King Crimson in Madison
Nov. 23rd, 2001 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevins_concertsI'd been planning, for a couple of weeks to take Cindy to see King Crimson in Madison. I didn't tell her, of course.
Friday was just a lazy day. We were sitting around my place in the morning, and then at noon we came in here to work. She sat and read a book while I made some CDs. Then she went home while I packed up my stuff. I got to her place and asked her if she wanted to go out and see a show. She said yeah, so I told her to get dressed. She thought that was a little odd. Then when she was ready, I told her to pack her overnight bag. Then we left. She had no idea where we were going. It was about an hour drive to Madison. First we checked in at the motel. Then we went in to town and had dinner at an Italian place on State Street. All the way through dinner she was trying to remember what her fortune told her about who we would be seeing, but she couldn't remember it all. "Red. It had something to do with red."
Afterwards we drove off to find the Barrymore Theater. As we drove down the street, she was straining to see who it was that we had come for. "King Crimson? King Crimson! Aaah!" If we had been standing on the street, she probably would have been jumping up and down.
We sat somewhat close to the stage, on the far right. Superb musicianship from him and his band. I loved his blues tune on the mandolin - all slidey blues an shit.
King Crimson was awesome. Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn, Pat Mastelotto.
This was written by "kaveman" on the KC fansite, Elephant Talk:
King Crimson’s Level Five Tour
including the John Paul Jones Orchestra,
Barrymore Theatre, Madison, Wisconsin. November 23, 2001
I can’t help but to feel like Roger Ebert as I write this review. For one, I flew into Chicago where the famed movie critic writes his column and does his weekly show. Two, the concert was housed in what seemed to be a movie theatre converted into a stage performance area. Clues to this fact were the windows in the back of the balcony area which looked into a room where a projector would be, a nifty snack bar with popcorn and soft drinks, and a backstage area that looked to be nearly non-existent I believe the backstage was so non-existent that the crew was having to haul things from outside into the theatre between John Paul Jones' and King Crimson's performances.
As my dear friend JK of PA and I drove into Madison past the Barrymore Theatre at 5:10pm, three hours before show time, a group of about six were gathered outside the theatre. I was quite surprised as this show was "general admission" seating and I thought many people would be there early to be sure to get that primo seat. JK and I parked the car and joined the rest of the fans that had gathered outside the door. I was pleased to put faces to some of the names I have seen on the Discipline Global Mobile Guestbook and Elephant Talk. For instance, Sarah, the new FAQmistress at ET, and Bryan of Kansas who posts often on DGM were among the diehard fans.
After waiting for two hours in the cold and rain, the doors were opened and a now huge line that circled a third of the block was allowed to enter the building. I received my complimentary "security groping" from the theatre staff and went into the theatre. As we walked in the theatre, we were greeted with Soundscapes and some female, ahem, singing pumping through the PA. JK and I took our position at about 13 rows back from the front and sat and waited for the show to begin.
At 8:00pm promptly, the John Paul Jones Orchestra took the stage and kicked it into high gear. Being unfamiliar with JPJ's material, song titles flee me so I can only give you an overview in this review.
John Paul Jones' 8-string bass playing did not move me as much as his mandolin, pedal steel and other all-sorts of instruments (custom made) did. I felt that his 8-string bass, at least in the beginning of his set, had a real muddy sound to it but did get clearer towards the end. Nevertheless, the 8-string never won me over.
We were treated to tunes from "Zooma", his soon-to-be-released "Thunderthief" and of course Led Zepplin (I recognized these tunes!). The crowd was certainly fired up as Jones' Orchestra propelled the audience through. The John Paul Jones Orchestra was a great warm-up for this Crimson tour. The audience loved JPJ so much that the band came out for one encore in which Jones' played a rockin' (more rocking than Led Zep) version of "Black Dog" taking the lead parts on his pedal steel leaving us all saying, "Who was that other guitarist in Led Zepplin? Jimmy who?"
It should also be noted that the JPJ Stick player Nick Beggs had his instrument in full control making it scream and squeal out of control. Keep an eye out for this fellow though he is hard to miss. He is the only one that wears a kilt on stage during these shows.
After JPJ's set, JK and I took our seats and waited for the arrival of King Crimson. As any King Crimson fan will know, part of the fun (or demise) of a King Crimson show is the audience and the watching of this audience. The audience consisted of a wide variety of people including many women and children but I was fortunate to have a nice seat directly behind a man and his wife. They looked all ready to take on the night when they arrived but when JPJ came onstage, the wife was less than enthused. She tried to get into it goish darn it, but to no avail, she sat back and vegetated throughout most of the set. When JPJ played his Led Zep tunes, watch out! The wife was dancing and swaying and singing along! Success! Well not exactly cause as soon as the Zep stop, so did the wife's enthusiasm. This carried on into the King Crimson set as well.
After the brief intermission and set change, it was finally time for King Crimson to hit the stage. Note: The only other Crimson performances that I had attended up to this point were the Nashville warm-ups held in May 2000 before KC embarked on a tour of Europe (see review for those shows in the Krimson News Review page). These shows were magical with the warts and all. The enthusiasm and interaction between the players and audience was mystical. I could not of asked for a better performance. So did I go to Madison with those taboo "expectations" that Fripp talks about? Yes. Am I sorry that I did? Yes. initially.
The show started with 'Dangerous Curves' and a darkened stage. The song seemed to make for a good starting place for the band. The introduction and the building of the song brought much anticipation and tension for a explosive beginning to tonight's appearance of the Crimson King but the song never really built to that level that I was hoping it would achieve thus it felt to me feeling like I had just been teased.
'The ConstruKction of Light' was next with 'Frying Pan' following. These 'TCOL' compositions were played to perfection and were much stronger and more cohesive than their versions played in Nashville just a year earlier or the CD, 'Heavy ConstruKction', versions. The Crimson King was finally arousing enthusiasm and interest in me.
Next we were treated to another new composition "EleKctric". This piece, that displays a new direction in Crimson repertoire, gained high acceptance and applause from the audience.
Up to this point, though the band seemed to be playing a very strong show to near perfection, the interaction and enthusiasm of the band seemed to be lacking. They were hitting all the right marks but one might wonder if they were on autopilot. The band did look like they were a bit weary from the road and I wondered if this was the case. Granted when I saw KC live the last time it was at the beginning of a tour on the leading edge of the 'TCOL' album release in the U.S. So of course they are going to be a little bit more excited to be playing during this time instead of a day after a holiday. Disappointment may have settled in for this audient, but not for long!
We were obliged to hear 'Dinosaur' and a 'Thela' that brought the house down! Adrian Belew's playing in 'Thela' left me with my jaw on the ground. Things that I thought were not possible in a live situation were happening and were coming out of Ade's guitar! The 'special effects' of Crimson's music are special and are effective and it was proved right then.
As the energy climbed towards a climax, the new 'Level Five' brought it to a peak. The sheer power of the dueling guitars with the growl of Gunn and his Warr Guitar and the mayhem and finesse of Mastelotto left the audience weak. Of the new material presented on this tour this piece is perhaps the most powerful of them all, but for this audient the piece that touched him in an equally compelling way was 'Virtuous Circle'. This piece shows a more "mellow" side to the Double Duo that has not been seen before.
When 'Lark's IV' began, a smile beamed on my face. Once again this was another 'TCOL' composition that has really come alive in the past year. Fripp, Belew and Gunn were on target while Pat was a beast on the drums and percussion.
As the final chord of 'Larks IV' faded, the audience applauded in high favor of what had taken place that evening. This audient that had reservations about this performance early in the set was thoroughly satisfied and convinced of what had taken place through the course of the hour plus regular set. I was ready for more.
And more it came. In encore #1 were treated to 'Deception of the Thrush'. I was a little baffled as to what had changed in this piece, as something seemed different. It wasn't until hours later that I realized that I had not ever heard 'Deception' with acoustic drums. I must admit personally I do prefer all V-drums on this piece, but yet I cannot not say that this piece still touched me. It did. I was transcended to worlds unknown.
The evening ended with 'Red'. Being a huge fan of the Wetton/Bruford/Fripp era of King Crimson, I was unsure that I was going to like the Double Duo playing this song. It is rarely easy to hear someone else play a song that they did not write (i.e.: hearing the Black Crowes play Led Zep songs) and you liking it. Not so much that the players do not do a good job of playing the song, but just because it isn't them. Well, I was wrong in this case! The Double Duo did the piece justice. I was pleased and I and my other fellow audients met King Crimson once again with enthusiastic applause. Fripp must have been quite pleased with us as well since we got applauded by him as well. Success!
It may have taken some time for me to warm up to the moment that was happening around me. But once I did, I was treated to a very fine performance. It should be noted that to me it seemed like the band did liven up and have more energy as the evening progressed along in the second half of the set. Interaction and enthusiasm was noticeable and alive the whole way towards the end. Expectation had imprisoned me, but fortunately I was able to break free and I witnessed yet another amazing King Crimson show. As Roger Ebert would say, "I give this a thumbs up!"
Friday was just a lazy day. We were sitting around my place in the morning, and then at noon we came in here to work. She sat and read a book while I made some CDs. Then she went home while I packed up my stuff. I got to her place and asked her if she wanted to go out and see a show. She said yeah, so I told her to get dressed. She thought that was a little odd. Then when she was ready, I told her to pack her overnight bag. Then we left. She had no idea where we were going. It was about an hour drive to Madison. First we checked in at the motel. Then we went in to town and had dinner at an Italian place on State Street. All the way through dinner she was trying to remember what her fortune told her about who we would be seeing, but she couldn't remember it all. "Red. It had something to do with red."
Afterwards we drove off to find the Barrymore Theater. As we drove down the street, she was straining to see who it was that we had come for. "King Crimson? King Crimson! Aaah!" If we had been standing on the street, she probably would have been jumping up and down.
We sat somewhat close to the stage, on the far right. Superb musicianship from him and his band. I loved his blues tune on the mandolin - all slidey blues an shit.
King Crimson was awesome. Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn, Pat Mastelotto.
This was written by "kaveman" on the KC fansite, Elephant Talk:
King Crimson’s Level Five Tour
including the John Paul Jones Orchestra,
Barrymore Theatre, Madison, Wisconsin. November 23, 2001
I can’t help but to feel like Roger Ebert as I write this review. For one, I flew into Chicago where the famed movie critic writes his column and does his weekly show. Two, the concert was housed in what seemed to be a movie theatre converted into a stage performance area. Clues to this fact were the windows in the back of the balcony area which looked into a room where a projector would be, a nifty snack bar with popcorn and soft drinks, and a backstage area that looked to be nearly non-existent I believe the backstage was so non-existent that the crew was having to haul things from outside into the theatre between John Paul Jones' and King Crimson's performances.
As my dear friend JK of PA and I drove into Madison past the Barrymore Theatre at 5:10pm, three hours before show time, a group of about six were gathered outside the theatre. I was quite surprised as this show was "general admission" seating and I thought many people would be there early to be sure to get that primo seat. JK and I parked the car and joined the rest of the fans that had gathered outside the door. I was pleased to put faces to some of the names I have seen on the Discipline Global Mobile Guestbook and Elephant Talk. For instance, Sarah, the new FAQmistress at ET, and Bryan of Kansas who posts often on DGM were among the diehard fans.
After waiting for two hours in the cold and rain, the doors were opened and a now huge line that circled a third of the block was allowed to enter the building. I received my complimentary "security groping" from the theatre staff and went into the theatre. As we walked in the theatre, we were greeted with Soundscapes and some female, ahem, singing pumping through the PA. JK and I took our position at about 13 rows back from the front and sat and waited for the show to begin.
At 8:00pm promptly, the John Paul Jones Orchestra took the stage and kicked it into high gear. Being unfamiliar with JPJ's material, song titles flee me so I can only give you an overview in this review.
John Paul Jones' 8-string bass playing did not move me as much as his mandolin, pedal steel and other all-sorts of instruments (custom made) did. I felt that his 8-string bass, at least in the beginning of his set, had a real muddy sound to it but did get clearer towards the end. Nevertheless, the 8-string never won me over.
We were treated to tunes from "Zooma", his soon-to-be-released "Thunderthief" and of course Led Zepplin (I recognized these tunes!). The crowd was certainly fired up as Jones' Orchestra propelled the audience through. The John Paul Jones Orchestra was a great warm-up for this Crimson tour. The audience loved JPJ so much that the band came out for one encore in which Jones' played a rockin' (more rocking than Led Zep) version of "Black Dog" taking the lead parts on his pedal steel leaving us all saying, "Who was that other guitarist in Led Zepplin? Jimmy who?"
It should also be noted that the JPJ Stick player Nick Beggs had his instrument in full control making it scream and squeal out of control. Keep an eye out for this fellow though he is hard to miss. He is the only one that wears a kilt on stage during these shows.
After JPJ's set, JK and I took our seats and waited for the arrival of King Crimson. As any King Crimson fan will know, part of the fun (or demise) of a King Crimson show is the audience and the watching of this audience. The audience consisted of a wide variety of people including many women and children but I was fortunate to have a nice seat directly behind a man and his wife. They looked all ready to take on the night when they arrived but when JPJ came onstage, the wife was less than enthused. She tried to get into it goish darn it, but to no avail, she sat back and vegetated throughout most of the set. When JPJ played his Led Zep tunes, watch out! The wife was dancing and swaying and singing along! Success! Well not exactly cause as soon as the Zep stop, so did the wife's enthusiasm. This carried on into the King Crimson set as well.
After the brief intermission and set change, it was finally time for King Crimson to hit the stage. Note: The only other Crimson performances that I had attended up to this point were the Nashville warm-ups held in May 2000 before KC embarked on a tour of Europe (see review for those shows in the Krimson News Review page). These shows were magical with the warts and all. The enthusiasm and interaction between the players and audience was mystical. I could not of asked for a better performance. So did I go to Madison with those taboo "expectations" that Fripp talks about? Yes. Am I sorry that I did? Yes. initially.
The show started with 'Dangerous Curves' and a darkened stage. The song seemed to make for a good starting place for the band. The introduction and the building of the song brought much anticipation and tension for a explosive beginning to tonight's appearance of the Crimson King but the song never really built to that level that I was hoping it would achieve thus it felt to me feeling like I had just been teased.
'The ConstruKction of Light' was next with 'Frying Pan' following. These 'TCOL' compositions were played to perfection and were much stronger and more cohesive than their versions played in Nashville just a year earlier or the CD, 'Heavy ConstruKction', versions. The Crimson King was finally arousing enthusiasm and interest in me.
Next we were treated to another new composition "EleKctric". This piece, that displays a new direction in Crimson repertoire, gained high acceptance and applause from the audience.
Up to this point, though the band seemed to be playing a very strong show to near perfection, the interaction and enthusiasm of the band seemed to be lacking. They were hitting all the right marks but one might wonder if they were on autopilot. The band did look like they were a bit weary from the road and I wondered if this was the case. Granted when I saw KC live the last time it was at the beginning of a tour on the leading edge of the 'TCOL' album release in the U.S. So of course they are going to be a little bit more excited to be playing during this time instead of a day after a holiday. Disappointment may have settled in for this audient, but not for long!
We were obliged to hear 'Dinosaur' and a 'Thela' that brought the house down! Adrian Belew's playing in 'Thela' left me with my jaw on the ground. Things that I thought were not possible in a live situation were happening and were coming out of Ade's guitar! The 'special effects' of Crimson's music are special and are effective and it was proved right then.
As the energy climbed towards a climax, the new 'Level Five' brought it to a peak. The sheer power of the dueling guitars with the growl of Gunn and his Warr Guitar and the mayhem and finesse of Mastelotto left the audience weak. Of the new material presented on this tour this piece is perhaps the most powerful of them all, but for this audient the piece that touched him in an equally compelling way was 'Virtuous Circle'. This piece shows a more "mellow" side to the Double Duo that has not been seen before.
When 'Lark's IV' began, a smile beamed on my face. Once again this was another 'TCOL' composition that has really come alive in the past year. Fripp, Belew and Gunn were on target while Pat was a beast on the drums and percussion.
As the final chord of 'Larks IV' faded, the audience applauded in high favor of what had taken place that evening. This audient that had reservations about this performance early in the set was thoroughly satisfied and convinced of what had taken place through the course of the hour plus regular set. I was ready for more.
And more it came. In encore #1 were treated to 'Deception of the Thrush'. I was a little baffled as to what had changed in this piece, as something seemed different. It wasn't until hours later that I realized that I had not ever heard 'Deception' with acoustic drums. I must admit personally I do prefer all V-drums on this piece, but yet I cannot not say that this piece still touched me. It did. I was transcended to worlds unknown.
The evening ended with 'Red'. Being a huge fan of the Wetton/Bruford/Fripp era of King Crimson, I was unsure that I was going to like the Double Duo playing this song. It is rarely easy to hear someone else play a song that they did not write (i.e.: hearing the Black Crowes play Led Zep songs) and you liking it. Not so much that the players do not do a good job of playing the song, but just because it isn't them. Well, I was wrong in this case! The Double Duo did the piece justice. I was pleased and I and my other fellow audients met King Crimson once again with enthusiastic applause. Fripp must have been quite pleased with us as well since we got applauded by him as well. Success!
It may have taken some time for me to warm up to the moment that was happening around me. But once I did, I was treated to a very fine performance. It should be noted that to me it seemed like the band did liven up and have more energy as the evening progressed along in the second half of the set. Interaction and enthusiasm was noticeable and alive the whole way towards the end. Expectation had imprisoned me, but fortunately I was able to break free and I witnessed yet another amazing King Crimson show. As Roger Ebert would say, "I give this a thumbs up!"