“Yeaaah” yells Bill Bruford as the band tear into The Great Deceiver filling the cavernous-sounding venue with all of their considerable might and firepower. He yells some more as they bulldoze their way from that track into a devastatingly heavy Doctor Diamond.
During Lament Bruford ploughs into the climb-out section after the second verse instead of joining the others into the staccato unison parts. Being seasoned, road-hardened veterans nobody is phased or put out, and in fact, it does add an unexpected and rather welcome swing to that section. There’s also an added sense of resolution when all the players lock down into the correct groove and power on.
This and other minor fumbles elsewhere in the set suggest the Crims are feeling a little tired as the finishing line of last show of the tour is within sight. Yet you’d be hard pressed to discern any flagging energy during Fracture, Starless or the improv preceding The Night Watch. Nine days after this concert the band stepped out on stage in America and embarked on the final leg of their road to Red. It would be another seven years before King Crimson played in Europe again.
