“The Paris show, tonight, was a true winner” enthuses Trey Gunn [endtease]in his diary at the time. “The audience gets a nine out of ten in my book. (Nobody gets a ten, so be happy Paris.) They were fantastic. They came purely to listen and receive. And that is a true treasure for a musician. The band also played very well. I couldn't say if it was our best played show. But, overall it was great.”
In the past, Gunn and Fripp have had diametrically opposing experiences of a show whilst on the very same bandstand. So what did the Happy Gigster of Dorset make of it? “This audience was, for me, the best audience of the tour: supportive, considerate, sophisticated, responsive, engaged, active… In response to their support & demand, we gave a good performance. Not perfect, but when you take a shot, sometimes you miss. Somehow, that doesn't always matter & tonight it didn't.”
This leg of the tour was producing some great results with the band really delving deep into the music: The material from TCOL is bedded down and there’s a real authority to the performance. Even the muffed notes in the frenzied section of FraKctured have the frisson of an on-the-ropes comeback. Of all the shows currently available on DGM Live, from this tour, Paris (to these ears at least) is probably the hottest date of the lot. It’s no wonder therefore that when it came to cherry picking the best tracks for the Heavy ConstruKction box set, ProzaKc, Larks’ IV and Thrush were taken from this gig. The five minute improvisation, Sapir, from HC set appears in its full unedited 13 minute form.
Highly recommended.
