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Thread: AAJ Review: King Crimson at Théâtre St-Denis, Montreal, 11/16-17/2015

  1. #1

    AAJ Review: King Crimson at Théâtre St-Denis, Montreal, 11/16-17/2015

    My extensive review of King Crimson's two nights in Montréal, Canada on November 16-17, 2015, today at All About Jazz - also including a one-hour interview with guitarist/vocalist Jakko Jakszyk, Mel Collins & Gavin Harrison.

    When King Crimson's only original member and co-founder, guitarist ]Robert Fripp], announced unexpectedly that the band was coming out of retirement in 2013, other than the unconventional lineup nobody had any idea what to expect other than the brief snippets being released at the band's DGM Live site, which suggested that this "seven-headed Beast of Crim," in addition to new material, would be revisiting songs not played live in over forty years...or, in some cases, ever at all.

    It was also, in some ways, Fripp's last kick at the can to turn the band that has occupied so much of his professional life, and yet was rarely an enjoyable experience, into something in which he could, indeed, be a happy participant. And so, some rules were formed, included in the 24-page booklet of the two-disc The Elements of King Crimson 2015 tour box, one of many items that would be sold at the group's well-attended merchandise table at every show:

    May King Crimson bring joy to us all, including me;
    If you don't want to play a part, that's fine! Give it to someone else—there's enough of us;
    All the music is new, whenever it was written;
    If you don't know your note, hit C#;
    If you don't know the time, play in 5. Or in 7;
    If you don't know what to play, get more gear;
    If you still don't know what to play, play nothing.

    Now, some of these rules may appear to be tongue in cheek, but add a couple more rules and you've got the modus operandi that drove Crimson in its critically acclaimed and well-attended tour in the fall of 2014—one which has continued into subsequent tours of the UK, continental Europe, and now, Canada:

    Do not play two different cities and/or venues on two consecutive nights; instead have a travel day in-between, so that everyone from the band to its support crew can be as rested as possible and able to do their jobs to the absolute best of their abilities, rather than following the current reality for most touring bands: that is, more time is spent getting to gigs, setting up and tearing down than actually performing;
    If possible, play in the same city and venue for two or three nights, making touring an even more pleasant experience because every gig does not require full set-up and tear-down;
    Play, as often as possible, in good-sounding theatre-style venues so that the band, road crew and audience will be as comfortable as possible during the group's roughly two-hour performances.

    And so, while the group's seventeen-date/nine-city 2014 US jaunt missed a lot of locations that would have easily supported a visit, the tour—which included a stunning two-night run at San Francisco's heralded Warfield—was an equally stellar success on a number of fronts. ]Rolling Stone's David Fricke called it the best show of 2014—as, indeed, did ]All About Jazz cite it as one of the year's best live performances.

    Continue reading here...
    Last edited by jkelman; 11-29-2015 at 10:21 AM.

  2. #2
    Member Mascodagama's Avatar
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    What an excellent and insightful piece. Particularly enjoyed hearing Mel, Gavin and Jakko's thoughts. Thank you John.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Mascodagama View Post
    What an excellent and insightful piece. Particularly enjoyed hearing Mel, Gavin and Jakko's thoughts. Thank you John.
    Thanks, man, much appreciated. Being in Montreal for two days, as I was, presented a great opportunity to interview of few of the guys, and I really wanted to do so in order to significantly differentiate this piece from my review of twnights in San Francisco last year.
    Cheers!
    John

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    Member Bytor's Avatar
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    What a superb piece of writing Mr. Kelman. I enjoyed reading this very informative and insightful paper. I was at the two Montreal shows and we totally got the same feeling. Night two was a bit "superior" to night one, but an overall awesome musical diptych

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Bytor View Post
    What a superb piece of writing Mr. Kelman. I enjoyed reading this very informative and insightful paper. I was at the two Montreal shows and we totally got the same feeling. Night two was a bit "superior" to night one, but an overall awesome musical diptych
    As always, thanks for the generous words about the writing...and glad you enjoyed Montreal as much as I did!
    Cheers!
    John

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