With only one more date on this leg of the European tour to go, King Crimson wound up in the Miles Davis Hall at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In a weekend programme that included artists as diverse as Joe Jackson, Laurie Anderson and post-rock outfit, Mogwai (amongst others), Crimson served up something of a mixed show of their own with energy levels fluctuating in several different directions.

It starts off well enough with an incisive Level Five and a truly cutting version of TCOL. Whilst preparing the show for download, Mister Stormy declared this version was one of the best he’s heard - and he’s heard a few in his time. Equipment problems momentarily dog EleKtriK and cause Dinosaur to teeter slightly.

In his diary, Fripp puts some of the blame for the shifting nature of the show down to the fact it was being officially filmed by the Festival. “An evening of clams, clunkers, recoveries - all on film.” Perhaps the most spectacular of these can be heard during the coda of an otherwise superb rendition LTIA Pt.IV: following the drum roll and pause, both guitarists enter at exactly the same time but in positions on the fretboard not normally considered mutually compatible.

With Adrian declaring to Robert that he considers this to be his worst performance in 9 years of Crimsonising, and Pat M diving off-stage at the end of a savage Red to remonstrate with a punter who shot off a load of flashes, this may well be one of the most controversial Crimson shows.

Mr. Stormy warns that the phasing sound heard briefly at the beginning of TPTBIII (or Deception of the Thrush as we call it in pounds, shillings and pence) is not the result of an audio glitch but as a result of an open microphone in the vicinity of Mr. Mastelotto.
TRACK
TIME
01
Introductory Soundscape
13:27
02
The Power To Believe I
00:41
03
Level Five
07:25
04
ProzaKc Blues
05:32
05
The ConstruKction Of Light
08:44
06
Facts Of Life
05:38
07
Elektrik
07:58
08
The Power To Believe II
07:20
09
Dinosaur
06:13
10
One Time
06:57
01
Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With
04:20
02
Dangerous Curves
04:49
03
Larks Tongues In Aspic Pt IV
12:11
04
The Power To Believe III
07:59
05
Elephant Talk
06:21
06
Red
06:27

KC20030713Montreux16

KC20030713Montreux14 - Robert Fripp

KC20030713Montreux13 - Robert Fripp

KC20030713Montreux12 - Robert Fripp

KC20030713Montreux11 - Robert Fripp

KC20030713Montreux10 - Robert Fripp

KC20030713Montreux9 - Robert Fripp

KC20030713Montreux8 - Robert Fripp

KC20030713Montreaux7 - Robert Fripp

KC20030713Montreaux6 - Robert Fripp

KC20030713Montreaux5 - Robert Fripp

KC20030713Montreaux1 - Bill Munyon

KC20030713Montreaux2 - Bill Munyon

KC20030713Montreaux3 - Bill Munyon

KC20030713Montreaux4 - Bill Munyon

KC20030713Montreux18

KC20030713Montreux17

KC20030713Montreux19

Written by Thomas Cock
Smoking...
This was the first, and currently only, time I have been able to see KC in the flesh. As such it’s not easy for me to compare and contrast with other shows and can only say that I really enjoyed the whole evening. However comparing to other shows I can perhaps agree it isn’t their finest hour. What I found more off putting than anything else was the second the lights went up, everyone lit up - completely ignoring the no smoking signs and ending the event on a major flat note.
Written by paul duffy
For an off night....
... this is a pretty remarkable presentation of material I used to be familiar with. In so doing, Robert and Team Crim continue to make good on their promise deliver the efforts, warts and all. The warts here are stunning and the rest of us should be so blemished. Well done.
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