“May I on behalf of the band initiate a campaign which I’m sure will capture the hearts of millions. Ladies and gentlemen, make King Crimson a top ten band,” says Fripp to the crowd in a jokey announcement which only seconds before, had seen him perform what was known in the trade as a ‘big willie’. No, me neither. But what isn’t in doubt is the ferocity of the opening number in which David Cross, who is sometimes lost in the mix on other dates on this tour, comes over loud, clear and sounding pretty incendiary. There’s also an astonishing improv within Easy Money in which band sound like they are brawling with each other in the final moments of the climb-out.
That pace doesn’t slacken as the team slam straight into Fracture with Cross’ over-driven pianet adding to the sense of the whole thing about to go up in flames. Starless sees the band misstep with a fluffed into and some shaky transitions in the early stages of the instrumental section. Just as the band find their feet, tragically an incomplete tape means the action jumps to a madcap pianet solo with the band in full-flight, en route to the track’s thundering conclusion.
With a bill that included the Robin Trower band, opening, Crimso in the middle and Ten Years After headlining (all for just $5.00) it’s sometimes worth remembering how much King Crimson stood out from the standard rock band modus operandi at that time. M. Deutrom was in the crowd and recalled “Their sound was almost painfully loud and suffered from from a combination of excruciating treble frequencies, and a multi purpose venue that was more suited for car shows and wrestling. I do remember KC being excellent despite the sound, and my unfamiliarity with most of their set. The show was much discussed, with the general consensus being that Robin Trower was someone to watch, and King Crimson was really weird, but cool.”
Please note that this concert was released on CD as part of The Road To Red boxed set in 2013.
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