From its origins as an improvisation between Jakszyk & Fripp back in 2010, and then developed into a fully-fledged piece as part of a what was then a song-based King Crimson ProjeKct, the piece showcases a hauntingly lyrical solo from Fripp. With echoes of his work on David Sylvian’s solo work circa Gone To Earth, the guitarist’s ear for a yearning melody remains undiminished.
From its origins as an improvisation between Jakszyk & Fripp back in 2010, and then developed into a fully-fledged piece as part of a what was then a song-based King Crimson ProjeKct, the piece showcases a hauntingly lyrical solo from Fripp. With echoes of his work on David Sylvian’s solo work circa Gone To Earth, the guitarist’s ear for a yearning...
Being a Chilean citizen is not easy. Living in a small country located literally at the end of the world means that many bands skip my country during their world tours. Such is the case of King Crimson, which have only played in South America in Argentina, and that was back in '94 when I was still a child. Luckily for me, now that I am living in France I had the chance to finally attend my first KC concert. And oh my Fripp... what a concert it was!
I had watched and listened to countless of KC ...
Being a Chilean citizen is not easy. Living in a small country located literally at the end of the world means that many bands skip my country during their world tours. Such is the case of King Crimson, which have only played in South America in Argentina, and that was back in '94 when I was still a child. Luckily for me, now that I am living in France I had the chance to finally attend my first KC concert. And oh my Fripp... what a concert it was!
I had watched and listened to countless of KC live performances, and my favourite lineup was the '80s formation. But having never been able to actually attend a concert, I was curious and quite cautious of the new formation with 3 drummers (!) and no Belew. No need to worry though, the new KC incarnation is bigger and louder than ever, and technically flawless as always.
During the first part they played songs from Poseidon (Picture of a City), Lizard (Cirkus), Islands (Sailor's Tale) and Larks (Larks I and II, Easy Money, The Talking Drum). A personal highlight for me was Epitaph. Jakko's vocals are very faithful to the original and Fripp's guitar in this version was sooooo smooth that when he started to play the first notes of that song my eyes got a bit watered. He really is like a good red wine.
After a 20 minute intermission that gave me some time to pick up my jaw, the second set contained pieces from Red (Red, Starless(!)), Discipline (Indiscipline), ITCOTCK and A Scarcity of Miracles. Mel's winds provide such richness to the tunes and are never out of place. An Tony's bass lines... always the precise note at the precise time... he's such a clever bassist.
Some stuff from the '90s and '00s (VROOOM, ConstruKction of Light, Level Five) were played during the 1st and 2nd act (I think...don't remember exactly), plus some new stuff mostly percussion-oriented where the three drummers combine perfectly in harmony and precision...quite a powerful sight reminiscent of Japanese drumming (Kumi-Daiko).
And last but not least, for the encore we had the privilege of seeing the performance of 21st Century... including a Gavin solo that left his kit smoking. Really, if you closed your eyes while he was playing the solo, it was like listening to the three drummers playing together...only that it was just Gavin alone. He is at the top of his game and for me he was the star of the night (although I might be biased being a huge fan of Porcupine Tree).
Overall almost 3 hours of music and only music. Not a single word was spoken by any member of the band during the whole concert. The music speaks for them. What an experience!
And now after 24 hours of my first KC concert I am suffering from serious withdrawal symptoms and I just can't wait to see them live again... maybe next year? In any case, right after the concert only one word was in my mind: gratitude.
Written by David LEWIS
TOTAL IMMERSION
For me the singing of Jakko was the best part of tonight's concert - the first time I have listened to his soaring vocals and I particularly liked 'Eptaph' in the first set. Thank you all - I was TOTALLY immersed in the music. The music being played before the concert began was very unsettling and I was very relieved when the concert began. I am all for experimentation but this was truly difficult to listen to for the 40 minutes I waited in the auditorium.
"The fate of all mankind, I fear,
I...
For me the singing of Jakko was the best part of tonight's concert - the first time I have listened to his soaring vocals and I particularly liked 'Eptaph' in the first set. Thank you all - I was TOTALLY immersed in the music. The music being played before the concert began was very unsettling and I was very relieved when the concert began. I am all for experimentation but this was truly difficult to listen to for the 40 minutes I waited in the auditorium.
"The fate of all mankind, I fear,
Is in the hands of fools"
How frighteningly true ...
Dave Lewis: Birmingham and now Aix en Provence
Written by Willy
WONDERFUL CONCERT !!!!
Wonderful concert here in Marseille. Very powerful music and enthusiastic crowd. 1st half waf almost 70's pieces. 2dn half were songs from all decades. My 5th concert of the tour with Monaco and Paris (+ 3 last year in Paris).
Hope it will not be the last tour in Europe.
