I saw King Crimson’s Friday and Saturday performances at the Vic Theater in Chicago this weekend, and I am still reeling from the experience. SPOILER ALERT! - This post lists and discusses the songs that the band played on their current tour, so if the reader is planning on seeing them on this tour and is wanting to be surprised, then they should obviously stop reading.
Robert Fripp seemed to be having a great time playing the songs, as he was often caught doing something I rarely had seen him do over the years in concert: smile. And there was plenty to smile about given the depth of the setlist which delved deep into four of the band’s first six albums. I never thought I would experience live versions of songs off ”Islands”, “In the Wake of the Poseidon” and “In the Court of the Crimson King” - albums which they haven’t visited live in over 40 years. They had more recently played material from “Lark’s Tongue in Aspic” and “Red”, but this is the first time I had ever heard “One More Red Nightmare” and “Starless” live. Interestingly, they skipped over their whole 1980’s output; the remainder of the material was plucked from “THRAK”, “The Construction of Light”, “The Power to Believe”, as well as the recent Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins release “Scarcity of Miracles”.
The addition of Mel Collins in the band was the linchpin in this version standing out from other incarnations of the band that I had seen. The Collins’ wind instrument work that peppered the set was essential for their early material and tastefully added to their later work.
Having seen him drum with Porcupine Tree many times, I noticed Gavin Harrison to be more relaxed in the triple drum arrangement, likely because he doesn’t have to shoulder the burden of being the sole drummer. I caught him smiling multiple times as well, which had rarely been the case at a PT show. Pat Mastelotto channeled “Lark’s Tongue”percussionist Jamie Muir convicingly on that material and new drummer Bill Rieflin, the least technically proficient of the three, worked well as an anchor and also added some nice Mellotron/keyboard flourishes when needed. It was interesting seeing the interplay amongst the three drummers. When it worked, which was most of the time, it was awe-inspiring. The only time that I didn’t feel the flow of the drums was in the new drum arrangement for “Red” which in certain sections seemed a little stiff to me. Overall, however, the arrangements enhanced the songs.
Tony Levin was on top of his game as usual, playing bass in favor of the stick for most of the night. At one point, he bowed a stand-up bass, using the tiniest bow I had ever seen, to great effect.
Jakko’s voice was perfect for the Greg Lake, John Wetton and Boz Burrell tracks, and he played nicely as second guitarist. Notably absent, however, was the second guitar doubling up with Fripp on the monster riff in the middle section of “Level 5” (Jakko didn’t attempt to play it).
Of all the incarnations I have seen of King Crimson, I have to say this was my favorite. This is not a slight to Adrien Belew, who I think is a brilliant guitar player. However, the absence of Belew enabled them to play alot of their earlier material, which had been sorely missing in their setlists since the 1980s. Without Belew, Fripp seems to be in charge and shining on his own with great confidence.
Of special note were the two rear speakers at the Vic Theater on the main level that were fed with discrete sounds. Although I missed the quadraphonic effect on Friday (the balcony lacked rear speakers), I did hear it on Saturday, when I sat on the main floor. Unfortunately, my seats were too close to the stage to get a proper, balanced surround effect. There were times though when the effect could not be missed (like when a swooshing Fripp guitar swirled around and around in the room).
King Crimson played three nights in Chicago, but the following setlist from Friday night is pretty representative of the songs from all three nights (the exact setlists from the tour thus far can be found at setlist.fm).
1. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One
2. The Talking Drum
3. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two
4. Hell Bells
5. The ConstruKction of Light
6. One More Red Nightmare
7. A Scarcity of Miracles
8. Pictures of a City
9. Level Five
10. Interlude
11. The Letters
12. Sailor's Tale
13. The Light of Day
14. Red
15. Starless
16. Encore: Hell Hounds Of Krim
17. 21st Century Schizoid Man
