Teatro Smeraldo Milan Italy

It was really funny reading the title of Andrew Thomas : " Adrian is a love letter, Robert is a hot date" was the banner that we exposed at the end of the show and i remember that Robert seemed to appreciate it . We entered the venue during Robert's Soundscape sitting in the second row. When the Crimson show began, we were not prepared to the explosion of " Level Five" after the short haiku of Adrian : we were nearly thrown from our seats. The rest of the show was equally powerful : i remember great versions of "Power To Believe II", "Dangerous Curves" and " Facts Of Life" with an astonishing solo from Robert that seemed extremely relaxed, keeping on smiling at Ade for all the show. I had to mention ever " The Construkction of Light" with incredible interlocking parts between Robert, Trey and Adrian, enriched by the work of Pat on drums all kinds of devices. The show ended with a devastating version of "Larks' Four" a hypnotic " Deception" ( " The Power To Believe 3") with the audience in total silence ( what a difference with Montreux,some weeks later !), great rendition of " Elephant Talk" and "Red", that seemed to fit perfectly for this incarnation of the Crimson Beast. In the middle of the final round of applause we exposed our banner with Robert taking a gentle bow and Adrian mentioning and showing even Pat and Trey..( Ade is really a gentleman). One last thing : that Summer was the hottest of the last 50 years in Italy and the venue had no air conditioned : i bet that was really one of tho hottest date for Crimson from every point of view...

A real winner from the 2003 tour. The 00's quartet (aka the Double Duo) got heavier as it progressed from tour to tour, and this show from Milan is a fine example of how well they were playing that year. The newer material from The Power To Believe album scorches, and the ConstruKction of Light material (only fitfully realized on the album and first tour) really comes into bloom with Pat's evolving drumkit and more sharp angles and accents in the arrangements. The clamfest at the end of Level Five is one of the more memorable wobbles you'll hear from this group, but they rebound nicely with a stompy, nasty "ProzaKc Blues" (a song that really came into its own as Pat's drum sounds got deeper and heavier) and a rendition of TCOL that's as crisp and delightful as one could hope for. Adrian's voice is in great form on this night, which lends an angry bite to the meaner new material like "Facts of Life" and "Happy With..." and the instrumental material on this night screams and soars in equal measure. And the Double Duo never got enough credit for how well they played "Elephant Talk" and "Red," nicely making the pieces their own and adding new wrinkles and angles to them. All sides and shades of the band are working quite well throughout, which makes this show a great starting point for newcomers and a necessary addition for the experienced listeners. A note about the opening soundscape from this show: this is a rather interesting one in that it starts much more definite and melodic before slowly dissolving into more of an ambient outing. Not at all a bad thing, but definitely a bit of an unusual progression. I can't really guess as to what Fripp's thoughts were while playing it, but it strikes these ears as a deliberate choice not to force the scape onto the audience (which apparently wasn't very interested in it, a terrible shame) and to just let it unfold on its own terms throughout the space. Oh well, it's their loss: This audient always finds long soundscapes to be a real treat, and it's a nice bonus that this show begins with one.

The “double-duo” Crimson format was very good on the 2001 tour, but they were devastating on the 2003 tour. There were fewer free impovs 2nd time around, but the Power to Believe material was a lot stronger. And, at least in San Francisco, they just gelled better as a unit in 2003 than in 2001. This Milan concert is an outstanding record in all respects – set list, audio quality, and performance. (A few tiny fumbles make the band sound human.) And this particular night has many special highlights. I don’t care for “Facts of Life,” but Fripp’s solo has a savagery he hasn’t much displayed since the “Exposure” era. “Power to Believe II” is like being rescued from a swamp by a band of angels; pure headphone candy. What’s labeled “Power to Believe III” is perhaps the definitive live version of “Deception of the Thrush.” I’m not sure I need a 14th version of “Elephant Talk,” but Belew’s solo is completely fresh and amazing. And the introductory soundscape (at 25:27, a full “album side”) is quite distinctive, because at about 5:20 Fripp injects an actual guitar-that-sounds-like-guitar solo a la Frippertronics days. (It is over within 30 seconds; perhaps it was an accidental failure to engage a synth patch, but I’ll take what I can get.)

The band are on oN ON for this night. The show starts with a 25 minute long soundscape by Mr. Fripp that perhaps should be considered a first set and then the band kicks in. Delicately at first mind you with The Power To Believe 1 but then they bring the hammer DOWN with a devastating version of Level 5. Kudos to Pat Mastelloto for his wild and well played percussion. And they continue from there... What is most interesting about this show besides the aggression and tightness of the songs is KC’s willingness and ability to veer away from the standard song arrangements, change things around and still sound as though that was the way the song had always been. Unfortunately there are no improvs in this set, but the playing and power contained within this show make up for any loss of unscripted highwire antics. And the sound is glorious.