Robert Fripp's Diary

Adventures In International Crimsonising

20.38
Another stunning example of how Crimson manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. An interesting show, and for Pat his best. But a series of astonishing small mistakes, clams and shunting errors throughout the show made it quintessentially Crim.

The first of these was mine. In the first Fairy Fingers on F sharp, suddenly I found myself thinking "this isn't sharp - it's natural". So, I modulated down a semitone. Then, realising very quickly it was sharp, modulating back up again. But not quite quick enough. Meanwhile Trey was wondering whether to follow me down, as Adrian was looking at his fingerboard in puzzled disbelief, but decided to stay where he was. A sure sign the band is maturing: if one of the guys goes out on a limb, the other members are now inclined to smile and wave as it snaps beneath them.

This was only one of the evening's "Adventures In International Crimsonising".

Exactly why this happens is something of a mystery. I can present a few obvious contributory factors: we left the hotel late for the soundcheck, we had a discussion on lighting before the soundcheck (and close to the showtime), we had a short discussion on business matters, the performance was early but I'm not sure whether this had an impact, and if so to what extent. What is certain for me is this: when an audience enters, all the rules change.

With the presence of an audience, the performance takes on a life (or lifelessness) of its own. The band's internal process, which begins a long time before the performance, is directed towards the moment when the audience walks in, and the group walks on. Then, everthing's up for grabs.

In large venues in a commercial culture, performance moves more towards crowd control. There is greater risk in opening to the moment, as well as greater possibility. In a word, the event is hazardous. Woodstock & Live Aid demonstrate one version of what might happen, and Altamont another. Crimson has its own historical stories (like working in Italy).

When a player walks onstage, it must be for the first time. Otherwise, something cannot come to life. And tonight, for the first time, I found myself moving from F# to F natural to F#. But that's not quite the "for the first time" I have in mind.