Robert Fripp's Diary

Sunday 01 July 2018

Hotel Posh, Berlin.

08.21

Rising c. 06.48 from NightWorld adventures and down to the trough. An entirely acceptable outside table. The table I was given, my preferred location outside in the open air, was aromated with cigar smoke from the adjoining table. The air was open, merely blended with cigar smoke.

23.26 Line and sound checking ran a little late with the various arisings on the first night in a venue. So Soundscaping at 17.20 ran into additional problems with gear. The Royal Packagers entered c. 17.35 while I was continuing to set up the ‘Scapes. A welcome to them, and three people who have never seen KC before. Toby Amies was filming.

Practising 18.00 to 19.00. John the guitar tech visited to say that he was leaving the Team after tonight’s show.

Onstage 19.30. First set: one hour and twenty-five minutes. Twenty minute intermission. Total running length: three hours and four minutes, just on the hard curfew. We had to drop Schizoid.

Technical problems: my guitar sound level dropped radically between sound check and onstage, without me touching a thing. So a few tweaks and programme mods during the set, and mainly trusting Russ our monitor man and Chris Porter FOH. Who knows? Some times, some places, some people, add to which electricity, and funny things may happen.

Overall a good show, between 7.5 – 8.00 on my rating, to a supportive audience; and a few photographers who knew otherwise but didn’t care.

My general sense of audiences on this tour is that they are now of a different character to our audiences in the past four years. More listening-audiences who take the measure of the band and engage in the event. Not-quite a conventional rock show, with men leaving frequently for the bathroom and returning with beers and photography throughout. No criticism implied of rock shows, bands and punters. Simply noting the listening practice that goes with this band has its own forms of celebration.

Berlin AdmiralsPalast I:
Into the Crimson Zone…