an odessy.those who had tix are already aware,  but the show was actually scheduled for the previous evening.  after having made arrangements to get the day off from our various jobs, a few buddies and i packed it into the "freak’s" dad’s car and drove up from burlington.and the rain came. followed by the announcement that the show was canceled and would take place the following night.what’s a boy ta do. dust it off and try to rally the troops. what was a party of 5 or so got whittled down to just me and the "freak." so on a sunny and hot summer day we found ourselves back in montreal, after the gates were opened, sprinting (it was a general admission show) to the stage, the front of which a fan had adorned with a sign that simply proclaimed "RED". we actually made the decision not to sit 1’st row/center but rather chose to stretch our legs out, some four or five rows back, dead nuts center.enter the crim. first brufford. stepping out alone to and play a crazy upright, octagonal and synthesized drum kit that had 3 sections.the belew, joining in on a kit facing.fripp materializes and begins to lay it down. and finally levin. all for waiting man.miraculous start. couple things.the show was:1. visceral.  throughout, not only was the concrete floor of the venue trembling, the sheer force of the sound was physical and could not only be heard, but felt. 2. hocus-pocus. i’ll never forget. after the third song or so, the "freak" turns to me and questions whether the sounds are actually coming from the stage or are canned. not to worry. it was all live and all direct!perhaps the best live show i’ve ever experienced. and there was a bootlegger sittin just in front of us. tradded addresses, but never managed to get a copy of his tape. i’m all but certain that he was responsible for the boot, and that his recording plays a role in this release. RED!.

I’m probably one of the few who actually love BEAT, as a matter of fact, for me it represents a Masterpiece of all time rock albums (in the case we agree to call BEAT a rock album of course). Long time I hadn’t bought any music since is very expensive, but I didn’t hesitate to buy this one. A+++++ for the performance, sound a little poor.

Whoops! My bad, guys. Clearly I got caught up in my own nostalgia trip and superimposed my memories of the dancing beauties at the Place Des Arts onto the Crims at the Place Des Nations! Now there’s a visual image to ponder... I stand by the rest of the review though!

Subjective Background: As an “under 40” Crimhead, this was the 1st version of the band that I heard and nothing was the same after that day. (For me, that day was in the week before Christmas in 1984 and I was still in high school). Therefore, the only live gigs from this era I’ve seen are the Frejus and Japan videos. So, the versions there are the live standards against which subsequent versions are judged. (For me, “The Sheltering Sky” and “Indiscipline” have yet to sound better than at Frejus). So when another complete show from this era became available, I had to jump. Listening to this gig has reawakened the chest-thumping excitement I first felt about the 80s band and haven’t felt for some time. Interestingly, this gig roils the emotional memory much stronger than the “Absent Lovers” release ever has. This is good stuff. The Venue: I’ve only been in the Place Des Arts once (in 1988) to see a performance of the ballet “Giselle”. In other words, this building is pretty fancy and a bit high brow, if you know what I mean. Perhaps the venue contributes to the stately versions of several of the tunes. The tempo of some them strike me as being a few bpm slower than the studio versions and the lads really stretch out to great effect. “Waiting Man”, “Red” and “Elephant Talk” stand out in this regard. Sound Quality: The Sound Check is obviously bootleg quality but the gig itself ranges from good to very good. Poor Adrian had the gear gremlins biting his ankles for much of the gig though. He was plagued with a nasty “huzz” (a cross btw a “buzz” and a “hum”) in his channel which began during “Red”, persisted thru “The Howler” and into “Frame”. Then the guy had to work with his guitar synth crackling and totally dropping out for brief moments during “The Sheltering Sky”. Consummate pro that he was (is), he prevailed to put in a very strong performance all night. The Mix: Different from anything in the canon I’ve heard to date. Each player has a very defined plot of land in the aural landscape here, perhaps reflecting RF’s assertion that they had drifted from being a “group” to 4 individuals by this point in time. Fans of RF’s playing (i.e. anyone reading this) will revel in his audibility throughout the gig. Absolutely thrilling to hear his contributions to “Waiting Man” in particular so clearly. The Tunes: Well, there are some killer takes on the repertoire here, at least 5 of them definitive live versions from this era (to my ears). Fans of “Ooh, Mr. Fripp” from the LoG bootleg will no doubt enjoy RF’s variations on the speedy bits of “Frame”. After flagging a bit during “Sky” and squabbling over what tempo “Neal” was going to be played at, the lads nailed “Discipline” and (TL I believe) can be heard calling “That’s great!” in the L channel after the last note. “Neurotica” you’ve all heard and can attest to its incendiary qualities. This “Elephant Talk” is my fave to date so far, even supplanting the 1994 Official Bootleg version. RF’s endless stream of variation is absolutely stunning and AB’s guitar sound just before the elephant blasts is perfect. TL is dead on for the whole show (duh) and my fave BB moments are the whole of “Sky” and his solo before “Indiscipline”. This is clearly an excited player at work and exciting to listen to. Too bad he chose “Thela” as an opportunity for a drum solo too, as his playing is clearly over the top on this occasion. People looking for the magical group cohesion that attracted me to this band won’t find it on this track, but may find hints which led to it’s demise here. In sum, a lovely recording which will bookend your cd copy of “Absent Lovers” quite nicely. Essential listening to any fan of the 80’s Crim, but still not the elusive “perfect gig”. You’ll have to go over to the Projekct 4 gig from Boulder for that...