REVIEW
What: King Crimson
When: Sunday
Where: Royal Theatre
Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)
King Crimson filled the Royal Theatre to 75 per cent capacity Sunday night, with a top-end ticket upward of $215. That the band did so in a small market such as Victoria has to be above industry expectations.
That’s a credit to the British group’s legacy, above everything else. But there was good reason for the high-priced hullabaloo: The band’s first Victoria appearance was one of just a handful of North American dates on their anticipated reunion tour. For the band’s fervent fan base, that was more than enough reason to celebrate, given that King Crimson was once thought retired.
Fans who caught the last of 11 dates in Canada were clearly in awe on this night; such a pre-concert buzz is rarely seen these days, reserved for only the upper echelon. And where progressive rock is concerned, King Crimson might very well be that and then some — the genre’s biggest of the big. The iconic progressive rock band dug deep into its vast catalogue for its two-hour concert, the bulk of which featured three drummers behind full kits.
The genius of King Crimson at this point in its wildly varied 45-year career is how its seemingly incongruent parts fit together. Where the drumming is concerned, the mix of Gavin Harrison (of new-school prog kings Porcupine Tree), Bill Rieflin (a core piece of rock acts Ministry and R.E.M.) and Pat Mastelotto (the former Mr. Mister drummer whose work can also be heard on the theme song to the sitcom Friends) shouldn’t have worked. Yet it did so, magnificently.
In fact, the three-headed drumming machine — placed front of stage, with the remaining members on risers behind them — stole the concert away from the group’s leader, guitar virtuoso Robert Fripp. Which is a tough task, indeed. But they did it and then some on epic songs like Pictures of a City, which came just two songs into the performance.
Rieflin was positioned at centre stage, manning keyboards and synthesizer on some songs, and adding percussion accents on others. On his right was Mastelotto, who had no shortage of energy and flair; to his left, Harrison, who quite easily won the crowd over with his precise and powerful fills and rolls. Harrison was a clinician on this night, and the lead drummer on most songs.
To Harrison’s credit, standing out amongst this crowd is no easy feat. Bass legend Tony Levin, a veteran of Peter Gabriel’s band, has mastered the 10-string Chapman Stick, a bass-like instrument that he played liberally Sunday night; he also brought out his “funk fingers,” modified drumsticks attached to his strumming hand, and was a force on The Letters. His playing, unobtrusive in some spots, was a recurring highlight.
Levin and Fripp (who was somewhat uneventful, surprisingly) were joined in the back row by Mel Collins, whose work on saxophone and flute was jaw-dropping, and singer-guitarist Jakko Jakszyk, who took the place of the band’s previous frontman, Adrian Belew.
Jakszyk was strong but ultimately lost in the shuffle. Collins, on the other hand, was incredible. On the fan favourite Epitaph, he took a staid performance from Jakszyk and gave it some lift with his robust saxophone. He did this repeatedly during the entire performance.
This version of King Crimson — the eighth incarnation since 1969 — showed its strength during the three-song encore. Their version of 1969’s The Court of the Crimson King was strong, but nothing when stacked next to the band’s best-known song, 21st Century Schizoid Man. Another killer Collins sax solo led to a huge drum jam during Schizoid, which alone was worth the price of admission.
With the crowd at its peak during the song, Harrison dropped an astonishing solo full of double kick-drum dynamics, after which he gave a quick glance to Mastelotto. Milliseconds after a downbeat, Mastelotto nailed the precise moment of entry. The two were syncopated for a brief spell before the band came back in to finish the song. On cue, and on point.
A common knock against prog rock is the attention paid to “nerdy” details, and there was no shortage of wind chimes on this night.
But when the talent level is high, and the execution is on par with little else, it would be a shame to miss out on such musical magic simply because, on the surface, King Crimson might seem a tad precious or overwrought.
For the most part, nothing could be further from the truth.
Set list for web:
1. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part One
2. Pictures of a City
3. Peace - An End
4. One More Red Nightmare
5. Epitaph
6. Easy Money
7. The Letters
8. The Talking Drum
9. Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Part Two
10. Starless
Encore:
11. The Court of the Crimson King
12. 21st Century Schizoid Man
