20th JAN

At the final show in this series of concerts the prevailing mood of the 80-minute opening piece paints a picture of transitory urban imagery sometimes moving by in slo-mo and other times in fleeting shadows and light.

At times sounding reminiscent of the more livid textures of 1995’s Radiophonics album, in the early stages of the piece, during Tuning The Air, Fripp conjures an unsettling sequence of moods while careful to leave enough space in the mix so as not to be oppressive. The mood remains terse though softer in tone and focus as it develops. Nearly forty minutes in, Fripp overlays a mournful elegy of exquisite poignancy played on high string tones that fundamentally shifts the feeling of the piece into something powerful and affecting. Lasting only a few cycles before withdrawing into the drifting clouds, Fripp’s painterly attention to small but transformative additions is second to none.

Much of the Quebec City Suite that follows reverts to the harder-edged approach with the second of the five parts boasting an unambiguously astringent guitar solo, perhaps the only part in which Fripp’s playing might be said to be Crimson-like in the overall performance. Taken as a whole, this performance, his last before embarking on the ProjeKct Two tour exactly one month later, is monumental.

17 October 2024