King Crimson Comes Back to Chicago!
- Peter S. Sakas
- Oct 20, 2014
- 8 min read
It was with eager anticipation that I and all the concert goers had for the King Crimson concerts at the Vic (they played for three nights 9/25, 9/26, 9/27). For those of you unfamiliar with King Crimson, they are considered one of the “founders” of “progressive rock.” Although, since their founding in 1968, they have continued in various reincarnations with a myriad of members, and their music has been indescribable, ranging from prog rock, experimental music, hard rock, metal, jazz-rock fusion, and even new wave. Their debut album, “In the Court of the Crimson King,” released in 1969, was the recording which began my life long fascination with prog rock and also made me a huge fan of Greg Lake, their original vocalist.
I had never seen King Crimson in person so this was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream and speaking to the other concert goers, it almost seemed that to many this was going to be almost a “religious experience” for them. I have been to many concerts through the years but rarely have I seen so many fans with such a deep fascination with a band. In fact, one of the concertgoers I spoke to had flown in from Virginia with his wife for this concert. I was surprised at the make up of the crowd as there was a mix of all ages, not only a group of aging or aged prog rockers like I had anticipated. This is a testimonial to the uniqueness of King Crimson and the wide range of musical styles they have dabbled in, leading to a broad fan base exemplified by the many young people in attendance. I must make mention that there were not too many women present, as King Crimson tends to be more of a guy band, characterized by skillful musicianship, some pretty intense music, and long epic songs.
As I walked into the lobby of the Vic Theater (which was pretty tight), there was a concession stand, selling the usual music CDs, DVDs, photo books, but there were some outstanding tour tee shirts with some of the iconic album covers on the front. One of the tee shirts had the “screaming man” from “In the Court of the Crimson King” which I had to have. There was a mob of people purchasing the memorabilia, however, it was well organized and people lined up very orderly, single file. I was reminded of the scene in the movie “A Christmas Story” when the boys went to see Santa, got in line and were told that the end of the line started way back behind them. In this instance people were told the back of the line was upstairs….I looked up the stairs to the balcony and the line snaked up the stairs and beyond. But I had plenty of time so trudged up the stairs, to the end of the line, and waited my turn, hopefully not missing the show. It moved quickly, I got my tee shirt and was a happy fan.
Walking into the theater I was instantly struck by the band set up….there in the front of the stage were three drum sets, the one in the middle was a typical kit with some keyboards to the right side, and the other drum sets on either side were some pretty ornate sets with all sorts of additions. I had seen bands with two drummers before, but never three, and needless to say it further piqued my interest and anticipation, especially because I knew one of the drummers was Gavin Harrison. I became a huge Gavin Harrison fan listening to and watching him perform with the band “Porcupine Tree.” His style and virtuosity is amazing, so never seeing him live, I was definitely psyched.
Typically for my reviews I am able to have a photo pass so I can take pictures at the concert, however, for this show no photos or any recording was allowed, even stating so on the tickets. It was a seated concert for the Vic, which is not the usual arrangement at the Vic, but I was pleased as I am getting older and not in the mood to stand the whole show and get jostled around.
The concert opened with an audio recording termed “No Cameras Please,” which you can find and download from www.dgm.live.com (which also has information about the tour). It basically started with founder Robert Fripp saying “Welcome to King Crimson, hope you have a really great time. Have fun.” Then there was a dialogue with Fripp and all his band members explaining that there will be no recording of any kind. Each band member had interesting comments about the topic, saying how it is distracting to them as well as to other audience members, in addition to the fact that you cannot really enjoy the concert looking through a small view finder…..actually pretty true. Fripp closed by saying that that you should “embrace the moment” using your mind to do the recording and have your mind be your “viddie.” He then repeated, “Welcome to King Crimson, hope you have a really great time. Have fun.” The band then walked out to rousing applause and a standing ovation.
The band then took their places, the three drummers in front, to the left Pat Mastelotto (drummer for King Crimson since 1994, also a founding member of Mister Mister), in the center Bill Rieflin (started working with King Crimson since 2013, playing with many bands, notably R.E.M. since 1997), and to the right Gavin Harrison (had played with King Crimson in 2008 and rejoined them in September 2014 for this tour, better known for his work with Porcupine Tree). Mel Collins, playing the saxes (a legendary player, playing with such bands as King Crimson off and on, Camel, the Alan Parsons Project and many others) took his place in the back row on the far left. Tony Levin, on bass was next to Collins (an outstanding session musician, considered one of the 20 most under rated bass players of all-time, noted for his work with progressive rock bands such as King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, and his band “The Stickmen,” referring to the Chapman Stick bass he is noted for playing). Jakko Jakszyk, on guitar and vocals, was next to Levin, (Jakko is the current lead singer of King Crimson, since 2013, and has been with a number of bands over 30 plus years). Robert Fripp, very unassumingly then took his place on stage at the extreme right, settling in behind a keyboard, with his guitar resting on his lap. Fripp was a founder of the band and has been the only member who has played on every album from the late sixties to the present day. He is considered one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time as published by Rolling Stone Magazine.
All the band members wore either black sport coats or black vests with ties, although Gavin Harrison had on a black shirt. It gave them a very distinguished, classy look. There was no “showboating” at all, there were very workmanlike, precise and impeccable musically. What a collection of outstanding musicians. They did not disappoint.
The concert started with the percussion trio and their precision absolutely blew the crowd (and me) away. I had never seen anything like this and the three drummers were in absolutely complete synch throughout the entire concert….not even a single misstep, always right on. To see the drummers in rehearsal and the basic set up the band you can view this youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1JapuD0ikk.
The set list featured music from every decade of King Crimson, so no one was disappointed as they played for nearly two hours.
Set List
Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part One)
Level Five
A Scarcity of Miracles
The ConstruKction of Light
VROOOM
Coda: Marine 475
Interlude
Red
One More Nightmare
The Letters
Sailor’s Tale
The Light of Day
The Talking Drum
Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part Two)
Starless
Encore
Hell Hounds of Krim
21st Century Schizoid Man
The drummers were the definite featured element of the concert, front and center with amazing performances. They all had distinct styles. Rieflin was a very slick, smooth, drummer, seeming to be playing effortlessly. He also played keyboards on occasion as well. Mastelotto attacked the drums with a ferocity and was a very aggressive, demonstrative player. Harrison definitely displayed why he is such a well-regarded drummer with his virtuosity. On several occasions I saw Mastelotto looking over at Harrison, with a big smile on his face as he was marveling at Gavin’s drumming. Much like the look of admiration I had watching Harrison myself!
But it was great musicianship by all band members all night long. Mel Collins was superlative on the sax and demonstrated why he has been in demand and so well-regarded over all these years. What can you say about Tony Levin? He is probably one of the best bassists around and he sure reinforced that observation by his playing all night long. Jakko Jakszyk definitely impressed me with his guitar work, but especially with his superb vocals. I had heard him before on recordings as lead vocalist for “The 21st Century Schizoid Band” but he sounded even better in person. Robert Fripp was kept a low profile all night, remaining seated, but playing mind blowing guitar. The sounds he coaxed out of guitar were so unique showing what a genius on the guitar he has been for so many years.
The crowd was so appreciative of the concert experience, rewarding the band with numerous standing ovations. What I thought was interesting is that all the band members were very stoic, barely acknowledging the accolades of the audience, almost like they were trying not to show any emotion. The only time I saw some sort of response was from Tony Levin, after someone in the audience yelled out, “You guys are amazing!” Levin had a small grin on his face, otherwise everyone seemed to go through the paces very workman like.
The closing song of the concert was a sublime performance of “Starless” which brought the crowd to their feet. Tony Levin then pulled out a camera and then began taking photos of the crowd form his place in the back row. I was trying to decide if it was a jab at the audience (so to speak) or if it was a tradition of his. As the band took their bows they finally showed more emotion. However, Fripp stood at his place in the back, head slightly bowed as he acknowledged the crowds’ admiration, almost giving me the impression that he looked very “professorial” in his demeanor, as well as his look with the black vest and tie.
For the encore they began with another mind-numbing drum trio, accentuated by more superlative drumming by Gavin Harrison. To the absolute delight of the entire audience the final song of the night was the iconic “21stCentury Schizoid Man.” The entire audience stood and roared their approval, many singing along as well as gesturing wildly to an intensely played version of this classic. The band then took their bows to another well-deserved standing ovation. Once again Tony Levin pulled out his camera and took more photos of the crowd.
What a great ending to one of the best concerts musically I had ever seen. But how could you expect any less from such an iconic band with a superb collection of supremely talented individuals. Sadly, I have no pictures of the show, but as Fripp would say, I have the “viddies” in my mind, and they will stay there forever…..never to be erased!
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