“Man, I can just smell the testosterone in this room. At least I think that’s what I can smell” wisecracks Belew when the band arrive in New York for the penultimate gig of the tour. It’s a confident Crimson on display tonight, as might well be expected given the amount of dates they’d put under their belt before tonight. Even so, there are a few moments where the band have to cope with some bumps in the playing that threaten to unsettle the mood. There's certainly some evidence of the band being a touch tired at this point as the energy levels ebb and flow.
One ET correspondent, Michael Russell shared his thoughts on the concert the very next day. “It's funny, but Crimson truly did seem to be a double duo last night: a fun duo (Pat and Adrian) and a serious duo (Trey and Robert). Pat reminded me of Bill Bruford in spirit: both of them just LOVE to play. Pat exuded the same sheer delight with bashing and crashing, though in terms of style, he's very much his own man. Adrian's broad grin on "Thela" and "Part IV" was also quite winning. In spirit, Adrian and Pat were communicating a pleasure in the moment that helped make the link for me. Adrian's musical role was akin to his grin; he was repeatedly a Puckish, lighthearted foil for the stoic Fripp.
Stoicism was truly the hallmark of the serious duo: both Robert and Trey wore "Guitar Craft Face" for a good part of the evening. They were both very muddy in the mix at first, and frankly, I was straining to hear Robert at several points troughout the gig. I was seated far over to one side, and my left ear is shot today as a result; that could have been part of the problem. That said, both are instrumental monsters and certainly lived up to their reputations last night. Trey's "Thrush" bit never fails to move me, and Robert's blistering "Part IV" was utterly magnificent. Robert's economy of movement at frenetic fairy fingers moments has always struck me as elegant. If he prefers to face the band more than the audience to facilitate that, then so be it.”
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