The Crims are just four dates proper into what would prove to be their final tour of the 1980s. They enter, as was their custom, making a heck of a racket - not so much tuning the air as punching holes in it to let the industrial chaos in.
The band is on lively form here in this very listenable audience recording delivering the crunching LTIA Part III and Thela Hun Ginjeet as a double-punch opener. That said, Red causes a couple of problems as the guitarists serve up a tasty portion of Clams Crimsonique as they come unstuck.
If Adrian’s voice sounds like he might be coping with an incipient sore throat on Matte Kudasai, he at least gets some relief during the all-instrumental focus of Industry, here sounding significantly more powerful than its studio counterpart. That’s especially true of the atonal pop pile-up that is Dig Me.
That avant-pop sensibility runs through Waiting Man, Man With An Open Heart, and the thundering four-to-the-floor Sleepless. They all possess a dance-friendly groove but are tinged and tainted with some flavour combinations that range from piquant to astringent - just how we like ‘em.
Other significant highlights include a bit of a bumpy Discipline wherein the phasing doesn't always go to plan and don’t forget to check out Sartori In Tangiers and The Sheltering Sky which both include some off-the-charts soloing from Fripp.
Thanks to Jim Bricker for assistance.
