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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 261 to 270 of 4132)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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James Taylor's Money Machine
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Tue., Sep 18, 2012
My thanks to Pettitwazoo for sending in this item about the experience of James Taylor and digital downloads. In his original note to DGMLive, Mr. Petitwazoo quotes a line or two from Taylor's song Money Machine:
When I was just a child
My life was, oh, so simple
And the ways of the great world
Seemed strange and funny
Then when I was a young man
I learned of that machine
That turns out all those bails of precious money
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New RF& LoCG For Download
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Mon., Sep 17, 2012
There's a brand new concert available today:
You can grab it here.
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Ain't Nothin' But A Houseparty
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Sat., Sep 15, 2012
My thanks to Crimhead Lee Huntington for sending me these report on a pair of house concerts last week featuring bassist Julie Slick, guitarist Tim Motzer and visual artist Dejha Ti.
This weekend I had an experience that has changed my life in several ways. My good friends and I had the pleasure of hosting Julie Slick, Tim Motzer, and Dejha Ti in a pair of house concerts referred to as the “House Concert Tour 2012.” I think it’s not going too far to say this trio used time, space, sound, and light to rearrange the listener’s neurotransmitters and bend their minds to their will.
A little background: Julie Slick, many will know, is the young bass player tapped by Adrian Belew for his Power Trio, along with her brother, drum wizard Eric. She has since toured with the ABPT several times and in the past two years has also shared the bottom end of the Crimson Projekt sextet with Tony Levin. She is in the process of releasing her second solo album, “Terroir.”
Tim Motzer is an amazing guitarist, arranger, and producer. He has released a large catalog of discs of a variety of music via his 1krecordings.com, based in Philadelphia. One that has caught the ear of Crimson fans is the brilliant “Goldbug,” featuring Theo Travis and one Eric Slick.
Dejha Ti (pronounced Tie) is a force unto herself. She is a lighting artist, film maker, and photographer, as well as a software developer. Her light sculptures enhance and propel the music into new dimensions. As one audience member said, “This isn’t a duo with a lighting person. This is a trio.”
The trio brought to Central Virginia an interesting mix of tunes. The two nights’ sets largely overlapped with a couple of standout differences. The material was drawn partly from “Terroir,” partly from two weeks of writing and rehearsals with Mr. Motzer preceding the “tour,” and partly from on-the-spot improvisations. And, of course, while the material overlapped, the two nights performances differed because the duo also improvised within the tunes that they played.
One of the highlights of both nights was a King Crimson favorite, “One Time,” beautifully rendered. The duo arrangement of this tune was spacious and yet intense, with both Julie and Tim giving a workout to their sonic palettes, and trading off providing the rhythmic and melodic pulses. This was a theme throughout the evening as I would pull myself out of the reverie that the music had placed me in to find Tim playing the “bass part” while Julie provided the lead. Some of the new material that was developed in their rehearsals – Pity and Slow Roast.
On Saturday night, or maybe early Sunday morning, we were gifted with the Virginia Premier of “Terroir.” It was amazing to hear the difference between this album and Julie’s first. This listening also revealed how much room there is for the songs to breathe and grow. Those that were played over the weekend - Even the Tide Recedes, Pi, and Kismet - while structurally the same, were also qualitatively different, with both Julie and Tim adding nuances to the recorded versions. It was clear that Julie is maturing in her artistry, as even while she releases the new material she is continuing to refine it.
Oh, and did I mention that while she staged an amazing video/light extravaganza accompanying the music, Dejha Ti also recorded a 4-camera shoot? Yes. She did. And video of both nights in Central Virginia will be available as a digital download from 1krecordings and julieslick.com.
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