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| P2 At Albany Again |
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| :: Posted by Sid Smith on Mon., Feb 20, 2012 |
My thanks to J Eric Smith for sending in this marvelous review of P2 playing Albany. You can hear the gig that Eric is writing about here.
Eric writes "I was a music critic (for better or worse) in Albany, New York for many years. My wife and I recently relocated to Des Moines, Iowa, and as part of launching a web presence in my new home community, I have been reviewing old archives of my work for items that might lend themselves to new purposes. I found a ProjeKCt Two live review (copied below) while digging through old floppy discs and files, and thought I would share it here, since I have not seen many other formal newsprint reviews from that era posted here. It was a lovely show, one that I still cite as one of my all-time favorite live performances.
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ProjeKct Two
Valentine’s Music Hall, Albany, New York, May 8, 1998
Copyright 1998, J. Eric Smith (Originally appeared in Metroland, The Alternative Newsweekly of Northeastern New York)
"OK, now we’ve played everything we don’t know,so we can play something that we actually do know," announced electronic drummer Adrian Belew at the end of ProjeKct Two’s second all-instrumental, all-improvised set. Belew, 10-string Warr guitarist Trey Gunn and electric six-string guitarist Robert Fripp then encored with King Crimson’s "Vrooom," an angular number originally created by Fripp, Belew, Gunn and their Crimson bandmates Tony Levin, Bill Bruford and Pat Mastelotto.
As nice as it was to hear "Vrooom," the true value of the encore was to place the evening’s improvisational extravaganza in context by providing a single sample of how ProjeKct Two sounded when tackling a fully developed and structured instrumental piece. Frankly speaking, the encore paled in comparison to the 90 minutes of music preceding it, as its rehearsed complexities and nuances were nowhere near as impressive as the knotty, towering sound collages that ProjeKct Two created on the fly as the rapt audience watched and listened.
Fripp, Belew and Gunn were watching and listening to each other as well, and much of the thrill of this concert came from witnessing the interactions between these deeply talented musicians who have played together long enough to anticipate each other’s thoughts, sometimes before they eve realize that they’ve had them. Belew or Fripp typically opened each number with a drum or guitar pattern that the other musicians would would investigate, mount and ride, sometimes to loud and uplifting summits, sometimes to quiet, scary grottoes, sometimes back to the point at which they started. It was actually harrowing to experience in many cases, as the trio careened just on this side of control as they rode, the looks on their faces indicating that it was just as thrilling (and frightening) for them as it was their audience.
As important as technical prowess was to the concert’s success, mention must also be made of ProjeKct Two’s technological proficiancy. Belew was playing the latest generation of Roland virtual drums, allowing him to create a seemingly infinite number of sonic assaults as he clattered and rattled along with a look-Ma-I’ve-got drums grin on his face. (Understandable, given that he’s normally a guitarist.) Gunn matched Belew’s rhythmic and textural intensity as he tapped, stroked and and beat the touchboard of his Warr guitar.
Fripp spun out any number of his trademark spine-tingling sustained guitar lines but also used the treatment technology he has developed over the years via his Soundscape and Frippertronic performance experiments to create a wealth of tones and intonations. At times, the bands’ sounds were so far skewed from what your eyes were reporting to your brain that it was almost psychologically easier to look at the floor and imagine that Fripp was playing cluster chords on some beaten-up jazz-hall piano while Gunn blew on a baritone sax and Belew kept time by tapping on whisky bottles and ashtrays. Crazy, man, crazy.
All told, ProjeKct Two’s concert was a magnificent one, and I must confess to feeling great relief in being able to report that. Why? Because Robert Fripp’s written and recorded works have done more to shape both how I listen to and how I think about music than have any other artist’s over the last two decades, although I never actually stood in the same space with Fripp until last Friday. So imagine the potential for debilitating disappointment at this show, and then imagine the transcendent relief and joy when it didn’t come to pass. It literally moved me to tears. And how often can a wordless concert do that?"
More news
Displaying 4132 items (Viewing 121 to 130 of 4132)
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Orchestral Reuter
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Thu., Feb 14, 2013
There's an orchestral version of Stick Men's Markus Reuter's extended composition, Todmorden 513 in the pipeline but the Colorado Chamber Orchestra, who are staging a performance and recording of the piece need your help. Find out more by visiting their Pledge Music site and see how you might make it happen.
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Stick Men Go Deep
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Thu., Feb 14, 2013
You can now preorder the new Stick Men album, Deep, directly from the Iapetus Records website where you can also listen to several tracks.
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And The Winner Is...
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Thu., Feb 14, 2013
Three names were pulled out of the hat today. Step forward Steven Leak of Ontario, Carlos Romeo of Madrid and Errol Tout of Western Australia. They each get a copy of the Guitar Circle of Europe album because a) they were plucked from the fickle fedora of fate and b) they were able to tell me that director of the GCE is Hernan Nunez. Thanks to everyone who took part and stayed tuned for another great giveaway soon.
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Double Trio Bundle Goes Live
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Mon., Feb 11, 2013
There are 28 shows available to download either as single gigs or as a budget-beating bundle from King Crimson’s North American tour in October and November 1995. The shows go from October 20th in Berkeley through to the 28th November 1995 at the Rosemont in Illinois. Please note that the show Crimso played on the 4th November at New Orleans is unavailable - the ADAT was chewed and the DAT source is unavailable. If you’ve already purchased all four shows from this tour that were previously available (November 1st, 2nd, 11th & 12th) but still want to buy the bundle, you’ll be eligible for a free download of your choice.
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Adrian Talks & Plays
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Sun., Feb 10, 2013
Here's a fascinating talk given by Adrian last year at the Chicago Humanities Festival.
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Trey Talks & Plays
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Sun., Feb 10, 2013
We've ran this one before but in case you missed it, take some time to listen and watch Trey Gunn talk about how the importance of finding your original voice as an artist. You can watch it here. Trey will also be appearing in New York this tomorrow (Monday) as part of the Security project, playing Peter Gabriel's music. Check out the details here.
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Crimson Guitars Blog
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Sun., Feb 10, 2013
If you ever wondered what it takes to make a guitar then take a look at the latest blog from Ben over at Crimson Guitars website.
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Court In The Act Of Production
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Sat., Feb 9, 2013
King Crimson were mentioned in dispatches during BBC 4’s documentary When Albums Ruled The World (broadcast on Friday evening). At around 28.00minutes 21CSM is played to a montage of 1969 releases (including Court itself). Later in the show Court is once again featured during a shot of a vinyl album being made in the factory. My thanks go to eagle-eyed viewer Adrian Holmes who spotted that the album in question was the Panegyric reissue of ITCOTCK. If you have access to the BBC’s iPlayer you can witness the album being pressed at 1:29minutes, just near the end of the show.
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Guitar Circle Of Europe Giveaway!
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Fri., Feb 8, 2013
We have a couple of copies of the very latest album by The Guitar Circle Of Europe to give away to good homes. Alongside original compositions by GCE members, there are cover versions of KC repertoire such as The Great Deceiver, LTIA I & II, Discipline, Red and 21CSM.
All you have to do to win a copy is tell me who the director of the GCE is. If that name isn't on the tip of your tongue then you can always visit the GCE website for a clue. Send your answer, along with a postal address, in an email marked GCE to competitions@dgmlive.com. The winners will be announced on Wednesday 13th February. You can read my take on the album over on the blog.
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Shallal Fundraiser
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Thu., Feb 7, 2013
The Shallal Dance Theatre (of which RF is a patron) is holding a fundraising event next week. They write:
Shallal's Fundraiser is at Gyllyngdune Gardens (indoors)
next Monday 11th February.
Doors open 6pm, featuring short performances starting at 7.15pm by local dancers such as Jessica Lobb and Lucy Cracknell, also including Shallal 2's first public performance!
An up and coming musician Stuart J.Blackmore will be playing for the evening.
Artwork, Film and Photography will be on show and for sale by local artists and members of Shallal.
There will be raffle with great prizes such as dance session from Freefall Dance, surf lessons from Falmouth and Porthtowen surf school, spa treatments and much more.
The event continues and bar will be open till 10pm.
Entrance by donation,
Hope to see you there!!
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