AAJ Review: King Crimson at The Warfield

[jkelman]

My review of King Crimson at The Warfield, today at All About Jazz.

It's been eleven years since King Crimson last toured extensively, barring a brief four-city, fourteen-date tour in 2008 that acted as the final nail in the coffin of its 28- year run with pyrotechnic guitarist/vocalist Adrian Belew. Never a fan of the gruelling toll of the road, guitarist/keyboardist Robert Fripp—the group's only remaining founding member—seemed resolute in retiring from active touring after that 2008 jaunt, though he has continued to be active on other fronts, specifically his ongoing soundscapes series, last documented on the characteristically boundary-pushing orchestral collaboration with Andrew Keeling and David Singleton, The Wine of Silence (DGM Live, 2012); his ongoing duo with reed and woodwind multi-instrumentalist Theo Travis, which released Discretion (Panegyric, 2014) a couple of months back; occasional reunions with producer/sound artist Brian Eno, the pair's most recent album an archival find, Live in Paris 28.05.1975 (Opal/DGM Live, 2014; and a duo with guitarist/vocalist Jakko M. Jakszyk that gradually morphed into a quintet with Crimson alum reed and woodwind multi-instrumentalist Mel Collins, longtime Crimson bassist/stick player Tony Levin and then-Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison, who'd also made his first Crimson appearance during that short 2008 run.

That last group is significant because, while it didn't manage to acquire the Crimson moniker—its sole album, A Scarcity of Miracles (Panegyric, 2011), relegated to the status of "Crimson ProjeKct"—it was the seed for a revived King Crimson in 2014 that, in typical Fripp fashion, created plenty of advance buzz for an unorthodox configuration that flipped things completely around by placing three drummers (Harrison, Crimson alum Pat Mastelotto and R.E.M./Nine Inch Nails' Bill Rieflin) in the front line, with the guitarist, Jakszyk, Levin and Collins constituting the back line.

The group's ten-city, twenty-date tour was, in many ways, a test for Fripp, to determine if he could break the mould of touring in the unwieldy context of a large group in the rock world and turn what has traditionally been a difficult, unpleasant and stressful experience for the guitarist into an actually enjoyable one.

​Continue reading here....

[noisynoise]

Great review (as always), John. You have echoed my experience seeing this line-up twice in Boston. While there were strong contributions all around, my hero was Mel Collins who was adding textures to Crimson not heard in 40 years. My only minor disappointment was that Lizard was passed over this time around...lots of opportunity in those pieces for the extended ensemble, but was quite happy with the material covered.

-noisynoise

[Spiral]

Yes, that's very in-depth and insightful about just how this band works and works so well. Such background is one of the things I always like most about these reviews - well done.


Only one quibble about the ending: Sid's made it clear over at DGM that a concert DVD is a definite non-possibility. There was no viddying for this tour.

[jkelman]

Thank you both for the kind words. I thought I'd heard rumblings about LA being shot....was anyone there to confirm or refute? Will happily change ending if I'm wrong.....

[mozo-pg]

Wow! That could very well be your best review, ever.

[NogbadTheBad]

Great review that pretty much reflects my experience in Boston

[Dave (in MA)]

When I saw the thread title I thought (hoped?) that DGM had sprung a surprise live release on us.

[jkelman]

Wow! That could very well be your best review, ever.

That is beyond kind. Thanks so much for saying so.....

..of course that also means it's all downhill from here....

[NogbadTheBad]

I hate to tell you, but you've peaked son

[jkelman]

I hate to tell you, but you've peaked son

Damn.

[Rand Kelly]

I was there on Friday and your review was like a time machine. Excellent!!

[notallwhowander]

I was wondering if that stand-up bass performance on "Sailor's Tale" was a special thing on Saturday. Apparently so. Also, it is pretty cool that the performance of "The Letter" was exceptionally kick ass. It's one of the few King Crimson songs I don't particularly care for, but I was a fan that night for sure.

I read the whole review. I could never bring that amount of context to writing about a show, and do not have mastery over the musical vocabulary to describe with any technical precision some of the performance highlights. You did a fine job on both those counts. Cheers.

[Mister Triscuits]

I was wondering if that stand-up bass performance on "Sailor's Tale" was a special thing on Saturday.

It was interesting to watch that unfold. Tony started out with the yellow bass, but wasn't getting any sound. The tech ran out and checked his connections but it wasn't working. He gestured for Tony to switch to the other bass guitar, but Tony shook his head and pointed to the stand-up.

[jkelman]

I was wondering if that stand-up bass performance on "Sailor's Tale" was a special thing on Saturday.

You didn't see the guitar tech at Tony's feet, desperately trying to get the bass working while they were playing the song before "Sailor's Tale"? He was there for at least five minutes

Also, it is pretty cool that the performance of "The Letter" was exceptionally kick ass. It's one of the few King Crimson songs I don't particularly care for, but I was a fan that night for sure.

First night was even better, as I mentioned in the review, where the band built to a massive climax only to bring things down and Collns to continue for a second go 'round and build to a second, even more powerful one....demonstrating the open-ended approach this band took to the music...which made it all the more exciting, that's for sure!

I read the whole review. I could never bring that amount of context to writing about a show, and do not have mastery over the musical vocabulary to describe with any technical precision some of the performance highlights. You did a fine job on both those counts. Cheers.

Many thanks! Context is kinda my trademark at this point. I may not have the panache of other writers, but I do make a point to ensure everything is contextualized so the reader really gets a feel for what was/is going on.

Thanks again - and to Rand (sorry we didn't meet!),
Best!
John

[IMWeasel]

Fantastic review -- I couldnt make this show for financial reasons, but I did see the band's last show here in 2003 on the power to believe tour. the snippets and samples I've heard of the current tour are just spellbinding though.

[notallwhowander]

You didn't see the guitar tech at Tony's feet, desperately trying to get the bass working while they were playing the song before "Sailor's Tale"? He was there for at least five minutes

Oh, I saw the whole thing, but I was only at that show, and thereby had no basis of comparison.

[jkelman]

Oh, I saw the whole thing, but I was only at that show, and thereby had no basis of comparison.

Not to belabour, but the guy was there while Tony was playing the song leading up to Sailor's Tale, and it was pretty clear something was wrong....but I can also understand how, with six other cats on the stage playing some pretty tremendous music, how that might not have totally registered ...

But irrespective, you got a rare treat. I still think it was better on upright and hope he'll continue using it in future.....

...and thanks, IMWeasel, for the kind words.....