Arguably one of the best pieces of music to get a Crimson gig settled down, this rendition of Thela simply rattles along full of fiery vim and brash dynamics. Pretty much the whole KC MO of the 80s and 90s is laid out during this piece. Complex time signature, daubs of impressionistic sound, bristling with intelligence, is all topped off by Adrian's smiling reassuring presence, fooling folks into thinking it all looks pretty easy. A better than usual version here to these admittedly subjective ears.
Quicker than you can shout “Wooh” in between the breaks near the end of Schizoid Man (and boy, people really do), the team hurtle past Thela, pushing on to a swaggering Dinosaur and an especially combative Red.
There’s a wonderfully serpentine improvisation in Thrak which eventually finds itself exploding into Schizoid Man. This transition took audience member, Alex Brugger by surprise. “Unlike last Tuesday in Nuremberg THRAK was not played completely but the long (and once again superb) improvisation directly segued into the Schizoid Man. I actually missed the end of THRAK - it's so bloody powerful, especially when you're in the first row.”
Schizoid Man itself is an especially top-drawer stonkfest of epic proportions!
Highly recommended.
