King Crimson and Robert Fripp Masterthread

[Birds in Hell]

Incredibly touching post by Robert and Toyah: https://www.facebook.com/notes/king-cri ... 231957519/

[Birds in Hell]

All being well, we expect to close the year by playing Japan and possibly Australia in November and December.

OH MY GOD.

[flavdave]

I grabbed a slightly dusty copy of McDonald and Giles over the weekend. I just gave it a proper listen. I had checked out some of the tracks on YouTube some time ago since it's not on Spotify so this was my first full listen.

Wow. This is great. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did since I only dabble in KC and prog in general. Birdman's cool. The drumming throughout is amazing, love that sound.

[Birds in Hell]

40 years of Discipline.

[Malloy]

40 years of Discipline.

[Birds in Hell]

Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Danny Carey, and Steve Vai to Celebrate King Crimson on 2024 Tour

Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Tool drummer Danny Carey, and guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, performing under the moniker BEAT, will celebrate King Crimson on a Fall 2024 North American tour.

The extensive trek kicks off September 12th in San Jose, California, and runs through November 8th in Las Vegas. In between, they’ll play shows in Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, New York, Toronto, Nashville, Minneapolis, and beyond.

...

The tour will see the all-star ensemble — guided by King Crimson members Belew and Levin — reinterpret three of the band’s ’80s albums: Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair. Vai also hinted that some other choice cuts from the band’s discography could make the setlist.

“The 1981 through 1984 King Crimson created a music all its own,” Belew reflected in a press release. “Timeless. Beautiful. Complex. Fierce. For the fans who lived through it then, and the ones who never got to witness it, our aim is to bring it to life again. A monumental task but we’re going for it! There are not enough exclamation points to express my excitement!”

Vai comented, “Being a part of this ensemble is an extraordinary privilege and opportunity to perform some of the most beloved, timeless, and monumental music of the ’80s (and beyond) with truly inspired musicians. This music resonates deeply with me. I can assure the fans of KC that we will be putting our best foot forward to respect this great music with the care and intensity it deserves.”

Carey added, “I am very excited to share the stage with three of my favorite musicians on the planet. Tony, Steve and Adrian have always been a source of inspiration for me since the beginning of my career, and now to be able to share a bit of my musical journey with them is a dream come true.”

BEAT have also garnered the approval of King Crimson founder Robert Fripp. Not only did he endorse the project, he even suggested the nomenclature.

Posted Fripp on Facebook: “This is the project that Adrian Belew called me about last Autumn, a project which I support and fully encourage, and discussed with Steve Vai recently at McCabes in Santa Monica. Even, I suggested the name.”

Unbelievable!

Very envious of anyone lucky enough to see one of these shows.

[oneway23]

I would love to go, but, the Beacon Theater is so god damned awful for accessibility...Saw Tedeschi Trucks Band there back in 2019 and my wife and I had our two front tires practically hanging off the ledge of a step. Sat against the back wall, could barely see a thing for the entirety of the three hours.

I'm jealous of whoever gets to see this live. I'll have to be content watching clips on Youtube or else hoping for a PPV on Nugs or Veep.

[Birds in Hell]

I would love to go, but, the Beacon Theater is so god damned awful for accessibility...Saw Tedeschi Trucks Band there back in 2019 and my wife and I had our two front tires practically hanging off the ledge of a step. Sat against the back wall, could barely see a thing for the entirety of the three hours.

I'm jealous of whoever gets to see this live. I'll have to be content watching clips on Youtube or else hoping for a PPV on Nugs or Veep.

That’s a bummer. For both of our sakes, I hope there’s some great footage of this tour. I would shit twice and die if they announced Australian dates (KC never once played here in any form).

My only question mark is over Vai effectively playing the Fripp role in the band. They have very different styles but we’ll see, hopefully they know what they’re doing.

[Birds in Hell]

[AndySlash]

despite not being familiar with much king crimson beyond in the court of..., just seeing the band lineup was enough for me to get tix to the show here. seems like something you just don't pass up.

[oneway23]

I would love to go, but, the Beacon Theater is so god damned awful for accessibility...Saw Tedeschi Trucks Band there back in 2019 and my wife and I had our two front tires practically hanging off the ledge of a step. Sat against the back wall, could barely see a thing for the entirety of the three hours.

I'm jealous of whoever gets to see this live. I'll have to be content watching clips on Youtube or else hoping for a PPV on Nugs or Veep.

That’s a bummer. For both of our sakes, I hope there’s some great footage of this tour. I would shit twice and die if they announced Australian dates (KC never once played here in any form).

My only question mark is over Vai effectively playing the Fripp role in the band. They have very different styles but we’ll see, hopefully they know what they’re doing.

Let's hope for a pay per view, my friend. If not, I'm certain we'll still have some wonderful footage to enjoy via Youtube.

As for Vai, I'd be lying if I told you that I was intimitely familiar with his catalog, but, he did play with Zappa, and that's enough of a seal of approval for me.

Having said that, while I have little doubt that he can more than competently honor this material, I am really curious to see just how closely he's going to stick to things like effects choices and phrasing.
I'm speculating, but, I'd imagine he will do his best to replicate the songs as they exist on record. Then again, certain aspects like intonation can't really be replicated to a T, either. It's going to be a really interesting performance to witness.

[Birds in Hell]

BEAT tour starts tonight, I'm so looking forward to seeing some videos after the show.

[Birds in Hell]

My post above was a day too early:







Seems like the sound was a bit wonky the first night, and it's still immensely weird to see Steve Vai playing this stuff, but they'll hopefully become a complete machine over the next few months. Still hopeful they come down here next year.

And this is incredible, full thing comes out in the next few days:

[Birds in Hell]

Night 2 in Napa!




(Yes, I know the audience for these posts here is limited.)