An interestingly textured improv kicks open the second night of the tour. Like some demented waltz, Fripp’s strings pan from one extreme to another in the stereo picture whilst Levin’s upright bass growls and prowls around Belew’s sustained notes and the combined percussion and allsorts of Bruford and Mastelotto. After such an intriguing opening, Thela is taken at something of a relaxed canter, whilst Red’s tempo is the equivalent of a stately procession. Vrooom Vrooom marks a rise in the energy levels and a certain gear shift. There’s an interesting rendition of the Thrak theme with Fripp employing quite a different harmony on the main theme which appears to wrongfoot the other string players for a second or two. The rather dense improv contains some wrenching though fragmented soloing from Gunn and Fripp. Usually the band would return to the main theme as an outro to Thrak but here, the cop car siren effect is ushered in Belew and the rest of the band follow suit.
