And so to Washington.
To these European eyes, many of the US cities seem to be on a non-human scale: vast skyscrapers and distances that need a large car not my feeble legs. Something that is even sadly happening to Seattle, the city I know and love the best. Washington, however, is an easy and pleasant wander: from the hotel to the White House :
Thence to the Washington Monument
And the Lincoln Memorial.
Reading the perfectly expressed text of his inauguration speech produced a wave of nostalgia for a beauty and sentiment we have lost (if not for the slavery).
I keep being reminded at the various Royal Packages about how far into our popular culture the tentacles of the various Crimson members reach. I was discussing the recent Eminem copyright ruling with Gavin Harrison (a “soundalike Eminem” was deemed a copyright infringement as it sounded too much like the original). Gavin told the story of the famous scene in Bridget Jones’ diary where she mimes to “All By Myself” by Celine Dion, and air-drums the drum fills. Except that it isn’t Celine Dion, because the producers couldn’t get the clearance. So the drum fills are actually played by…a certain Gavin Harrison, in a perfect soundalike of the original, which had to match the timing exactly as Renee Zellweger had already been filmed playing to the original. That scene will never be quite the same.
On this tour, I have given myself permission not to attend all the shows, as otherwise there are not enough hours in the day. I do, however, try to get a good shot of the crowd and band at each venue - the only photos that Tony Levin, photographer and sometime bass guitarist, can’t take without getting a body double.
The last strains of Schizoid Man in Atlanta:
The “up close and personal” crowd :
And the end of the show in Dallas :
