The King Is Dead, Long Live King Crimson – Nokia Theater, NYC, Aug. 16.

by Jeff Boule in Concert Reviews, Editorials, Opinion Posts, Reviews, Song Reviews

Faithful readers have heard this from me before, but there is no more appropriate venue to bring forth this tired tidbit, this go-round of King Crimson is to herald the 40th anniversary of the Mighty Crim Beast. Not to promote an album, simply to celebrate the 40th year Robert Fripp has been sitting atop the throne of this massive monster.

Why no new album? Word on the KC beat is, this anniversary tour is a toe in the water for Fripp. If things manage to play out respectably, with little to no horror, King Crimson will do an album and tour. At least that was Fripp’s most recent position as per his blog. Both Adrian Belew and Tony Levin approached Fripp about new material they had and Fripp’s response was “Hold on to it, we are going wait and see if it is warranted.”

What this means is, if audients repeatedly bother Fripp for autographs, taking more than he is offering, press is bothersome and most of the time impertinent, audiences not behaving in the more mannered English traditions, etc., Fripp will never walk the stage with King Crimson again. You may get the odd Soundscapes tour, League of Crafty Guitarists tour, but no more King Crimson.

The reasons are many, some listed above, but other factors the audients have no control over. Fripp just turned 62. He is also devoted to building a Guitar Craft school in his hometown of Bredonborough. But the real estate market in that area is limited due to space and historic constraints. Plus he is constantly dealing with the loss of royalties owed to him through his association with the defunct EG records, and assorted back-royalty and illegal use lawsuits and collections. This activity is the one that has made Fripp the most jaded and old. He is also a business man running his DGM company which distributes King Crimson, Robert Fripp, some Adrian Belew, some Bill Bruford, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Gentle Giant, Genesis, Bowie, Zappa, Yes and even long time Utopia keyboardist Roger Powell.

Fripp maintains that all of the artists on his label own their copyrights to their work. I am sure running an ethical, transparent company takes much out of a man.

Don’t get me wrong; I am hoping the entire above statement about the end of King Crimson is incorrect. I also want Bill Bruford back in the band. Hell while I am at it, I want Utopia to reunite and continue until one of them dies!!! Same with King Crimson, when Fripp dies THEN there can be no King Crimson. Despite the fact that Fripp was willing to walk away from King Crimson and was even willing to let Belew, Bruford and Levin continue without him, this happening shortly after the mixing of Three Of A Perfect Pair (TOAPP). But I can’t see Utopia without those four individuals, and I can’t see King Crimson without Robert Fripp.

Fripp has been a role model to me in more than just a musical manner. I find his philosophies on music, business and life fascinating. My best thing to ever happen to me and I are U.S. fans of his bunny, WillyFred, and even gave him bunny toys for WF at the League Of Crafty Guitarists show in Philadelphia last year.

I guess my point is, I know Fripp, as best as anyone can outside of his inner circle can get. I know that underneath that gruff old goat exterior and grumpy face (and sometime disposition) there lies one smart, funny man. His blog has recently turned into a comic-book style depiction of life as a traveling gigster in King Crimson.

King Crimson the comic book? Is Fripp looking to sell Crimson out? We shall see!

The pre-event speculation and expectation were high. Previous shows were being reviewed highly favorably. Internet buzz is high and everyone seems to like the happening. Several shows on this tour sold out. But one of those Fripp philosophies is to beware the trap of expectation.

I fell right into it.

But this trap was far more deadly than the tiger cage John McCain spent some of his life in.

On the one hand, I need this band to continue, to continue to provide me musical inspiration and entertainment. But it is also my job to report the facts as they happen and several facts made this a disappointing show with many good features. So I now get to embark on killing something I love.

Have mercy on my wretched soul.

First, I have to start off by reporting the 3 Stooges-esque security forming a line that could have been handled far more efficiently than it was. The comedic anti-realizations resulted in the show being put off by half an hour. Even with that several people were let in after the band had taken the stage. Thanks to a superior cabby we managed to get from Penn Station to the venue just in time to make the predicted 8PM show time. We needn’t have rushed, but it is good that we did or we would have been ones who were let in late. So for your information, if you are going to see show at the Nokia Theater in Times Square NYC, get there WAY early. You don’t want to be caught in the soup.

Our ten-block cab ride also included some of the iconic attractions around Times Square, Madame Trousseau’s, Bubba Gump Shrimp, and perhaps the most ostentatious McDonalds short of Las Vegas.

It’s a live review, random animal parts, right here in Neurotica.

So we were ushered in by Laurel and Hardy Security and got to our seats 25 minutes after arriving at bit before 8. We waited only minutes before the house downed the Soundscapes playing on the PA as warm-up and the lights. Fripp and the drummers began the night with the opening chord to “Construction Of Light” from the album of the same name. But the drummers had other intentions than to start the show. Their aim was to set the tone for this show. Drums. Pure, plain and painful drums. Lazy drums, powerful drums. You could tell this was a percussion-focused performance. What I would find is a percussion and low-end massacre. The low end was nearly overdone to the point of inducing bowel movements. And while on the subject of the mix a note to Mr. Ian at the house mixer, I know Tony Levin isn’t as strong a vocalist as Adrian, but ADRIAN IS THE LEAD SINGER, NOT TONY. Tony is a BACKING vocalist; his mic should not have been louder than the lead vocalist. Sound engineering 101.

The version of “ConstrucKtion Of Light” was a good one, varying only by Tony Levin’s inflections and his use of the Chapman Stick as opposed to the Warr Guitar used to record the part by Trey Gunn. The question has arisen to me why is Trey no longer in the band. The official word is that Gunn left to pursue his solo endeavors. But there also floats a story that Gunn invited several press people into the dressing room after a show, then left them in the room with Fripp, a more heinous act is yet to be invented in Fripp’s eyes. THAT would be grounds for dismissal. Perhaps he was bound by contractual obligations. But this Gunn-less version was good none-the-less.

It ended with Belew playing a siren-like note into the next song, which was a thrill for me to hear, good old “Neurotica” from Beat. It was a thrill until the vocals came in ON TAPE!!! Belew used to do them for he promotional tours he did for the album. Perhaps lazy is a theme tonight. This was just plain old wrong.

Next up, for all the Codgers in the audience, a nearly note-for-note replication of 1974’s “Red”. That’s right, 1974. So many of the crowd were aching for the past and this is not Fripp’s intent, ever. Several original members are dead. So now he moves on. Bill Bruford left, Fripp moved on. His aim is to move forward, not dwell in the past like just about every audience members. I guess I shouldn’t grouse about them too much, thanks to them there were plenty of large size shirts available for me. Thanks to them and their corpulence.

It is at this point that I can see the need to add a second drummer, as Pat Mastellotto has grown fat and lazy.

During “Red”, Fripp’s chord rhythm floated from side to side on the PA. This would have been more effective had the bass not been so overpowering.

Next up was “Three Of A Perfect Pair” from the album of the same name. This is one of my favorite King Crimson songs. So imagine my disappointment when I heard this mushy, unclear, mangled version. I understand, the bass Levin originally used was burned in a fire. But to replace that sound by using the funk fingers? Funk fingers are a device of Levin’s that allows him to strap on beaters to his three largest fingers and he uses them to pound on the strings of the bass. Nothing like the original method he used on the record. I notice Levin had trouble finding the right sound after a change from the verse to chorus.

“Dinosaur” from Thrak was belabored with issues. After the synth string intro, the start-up was just sloppy, terrible, awful. In plain terms, not tight at all. Another issue that would turn up was the overall drowning out of Adrian Belew’s vocals. Again, backing vocalist Levin was louder.

Again, to appease the Codgers, we go to “The Talking Drum/Lark’s Tongues In Aspic” from the album Lark’s Tongues In Aspic (LTIA). In the effort to continue in the hard rock, heavy metal, industrial and progressive veins, this version had been injected with power drumming too much bass in the mix. It totally steam-rollered over the more subtle parts.

I think that would have to be another concern, the lack of those subtleties. Yeah, I know, Bruford. But is powering through every number your going to do the answer? Who’s next? Danny Carey? Josh Freese? “The Talking Drum” was marred again by the fact that when Levin straps on the Funk Fingers, the bass part sounded like mush because the low-end was boosted so high up in the main mix. “LTIA Part II” was marred by the fact that Harrison overplayed most of Bruford’s parts. Too powerful. One good part was when Belew finally found his volume pedal and we could hear his part.

“One Time”, also from Thrak was also victim of the overpowering bass amplification. I guess I made my point; the bass was too much all night. But I will say that Fripp’s delayed chime-like notes came through clear as a bell for the intro. He also provided a very beautiful Soundscapes break in the middle of the song. HUZZAH! The vocals have been turned up, all is right with the world.

And once the vocal and guitar achieve their maximum requirement for the evening, Belew takes off after the song!!! Nice. Levin choose to hang around for “B’Boom”, again from Thrak. This album was the one that received the most promotion during this the 40th anniversary tour. I was glad I was subjected to the moldy oldies like “21st Century Schizoid Man” or (my mouth has a very unpleasant taste in it right now) “In The Court Of The Crimson King”. But this song was again, focused to show off the double drummers. This aim was met. I don’t mean to belittle the obvious and overt talents of Gavin Harrison. As I mentioned, I did make a substantial contribution at the concession stand and as a reward, I was given a pair of used drumsticks from Gavin Harrison. These sticks were monstrous, and I have yet to compare them to my Bill Bruford signature sticks, but I can tell they are much, much beefier. As were the $20 pair of P@ Mastellotto signature sticks. Sorry guys, but you can go online to most music supply web sites and get a pair for $13-$15.

Next up in the 70’s-80’s-90’s 2000 Anniversary Review was “Frame By Frame” from the seminal Discipline album. They have played this so many times they should be able to do it in their sleep. In fact, as a way to mix it up, they threw in a new harmony in the gamelan guitar part towards the end. But things continue to fall apart as Fripp ended a measure earlier than Belew.

Disappointing.

Equally disappointing was “Sleepless” from Three Of A Perfect Pair. This take was similar to “TOAPP” the song, see that review and apply it to this. Again, Levin turned the slap and pluck bass line that defined this song, and was the launch pad riff, and turned it into the runniest oatmeal you’ve ever had put in front of you.

Now we were served up a heaping helping of “Indiscipline” from Discipline“. This is where we separate Gavin Harrison from Bill Bruford. I have been harping on this but when you have a player with such a distinct style contributing to over 3 decades of material, and you bring in a heavy hitter, things are going to change. This is part of Fripp’s plan to move forward. He wants King Crimson to be a heavy band. Tool has been a major influence on Fripp since King Crimson opened for Tool early in the Millennium.

But something King Crimson needs to understand, heavy doesn’t mean distorted over-allotted low-end and high volume. Often times this version was too distorted and cacophonous for it’s own good. Of course we also get the (as Fripp calls them in his blog) ‘Boobies’, you know, jerks in the audience who can’t handle the over priced beers they bought too many of and yell out inanities at the band. Well during the quiet, spoken word vocal parts in the low dynamic sections of the song, people were yelling out the lyrics in anticipation of Belew saying them. Ugh! That is exactly the sort of crap that’s gonna end this band. Drunken louts.

The best part of this rendition for me was when Belew unscrewed his tremolo arm and used it as a pick on the strings.

At this point the band leaves the stage. Starting at 8:30 and ending initially at 9:50. The funny part is, I was always under the assumption they don’t do encores. In Tony Levin’s “King Crimson Barbershop Quartet”, the lyrics even say, “We’re the King Crimson band, we don’t do encores…” But they came back and turned another drum duo (the third of the night) into “Thela Hun Ginjeet” and they did another tape vocal. This vocal is the exact one that was taken from the recording. That vocal was hatched after the idea was to have the singer say the lines “He came at me and held a gun in his hand, this is a dangerous place, I wouldn’t want to live here.” Then when Belew gave the delivery of the line, it was flat. So Robert Fripp suggested he take a walk around the block and take the tape recorder with him. So as he was walking around the block and just as he finished saying the line, a youth gang accosted him. At one point they had commandeered his tape recorder and played what was on it, and it said “he held a gun in his hand.” After explaining that he was in a band making a recording about NYC and crime in the streets and the explanation seemed to fly as they let Belew go. So as he rounds the corner, visibly shaken, “who should appear but two policemen?” goes the end of the vocal recorded on the spot as he returned from the studio and rendered his explanation as to how he got the vocal line story he came back with.

My not-so-favorite part of the song was when Belew had to kneel on the floor to replicate the oscillation feedback he used to get when he used the Roland JC120 amp. I refuse to rid myself of mine, I still love it.

This ended a little after 10PM.

But again, for a band that doesn’t do encores, another encore.

They rejoined with “Elephant Talk” from Discipline. Now all night, Belew had been relying on his signature model Parker Fly guitar. From day one, I have had a personal grudge against Parker Fly as I never trusted the barely there headstock (part where they tune the strings, at the top of the neck) and for this song he needed to play behind the nut, (area that maintains string distance from each other, also at the top of the guitar) or exactly that area I didn’t trust. Well something irked me about them then and twenty or so years later, my point is proven. Every time Belew went to get those notes behind the nut, they came up empty. I never recall him having trouble with that on any Fender he played.

Never the less it was a good version, although during Fripp’s “mouse” solo, the band let the song get sloppy. I am a long-time King Crimson fan. I have seen them play much tighter previously. Again, the factor being Bruford. Pat Mastellotto (all weight jokes aside) is a quality drummer, trained by Bruford while they were part of King Crimson. Gavin Harrison is one powerful drummer, also of quality. But these two together could not keep it as tight as one Bruford.

More value for your Crimson buck. Next up in the encore that wasn’t, “Vrooom” followed by “Marine 475” all from Thrak. In the intro of “Vrooom” Belew emitted some odd noises, and his whammy pedal was bumped and that seemed to tune him down a few cents. Then, except for overly aggressive bass and drums, and low EQ, this was a flawless version, and at the end of the show, Belew mimed pushing a box inward, smaller and smaller, miming top and bottom inward, left and right side inward, front and back inward, over and over until finally he brought his hands together to close the show, a clever touch to what may be the final performances of King Crimson.

Wonderful Prexites, (including that someone at the show wearing a “I got it at PREX” T-shirts, NICE!), I had the eeriest sensation at many times through the show. It seems that the band realized that I was doing a review (gee, a guy sitting in a front row seat, with a pad and pen, writing constantly through the show, do ya think?) and in some tiny way, it felt to I and my companion, that both Belew and Mastellotto were making eye contact with me. Trying to butter me up with smiles, Boys? You can do better than this.

To Robert Fripp. Thank you. Best get well wishes to WillyFred. Won’t you please come back to World Café Live in Philly again, we loved having you both times last year. This reviewer thinks it may be time to put the King down. The King is dead. Long live the King.

Sadder words have yet to be conceived.

Next week I will be doing a review of Scars On Broadway, the new album from the guitarist and drummer from the possibly defunct System Of A Down. Taking a total left turn, from Progressive Rock to Death Metal. That’s one way to cheer up after killing one of your favorite artists.

I am off to self-flagellate.