Center Stage

My first time seeing the Crims since '95 (Roxy, Atlanta, which I just purchased from DGM). First night, we were all the way over on the right, and were unable to see Fripp, but we sure could hear him! Second night, I was Dead Center. Sublime, gentlemen. In an age where so many groups just phone it in, here was an elite ensemble, re-inventing themselves (as they've always done!). It's a rare treat. I'd pay good money for official recordings (to accompany my Chicago purchase), but the recently shared "Indiscipline" from this night will help. Thanks, gents!

Please see review for the previous night as I try not to repeat myself. My 12-year-old-drummer Andrew (Drumson?) and I arrived for the second night in Atlanta. Greeted by Iona...bought more merchandise from Adrian...took another photo with Patricia Fripp. Then Robert came out and we were treated to more sister/brother banter. Robert asked Andrew how he liked last night’s show, then said something like "Young drummer, I saw you got Gavin's sticks". Next, another talk by David Singleton. If you want some humor/dirt on the Music Industry, read his ‘Vicar Chronicles’...hilarious! We were lucky to have TWO mystery guests as Gavin and Pat spoke! It was neat to hear them talk about the rehearsal process. Heaven for a young, serious drummer who knows the tunes (gyrating to odd time signatures) and some of the band noticed that. Hopefully there will be transcriptions of the Drumson compositions (Devil Dogs, Hell Hounds, etc.) By the way, please check out Gavin’s ‘Cheating the Polygraph’...amazing! The whole is greater than the parts...and what parts! Robert (Segovia-like stature, as great as ever, and visibly pleased with this band), Jakko (amazing guitarist and the best Crimso vocalist of all), Tony (multi-textures and master of all basses...thanks for your wonderful photos), Mel (a God, and I can’t imagine seeing a future Crimson without him), Chris (who had to learn much complex music quickly), Pat (happy energy and unique devices/sounds), Jeremy (adds vital new elements), and of course Gavin (who seems to drive the band and interact with the audience at the same time). We hope to see Bill R. on stage again someday. Positive energy is flowing back and forth between the Eight-Headed Beast and the audience. I honestly don’t know what else to say about this band except compare them to the classic Coltrane Quartet and Miles’ Second Great Quintet in reaching a pinnacle. Sometimes it seems like the music is playing the band, and it made tears (of joy) stream down my face. Will the goosebumps ever leave? The setlist was very different from the first night...four different tunes. And everything is played differently every night. Breathless was a great surprise. Other standouts were the Lizard Suite, Cirkus, Islands, The Letters, Easy Money, Starless, Discipline, Meltdown and Level Five. And of course all of the Drum Trios! Like the previous night, fans were saying it was the best music they’ve ever witnessed. There were discussions about which Atlanta show was superior. Crimson fans: Please take advantage of the Stormy Mundy downloads. They give even more insight into all incarnations of KC. Thanks again to the King Crimson/ DGM team. All of your efforts really made us feel like a small part of the family. We were also at Minneapolis and Austin F & F show, and got the Royal Package for the tour finale in Milwaukee!

I was given the opportunity to see both Atlanta shows, and I thought it not possible to repeat what I witnessed on night 1. Man, was I wrong. Night 2 was just heavenly. I see a lot of shows, but ones like this come around rarely. Starting and ending the first set with LTIA was amazing. Other highlights were Level 5 and Starless for me, but then the whole night was a highlight. Just watching these guys play their instruments is so very satisfying. The sound they make is just pure exstacy.

The second night of Crimso's Atlanta stay was superb. If Night One took us to third base, then Night Two took us all the way, baby. A hot date indeed. The crowd was definitely better behaved, though the one audient who made the unfortunate decision to take a flash photo definitely had an affect on the performance, as Fripp himself was onstage pointing at the offender, waiting for them to be removed before putting his attention back on his Epitaph leads, whose tones resonated with disappointment. There were a few more hecklers as well, but their shouts were better timed tonight, and didn't take away from the energy, in fact some of the hoots and the hollers may have helped lift it..... speaking of lift off, the band dialed it up a notch tonight. An amazing Level Five that Tony was visibly proud of. A breathtaking Breathless. Easy Money went totally off the rails. The band took a leap, looked like they might fall flat on their face, and were somehow rescued by some emergency Gavin/Fripp telepathy. It was more like they hovered over the rails.... Another sublime Moonchild led into an effective 1-2 punch of Court Of The Crimson King and 21st Century Schizoid Man to close out Set 2. Schizoid Man was another one that somehow reached higher than expected stratospheres. Mel took his coat off so you knew he meant extra business. Gavin's solo had Pat smiling and clapping, and the transition out of the solo back into the jam was another bit of Gavin/Fripp mind meld magic.... and wow they just played 3 songs from the first album back-to-back-to-back. The encore brought another nice surprise with the first performance of Heroes on this leg, and then Starless finished things off in grand fashion. I hope this show gets a DGM web release someday! It felt extra special!