Compared to the previous day’s lunchtime performance the mood pervading Paradise is more sombre in tone with the complex array of emotions in the soloing on Paradise Lost including a sense of shock, bewilderment, and no small measure of heartfelt loss crying out. As he did yesterday, the aching tune of Starless weeps into the space during Acceptance/Affirming, offering a sense of healing, consolation, and support. In a performance already brimming with affecting passages and reveries, including the jaw-dropping solo in the opening moments of Time Stands Still is amongst the most moving and expressive of the concert.
Witnessing the lunchtime performance was former King Crimson road and tour manager, Dik Fraser, a long-term resident of the city. Posterity does not record Dik's thoughts but as he notes in his diary, Fripp himself was not immune to the churning emotions stirred by the music.
“Personally & subjectively, this was strong & deeply moving for the player. Difficult to put into words the various rising-feelings, which, after all, is why a player picks up their instrument. A sense at times, and I type this lightly, of speaking for some without the voice to do so. Music speaks more directly to us than words, and at Ground Zero there is a wide spectrum of feeling present: witness, anger, reconciliation, healing, acceptance, peace. At times, I was close to tears. This former secular-cathedral to American financial power is now sacred ground.”
