King Crimson has a long storied career that goes back to the late 1960’s. The group has been going back and forth between being active and being inactive. King Crimson has been cited as one of the pioneers of progressive metal. There have been numerous members in an out of the band since its inception. Even though the band is currently inactive, former members Adrian Belew and Tony Levin wanted to play the 1980’s King Crimson for its fans. With the blessings of King Crimson members Robert Fripp and Bill Buford, Belew and Levin put together a project called Beat (the name of one of the albums this project will focus on playing.) They recruited guitar virtuoso Steve Vai and powerhouse drummer Danny Carey (TOOL) to round out the group. Again, the group primarily focused on the 3 albums that were recorded in the 1980’s. They were ‘Discipline,’ ‘Beat’ and ‘Three of a Perfect Pair.’
The show started right at 7:30pm sharp. The band all came to the forefront one by one and stood and acknowledged the audience before they played a single note. What should be known that even though Levin played a few various basses throughout the show, he primarily used a Chapman Stick to get his signature sound. The band were cruising right long until Belew stopped everyone during “Man with an Open Heart.” He said they everyone should get their money’s worth and wanted to replay a part of the bridge that he forgot the lyrics to. So, the band obliged and played it again. This would be about the only blemish of the night as the band perfected these songs in a live setting. They been touring with this outfit since mid September so they are locked in for sure.
After a 20-minute intermission, Carey came out solo to play a set of drum pads that were positioned at the forefront of the stage. After a few minutes, Belew joined him in playing the drum pads and then the rest of the band joined them on stage. Belew went back to playing his guitar for the rest of ‘Waiting Man.” Beat played with precision on songs “Frame by Frame,” “Elephant Talk” and “Three of a Perfect Pair.” For Vai fans who are used to seeing him perform in over the top fashion, they got see more of a reserved style that mimicked Fripp’s style of playing. For the encores, Beat finally diverted from the 80’s to play the 1974 title track ‘Red.’ They closed with “Thela Hun Gunjeet.” They all came together once again to take a final bow.
For progressive rock fans, this show doesn’t get any better. Four well regarded musicians came together to pay homage to King Crimson. Supergroup gets throw around a bit too much but in this instance, it fit the bill.
Set 1:
Neurotica
Neal and Jack and Me
Heartbeat
Sartori in Tangier
Model Man
Dig Me
Man With an Open Heart
Industry
Lark’s Tongues in Aspic (Part III)
Set 2:
Waiting Man
The Sheltering Sky
Sleepless
Frame by Frame
Matte Kudasai
Elephant Talk
Three of a Perfect Pair
Indiscipline
Encore:
Red
Thela Hun Gunjeet
We would like to thank both Steve Karas for the photo pass and Jamie Metzler Ensler from the Center for the Arts for the ticket to review the show.
