Robert Fripp's Diary

The Venue Stuttgart To the

The Venue, Stuttgart

To the venue early from a dayroom at the hotel next door. It's a good room to have an enema, and has an excellent view of the adjoining graveyard.

Lotsa stuff underway. A good call to David at DGM HQ. He is back from Amsterdam, mixing the recording of Andrew Keeling's arrangements of Soundscapes, transcribed by Bert Lams, organized by Gert-Jan Blom. Also, several Crimson pieces. David loves Andrew's orchestral versions of two particular Soundscapes which have gained considerably in their translation. The creative side of Tone Probe is weighed down by DGM business, and presses on David much as I am pressed by KC business.

Backtracking --
Thursday 8th. July: The Paris performance at the Congresshall: essentially the Congresshall is a sonic shithole. Too large for the size of our audience, part of the space was curtained off. Afterwards several people commented favourably on the sound, which is a compliment for Greg Dean, FOH Sound Hero. Greg mentioned that the sound is usually awful. One might wonder why it was chosen as our venue, then.

The audience were listening, seemingly restrained, but were most enthusiastic at the end; about the time the first flash went off at the end of LTIA IV. So I left. Thrush & Frame By Frame I played badly. We stood for acknowledgements, and then another flash. So I left again. Then Red. I didn't stay for the next photocall.

In the dressing room afterwards, I was given a fax concerning upcoming business, in response to a confidential letter of mine. This confidential letter was printed up at the end of the reply. This contained nothing secret, but some things require discretion & timing. My own letter expressed the extent of my unhappiness with this tour.

On the bus, asleep at 00.30, awoken by a crash of falling baggage at 01.30 and awake until 03.00, when I got up. The other Crims were still happening. Then back to bed, arriving at Hotel Adequate, Stuttgart, around 11.00.

Bus Outside Congresshall, Stuttgart; 23.56

Any venue with the name of congresshall, and close linguistic variations, I now understand translates as sonic shithole in extremis. But once the people were in, Greg managed to tame the sound.

Not one flash. The difference this makes to me, now very damaged by my encounters with the "listening" public on this tour, is hard to articulate: life as a player begins again. Then, outside the venue and as I was getting onto the bus, the flash. Just to let me know: even offstage, I'm fair game. What a pity. The lesson I note, and it is a lesson I would rather not have noted, is this: sooner, later, we will fuck you over.

The performance, as performance, was solid. Average to average plus. A good supportive audience who were allowed by the security staff, encouraged by Ade, to express themselves at the end.

Soundcheck: usually Adrian and I arrive after The Rhythm Buddies are done. The sound Pat gets from his kit is good, strong, convincing. And very loud. But three decades of sound checks with drummers is enough for me, particularly when the FOH Sound Mixer asks a drummer to hit the snare drum. If there is any delay or problem with the Back Line, and often there is, the Front Line is left, either waiting backstage, or having the fine hairs of the inner ears flattened onstage.

Today, Adrian was kept waiting longer than usual. He came on once and was sent away. Then he came back, quickly tested his equipment and announced I've waited an hour for you, now you can wait an hour for me. Then left. It's that part of the tour. After 5 weeks & 3 days, something changes. No one took offence. Pat hit one of his many samples, this one a sample of Adrian saying I danced right out of there! Wonderfully appropriate.

After the show I had a brief discussion with Ade re: future arisings.

Comment from David Bowen, our Welsh Production Manager on this leg of the tour: "I have worked with someone who practises more than you - Segovia". David worked with The Maestro around 1984.