King Crimson at The Greek Theater

Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,

I'm glad to see you back on FB! It seems like you disappeared for a while there. ;) That's why I didn't post a blog yesterday, but anyway, I hope things have been going well and I hope you had a nice day. I just got back a couple hours ago from the King Crimson concert at the Greek Theater, which is near a famous L.A. Park called Griffith Park, the biggest park in Los Angeles. It's near Hollywood. Anyhow, I hadn't been to The Greek since 1986, when I went there to see Emerson Lake and Powell (as in Cozy Powell, who had replaced Carl Palmer for one album). It's an outdoor amphitheater built into a hillside, and seats about 5000. King Crimson may have overestimated their draw, because the place was only about 3/4ths full, but the 3750 people who were there had their minds blown.

Including yours truly.

There isn't much one can say about a concert like this unless one feels like writing a dissertation, which I do not at the present time because it's late and I have to be up fairly early to take Pearl to the hair salon tomorrow, and to get my own hair cut too.

The thing about KC is that it's very unusual music, extremely heavy for the most part and even chaotic, though there are interludes that are softer and traditionally melodic. I think there is probably not much inbetween for music fans : folks either like 'em or they don't. Or if they do like 'em, they prefer one particular incarnation. That's another thing about King Crimson : every time bandleader/guitarist/musical genius Robert Fripp has broken up and reformed KC over the past 48 years, he has brought it back each time with some different players and a slightly different sound. So I know people who really "love King Crimson", but when they say that, they often only mean one era, such as the very popular "Discipline" era of the early 1980s, with Adrian Belew. I myself love all eras of King Crimson, and tonight the band, which played a 3 hour set with 20 minutes intermission, was featuring music from their earlier eras, mostly stuff from 1969 to 1974, including a lot of material off the classic "Red" album. I will have to go back and check the setlist online to see exactly how much they played from each record, but the thing is :

I don't see how anyone can play like that. That kind of ensemble playing, I mean.

There are 8 musicians in the band : three (!) drummers (Gavin Harrison, Jeremy Stacey and Pat Mastelotto), bass (Tony Levin), guitar (Fripp), vocals and second guitar (Jakko Jakskyk), a keyboardist (Bill Rieflin) and the incredible Mel Collins on Saxes and Woodwinds.

And it all fits together with the precision of a classical orchestra, but with rock sound and power.

I'm sure I mentioned all of this in Fall 2014, the last time I saw them. Before that, I had only seen KC in a club - The Roxy, where I saw Alcest last February. The KC show at The Roxy was back in 1981, and back then they had a traditional rock band structure, just four musicians, including Adrian Belew on guitar. That was the "Discipline" tour, and it was phenomenal, but this latest incarnation is a whole different ballgame. It's now The King Crimson Orchestra. The fun thing is that there is so much going on with each musician that your eyes are constantly moving from one player to the next, not only to watch how they all interact with each other but because the music itself, and the mix of the music, has arrangements that draw out a certain instrument in a constantly changing tapestry where each thread weaves over and around and also in tandem with the others. It's quite incredible to watch and hear, especially the trio of powerhouse drummers. KC is the only major band I have ever seen that has no light show, other than static overhead colored lights, and no other visuals whatsoever. It's just music, which in this case is more than enough.

Well, anyway, that's my short King Crimson review.  :)

I knew you were back today, because after searching fruitlessly for several days on "posts You like", I finally saw one. Well, two actually. I saw the Taya Iv photo, looking very mysterious, and then I saw the other post, where your friends have gotten married.

Of course I have already written about my feelings on the subject.

I am of course all for marriage.

In fact, I'd like to be the one being written about rather than the one writing about it.  :)

Whatcha think, SB?  :):)

See you in the morning. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)