As the sun was setting over Pittsburgh, P2 opened their show first with silence and then a nebulous soundscape. [endtease] In his diary at the time, Trey rated the show as "pretty good…though we had to fight with the energy." He goes on to argue that P2 benefit from the pressure cooker environment of a club and though the opening Vector Shift sounds like they’re finding their feet they compensate by offering a snarling Sus-tayn-Z that cuts into a passionate Live Groove demonstrating why Gunn and Fripp are such an effective and dazzling partnership. With Belew providing a solid foundation on the V-Drums, they create a gig that hurtles between the abstract and precarious, punchy dynamics and passages of stark and desolate beauty. With the exception of an extract of Vector Shift To Planet Belewbeloid that appeared on the ProjeKcts boxset, this gig is the first time the full concert has been made available.
As the sun was setting over Pittsburgh, P2 opened their show first with silence and then a nebulous soundscape. [endtease] In his diary at the time, Trey rated the show as "pretty good…though we had to fight with the energy." He goes on to argue that P2 benefit from the pressure cooker environment of a club and though the opening Vector Shift soun...
As with all ProjeKct shows, it’s not so much what you expect as what you don’t. In this show, the easy rewards seem to be mostly up front: the Soundscape is wild and unpredictable; the first Vector Shift is a full-blooded romp, and the Sustaynz/Groove combo best I’ve heard this side of the box set. Deception is surprisingly uptempo, with Trey challenging Mr Fripp for most unsettling guitarist. Contrary C finds Trey giving a surprise highlight in soaring sound, prompting Mr F to reply with ...
As with all ProjeKct shows, it’s not so much what you expect as what you don’t. In this show, the easy rewards seem to be mostly up front: the Soundscape is wild and unpredictable; the first Vector Shift is a full-blooded romp, and the Sustaynz/Groove combo best I’ve heard this side of the box set. Deception is surprisingly uptempo, with Trey challenging Mr Fripp for most unsettling guitarist. Contrary C finds Trey giving a surprise highlight in soaring sound, prompting Mr F to reply with his patented furious energy. After that, Adrian’s acoustic set is a welcome relief -- I think "Dinosaur" is remarkable. VROOOM takes us out in good humor -- the P2 hallmark -- and we know we’ve been ProjeKcted but good. Not perfect, but undeniably rewarding
Written by Greg James
Plink! Plink! Plink!
Yup, that’s the sound of the pennies dropping on yet another late blooming P2 believer. I ordered a copy of Space Groove from DGM back in ’98 when it first came out (and liked some of it, I like more now), saw the P2 show in Toronto (which I didn’t enjoy due in part to the terrible FOH sound - think Wall of Noise with a lot of echo accompanied by shouting drunks) and have tried on many occasions to delve into the P2 disc from the box set (always liked a couple of tracks and couldn’t crac...
Yup, that’s the sound of the pennies dropping on yet another late blooming P2 believer. I ordered a copy of Space Groove from DGM back in ’98 when it first came out (and liked some of it, I like more now), saw the P2 show in Toronto (which I didn’t enjoy due in part to the terrible FOH sound - think Wall of Noise with a lot of echo accompanied by shouting drunks) and have tried on many occasions to delve into the P2 disc from the box set (always liked a couple of tracks and couldn’t crack the rest). Prior to and in anticipation of the ProjeKct 6 download, I decided to try and get into the headspace of P2 again to prepare the ears for P6. I’m not sure if that worked or not, but I loved P6 from the outset and now retroactively enjoy P2 as much, if not more, than the other ProjeKcts. What I perceive on the Live Groove cd from the box is that the basic roadmap of the pieces was given to set the listeners up for the future (i.e. now) and that this was already in the mind of the DGM team when they put the box set together. Case in point is this gig from Pittsburgh where the team is in full improv mode. This is an absolutely deadly show, with all 3 players on fire. The opening soundscape and ensuing improv has been rightly praised by another reviewer. The basic roadmap for this opening ’scape is the same as for the Oct. 23 P4 show, but covers different ground. The bar was set high at the outset, but this gig gets better as it unfolds. wow. I would label this gig as "essential". I’ll be backfilling the cd case with the KCCC releases of this group soon and can only hope there is more to come. The Montreal show, perhaps?
Written by Jonathan Jones
Worth the price just for the opening soundscape
Now I have purchased this title , I have all the projekct concerts currently on offer at DGM live , which compliment nicely the projekcts box set .This concert like the other projekct downloads is again even better than its boxset counter-part .I think another reviewer made an observation about another concert available at DGM live in at the downloads sound better than the mainstream releases as they are not as "clean" as those. That sentiment I agree with generally , and it ap...
Now I have purchased this title , I have all the projekct concerts currently on offer at DGM live , which compliment nicely the projekcts box set .This concert like the other projekct downloads is again even better than its boxset counter-part .I think another reviewer made an observation about another concert available at DGM live in at the downloads sound better than the mainstream releases as they are not as "clean" as those. That sentiment I agree with generally , and it applies to this concert as well. Always great to hear Adrians distinctive style of drumming and Trey and Robert play , as always, superbly. This download is worth the price just for the opening soundscape , which is awesome and for Thrush lovers , I believe that this is the projekct that dreamed up that awesome track. More projekcts stuff would be welcome-please!
Written by Joseph McFarland
Excellent Show
Though a bit more planned than the other ProjeKcts, P2 is still loose enough that things change night to night (including some of the beats, and sections of improvised groove). Tthis show sounds somewhat different than "Live Groove" or the Northampton show available on KCCC release. I would say that this one is at least slightly less characterized by screaming guitar than those were, and moreso by guitar synth piano banging up against things.
The angular, challenging, ...
Though a bit more planned than the other ProjeKcts, P2 is still loose enough that things change night to night (including some of the beats, and sections of improvised groove). Tthis show sounds somewhat different than "Live Groove" or the Northampton show available on KCCC release. I would say that this one is at least slightly less characterized by screaming guitar than those were, and moreso by guitar synth piano banging up against things.
The angular, challenging, and attractively spacey material is mostly what we’ve heard before, and it’s worth hearing again.
