| |
| 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 4129 items (Viewing 371 to 380 of 4129)
|
10% Off Bill's Merch
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Sat., May 19, 2012
There's a Grand Opening Sale at Bill Bruford's newly
refurbished shop
with 10% off everything till the end of May.
|
|
Painting With Sound
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Sat., May 19, 2012
There's some thoughts on The Wine Of Silence and a reflection on a Fripp encounter of yore on the blog of painter David Roberts.
|
|
Thread Fripp
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Thu., May 17, 2012
Here's a stitch of Fripp through the eye of the needle.
|
|
Stick Men Are Open
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Thu., May 17, 2012
Currently on tour in South America, Stick Men are about to release a new album. Open will be released June 1st.
Featuring You can hear previews of the record and indeed pre-order it here.
Writing about the background to the album, Markus Reuter notes "Stick Men announce the release of their new CD, titled OPEN. The recording is a departure from the previous two from the band (Soup and Absalom) - it is all improvised, though based on prepared textures by the band before recording.
Between their touring segments, Stick Men have long been working on a
major release box set, to be titled DEEP, with release scheduled for Fall 2012. The OPEN project has given the band a musical breath of fresh air, as well as allowing them more time to fine tune that later release.
In the music from OPEN, the unique flavor of the band comes through as strong as ever, with it’s unique instrumentation; Tony Levin playing the Chapman Stick, Markus Reuter playing his self designed Touch Guitar, and Pat Mastelotto playing an assemblage of percussive devices executed on laptop, ipad & iphone.
The music can be described as both ambient and powerful."
The album is also available from Tony Levin's website.
Don’t forget the UK will have a very rare opportunity to see Stick Men play a series of gigs in June playing double-header gigs with Gavin Harrison and 05Ric. The dates are:
June 3rd Manchester Manchester Academy 3
June 4th Birmingham O2 Academy2 Birmingham
June 5th Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach
June 6th Bristol O2 Academy2 Bristol
June 7th London O2 Academy Islington
|
|
Daryl's Proud Of Sacred Songs
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Wed., May 16, 2012
My thanks to Wilbert for pointing us in the direction of this edition of Daryl's House in which he talks about the making and fall-out of the Fripp-produced Sacred Songs album. You can catch the chat between Daryl and guest performer Butch Walker just before Why Was It So Easy.
|
|
Gavin Harrison Giveaway
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Wed., May 16, 2012
Gavin Harrison and 05Ric are on tour in the UK next month playing a series of double-header concerts with Stick Men (Levin, Mastelotto, Reuter). You can see both bands at the following venues.
June 3rd Manchester Manchester Academy 3
June 4th Birmingham O2 Academy2 Birmingham
June 5th Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach
June 6th Bristol O2 Academy2 Bristol
June 7th London O2 Academy Islington
You can grab tickets here.
Meanwhile, those nice people at Kscope have provided us with a copy of Gavin and 05Ric's latest album, The Man Who Sold Himself. All you have to do to win the CD/DVD-A set (including a 5.1 mix of the album) is tell me the name of the Harrison / 05Ric album that features a contribution from Robert Fripp.
If that's not on the tip of your tongue then you can visit Gavin's website and take a peek at his CDs and discography section for a hint.
Once you've done that send your answer marked GAVIN to competitions@dgmlive.com and please don't forget to include a postal address in your email. The winner will be announced on Sunday 20th May.
|
|
And The Winner Is...
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Tue., May 15, 2012
Congratulations to Jeff Jankowski of Cheektowaga, NY. Jeff was able to tell me that the KC number covered on Frequent Flyer by Lorenzo Feliciati is Thela Hun Ginjeet. Stay tuned for another great DGM giveaway right after the break...
|
|
Mister Stormy's Monday Selection
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Mon., May 14, 2012
There's a great audio documentary-style selection today culled from the Thrak sessions at Real World available for download.
|
|
UMG EMI & The US Senate
:: Posted by Sid Smith on Mon., May 14, 2012
Universal's proposed take-over of EMI is being looked into by the US Senate. Read all about it here.
|
<< Previous 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Next >> |
|
|
