King Crimson Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ July 9, 2017
Story by Robert E. O’Donnell
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I scored 10th row center seats for a fabulous exploratory set of incendiary prog rock from Robert Fripp and King Crimson last night at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. “Uncle Robert” sat perched out of the way to the back right of the stage ensemble with his guitars and small keyboard within easy reach. From the YouTube channel of Laranec Onlajn:
Dominating the stage in the foreground, however, were 3 large drum kits. It was a powerful display of percussive attack, as the three drummers led the eclectic assortment of multi-instrumentalists. The wide assortment of musicians included Mel Collins, who played various flutes as well as alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. To my ears, this brought back that ethereal flowery sound that harked back to the Greg Lake era. But mostly the music was aggressively percussive, with the singer, Jakko Jakszyk, also playing second lead guitar. The drummers used all kinds of percussion aside from their snares & bass drums. They were locked in and very tight! There was a primary keyboardist/mellotron player, Bill Rieflin (Fripp only used his keyboard occasionally), as well as legendary monster bassist Tony Levin using a variety of stand up and stick electric bass guitars. It was a thrill to take this ride with KC for the first time in so many years for me. My favorite song of the night was “Epitaph,” sung brilliantly by Jakko Jakszyk. The audience was very responsive too. Thanks to Edward S. Zuckerman for the ride and an enjoyable pre-game! Here’s what Edward had to say about it: “Man, what a sensory overload. A whole lot of complex music coming off that stage. . . We had a perfect vantage point up in the center front of the balcony. Very enjoyable show.”
From the YouTube channel of DGM – King Crimson:
Set 1: Neurotica Pictures of a City Radical Action III Circus Lizard Red Fallen Angel Islands Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part 2
Set 2: Larks’ Tongues in Aspic Part 1 Construction of Light Easy Money Indiscipline Interlude The Letters Meltdown Radical Action II Level Five Starless
Encore: Heroes 21st Century Schizoid Man
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