With the tensions that had surfaced during the making of Beat hopefully behind them, King Crimson embarked on their second North American tour of the year. Having previously played Toads Place just 4 months before you might think that the folks of New Haven had had enough Crimson juice to last them a while. Turns out the answer is no as the Crims play not one but two gigs in ONE night at the club. The early show bears the hallmarks of a tour opening; first night ‘nerves’ in the shape of fingers and feet going where they weren’t meant to - otherwise known as Red, and a slightly wayward quality where consistency is variable. While this very decent audience recording captures the audience's enthusiasm, it also evidences a certain sluggishness in the band, where the energy is slow to get off the ground. That said, Heartbeat is lovely, containing a gorgeous solo from Fripp, and The Howler achieves a savagery its studio counterpart struggled to muster, and Adrian’s playful interaction with the equally playful crowd during the verses of Indiscipline will put a smile on your face.
First Show
With the tensions that had surfaced during the making of Beat hopefully behind them, King Crimson embarked on their second North American tour of the year. Having previously played Toads Place just 4 months before you might think that the folks of New Haven had had enough Crimson juice to last them a while. Turns out the answer is no...
The sound is actually not so bad, at times even quite good. It's especially missing a nice warm bass sound. Here are elements of songs you won’t hear very often, like the sudden time-break on Elephant Talk.
The very enthusiastic audience makes for a great atmosphere, without being distracting from the listening experience.
As far as I’m concerned no lack of energy here at all! There has not yet been much polishing here yet, but that’s part of the charm of a “first” concert in a tour....
The sound is actually not so bad, at times even quite good. It's especially missing a nice warm bass sound. Here are elements of songs you won’t hear very often, like the sudden time-break on Elephant Talk.
The very enthusiastic audience makes for a great atmosphere, without being distracting from the listening experience.
As far as I’m concerned no lack of energy here at all! There has not yet been much polishing here yet, but that’s part of the charm of a “first” concert in a tour. Once you get to Philadelphia or Asbury Park things have certainly been ironed out.
The lovely renditions of Heartbreak and Matte Kudasai, at times an almost funky Sheltering Sky and the great interaction on Indiscipline make this an enjoyable concert that is well worth the listen.
