King Crimson - Chicago, 28 June 2017

A very good friend bought me a ticket to the King Crimson show at the stately, lovely Chicago Theater, performing on 28 June, 2017!   Thanks, Kim! 

Edited by cstack3 - July 06 2017 at 13:37

Nice review! I'm seeing them on Monday and all the reviews/setlists rolling in have me quite stoked. 

I'm confused by your "FOUR drummers" comment.   I saw them in Denver only a few days earlier and there were "only" three drummers, along with a dedicated keyboard player.

I saw the Minneapolis show on the 26th. It was like being attacked by a beautiful monster with 8 heads and 3 drummers. I took a peek at their setlists a few weeks before going. I kinda wish I didn't - I would have been more astonished at the selections if I didn't have a clue. I looked away quickly but a few songs stayed in my head. The fact that they started out with LTIA I was the biggest surprise. I didn't see that one coming. Must have glanced away in time. I recognized it right away from the thumb-piano part. There's nothing like the tension-release on that one.

Islands just about had me in tears.

The Letters would have shocked me if I didn't notice it in the setlist. Unfortunately a whole lot of people thought they were done at the end of the instrumental section and started applauding right at the very second Jakko was going to scream "Impaled on Nails of Ice!". He had his breath drawn and everything. Luckily he just exhaled and stepped back, looked annoyed for a second and then gave it his all. Some people just killed the moment.

The only complaint I have is when the nice, small couple who sat in front of me were asked to leave their seats so that Billy the Mountain could sit in them. I don't know how that happened. You see, "Billy" was too big for one seat, so he had to have two. The seats are designed so that the sightline from every seat to the stage is between the two seats in front of it. Being a giant, Billy did not conform to normal human proportions. His posterior didn't quite fit between the armrests, so he listed to the left, putting his basketball sized noggin that was attached directly to his shoulders, sans-a-neck, right in front of me. It blocked the right half of the stage. Luckily my friend was kind enough to switch seats with me for the second half.

Edited by stegor - July 07 2017 at 17:34

infocat wrote: I'm confused by your "FOUR drummers" comment.   I saw them in Denver only a few days earlier and there were "only" three drummers, along with a dedicated keyboard player.

Same at Massey Hall. Other people noticed that Lark's One started out a bit shaky. Could have been a technical thing but it was sorted out quickly. I still can't wrap my head around the three drummer thing. Pat doing the devices was kind of cool though recalling the brief Jamie Muir days. Islands was definitely a highlight. Having seen them 5 times in the 80s & 90s I walked away more with the impression that I had really seen King Crimson because of the old material. I really wish Bruford could have been part of this lineup. Have some photos of the end of the show when photos were allowed. Even Fripp brought out a camera! but the robot tests kick in when I try to post photos

Man With Hat wrote: cstack3 wrote: Man With Hat wrote: Nice review! I'm seeing them on Monday and all the reviews/setlists rolling in have me quite stoked.  You'll have a great time!!  I recommend going through the set lists and listening to songs that you haven't heard in a while....some songs like "Islands" threw me completely!   This was the set list from 2014 - quite different, and (I thought at the time) a bit edgier, although the 2017 show was remarkable in its scale & precision!!  Islands is definitely the biggest surprise. Have they ever played that song live before? Sadly I missed them the last time through, but looking forward to the 8 headed/3 drummer beast. :)

Here's the warning signs from the Massey hall show in Toronto on Wednesday. And Yes some idiot pulled out a camera but someone wacked it out of his hands before Fripp noticed. Phew!

Edited by Kepler62 - July 08 2017 at 13:05

Larkstongue41 wrote: I think I can die in peace now. What a wonderful night in Quebec city. By far the greatest musical experience I've ever had. The 3-drummer thing is honestly incredible. The power is not really felt on the Radical Action live recording but oh boy does it work live. The drummers are up front on the stage and Mastelotto and Harrison are the ones driving the show. It was so impressive to hear the crazy arrangements they could make with 3 drummers playing different things. Sometimes one focused on the main rhythm while another did fills and Mastelotto did Jamie Muir-like percussions. Not only do the drummers provide a truly enchanting atmosphere with their tribal sound, they are also amazing visually. On several occasions, their movements are so synchronized and precise that they seem to follow a choregraphy. During Hell Hounds of Krim, the movements of their arms followed from one to another and it created something truly special visually.  The drums were really the core of the show for me and that's not to say Collins, Levin, Rieflin, Jakszyk and Fripp disappointed in any stretch of the imagination. Collins was great in adding brass and woodwind passages to parts where there was originally not any of those instruments (he even transformed a part of Larks pt.1 into La Marseillaise). Levin was as impressive as ever, playing his Chapman Stick like a double bass and using a violin bow at some point. Jakszyk's vocals usually did nothing for me but he had his moments where it just worked wonderfully. Fripp was a real surprise. He was in the dark corner of the stage as one could expect but damn at 70ish years old the guy was on fire! He was discrete most of the time but he delivered amazing guitar sections. 10/10, exceeded my already quite high expectations in every way. A perfect show. Highlights for me included: Hell Hounds of Krim/Islands/The Letters/Easy Money (added melancholy part that seemed to be a swan song for the band)/Red (best 3-drummers arrangement, really impressive). The only disappointment for me is that even though the title of the show included "Pictures and cellphones forbidden" and that a recording of Fripp's lovely voice stressed it again on two occasions, lots of people still took pictures and videos with the flash on. Some a****le started shooting a video with the flash on during the climax of Starless (also the climax of the show) when the lighting changes. Fripp simply stopped playing and pointed to the flash in the audience until it disappeared. This show is an absolute must. Certainly the ultimate rock show. If you're on this site you just can't miss it. Chances are we won't be seeing Fripp touring again after this summer so this is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Yeah, but he didn't care, the show was over.

cstack3 wrote: infocat wrote: I'm confused by your "FOUR drummers" comment.   I saw them in Denver only a few days earlier and there were "only" three drummers, along with a dedicated keyboard player. Rieflin is the fourth drummer, and I was expecting to see a drum kit on the riser above the stage!  However, he only played keyboards (as far as I could tell) during the entire show.  Stacey also played extensive keyboards. https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/king_crimson_has_four_drummers_now_theyre_working_on_new_music_for_april_release.html I'd never seen so much keyboard action in a King Crimson show (and I saw Fripp and Cross play dueling Mellotrons in 1973!!).

Except for Harrison, of the percussion/keyboard players I didn't know who was who.  Thanks.