Given that the name of the venue is The Nitro you’d hope that the performance captured on this not too shabby audience recording would be, well, explosive. Thankfully, it is and if you wanted a hint as to how volatile a show it is then check out Sartori In Tangiers which blows the doors off the place with Belew on devastating form. Also worth checking out is the sadly incomplete LTIA Pt2 which King Crimson had last played in Detroit back in 1974.
This time round it’s Belew who shreds the lead lines like there’s no tomorrow. The murky but listenable quality of this audience recording hides much of Bruford’s cymbal work during this track though happily he comes through loud and clear on an especially rowdy version of Indiscipline.
As you’d expect, Belew’s recitation has the punters hanging on his every word. Mind, audience recordings do through up some truly bizarre moments that border on being surreal. Just after Adrian says “I carried it around with me for days and days” one of the punters suddenly yells “Where’s Allan Holdsworth???” You do sometimes have to wonder what goes through people’s heads.
