King Crimson at The Greek Theatre

Tonight I am taking a short break from my "Dear Ann" letter because I went to see King Crimson at The Greek Theatre and my mind is boggled. I have been re-reading each part of "Dear Ann" the following day in order to edit the text, and I must say that so far it is both comprehensive and concise, qualities that I was striving for. I didn't wanna ramble on, because I've written about 1989 many times already, but I also didn't want to inadvertently leave out any details. I wanted it to be "direct and to the point", as if it were a real letter to Ann, which it was originally intended to be. Anyhow, so far I am very happy with the way it is turning out, and that is why I am taking tonight off, because I am distracted by the concert and I don't want the quality of the writing to suffer. I will return to "Dear Ann" tomorrow when I can give it my full attention.

So yeah, the King Crimson show was incredible. I've seen this incarnation of the band three times now, 2014 at The Orpheum, 2017 at The Greek and tonight also at The Greek, and this was the best I've ever seen them. I mean, it's kind of subjective to say that, or even nit-picking, because they have been amazing all three times, but I think that it took Robert Fripp and the band a while to get the "three drummers thing" down. Since 2014, KC is a seven piece band, with three of the pieces being drummers. And not just any drummers : two of them are Pat Mastelotto and Gavin Harrison. Imagine having Neil Peart and John Bonham in the same band, playing at the same time, and then imagine adding one more drummer who is also an ace in his own right.

Would it work?

Or would it be too much?

That's a good question, and you might get a different answer from any Crimson fan you asked. I was a little skeptical when I first heard of this idea, but then I saw KC in 2014 at The Orpheum and the Three Drummers were awesome. Ditto the second time at The Greek two years ago. But in hindsight, after seeing the same lineup this evening, I think that five years down the road they've got the dynamics worked out a little better. The drums may have overpowered the music just a tad the first time around, and the 2017 show suffered just a touch from the sound mix. Again, every show was a "10", but tonight was just extra special, and you could tell by the way it mesmerised you. You weren't watching the drummers thinking, "wow, now they're all playing in different rhythms", or "wow, Mastelotto is going crazy" (because he does that). Tonight, while they played with great power and syncopation (including the third drummer Jeremy Stacy who doubles on keys and doesn't play drums half the time), they blended much better with the music, and as a result the band sounded like a seven piece orchestra rather than four instrumentalists and three drummers all pounding away.

The played a ton of stuff from the classic era, including most of "In The Court Of The Crimson King", which is one of the ten greatest albums ever made. They also played several selections from the KC incarnations of the 1990s, the "Thrak" era. The sound was very good, not quite the perfect mix that Bryan Ferry had the other night, but then he wasn't dealing with three drummers, haha.

Grimsley was there, and so was Pat (known as "Ono" on Facebook). All three of us were in separate seats scattered about The Greek, having taken our own cars, but we had enough time before the show to say hey to one another.

The California Guitar Trio opened the show with a brief but impressive 20 minute set. They are well known around Los Angeles, and maybe elsewhere too, I don't know, but they are three acoustic guitarists who can play Bach's Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor and make it sound almost as mighty as it does on the organ. They were the perfect opener for this show. King Crimson came onstage fifteen minutes after they finished, a totally professional changeover that was much appreciated by Yours Truly, who loves concerts but has to get back to Pearl's quickly once they are over.

So there you have it, a mindblowing King Crimson show, in the 50th year of their existence. Robert Fripp was 23 when the first album was released, Greg Lake was 21. It's all pretty mindboggling when you consider it, all of those English boys in all those bands and the music they created from the early 1960s through the mid-70s.......and that's not even counting the Metal era or the music of the 80s.

Well anyhow. I am currently reading "The Rendlesham Enigma" by Jim Penniston and Gary Osborn. I don't know if you have ever heard of the Rendlesham Forest Ufo incident that took place in England at the Bentwaters Air Force Base in December 1980, but it is an astonishing account that equals and possibly surpasses Roswell in it's clarity of detail and "ring of truth". The reason it blows my mind (and that is happening a lot tonight, haha) is because of what happened to me in 1989. While I wasn't involved in a UFO encounter (to my knowledge), nevertheless many of the same electromagnetic phenomena and military presence was witnessed.

If anyone among the General You was involved in 1989, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is the most descriptive and detailed UFO book ever written, and it's the Real Deal. I am excited because I want the story of 1989 to be told. ////

That's all for tonight. I will be back tomorrow to continue the true story I am recounting in "Dear Ann". See you then.

Sleep well with much love sent your way.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)