Good band did everything wrong

[smeet]

Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Indeed I did. The sound was great too, loud enough to really rock and feel it in your body, but clear and not ear-splitting at all. I wore plugs anyway but that's just me.

Hey, I made it into Tony's Road Diary! That's me taking the picture I put into the first post View attachment 4360709

That's so cool! How long does it take for the pictures to go up? I don't see my show up there.

 

[LBS-bass]

Indeed I did. The sound was great too, loud enough to really rock and feel it in your body, but clear and not ear-splitting at all. I wore plugs anyway but that's just me.



That's so cool! How long does it take for the pictures to go up? I don't see my show up there.

I didn't even look until today, and it's only been a couple of days, so I would guess not long or whenever he gets around to it

 

[LBS-bass]

Gratuitous or no, you have bestowed upon me a grace unlooked for, milady, for which I respond to you with a doff of the hat and a deep bow.

Happy to oblige!

 

[Sid Fang]

Hey, I made it into Tony's Road Diary! That's me taking the picture I put into the first post

View attachment 4360709

That's very cool. Haven't found myself yet, but I'm in that pic, for sure. I wore my red Discipline interlace face mask for the occasion, and put it on in the middle of their taking pictures of the audience to make myself easier to find, but I think that one was taken before I put it on...

 

[Doc Halo]

Indeed I did. The sound was great too, loud enough to really rock and feel it in your body, but clear and not ear-splitting at all. I wore plugs anyway but that's just me.



That's so cool! How long does it take for the pictures to go up? I don't see my show up there.

He usually posts them the next day. Last night's show at the Concord Pavilion is already up.

 

[LBS-bass]

He usually posts them the next day. Last night's show at the Concord Pavilion is already up.

Yep, that's the show I was at. Smeet's was the following night so I'm guessing they will be soon!

 

[Lobster11]

I saw two shows of the first "Seven-Headed Beast" tour in 2015, with the front line of Rieflin/Mastelotto/Harrison, on back-to-back nights. The set lists were almost identical but that was fine: I'd seen KC in a couple of previous incarnations and was well aware of what I was getting myself into, but still I needed to hear the show twice to fully process it.

When I saw that they they would be playing in Florida not long ago I contacted a buddy down there -- who has diverse and adventurous musical tastes, but who had never seen any version of KC -- and urged him to go. The day after the show I got an email from him simply saying, "Saw KC last night. Wow. What a total mind****." He went on to say that if I wanted to go to the Washington DC show the next week (the closest they would come to me in SE Virginia), he would join me.

Did I mention that he lives in Florida?

 

[Doc Halo]

Yep, that's the show I was at. Smeet's was the following night so I'm guessing they will be soon!

Ah, I see. Relying on Levin's Road Diary post, I assumed last night's show was at the Concord.

As it turns out, Tony occasionally gets the date of a given gig wrong--which is perfectly understandable, given how disorienting life on the road must sometimes be. He made, and subsequently corrected, a similar mistake with regard to the Atlanta show. He'll probably fix the error for the Concord show when he posts the photos from LA!

 

[LBS-bass]

Ah, I see: Smeet saw the show at The Greek, not the Concord. I missed that the first time I read the thread.

So here's something I noticed: in posting the Road Diary pics, Tony occasionally gets the date of a given gig wrong--which is perfectly understandable, given how disorienting life on the road must sometimes be. A quick google search tells me that the Concord Pavilion show was on August 5th, not August 6th. He made, and subsequently corrected, a similar mistake with regard to the Atlanta show. He'll probably fix the error for the Concord show when he posts the photos from LA!

View attachment 4360885

It was probably the 6th by the time he posted them, so an easy mistake to make.

 

[Roxbororob]

Hey, I made it into Tony's Road Diary! That's me taking the picture I put into the first post

View attachment 4360709

Very cool!

 

[Sid Fang]

Wait, they played the Greek last night? Hadn't known. When the Concord show was announced, a drummer buddy of mine who lives down in Santa Cruz proposed grabbing us tickets right before I pushed the button myself. The Greek would have been less travel for both of us - and a return to my old Berkeley stomping grounds. The Greek is where I saw at least one of the Fripp/Belew/Levin/Bruford KC shows in the 80s, and the "dual trio" circa 1995.

More KC/Levin tales while we're on the thread: During one of the previous tours of the 3-drummer formation, in San Francisco, probably the Warfield Theatre in 2014, I was close enough to the stage and interested enough in what Levin was doing to have watched him, during a quiet passage by the rest of the band, pick up his yellow 'ray, check his tuning, and see that something was wrong with the circuit. He signaled to a roadie and the two of them fussed with the cables between the bass and the Kemper, but before they resolved it, Tony figured out that he only had about two bars before he had to come in with one of those driving Wetton bass figures that defined the song. So he spun around, did a quick volume tweak, and attacked the part... ...on the NS Designs EUB. He was visibly working hard but got through the piece just fine, and by the time it was over, they had the bass guitar sorted out. I suspected I was the only person in the room who noticed what he'd just casually pulled off. A brilliant player and a real pro.

 

[Basslice]

Looking forward to the show in a couple of weeks!

 

[dgtlman]

Yeah I've seen this version of the Crim. Definitely in my top five shows ever. They were flawless.

 

[Seabass]

Saw this lineup in 2019 in Atlanta. Wow! One of the best shows ever. It was the perfect Crimson show.

 

[Brad Feick]

I went to see a band play tonight. Spent good money on front row seats.

They did everything wrong. They came out dressed up in tuxedo vests like a bunch of waiters. The bass player, Tony, had a music stand in front of him. The guitarist, Robert, had a headstock tuner and just sat and played guitar all night with headphones on. They had too many drummers. And the worst of it was that nothing they played was exactly like the record.

View attachment 4359239
Might have also been the best show I ever saw in my life.

As a bonus, I got to see another great band but I didn't get any pictures of them. I might tell you about that in a later post.

(that's all sarcasm by the way-- though all true)

I saw this KC line up in Philly.
People sat down, shut the hell up, and it was a religious experience!
They did ask for everyone to "be here now" and not use cameras THANK GOD...

Had tix to see KC/Zappa in KY, but COVID killed that show at the Palace in Louisville (thanks Stub Hub for ripping me off- they claim the show is going to be rescheduled in KY- it is clearly NOT)

How was the Zappa band?
Dying to see them, saw Frank in 89 at The Tower.

Thanks for the post!

 

[LBS-bass]

I saw this KC line up in Philly.
People sat down, shut the hell up, and it was a religious experience!
They did ask for everyone to "be here now" and not use cameras THANK GOD...

Had tix to see KC/Zappa in KY, but COVID killed that show at the Palace in Louisville (thanks Stub Hub for ripping me off- they claim the show is going to be rescheduled in KY- it is clearly NOT)

How was the Zappa band?
Dying to see them, saw Frank in 89 at The Tower.

Thanks for the post!

The Zappa Band was really good; there's a whole sub-discussion here about Scott Thunes and his awesome playing. Unfortunately, they had a multitude of technical problems while onstage, including a catastrophic straplock failure that resulted a decapitated Les Paul. But they managed to handle everything like real pros and not miss a beat. I was told by someone, maybe in this thread (?), that it was their first gig on this tour so still working out some logistics. No matter; they were brilliant players.

 

[Les Fret]

I am a big KC fan. Saw the new line up a few years ago on their first tour. It was good but I was a bit disappointed. Saw them before with the Thrak and Construction of Light tour. I much more preferred that line up. It was much more experimental and adventurous in nature. With this new line up they are relying on the old stuff too much for my taste with less focus on new material and improvs which for me is the essence of KC, always looking for new directions. I am also not so fond of the singer of the new line up. But that’s a matter of taste.

I liked Mel Collins though. I still hope they bring out a new album with new material. Any plans for that you think?

 

[LBS-bass]

I am a big KC fan. Saw the new line up a few years ago on their first tour. It was good but I was a bit disappointed. Saw them before with the Thrak and Construction of Light tour. I much more preferred that line up. It was much more experimental and adventurous in nature. With this new line up they are relying on the old stuff too much for my taste with less focus on new material and improvs which for me is the essence of KC, always looking for new directions. I am also not so fond of the singer of the new line up. But that’s a matter of taste.

I liked Mel Collins though. I still hope they bring out a new album with new material. Any plans for that you think?

I sort of thought of this as a bit of a legacy tour; don't know what plans they might have, if any, for future recording. I think someone mentioned that Fripp has said he's retiring from the road (again) but we have heard that before, haven't we? Remains to be seen, I guess.

 

[Les Fret]

I sort of thought of this as a bit of a legacy tour; don't know what plans they might have, if any, for future recording. I think someone mentioned that Fripp has said he's retiring from the road (again) but we have heard that before, haven't we? Remains to be seen, I guess.

I agree. It felt a bit like a ‘best off or legacy’ tour. Which is nice but I prefer the way that KC was always renewing themselves. This tour is not really something new but more a revival of the past. A bit of a tribute to KC so to say.

Also I found that the bass and guitars where a bit overpowered by the three drummer concept. Normally Tony Levin is better in the mix. Just hope they bring out one more (last?)KC album with new stuff. The last full album with new music was 18 years ago.

 

[Lobster11]

I saw several versions of KC over 30 years or so too, and I think it's a mistake to make comparisons between the latest version and the previous ones. It's just a whole different animal. Much more like a symphony orchestra than a rock band (accentuated by playing mostly in symphony halls in tuxedos). The drummers dominated the mix because, well, they were supposed to: That's part of the concept and why they're the front line and not in the back. I loved it.

Disclaimer: I actually saw two consecutive nights and was glad I did, because it wasn't until about midway through the second show that I felt like I really "got" it in a deep way.