It Was Twelve Years Ago Today!

King Crimson
Opening Act: California Guitar Trio
Tower Theater
Upper Darby (Philadelphia), PA
Thursday, June 1, 1995
Section Right Orchestra, Row M, Seat 23
$27.50

I got into King Crimson at exactly the right time. Sometimes, I've seen bands before I knew much about them. You know, I knew I'd love them eventually, but I had to see them in case I never got another chance. Or other times, I'd wait a long time to see a favorite performer. But Crimson's timing was perfect.

I bought my first King Crimson CD the summer after I graduated high school. It was Court of the Crimson King. I didn't know a note of it before buying it, but I had seen their name linked with my favorite band Yes enough times and I was curious. I didn't mean to buy Court over any other album, but it was the only one in stock at Tower Records. I liked it. A lot. In the days before I had a credit card, I slowly built my record collection. Over a year later, I bought Lizard, Red, and then on a single day, I bought Discipline and Three of a Perfect Pair on used vinyl from the Book Trader on South Street. This was spring of 1994. I was very interested by the time VROOOM was released.

I had the greatest job ever in college. I worked at my college radio station WXPN, a professionally run AAA format music station. I had nothing to do with the music played, I just did some office work and soaked up the atmosphere. My station loved 80s era King Crimson. The pay certainly didn't help pay for college, but it got me into some live shows, got me some swag, and got me some great experiences.

One day, I found the promo single to Dinosaur sitting in my inbox. The record company sent the station two copies and my boss knew I was a fan. I listened to it over and over again. Even before THRAK's release, I saw the tour dates online. Reading over them and thinking about the tour made me realize I needed to see this band and more than once. I think I became a bigger fan just looking over the tour dates. This was the summer before my senior year of college, and I had to schedule my shows around my GREs (SATs for grad school). I think all the Crimson fandom made me smarter.

Buying this ticket was an ordeal. The show was at the Tower Theater, so normally, I'd take the El there early on the morning the show was going on sale. But SEPTA, the public transportation system, was on strike. Angela, who is still my best friend, and I had actually gone to the Tower the night before for a Black Crowes concert. If I had been by myself, I probably would have just stayed in line overnight. But Angela was going to sleepover in my dorm room, so I had to go back with her. I couldn't afford to keep taking cabs back and forth to the Tower, and there were no Ticketmaster outlets near me anymore, so I had to deal with ordering my ticket over the phone. Didn't get the best seat, but I managed to get in before it sold out. I knew I wouldn't be able to convince any of my friends to go to this one, so I happily went solo.

One time at the radio station, Bill Bruford had come in for an interview on our big syndicated program that brought in all the rock stars, The World Cafe. How did I find out? I was at the fax machine when he sent a thank you fax for allowing him to be on the show. Very nice manners for Bill, but he was in the very same building as me and I missed out! My wonderful boss told the World Cafe folks that I should know about these things. They let me know in plenty of time that Bill and Tony would be stopping by the studio the day of the King Crimson show. This would be my first time meeting either of them. I wasn't allowed to sit in on the interview, but I talked to them in the lobby on their way in and out. Not bad for a day's work.

I got some autographs from them on their way in. They both signed my THRAK, VROOOM, Discipline, and Three of a Perfect Pair. Bill had also been a member of my favorite band Yes, and he also signed my Fragile special edition gold CD box and my Yes jacket - a denim jacket with the Fragile artwork airbrushed on the back, and autographs from various members of Yes all around it. (I'm only missing Trevor Horn. I stopped wearing it years ago because I'm worried it will get worn out or damaged.)

On their way out, I got to talk with them again and got some pictures. I told Bill that this would be my first time seeing King Crimson and how excited I was. He replied, "You can't trust a band you've never seen live." I guess I trust Crimson a lot now. :-D They both started making fun of my height - they are tall guys and I am quite short. Bill started to squat down as our picture was being taken - you can see me glancing over at him. Tony made me stand on something, and he's still almost a head taller. After the show, he was standing on the curb, and I was at street level. He told me, "You got shorter!"



I went down to the Tower early and got to meet Adrian Belew. I met him at one of his solo shows the year earlier, and this time he autographed a picture of the two of us from then, plus THRAK and VROOOM. There were some other fans there too, so I didn't get to talk to him much.



The show itself was wonderful. The opening act was California Guitar Trio, former students of Fripp's. I had never heard of them before, but really liked them. I think I've seen them more times than Crimson now. They were signing autographs at a table after the show, so I had them sign my program. Since then, I've actually worked their merchandise table for them at local shows here in St. Louis. They were a good complement to King Crimson's music. Roy also saw this tour, in Ann Arbor, and said he was so anxious to finally see King Crimson that he didn't want to have to sit through an opening act. But CGT changed his mind.

My seat was way over on the side, so I could stand up and dance for the concert. The band opened with the VROOOM coda and also closed the main set with it. The encore was Walking on Air and the soundscape at the end continued after the band left the stage. Lots of songs from THRAK and Discipline, plus Red, Talking Drum, and Larks part 2 from the 70s incarnation of the band. I love Indiscipline, always fun live. It was such a great performance, great playing. Wow!

The show started very early, at 7:00pm. The school year was over, and I was living at home again. My parents were always willing to pick me up from concerts, because my mom did not like me being out by myself at night. I asked them to get my at 11. By that time, the concert was over, the band had left, and I was sitting by myself out front. I was happy to have more time to hang out. I got Adrian to sign my tour program and I told him I'd see them again on Sunday. I'm always amazed when artists on tour know where they are and where they're going, but Adrian knew they'd be in New York and told another fan that show was also sold out.