in front of me and immediately behind me were very rude. The group of 4 or 5 in front was drinking heavily and talked through the first 1/3 of John Paul Jones until they decided they liked him and got into it. They left about 2/3 of the way through the King Crimson concert. The 2 men behind me spent the whole show talking about how great Fripp was playing instead of listening to the music. They also sang during Frame By Frame and came in in the wrong places and talked during the Wasteland quotes on Thrush--very annoying. JOHN PAUL JONES ORCHESTRA Three pieces, JPJ, a drummer and a stick player wearing a kilt. JPJ was very good. Unlike the review from San Francisco, the sound was fine. JPJ played a variety of instruments from the guitar family, including what a think was an electric steel guitar that was on a stand and looked like a small keyboard. He got the most incredible sounds out of this instrument, including a very credible replacement for Robert Plant's vocals during the Black Dog encore. He also played When the Levee Breaks (instrumental) and The Way It Ought To Be (with JPJ singing) from the Zep days, together with a number of pieces I didn't know from his later work. He sounded a lot like Led Zeppelin, and I got a real appreciation for his contribution to the Zep sound which I previously had overlooked. The best thing, though was seeing how much fun he was having: Here is a guy who made untold millions playing to stadium -sized audiences for the biggest rock band of its time opening for an obscure cult band in a tiny venue and having a great time doing it! I'm going to buy his album and start supporting his new endeavors. THE KING CRIMSON LIVE SOUND LOUD. Very loud, surprisingly and painfully loud. Much louder than JPJ. Throughout the show, this incredibly deep, throbbing thump hit right in the pit of the stomach. I thought for a while it was Trey playing deeper than any bass guitar I had ever heard on his Touch Guitar. After the show, when I realized it wasn't the bass, I asked my son, who is a drummer, if it was some kind of electric bass drum. He said it was Pat whacking a drum mike with his stick. DIABOLICAL. I suspect the mostly red stage lighting had a lot to do with it, but the music came across as much more demented and twisted than it does on record. This is not fun music. It is intense, disturbing and mentally and emotionally draining. It amazes me that these guys can do this night after night. At times I envisioned them as the house band for the gates of hell, or as the sound track for the appocalypse. I thought about the recent ear candy ET thread the next day. A little reggae anyone? THE PLAYERS. Fripp sat in the dark behind his monitors all night and did everything but hide behind a curtain to avoid having any kind of stage presence. He never talked or acknowleged the audience. The stage lights never illuminated him. It was almost impossible to see what he was doing. Afterwards, my son and I had the following conversation: SON: Is Fripp always like that? ME: Yes, he is very introverted. SON: That whole Hermit Guitarist image is cool, I like it! Honestly, I sometimes wonder why Fripp ever leaves the studio. I could speculate that there is something about the atmosphere and riskiness of a one take live setting that spurs and motivates his creativity. The impression he leaves is that he is doing this only for himself and that the audience is only a prop or a necessary condition to his creation and that he does not particularly care whether the audience is pleased or enjoys itself. Adrian, Pat and Trey, on the other hand, seemed to genuinely appreciate their audience and playing live. Pat was the most animated performer, and was simply incredible. His sense of timing on various percussive effects was astounding. Adrian was laid back and friendly, cutting up with the audience about not being in Phoenix to torture it for 5 or 6 years. His singing was very good and showed good range, from his usual tennor to his "reverse falsetto" on Prozakc Blues. Shame on those who question whether he belongs in the band. Live, at least, he is its stage leader. Trey was the epitome of cool. He wore a black suit without tie, and much of the time he stood back next to the drum kit, outside the spotlights gently weaving to the sound. THE NEW MATERIAL. No vocals. Less new material than I expected. I think these guys may be a ways away from having a whole album of new material. The new stuff is in the same vein as the TCOL material. We clearly have a discernable style period developing. The pieces started with simple, single note fugal-sounding material like The Construkction of Light and Fractured, and evolved into long, complex, multi- part compositions, much like TCOL, Frakctured and Larks IV. Very good stuff. THE HIGHLIGHTS. Larks IV and Thrush. Larks IV was riveting, and the whole audience jumped to its feet at the end. They played the coda, but without the I Have a Dream vocal. I think it was more effective this way.( I had wondered what Adrian might do with the World Trade Center bombing reference in light of the September 11th disaster). For the Thrush encore, Adrian stayed off stage until coming out for Red. Trey came out front and was ensconced in white spotlights for his solo. He has an incredible sense of beauty! Other notes. Frame By Frame had a new and much heavier arrangement. Thela was done without the "dangerous place" monologue, which was a good thing. They did everthing from TCOL but Oyster Soup and Frakctured, which I really would have liked to hear. No straight out improvs. No Elephant Talk (they got it 2 nights earlier in San Francisco). No second encore like San Francisco, although it is hard to imagine a 500 person audience being more appreciative. FINAL THOUGHTS. Was I Impressed? Absolutely. Did I love the show? Probably not. I left feeling more drained than exhilerated. I was not disappointed. This is just very deep, heavy, disturbing stuff. Sort of like the late Shostakovich string quartets or the Shostakovich 14th symphony, which is all great music,but which is not intended to evoke happy emotions. I'm glad I went, and would go again, but I could never see these guys 3 nights in a row. It would probably do me in or send me to the assylum. I'm ready for some post-appocolyptic ear candy. John Moshier, Phoenix, Az. USA ------------------------------ Date: 19 Nov 2001 11:49:30 -0800 From: adrian_c at pacbell dot net Subject: GIG REVIEW: JPJ/KC at the Warfield SF I just have a few things to add to the reviews we have seen already. We were standing down at the front, and the tradeoff is that we had a great close-up view of the performers, but the sound mix was poor, bass heavy. Up on the balcony by the mixing desk the sound was excellent. Overall I like to see the band closeup live, I can get good sound at home by playing a CD. When we saw them with Tool a few months ago, we were so far back we couldn't see anything. The JPJ band were OK in parts, the mix was poor and Nick Beggs (Stick) was inaudible most of the time where we were standing. For those who don't know, he has a website at http://www.nickbeggs.co.uk/ and you might (just) remember him from the one-hit-wonder (Too Shy) band Kajagoogoo in the early 80's. I actually met him in those days at their roadie's wedding with hordes of fans outside. A surreal experience. I didn't recognise him with short hair! KC played pretty well, but seemed a little rusty at times. In particular during Red, which was powerful but a bit flaky. I wish they would play it a little bit faster. The high point of the gig for me was LTIA IV. Yet again I missed them playing One Time, I see that it was in the setlist in Phoenix but they didn't play it in SF :-( Adrian ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 15:08:51 -0800 From: "Fazio, Lou" Subject: GIG REVIEW: Level Five and Zooma live in Los Angeles > King Crimson, with John Paul Jones. Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles > CA. 15-Nov-2001. > late last week my wife and i were treated to a loud and stellar performance of primarily instrumental and improv-heavy rock by these two fine ensembles. despite my previous sarcasm about the size of the venue (holds 6,500) vs. KC's popularity, there was a respectable showing... i'd guesstimate the theatre was about 65% full. far from a sellout but much better than what i expected, frankly. > the john paul jones 'orchestra' (all three members) hit the stage promptly > at 8.15pm as scheduled. WOW!!!! they played a startling, fun, eclectic and > rocking set. jonesy looks *great* for an 'elder statesman' of british > classic rock. he was a marvel on a wide variety of stringed things, custom > made by hugh manson who was his road tech as well. he used a 10 string > bass (with tiny yellow 'track lights' on the fretboard!), a baritone > guitar type instrument, mandolin, the tiniest ukelele you ever did see, > another very small electric mini-guitar, and a huge table-top sized bass > lap-steel guitar. his road band includes terl bryant (great drummer - not > flashy but very strong & solid) and chapman stick player nick beggs, also > a very talented musician. > > i had gotten jpj's album Zooma before this tour to get familiar with his > new stuff. not a 'must-have' by any means but definitely a > 'prog-fan-friendly' album... boomy & bass-heavy, it's not unlike tony > levin-era crimson, but with a fat dose of zeppy blues thrown in for good > measure. he played four cuts from it, two from his new album that comes > out in february, and a chunk of zep tunes which of course got a huge > reponse from the crowd, as did his solo tunes. they loved him & his set > was a tough act to follow. if he does a headline club tour, i'd see him > again. hearing his bass lap-steel work made me wonder who was doing what > on those old zep studio albums, when jimmy page was passed out drunk in > the corner...? ;-) > > Set, 8:15-9:20pm: > (synthy intro music)> > * Zooma (jpj-10 string bass). wacked stick solo by beggs, who mimiced > the album track's "sick" guitar solo by butthole surfer paul leary. > * ? new one from the upcoming 'Thunderthief' album. melodic rocker > w/great stick solo by beggs.(jpj-10 string bass) > * The Smile of Your Shadow (jpj: bari-git thing & lap steel). > beautiful piece, starts out with delicate arpeggio chords & then gets big > & loud. > * That's The Way (!!!) (jpj-mandolin & vox, beggs ac. git) jonesy sang > this just fine, he didn't try to sound like plant. he has a clear, > plaintive, folky voice. > * Since I've Been Lovin' You (!!!!) instrumental version. jpj started > with a biting bluesy solo on mandolin, then switched to bass lap steel. > incredible! > * When the Levee Breaks. YEAH!! another stomper, no vocals. jpj-lap > steel > * B. Fingers. (jpj-10 string bass) another rollicking zooma tune. > * ? Holiday With My Darling? jpj-voice & mini-ukelele. hilarious and > cool romantic irish/celtic jig, about taking holiday with your woman, away > from cel phones & interative tv. the crowd ate it up! > * ? another new one. jpj-mini-electric guitar. he played a wild > intro-cadenza, which looped thru a delay unit so the melodies were phasing > in & out of the mix, dancing among themselves with varying volume swells. > great effect & playing. > * Tidal. (jpj-10 string bass) another rapid-fire stonker from zooma, > the closing track. > the crowd gave them a standing ovation which brought 'em back for an > encore: > * Black Dog! jpj on the mighty bass lap steel. no vox - jonesy played > the vocal-melody lines on the lap steel. huge, massive, chugging, and > great. > > so king crimson had their work cut out for them. after a long > breakdown/set-up intermission, with the usual wash of soundscapes playing > over the PA, the lights went down, the crowd cheered its enthusiasm... and > we were off on a fascinating 90-minute journey into dark, thrakky, > challenging, fun, DARK, sinister, DARK, and often beautiful musical > structures. > > the band is in a unique space right now, or at least they were on this > night. (and i don't mean the lovely venue!) some might say they've become > repetitive, and it is true that the new material does indeed reference > past pieces, and there is certainly riff/motif recycling going on. but i'm > a hugely rabid fan, so i can forgive these types of gripes because (and i > can't really articulate this well), the band uses their repetoire of > techniques and improvs in new, refreshing, and exploratory ways. it's > almost as if they are digging thru, drilling into, and examining the > physicality of their mighty sound to strive and delve for something > special, or to get to a certain destination.... and watching and hearing > the process, to me, is a revelation. rock music rarely gets this cerebral > in such an organically natural and physical way. imho it's *somewhat* akin > to an extended john coltrane saxophone improvisation: trane would play > over one chord change for lengthy periods of time, re-ordering and > re-sequencing the notes & variations that comprise that chord, in a > never-ending emotional analysis of all the possibilites. the analogy isn't > quite exact, but... hopefully you get the idea. like i said, i can't > really articulate this very well... > > everyone was on top of their game. mr. fripp sat in shadow much of the > night, outlined by his effects rig. but of course his sound surpassed his > semi-hidden image onstage; the soundscapes, the burnished & crawling lead > lines, and dancing gamelan-spidery-interlocking lines with adrian were all > there in full force. belew played brilliantly as well. his voice never > sounded better. *fabulous* sound mix, loud and powerful but clear as a > bell. (i've seen others post on how *bad* the mix was, muddy & too loud. > this really confused me ... where i was, in the middle loge section, the > mix was perfect. and *properly* loud!) trey gunn's warr-guitar work is > monsterous and versatile - beautifully melodic in the middle & upper > registers, rubbery and deeply booming in the bass end. pat mastelotto > played a mix of acoustic and electric drums and percussion as well as a > keyboard. very interesting drummer to watch & listen to. he and gunn have > (imho) respectably filled the huge shoes of bruford/levin. of course i > miss those guys as most KC fans do, but less & less as i see this line-up > more often. good light show too, a bit too dark but very colorful and > effective. > > Set: 9.48-11.15pm. > * The Construcktion of Light. i love this song, a lot. their best > since the discipline era imho. delicate, lattice-work guitars, ethereal > and philosophical lyrics, and prowling, probing bass/drums. >> > * Into the Frying Pan. very rocked up version with firey > fripp-isms.after this adrian greeted the crowd graciously, and said 'one > of the reasons we come out to torture you is to work on new material....' > * Electric. one of four new instrumentals played this nite. punchy > bass riffs overlayed with more delicate, frame x frame-style harmony > guitar leads. > * Level Five. THIS PIECE ALONE IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE CONCERT > TICKET, as well as the limited edition tour CD. big Sabbathy main riff > (it's KC style stoner-metal!), with a thrak-like power chord middle > section with staccato rhythms.... which are interspersed with ferocious > fripp/gunn crawling unison lines. again the band references its repetoire > but spins it into beastly new pleasures. > * Dinosaur. jaunty and fun rendition. more great singing by adrian. > * One Time. fragile and gorgeous as always. great vocals by belew who > was really on at this show. gunn played the ashbory mini-bass on this. > * Virtuous Circle. really cool new piece, moody and atmospheric. pat > moved back & forth from synth to drum machine to drumkit, triggering > loops and samples everywhere. it started with an oscillating horn/trumpet > noise not unlike the (studio) beginning of The Talking Drum. it has a > sinister bass vamp throughout, cool arabic fripp guitar lines, and adrian > making synthy beeps and blurps with his touchpad theremin-thing. 2nd half > gets a bit chunkier without losing the main theme or mood. > * Prozack Blues. not my fave song on TCOL but much better live, really > silly and playful version. great adrian solo. > * Dangerous Curves. another new one, they opened with this at the tool > show in august. quietly threatening, chugging guitars against a popping > bass/drum pattern and angst-filled soundscapes, gradually builds momentum, > and abruptly ends. great piece, but at a *mere* 4 or 5 minutes long, it > feels like they could grow it if they chose to. > * Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part 4/Coda: I Have a Dream (sans vocals). > WOW! this 13-minute workout slays me. i've seen it 3 times live now & this > was the best version so far. the entire band was just ludicrously intense > on this one, balls-out and spot-on. adrian's crying, achingly sad and epic > outro solo was a thing of beauty i will not soon forget. > encores: > * Deception of the Thrush. belew sat this out as usual. heavy & > sinister first part, with some SCREAMING frippery and massive gunn > warr-bass bottom, followed by gunn's delicate end-solo. not as pretty as > the last 2 times i've seen them play this, a more cranky interpretation. > * Thela Hun Ginjeet. funked-up energized fun! they dropped the sampled > voice part which was fine. > > and that was it! big standing ovation, the crowd loved it. i would have > liked a *slightly* longer set but that is a minor complaint. quality, not > quantity, is what counts here, and as always king crimson continues to > push forward on its musical mission. and i for one am honored and > delighted to go along for the ride. > respectuflly submitted, LF ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 20:51:10 -0800 From: Herb Subject: GIG REVIEW: - San Francisco I've been a happy KC customer for 20 years, but this one was a heartbreaker ... Four of the greatest musicians in the world on stage ... playing intricate, elaborately detailed music ... every sound carefully crafted ... and some amateur deaf rock'n'roll-er mixing ... ???? PLEASE TURN IT DOWN AND LET US LISTEN! I hope that someone reading this knows someone associated with the band and can get the word back to them! - Herb ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 01:53:17 -0800 From: Marc J Goodman Subject: Re: GIG REVIEW: Not "Fripped Off" At All in LA This won't be an extensive review of the LA show. I just wanted to get this out real quick as I received #894 and scrolled right down to the bottom, as I saw the words "Fripped off". I didn't want it to be thought to the readership at large that this was, by any means, any kind of a bad show. I don't know where bobabuoy was sitting. I was wayyyyyy in the back of the lower level, by the back doors of the Ampitheater. In the center-They call it the "loge", row M. My friends who were with me agreed-the sound was amazing, the band was amazing (as always), and the show was WELL WORTH attending. I, too, have seen KC quite a few times. Nothing "belew". Maybe this guy was just being the kind of joker his nom de ET leads me to believe he may have been. (Nice name, though. I listen to the Stern show every day. Never miss a minute.) Maybe he took some bad K. Not looking for flames, as this is not a flame. I WOULD say if there was anything wrong with this show, trust me. In fact, I'd even like to mention that John Paul Jones opened and, although the sound was not all that together for his set, as is frequently the case for an opening act as the mix is really set for the headliner, he and his trio DID play some great and unexpected stuff. He is a great multi-instrumentalist, and played some classic Zeppelin tunes along with more recent material of his on some beautiful instruments. Thanks to Mr. Fripp for having him along. Like I said, this is not a review. Just a few words from another point of view to balance things out a bit. I DO want to say that the new material and improvs are masterful, the band is an increasingly cohesive unit, and Pat is setting up some great new grooves and atmospheres with Adrian and Trey for Mr. Fripp to get into. And it shows. Had a great time, boys. Come baKc again real soon. Marc J Goodman ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 02:36:52 -0800 (PST) From: Bill Messinger Subject: GIG REVIEW: Denver The thinner air in the Denver area demands that we breathe deeply, and that is the principle for judging a King Crimson concert. Nothing can really be mastered without first mastering how to breathe; life is an inhalation and exhalation. There is no part of music that does not coincide with human breathe. KC, who actually define progressive rock by trying to go as as far as possible without abandoning rock, were worthy to breathe along with. The complexities didn't contradict the breathe. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 12:49:42 -0800 From: gatesstudios at netscape dot net Subject: GIG REVIEW: S.F. 11/14 I am one of those folks who had my doubts about a bruford/levin -less King Crimson. At the show in San Francisco last Wednesday (11/14) I was made to realize how wrong I was. The show was great. Pat played very well and his skills are not clouded by being in the shadows of Bill Bruford. They played a good selection of songs and as I hoped they played "Red" , one of my favorites. I am now a reformed fan and will try and see this line up (or any other) with a more of an open mind. Dave Gaither gatesstudios at myexcel dot com ------------------------------ End of Elephant Talk Digest #895 ********************************