| |
| P2 At Albany Again |
 |
| :: 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.
****************************
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 4125 items (Viewing 251 to 260 of 4125)
|
Hector Zazou: The Arch
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Wed., Sep 26, 2012
My thanks to Fred for sending in details about the release of Hector Zazou final album, The Arch. Hector, who died in 2008, was part of the Slow Music project alongside Bill Rieflin, Pete Buck, Fred Chaloner, Matt Chamberlin and Robert Fripp. You can find out more details about The Arch here.
|
|
Goes Together Like A Horse & Carriage
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Wed., Sep 26, 2012
Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp are interviewed in the third part of BBC4's documentary series, Love and Marriage.
|
|
Reaching For KickStarter
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Tue., Sep 25, 2012
Bert Lams of the California Guitar Trio and Stick player Tom Griesgraber have a joint project that they'd like your help with. Check out their KickStarter page and sign the pledge. Thanks to Fred for the heads-up.
|
|
Mister Stormy's Monday Selection
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Mon., Sep 24, 2012
Here's a blast from the past - Robert Fripp in conversation discussing the then new King Crimson album, 3OAPP, and merits of Fripp-In-The-Box.
|
|
UMG Bid Approved
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Fri., Sep 21, 2012
The media is buzzing with the news that UMG's takeover of EMI has been approved. Here's the New York Times' version of events.
|
|
Euro Indies Call For Block On EMI Sale To UMG
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Thu., Sep 20, 2012
IMPALA has this to say: “allowing the biggest music company in the world to become even more
powerful is inconsistent with the EC’s stated concerns about the digital
market and how copyright is misused, [and] its ambitions for unlocking
the potential of cultural and creative industries through their smaller
actors”. Read more here.
|
|
Pat's Naked Truth
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Wed., Sep 19, 2012
Pat Mastelotto will be playing with Naked Truth in two concerts in New York next week. Here sayeth the blurb: "Take the formidable, pulsating polyrhythms of King Crimson and Stickmen drummer Pat Mastelotto, add the throbbing fuzz-inflected lines of audaciously creative electric bassist Lorenzo Feliciati, the jazz-informed textures of world-class Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3 organ, piano and synthesizer player Roy Powell, blend in avant-jazz, post-Miles cornetist Graham Haynes and
you have the makings of one of the most unique and powerfully
provocative instrumental groups on the international scene today,
smoothly bridging the space between Jazz-Rock, Progressive-Rock Ambient
and Cosmic music."
Naked Truth are appearing at Shapeshifter Lab on 26th September and Bearsville Theatre on 27th September.
You can hear a track or two from their forthcoming new album Ouroboros over on their soundcloud site.
|
|
Julie Slick Terroir Out Now
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Wed., Sep 19, 2012
Julie Slick's new album Terroir, featuring guest appearances from Pat Mastelotto, Tim Motzer, Adrian Belew and many others, is now available for download here.
|
<< Previous 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Next >> |
|
|
