Performing for the first of two nights before a sell-out crowd in San Francisco’s 7th Note, the ProjeKct Four crew are a little tired but on devilishly good form.
With P4 you’d often get the musical equivalent of four seasons in one day - sunny climes, frosty sleet and everything in between. The transition from the opening ferocious blast of Ghost into a strangely undulating Heavy ConstrucKtion is seamless. Yet once the main theme has been sounded, things veer off the beaten track, a charge that is led by Mastelotto and supported the sub-sonic salvos of Levin’s bass.
Fripp’s manically angular soloing over the shifting beats during shows a remarkable tenacity in pursuing the notes however much the rhythmic terrain around him shifts and alters. It’s interesting to contrast this with Gunn’s more reflective approach tames the unruly mood.
Interestingly the duet between Levin and Gunn is perhaps more full-blooded than any of the Two Sticks duets they performed whilst in the Double Trio and the intro into Seizure is a great example of players thinking on their feet, as Pat’s rhythms kick in a touch faster than Levin expected. After the thumpingly good stuttering shunt of Seizure,
Bass is definitely the place in the second half of this gig with Ghost 3 especially interesting. Whilst the bass duets between Fripp and Levin had often been jokey in nature on previous occasions, tonight in San Francisco there’s a ruminative, immersive feel to their circling of each other. When Gunn comes in with a contrasting high register roar of the Warr, it’s startling stuff.
Taken from the KCCC 7 mixed by Pat Mastelotto and Chris Murphy, this download comes with Vrooom which had been omitted from the KCCC edition. Vrooom has now been restored and is presented here mixed directly from the ADATS by David Singleton and Alex Mundy.
