After touring Northern America and Japan between February - April roadshow KC went to Europe. Five days in the team turned up in Helsinki’s Finlandia Hall which had sold out several weeks before.
The careful listener will notice that there’s an extraneous sound or two in the very beginning of the soundscape - a result of Fripp initially ‘scaping alongside what one eye-witness described as “the Elvis music” being played over the PA prior to Fripp taking to the stage.
Following an especially assertive rendition of Level Five and a flawless TCOL, FaKcts Of Life takes us into some serious kick-ass territory, as the saying almost goes. As with most Crimson shows, however much is going on in the crash-bang-wallop department, there’s lots of small-scale detail to like and admire.
The intricate clockwork-toy percussives of TPTB II are especially spellbinding here, with Ade’s abrasive flourishes gliding over the top, and there’s also a couple of interesting moments where Fripp departs from script in terms of voice-settings and notes toward the last section of EleKtriK. The double-whammy of Dangerous Curves and LTIA IV provide the thrills and spills highlights from Mastelotto, and Belew respectively.
This download follows a request by Toni Suominen who was keen to hear KC’s only appearance in Finland once again. Sadly, the board recording we have is incomplete with Thrush, Oyster Soup, ET and Red evading posterity despite our very best efforts. That said, Alex Mundy’s description of the show as ‘nearly 80 minutes of stomp’ is a fairly reliable summation of what goes on.
