Memories of the Academy of Music, September 22, 1973    April 15, 2008

I attended three of the 1970s KC shows. Two were in Central Park, NYC (June 25, 1973 and July 01, 1974) and this was the third. Of the three, I think that I enjoyed this one the most. Part of that might be because I preferred the indoor venue.

My memory is not 100% clear but I am fairly certain that there was a delay of some kind. We had to wait inside the theater for the show to begin - I remember it being due to some sort of technical problem but don’t remember exactly what (the lights? the PA system? the curtain?). I also am not certain, but I do not believe that there was any opening act and that there was supposed to be a second KC show that night.

I had just turned 18 years old and was a Senior in high school. A few years earlier, I had bought equipment to take photos of trains (I was a railfan) with money that I made from my paper route. I used this equipment to take shots this night: a great little camera (Minolta SRT-101), a zoom lens (Vivitar 200 mm), and a relatively fast slide film that would make it possible to get decent photos without a flash.

When the band came out, it was terrifically exciting to hear them open up with Lark’s Tongues Part I (or, at least, that is the first piece I remember). But the biggest excitement happened about midway through the show: my first hearing of Fracture. By that time, I had decided to walk up into the balcony. My seat was on the floor on the left side but I went upstairs at some point to take pictures from the right and left aisles. I’m pretty sure that the band played Fracture while I was up in the balcony (perhaps some people can figure this out from the hand positions). I remember trying to take pictures while thinking to myself "what in god’s name is this incredible thing that they are playing?!" I felt a little like I was trying to record a cataclysmic event, like a political revolution or a natural disaster.

While I was up in the balcony, I saw the KC sound crew and took the opportunity to ask them a question. At that time, the newest KC disk out was Lark’s Tongues. I asked them "What is Peter Sinfield doing these days?" One of the (maybe two) fellows scoffed at me and said "Well you know, he gets up in the morning, has breakfast, and takes a shit, just like the rest of us." This was quite a let down for me since I felt quite sure that they would appreciate my great knowledge and genuine interest. It was the first time that I realized that there were many other people who might have asked, and probably did ask, the same sort of question. Ah, illusions of youth....

Some years later, I heard of Fripp’s distaste for photography, but for other reasons, I had already abandoned photography; I was no longer a railfan and did not enjoy music shows so much when I was fooling around with a camera. But I am glad that I took pictures long enough to have these photos which I was pleased to give to DGM -- and to the ’greater Krim.’

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