King Crimson in Chicago 8/08/2008 - Day 3

King Crimson
Park West
Chicago, IL
Friday, August 8, 2008
$67.50
General Admission

Friday night might have been the best King Crimson concert I've ever attended. In fact, the whole day was a delight.

Our downstairs neighbors, Gwen and Michael, went to Chicago last month. Michael raved about a walking tour that combined architecture and tastings at local restaurants and foodie places. He gave us some information on it - the tour started on the exact same block as our bed & breakfast and ended on Armitage, down the street from the Park West. The timing worked out too. We booked the 11AM tour, which would drop us off in line at 2.

It was another beautiful day, perfect for walking around the city. The tour went through the Gold Coast, Old Town, and Lincoln Park neighborhoods. We sampled olive oils, cheese, chocolates, black tea, spices, and stuffed pizza. Our guide told us the tour might run long, and I was worried about getting in line early enough to get our seats again. The tour walked by the corner of Armitage and Clark around 1:30, and we could see the Park West from there. No one was in line yet. But the next-to-last stop took a while, and it was well after 2. I decided to skip the last stop and get in line from there. Roy could pick up some more chocolates for me while I secured our place in line.

I'm glad I got in line when I did. Our new Swedish friends Karen and Kit were first in line and another guy was behind them. Shortly after that, two more guys got behind me. This group was just about the friendliest, most interesting to talk to, no-attitude people I've met at a concert. Karen and Kit spent all day so far tracking down another ticket for Friday's show. Roy and I found one ticket for them after the prior night's show, and they were able to find someone with an extra ticket on Craig's List. I'm glad it worked out for them after traveling so far for the shows. Kind of puts a 5 hour bus ride in perspective. The dog lady came back again. She has two huge woolly dogs. I don't normally like big dogs, but they were docile and looked like they were enjoying the attention from everyone in line.

I had a bit of a dilemma. I wanted *my* seats again, since we sat in the same place the first two nights, but we weren't first in line. I didn't feel like I could just ask though. Eventually I made a joke out of it, and Karen said since we got her a ticket, we could sit anywhere we wanted. Just to cover my bases, I offered the other person in front of me $20 to keep out of my seat. He wouldn't take my money, but said he'd leave our seats open.

I saw some of the band members before the show. I had been going to the Subway down the street whenever I needed to use a restroom. I always bought a water or cookies or something and left a tip, so they didn't seem to mind. Anyway, I saw Pat Mastelotto on my walk back to the line. He was walking down the street carrying some equipment. We said hi to each other. Tony walked back into the club actually carrying a sandwich from Subway. It surprised me that he'd eat there and get the food himself no less, instead of going someplace nicer. I also wondered what I would have said if I bumped into him there. We also saw Adrian leaving the club and getting into a waiting cab. I get the feeling he doesn't like talking to fans before the show, but he waved to us from the cab.

The two guys behind me in line had a nice story. One guy had purchased a ticket from a scalper, but he thought it was a scam. The scalper told him he couldn't pick up the ticket until 6:30 the night of the show. After the doors opened. He didn't find this out until after he bought the ticket. We thought it was a scam and that the scalper would never show up. Coincidentally, the guy behind him had an extra ticket. So the guy behind me ended up buying the ticket from the guy behind him. Everything worked out. (And the scalper hadn't showed by the time the doors opened.) These two sat at our table behind Roy, so we were able to continue the conversation while waiting for the start time.

After a concert ends, there's often some sort of freebie mementos - guitar picks, drum sticks, setlists. I saw Tony give someone his setlist after the first night. The second night, the roadies weren't going to give the setlists away, but some fans bribed them. Gave them $5 or so. I can't be jealous of people getting picks or sticks, because I've gotten them in the past from Adrian and Pat. But I did want a setlist. I saw the roadie walking by outside before the show and asked if I could buy a setlist from him tonight. He replied "You can't buy them. You have to earn it!" However, once we were seated, he walked over and asked if I was the one who wanted a setlist. He handed me a setlist from the previous night's show that was still laying around. Wow! That was so nice. I don't know whose it was, but it has a piece of tape on it, so I assume it's a genuine band setlist.

There was something different about this show from the beginning. Just a sense of fun. I noticed that I was getting into the music itself more than observing. This was the first night where I didn't watch Tony play his new parts on The ConstruKction of Light. Every song was just spot on performance-wise. The highlights for me this night were Talking Drum and Larks, Frame by Frame, Dinosaur, Thela Hun Ginjeet and Indiscipline. These songs were incredible every night, but this night was something special. Pat's and Gavin's drumming was fascinating, always in-step with each other. Sleepless wasn't quite up to the night before, but they still did the drum part. I missed hearing Indiscipline live the last 12 years, and Adrian did a great job with the vocals on it. Dinosaur had a much longer break after the false ending, and did it come at a weird spot in the song?

The other highlight was a slight change in the setlist. King Crimson doesn't play completely different sets from night to night, but they've always played with the order of the songs and substituted a song here and there. You never know what's coming next. Crimson played two songs in Nashville that they didn't play the first two nights - Walking on Air and Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream, both from Thrak. On Friday, we got Walking on Air. This song always brings me back to 1995. I was working at my college radio station, and this song got so much airplay. Every time I'd turn on the radio that summer, I'd hear it. It was like an alternate universe from commercial radio, that's for sure. When I saw Crimson on the Thrak tour, they ended with Walking on Air, and the soundscape was still playing as the band left the stage and the audience filed out. It made it feel like the music would last forever.

The band looked like they were enjoying themselves too. I saw Fripp laughing a number of times, during Thela, the break in Dinosaur, Larks. I tend to not pay so much attention to Robert, mainly because everyone else in the band has so much stage presence and is more fun to watch. But Fripp's playing was great all three nights, whether it was textural background stuff, the lead in One Time, the crazy sounding stuff during Indiscipline. I noticed Adrian playing towards me a lot. It's not quite the same thing as standing right in front of him, singing along, but I'm being a little ridiculous here. I saw one of my favorite bands three nights in a row from the front row. The band didn't even look surprised to see me in the same place the third night. Tony looked down and mouthed "Thank you" towards the end of the show.

One of the best concerts of my life was winding down. King Crimson were on their final encore Vrooom and Coda: Marine 475. I got a little silly and tried to figure out the setlist. They did a new song this night, Walking on Air, but what did they leave out? I couldn't figure it out. I asked Roy after the show, and he laughed at me. They left out One Time, the other quieter song from Thrak. Dumb moment from me. The two previous nights, the Coda ended with some quiet playing from Robert Fripp. I never gave it a standing O because it lost momentum by the time it ended. Tonight, people started to stand and applaud as soon as the proper part of the song ended. I don't like applauding over music, but I stood and joined them that night. Wow, just what an incredible string of concerts.

Adrian Belew did something cool after the show. He came out into the audience as everyone was leaving to greet people and sign autographs. He is so great. He was standing on the stairway up to the balcony and people were crowding around to meet him. I was actually trying to get through the crowd to run to the bathroom, but I couldn't get through all the people. Unfortunately, it wasn't too organized and the crowds were blocking the exits. The venue security people started telling everyone we had to move and clear up the exits. I had just gotten up to Adrian, and got to shake his hand. I told him "I wish I could go to Philly to see you again". He left to go backstage before I could ask him to sign my tour box.

I still hoped to get Gavin's and Adrian's signatures on my tour box. One of the guys Joe who had sat with us waited along with us. He had never met the band and was amazed that we were successful. Gavin came out first from the side exit. There were more people waiting out, probably because it was a Friday night rather than during the week. Gavin signed autographs for a dozen people. I didn't get to talk to him other than "Can you sign this for me please?", but Roy told him he liked the double-drumming. The real surprise was a little while later. Robert Fripp came out, and all the fans behaved. Someone called out "Good show" to him, but no one walked up to him or asked for an autograph. When Fripp got to the passenger door of the car, he smiled and waved at us.

Tony Levin came out the same side door. Someone asked him for an autograph, and he asked us to wait until he loaded his equipment. He was loading his own equipment into his own car. I didn't need an autograph from him, but I wanted to talk to him again. Like I had said to Adrian, I told Tony I wish I could go to Philly to see them again. He said "Why??" These three shows were the best. Tony said he thought this night was the best of the three, and I agreed. I didn't think he had played the Keswick before, so I told him it was a nice venue. Since he was driving himself, I mentioned that it was outside of Philly. He already has it programmed in his GPS.

Roy asked Tony about driving. Tony said he can only drive because of their tour schedule - multiple nights in each city with time off between towns. He needs his car instead of a motorcycle to carry his equipment and coffee machine. Tony went back into the club after he signed autographs for everyone.

We saw our Swedish friends again. They had gotten backstage again. Karen asked for my e-mail address earlier, so I hope she follows up on it and sends me an e-mail or looks at the blog. They were going to leave, so we all hugged and wished each other a safe trip home.

Roy, Joe, and I were still waiting by the corner when we saw Adrian leave out the front door. I walked over and asked if he would sign something for me. He was loading something into a car, but then turned around to talk to us. I got my tour box signed! Adrian said the band consensus was that this was the best show of the three. I brought up the Keswick Theater being a nice place and he said he'd played there before. I forgot about that, I think it was Fripp and Adrian opening for Porcupine Tree. I told him I grew up not too far from there. He's excited about Philly because his other bandmates Eric and Julie will be there. He's also excited about touring again with the power trio - they'll be going to Russia and Australia. Some other people came up for autographs, so we said goodbye. I saw Pat leave as we were talking to Adrian, but I didn't get a chance to talk to him that night.



Roy and I took a cab back to our room. It was just about 11PM and I wanted my big fancy dinner. There were a bunch of restaurants on Rush Street, so we looked at their menus and chose a place. My steak was really good. We didn't end up going out to dinner on Saturday night, so I'm glad I insisted on it for Friday.

Saturday was our tourist day. For all the times I've been to Chicago, this was the first night that I was there and not going to a concert. We went to the Field Museum and took a boat tour of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. I met another fan there. I saw someone with a King Crimson sweatshirt. Turns out, he came from Venezuela for these shows. He was very happy about the shows. So am I. This is one of the best concert trips I've ever done.

King Crimson in Chicago 8/07/2008 - Day 2

King Crimson
Park West
Chicago, IL
Thursday, August 7, 2008
$67.50
General Admission

Even though I went to bed the night before around midnight, I woke up at 6:30am. It was another beautiful day outside, a full 15 or 20 degrees cooler by the lake than it would be in St. Louis. The weather was such a relief. I got ready for the day and went for a walk down and back up Michigan Avenue before Roy woke up. Most of the stores were still closed, but I got to do some window shopping before the street got too busy. I'm wearing a pedometer for a walking contest at work, and I ended up with over 23,000 steps that day.

Once Roy got up, we went out for the day. We didn't have any real plans. Vague ideas to go to a modern art gallery that Roy visited last time we were in the city. Maybe just walk around until it was time to get in line. We did find the gallery, but decided not to go in. Roy said it had been free last time, and that was part of the charm. I didn't want to pay and only be there a short time. We walked down Lake Shore Drive and ended up at the Navy Pier. It's a big tourist attraction, but I had never been there before. Part of it was a touristy mall, and the outside part reminded me of the boardwalks along the Jersey shore. We walked outside to the end of the pier, and then we sat and looked at Lake Michigan for awhile. There's a museum of stained glass that we walked through.

I wanted to get in line by 2. We took a cab back to the b&b and rested a bit, which we both needed. We walked to the Park West and we were first in line. I was happy and we high-fived each other.

It's fun to play "spot the Crimson fan" at events like this. You look at the people walking by, and try to figure out if they are there for the concert or not. Two college-aged women walked past us, talking in a foreign language. I didn't think they were King Crimson fans. I was proved wrong when they got in line behind us. They came from Sweden just for these concerts in Chicago. It turned out that they had been to the Park West earlier that day and no one was in line yet, so they went to the petting zoo in Lincoln Park for awhile. They saw Roy and me do our high five and decided to get in line behind us.

Roy had gone back to the diner he found Wednesday to get some lunch for us. One of the Swedish women asked me a question, which helped to break the ice. We talked for a good part of the day. Their names were Karen and Kit, and Karen was the more talkative one. I don't know if Kit didn't speak English as well or if she was just shy, but they were both very friendly. They only had tickets for Wednesday and Thursday. The Friday show went on sale afterwards, and they weren't aware of it until they got to Chicago, and the show was sold out. They often went to shows in Europe, but this was their first visit to the US. They never had the chance to see King Crimson before, but they had seen Porcupine Tree a number of times.

I had to laugh hearing them trying to order some food. It can be confusing enough to order for a delivery when you're waiting in line outside a concert venue. They were trying to explain it over the phone. But when they were asked for their phone number and had to explain it was an international phone number where you had to dial +42 first... I was half expecting the restaurant to think it was a prank. However, the food got delivered.

While we were waiting in line, I got to meet Sid Smith, the author of the King Crimson biography and webmaster for DGM Live. He was taking pictures of people in line. I pointed out we were three women in front of the line, so he interviewed us about that. I don't see that part on-line yet, but check out DGM Live News. You can see us at the front of the line in "DGMLiveTV Episode XII: Turning This World Around". Roy is interviewed at the start of "DGMLiveTV Episode XIII: On The Frontline" talking about Adrian Belew. When Karen was interviewed, she wisely mentioned that she needed tickets for Friday. She didn't ask for help, but maybe someone would be able to help her out.

The doors opened, and I was a little frustrated to see there were already people sitting in the theater. Some people were friends of the band and had access to the theater before the doors opened. They grabbed the front center seats. Thankfully, our seats in front of Tony were still available. It just bugs me that I waited in line so long and other people can walk right in. I just think the general admission shows should be more fair.

This show took a while to hit me. I talked to Roy about it later, and he described it better than I could. It's like we were spending too much time listening to the individual instruments than the show as a whole. While I could hear all the instruments clearly, the bass was loud in the mix. I had to concentrate on the various instruments, and it was pulling me outside of the full impact of the band.

It wasn't until towards the end of the show that it really became transcendent for me. It was Sleepless, which surprised me. It's a song I enjoy, but I don't expect to be blown away by it. But they reworked it from the night before. It had a drum duo and bass part in the middle that really lifted it and made it exciting. The rest of the show kept up this momentum.

This is the setlist, although I got the physical sheet of paper the next night. I'll tell that story in my next blog.


I've been trying to work out what my goals are in a concert. I certainly enjoyed the entire show, but I was observing the performance rather than being in the moment for the first part of the show. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I want that adrenalized rush from a concert. It's a lot easier for me to reach that and focus on the music when I'm moving to it. Sitting, especially so close that I can see all the little details, puts me into observing analytical mode. Some people want that at concerts and I like being able to do it sometimes. But I'd rather have the rush of feeling like I'm part of the music, and that wasn't happening for a lot of this night.

I had some good contact with the band. Adrian and Tony both saw me in the same seat as the show started, and they both acknowledged me. Did Tony take a picture of me? He was holding his camera and I thought he mouthed the words "I got you" to me. He's uploaded his pictures of the Thursday night show and I'm not in them. Roy is though. Here is the link. I can see Roy on the left in the two last pictures of the audience on this page. Pat gave me a little wave after the show as well. Adrian spoke 50% more words this time: "Thank you very much, thank you".

We had a bit of action near us. The seats were set up by long tables running perpendicular to the stage. There was a slight aisle near my seat. Right before the encore, some guy ran up the aisle, crouched down in front of the stage, and held up his iPhone to take a picture of Tony. People were telling him he wasn't allowed. Tony shook his finger no at him. The guy was still holding the camera up. Finally, Tony leaned down over the stage and said "You can't do that". He put the camera away but stayed next to me, crowding us more. He's lucky he didn't get thrown out.

The show ended and we decided to hang out again to try to meet the band. There were two guys trying to sell an extra single ticket for the next night. They had gone to Thursday's show and planned to see Friday, but decided to see the Smashing Pumpkins instead. I knew our Swedish friends needed tickets, and I wasn't sure if they had been able to procure them yet. We waited a while, and then decided to just buy the extra ticket. Even if the girls didn't need it, someone else would want it, and it would save these guys from having to come back the next day to sell it. They gave it to us below face value, for $60.

Robert Fripp's sister Patricia was at this show. After the concert, she was outside mingling with fans and signing autographs. I didn't get anything signed, but I lent her my Sharpie pen to sign autographs with. She's fun to listen to.

We met another guy, who I think was an autograph seller. He hadn't gone to the show, and peppered us with a lot of questions like, what time did the band leave the night before, what doors, who signed things, and not a single question on what songs the band played or how the shows were. And then later on, he had to ask which one Pat was.

Roy was waiting towards the back of the venue, and I was waiting on the corner. I saw Pat Mastelotto walk by. This was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip. He didn't stop to sign anything the night before, but I was the only person there this time. I asked him if he could sign something for me. He did, and he asked me more questions and carried the conversation more than I did. It was a very nice feeling, like he wasn't being bothered at all by me.

Pat knew I had been sitting in front of Tony both nights. He asked me about my tshirt. It was a Crimson shirt from the double trio era, that has pictures of album covers in circles. He knew it was older and asked if I got it from the DGM website. No, I bought it at a show in 1996. He signed my tour box. I told him I thought Sleepless was really good that night. His response was something like "oh, you liked it?" like he was surprised.

The next part got surreal for me. Pat was holding a cup. It was full of M&Ms, and he told me to take some. I grabbed a few, and Pat told me "No, you have to take more. Otherwise I'll eat them all." He poured M&Ms into my hand overflowing. He left at this point. I had a cupped hand full of M&Ms and my other hand was full too. I found Roy, told him the story, and we ate the M&Ms. This is when the autograph guy asked me which one Pat was and runs after him. He got a signature too, but not any candy.

We saw Tony Levin leave from the front door. The autograph guy had a bunch of things for him to sign. It worked out well, because we got to chat with Tony while he was signing things for this guy. Roy asked him if the Tony Levin Band will tour again soon and later if he'll tour for the Stick Man album. Tony is putting a new band together with another stick player in order to play the Stick Man material. I hope we get a chance to see it. I told Tony that I thought Sleepless was my favorite that night. He said "Sleepless? We did the drum bit on that one" Hm. It was like he was collecting data on everyone's favorite song and processing my answer.

We hadn't seen anyone else in the band leave, and we hadn't seen the Swedish girls. Some guy who had been backstage was outside and told us everyone in the band had left. I didn't know whether to believe him or not. (Someone had told me the same thing before Pat and Tony left.) I told Roy I wanted to wait a little longer. We waited, and we saw Karen and Kit again. They had gotten backstage passes and had been able to meet the band. They still needed tickets, but said Pat was going to see if he could get any extras for them. I told them we had a ticket for them, and they were so relieved. Now they only needed to find one more. It was below face value too. Kit tried to give me some extra money for it, but I didn't take it. I'm glad we waited long enough to see them, and I believed them when they said the band had left.

Roy and I walked back to the bed and breakfast. It seemed to take a lot longer than our walk there this afternoon. I felt safe though. We walked through a lot of busy nightlife type areas in Old Town and on Rush. I had thoughts of going out to dinner after the show, but it was almost midnight and we were too tired. We ended up raiding the fridge in our room and eating some muffins that were there for our breakfast. Not quite what I planned, but I had had those M&Ms to tide me over.

King Crimson in Chicago 8/06/2008 - Day 1

King Crimson
Park West
Chicago, IL
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
$67.50
General Admission

What if you could go back in time and relive your favorite moments over again? Bands relive their glory days all the time with hits heavy reunion tours. King Crimson never fit that mold. Too forward looking, too edgy. They did what they wanted and hoped the audience would follow. But here they were on their 40th anniversary tour, playing no new material. They hadn't toured since 2003 and I was so happy to be seeing them again, but would Crimson lose something by becoming a little more like every other band?

On the other hand, when a band progresses their sound with every new album and lineup, as a fan, I liked some eras more than others. My feelings about the Crims changed over time. When I first saw them live, it was for their then-current album Thrak, one of my all-time favorites. Crimson could do no wrong. I never liked the double-duo albums ConstruKction of Light or Power to Believe as much. I saw them live seven times during this period, and the concerts themselves had a different vibe than before. Every show I saw during this period was general admission, standing up close by the stage, my favorite concert environment. While the band focused on their new material, I'd still get to hear a few of my favorites. But for this set of shows in Chicago, it was like going back in time. I saw the setlist they had played at a warm-up show, and it would be heavy with songs from the 80s albums and Thrak. Even if (in theory) King Crimson were slightly less cool for reliving the past, they were going to be celebrating my favorite time of the band.

I was so excited about these shows and the trip to Chicago. Roy and I had found out that Crimson would be doing a short tour this year - multiple nights in Chicago, Philly, and New York. This is what I save vacation days for! After the Yes tour was canceled, my mantra was "At least we'll get to see King Crimson". We decided to take the whole week off from work and spend some extra time in Chicago. We booked a nice little bed and breakfast in the Gold Coast neighborhood - close enough that we could walk to and from the Park West each day.

We took Megabus up to Chicago instead of driving. We wouldn't have the hassle of driving or having to pay for parking or gas, but it had some downsides. The Megabus trip takes the same amount of time as driving, but that doesn't count walking to the train station in the rain, taking the train downtown, and other waiting. It also meant we lost some flexibility in timing. We watched some of the fan interviews on the DGM Live site, and people were getting in line early! We had always had luck getting in line around 4, and that's the earliest we'd be able to on Wednesday. I wasn't sure that would be early enough.

The Megabus trip provided a bit of excitement. We went to St. Louis' Union Station to pick up the bus. We got something to drink inside at a Starbucks, and heard from the cashier that Paul McCartney stayed at the Hyatt Regency hotel at Union Station that night before. This is the first I heard of his Route 66 vacation and it was exciting to think we were in the same building and we could possibly run into him that morning. Turns out, he was there several days earlier, but it's been fun following the story.

We got to Chicago, checked in, and walked to the Park West. We got to the line a little after 4, and there were a dozen people in front of us. I assumed the front area by the stage would be all standing, and that some people in front of us would opt for seats further back. That's how it was all the other times we'd seen Crimson here. We'd still be able to get to the front row. Of all the people in line at that time, only one couple was from the Chicago area (or Illinois for that matter). Everyone else had traveled. Roy found a diner on Clark Street and bought some food. We ate food from there each day. I recognized some people in line and the time passed quickly.

The doors opened. I was dumb-founded to see seats! In the orchestra pit! I wanted to stand and dance, like I had the previous times at the Park West. There were long tables perpendicular to the stage. Amazingly, with all the people in front of us, Roy and I were able to grab front row seats. Some people waited in line all that time, and then went to the merchandise booth before securing seats. Some others grouped together at one table rather than spreading out to all the front seats. My seat was directly in front of Tony Levin. Roy was to my left, between Tony and Adrian.

The show started on time, and we stood and applauded them. The first piece was a drum duet. It was new and it quieted some of my fears of the "greatest hits oldies tour". King Crimson has had dual drummers before, and this was the first tour with the duo of Pat Mastelotto and Gavin Harrison. This piece was new, but it made me realize that all of the songs had to be rearranged for this configuration. While it was going on, I saw Adrian Belew look at me and recognize me. I waved hello to him and he smiled and nodded back.

The next song was ConstruKction of Light. This is one of the songs I like best from the double duo era of the band, so I'm glad they included it. Tony had never played this song live before this tour, and he wrote on his website how difficult it was to learn. I mostly paid attention to his playing. I don't know the song well enough to say if he nailed it, but it sounded great to me.

I feel like I say this at every general admission concert, but sometimes the price of an excellent view is a poor mix. We hear the sound mostly from the monitors rather than the loudspeakers. This time, it was excellent. I could hear Tony, Adrian, and Robert clearly. In fact, it wasn't too loud from where I was sitting. I only used an earplug in my right ear to filter Gavin's drums a bit. My view was great too. Fripp has been sitting with a giant effects box in front of him, blocking any view of him from a lot of the audience. But we could see him easily at our angle. He was even well lit! In fact, Roy and I liked these seats so much we decided to try for them each night. I usually like standing right in front of Adrian, but this gave a good view of the whole band and good sound.

I don't remember the order of the rest of the songs. I do have to call out Frame by Frame and Three of a Perfect Pair. I've seen King Crimson do these songs, and I've seen the Adrian Belew Power Trio do them. But I so missed Tony Levin's backing vocals. The extra vocals and the parts where he's singing in unison with Belew add so much to the songs. It was also a really weird visual - I wish I could have gotten a picture of this. I was sitting right in front of Tony. With the stage height, my eye level was about up to his knee and I was looking straight up. Whenever he came to the microphone to sing, I got a view of his front teeth, mustache, nose, and glasses. It was an odd angle. I loved watching Tony play. I used to see him play often, but it's been years since we've been able to. He has such stage presence, without looking corny or staged. On Three of a Perfect Pair, during the "Complicated" and "Aggravated" lines, I was looking back and forth between Adrian and Tony, watching each of them sing.

The other songs that night were:
Level 5
One Time - Adrian had some trouble during this song
Dinosaur - There's a false ending to this song and then it picks up again. Some people don't know, and cheer when the band stops playing briefly. This time, Adrian seemed to wait until people applauded before starting up again. I never applaud during the false ending.

Vrooom / Coda: Marine 475
B'Boom
Red
Talking Drum
Larks' Tongue in Aspic II
Neurotica

B'Boom and Talking Drum are also songs that featured the drum duet. From reviews I've read of Nashville, a lot of people felt the drums were the star of the show. For me, I was paying so much attention to Tony and Adrian, it was the Tony and Adrian show. Adrian didn't talk much during the show. He said "Thank you very much" towards the end, and that was it. But his enthusiasm was conveyed well to the audience throughout the show.

Crimson did two sets of encores, which I've never seen them do. Roy called these in total "the greatest set of encores ever". Encore 1 was another drum duet, Thela Hun Ginjeet and Indiscipline. This was my first time hearing Indiscipline live since 1996. I thought of my friend Zoey. I took her to see Crimson in 96, and she was not yet familiar with the Discipline album. She left the show raving about Indiscipline, and for years, we would recite it in unison. Encore 2 was Sleepless and Elephant Talk. I noticed there were two songs played in Nashville that they did not do here - Walking on Air and Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream, both from Thrak.

I gave a lot of standing ovations. It felt weird - for years I've been standing at Crimson concerts and applauding. Now, I was sitting during the show and standing up for selected songs to applaud. I tried to be judicious and not stand up automatically for every song, but I did most songs anyway. The songs themselves deserved it and the performances were that good. At the end of the show, the whole band (except for Fripp) came to the front to receive applause. Tony gave his setlist to the woman sitting two people to my right. Pat was looking at the people up front. He saw me and waved. I haven't talked to him that many times, and the last time was 5 years ago. Did he remember me?

After the show, we hung out to watch the band leave. I bought a CD called the "tour box" and I was hoping to get it autographed. Roy walked over to CVS and the crowds in front of the theater started to taper off. There weren't many people there when I saw Gavin Harrison leave. Or was it not Gavin? He's kind of non-distinct looking so I wasn't sure even though I just saw him onstage. I opened up my tour box booklet to look at his picture again. It was him, but he got into a cab, and I wasn't able to ask for an autograph.

Pat left next. People applauded him, but he didn't stop and didn't acknowledge anyone.

Adrian came out, carrying a guitar. He saw Roy and me, and told us he was glad to see us there. Someone else interrupted him, so we didn't get to say anything to him. While he was talking to the other person, he said the band would be hanging out at their hotel bar, the Encore. Such a dilemma for me. With that info, do I find out what hotel it is and stalk them? My favorite band Yes never seem to mind, but I didn't want to cross any boundaries here. Besides, I didn't know where it was and didn't have internet access to find out. Adrian didn't sign any autographs, but we saw him walk to the corner and pose for a picture with some fans.

We talked to a fan after the show. Everyone going to King Crimson shows should know how Robert Fripp feels about autographs, recordings, and photographs. He finds the latter two distracting, and getting caught recording or taking a picture during a show can get you thrown out. There are signs up and announcements made. This guy who was behind us in line (wearing a Fripp t-shirt, so you'd think he'd know the drill) sat in front of Fripp. I saw someone hold up an album to the stage, hoping he'd sign it. It was this guy. He showed us that he took a picture of Fripp on stage. Why? I can understand secretly recording a show. I do think it's unobtrusive and usually undetectable, and it gives you a great memento. But the picture turned out lousy, there are plenty of legitimate pictures of the show on the official sites, and it's so risky. If Fripp had seen him, he would have been thrown out. I've been to other Fripp shows that ended early because of photos. He could have ruined it for everyone. Fripp fan was hoping to see Robert on his way out to get the autograph. I didn't know whether I should bother explaining that it wasn't going to happen.

Fripp fan did do us one favor. There are multiple exits from the Park West. Adrian, Pat, and Gavin went out the front door. There's also a side door. It's probably best to stand on the corner and keep an eye on both of them. Anyway, the Fripp fan told us that Tony Levin was signing autographs by the side door. I ran over. He signed my tour box booklet for me. Years ago, I had seen Tony in concert and talked to him so often, he remembered me from show to show. He even remembered that I was from Philly after I moved. But we last saw him five years ago, and I don't think he recognized me from back then. He did recognize us from sitting up front. I told him we were going to all the Chicago shows. I was amazed to see Tony leave by getting into the driver's seat of his own car. I'm used to seeing musicians being chauffeured around, not as in control of their surroundings as Tony was.

It was still relatively early. The band went on stage at 7:30, no opening act, and played until 9:20 or so. The band all made their exits by 10:30. Roy and I took a cab to Pizzeria Uno and finally ate dinner. Then we walked back to the bed and breakfast to rest up for the next day of Crimsonizing.

King Crimson and the Windy Green City

King Crimson
Park West
Chicago, IL
Saturday, March 15th, 2003
Section/Aisle: DANCE (General Admission)
$40

This is Part 2 of my King Crimson in Chicago series.

The next day, I had an epiphany. It wasn't about King Crimson. It was about Chicago. Chicago is a big city! A real, walkable city, with lots of stuff going on. Logically, I knew this already, but I really felt it for the first time that Saturday. We had a nice breakfast at the hotel and then went for a walk. I went to Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile, and it gave me the same feeling as walking in Manhattan or my hometown of Philly. I was getting my city-fix! I didn't even buy anything, but being around the people, the atmosphere, the vitality of the sidewalks and the outdoors, I was in my element.

Roy and I did a couple things that have become our Chicago tradition. We debated what time to get in the general admission line. I decided on 4:00. It was based on the number of people who had already been in line the day before when we got there, and the fact that this day was a Saturday when most people would have off from work and could get in line earlier. I have a good feel for what I need to do at general admission shows. Roy thought it was ridiculously early and didn't take me seriously at first. I won.

Since we'd be in line over dinner time, we had a late lunch near Michigan Avenue, at Mike Ditka's restaurant. Neither of us are fans, but it's become a tradition and we eat there almost everytime we're in town. We also stopped at the Borders on Michigan to pick up some stuff to read while waiting in line. It was a fun day in general to be out. The city was celebrating St. Patrick's Day and dyed the Chicago River green.

We took a cab to the club and got in line. Roy was disappointed that the Ben and Jerry's down the street was closed. The wait passed easily, and we grabbed a great spot in the front row, center. Roy told me that the wait was worth it for this view.

King Crimson concerts are always different. With my favorite band Yes, I'll see them live multiple times on a concert tour, but it's about the joy of seeing my favorite music over and over again. Crimson both does a lot of improvisation and also changes their setlist from one show to the next. They keep most of the same songs, but change the order and drop in some different songs along the way.

This led to one of my favorite Crimson live moments of all time. I'm definitely in the "song" camp when it comes to Crimson. As I've said already, their heavy instrumental stuff is exhilarating live, but not what I like to listen to at home. This night, they played one of my favorite songs from Thrak, One Time. I was so happy to hear it and see it being performed. It segued into a newer piece. Musically, it worked well, but I had all this happy energy and I wanted to applaud One Time. And then, they segued back into One Time to finish the piece. It was just a beautiful moment and a happy surprise.

Yeah, I know. I saw five shows by the double trio lineup playing lots of songs from Thrak; I don't want Crimson to live in that time period, but it's when I became a fan and a nice place to revisit. A visit to the King Crimson live website tells me they also played Dinosaur and Vrooom that night. I think Dinosaur has been played at all twelve Crimson shows I've seen.

We hung around after the show. I chatted with another fan who was very mellow. He also liked Yes, and said how much he liked Jon Anderson's god awful The More You Know album. We bumped into him at another show one time, and he told us that strange fact again. We got to talk to Adrian again, and Roy told him how much we enjoyed One Time mixed with The Power to Believe. Adrian told us whose idea it was, but neither Roy nor I can remember now.

The next morning, we went back to the little deli for breakfast, but it was packed. So we did the fancy Sunday brunch at the hotel. It was delicious and a great way to end the trip. We drove home with me thinking how much I learned about Chicago. I didn't have to wonder when we would make this five hour drive again. We were returning the very next week to see the Tony Levin Band at Martyr's.

King Crimson in Chicago on Pi Day

King Crimson
Park West
Chicago, IL
Friday, March 14th, 2003
Section/Aisle: DANCE (General Admission)
$40

The King Crimson-related website DGM Live has requested stories of seeing the band live in Chicago. It's taken me weeks and I only finished the first of three times. Here it is.

My life had a very big change in 2000. After three years of a long distance relationship, I relocated to St. Louis and moved in with my now-husband Roy. We were both King Crimson fans. Ironically, this caused me to be a less active fan for awhile: I missed the ConstruKction of Light album and tour. It seemed a waste to buy it since we would soon be combining our music collection and this would be a duplicate. I never got to have "new album fever" with this one, excitedly playing it until I knew all the material. Roy saw a pre-show in Nashville before I moved, and Crim played Philly afterwards. They didn't play St. Louis. Subsequently, I never warmed up to this album, and I don't really love the post-TCOL material like I do Thrak.

I was homesick. Growing up in Philly, I could always see bands in my hometown or in New York. I found out that bands would skip St. Louis altogether and maybe we'd get to see them in a city five hours away. I missed the concert opportunities and city living in general. I did get to see a few Crimson shows in 2001 - a Nashville rehearsal show and then St. Louis and Madison, Wisconsin over Thanksgiving weekend.

I had been to Chicago a few times for other concerts, but we never spent much time there. It was always staying at a cheap hotel out in the suburbs and driving in for the concert itself. That all changed in March 2003. King Crimson was playing two nights at the Park West. I was glad to see them at a general admission venue. I love being able to get in line early and watch a band from the front row. No Ticketmaster ticket-buying hassles. I love being able to stand up and dance at concerts without getting in anyone's way. I love making eye contact and feeling like I'm part of the energy of the concert, rather than just an observer.

I don't remember if it was my idea or Roy's, but we stayed at a hotel downtown this time. The historic Palmer House hotel. We drove up the day of the show. Friday, March 14th, 2003. Did I mention I love being in the front row for concerts? I'm also anal about getting in line early enough to do it. We got in town around 4, and I wanted to be there already! We checked in quickly and grabbed sandwiches from a deli next door. No time to have a nice dinner. We took a cab to the Park West and ate while waiting in line. We got there just in time - the doors opened soon after we got there. The line went all the way to the corner. Thankfully, most people were waiting to get seats, further back. More room up front for me! I remember we had to stand off to the side, but I think we were in the very front. (I'm quite short, so anything less than front row in an everyone standing situation means I have a very obstructed view.)

Had The Power to Believe come out yet? I liked it alright, and really liked EleKtrik, But nothing else on it grabbed me like the songs from Discipline or Thrak. I have the DGM download of the 3/14 show to refresh my memory. The setlist was almost entirely made up of Power to Believe and ConstruKction of Light material. It was very brave, but also smart. Crimson has had so many different eras and lineups and fans can be divided over their favorites. Rather than being a classic rock band and relying on that back catalog, Crimson was fresh and new. Sometimes I feel like I liked them pushing boundaries up to a certain point, and then I selfishly want them to stay there for awhile and play the stuff that interests me most.

Anyway, it doesn't matter what I thought of their recent studio material. King Crimson blew me away live that night. The heaviness of their recent stuff was forceful live and I was completely in to the performance. Being able to stand up and move around to the music helped a lot. These general admission concerts have had a different focus on me - it's less about the music I love from 10 years ago and more...fun... within the Crimson framework. Seeing this amazing live band playing right in front of me and getting to feed off the energy on stage is great no matter what the setlist. I think I appreciate them more as a live band now than when I saw them in the double trio era.

Listening to the DGM soundboard of the show, it's not as relentlessly heavy as I remember. ConstruKction of Light has some good dynamics. Still, I don't need to hear ProzaKc Blues again. EleKtrik is challenging to dance to! I was glad Dinosaur made it into the setlist as an encore. It's like visiting with an old friend.

I don't remember if it was after this night or the next, but after the show, we started chatting outside with some other fans. Two boys (still teens?) came in from Kansas City for this show. One asked me if I had seen Crimson back in the 70s. Ouch. I hadn't been born yet. Then they asked about the 80s. Do these kids have no concept of adults' ages? I was only about 10 years older than them. I was only fake offended, but they should learn not to assume women are so much older than they are. Anyway, Adrian Belew came out after the show and recognized Roy and me from other shows. He said hi and I pointed out these boys who had come from Kansas City. He talked to them for a bit. He was really sweet to them and they were so excited! Watching that interaction and other fans' enthusiasm with meeting their favorites is up there with meeting my favorite musicians myself. I'm glad I got to enable it.

It's a Dangerous Place!

King Crimson
Opening Act: California Guitar Trio
Sunday, June 4, 1995
Town Hall
New York, NY
Section Right Orchestra, Row M, Seat 23
$27.50

Three days after seeing King Crimson for the first time, I saw them again. Like I said before, I think I realized how much I like this band literally while looking at the tour dates. I realized this was not some band I could see once, but needed to see more. And given their history, before they broke up again.

I've been enjoying writing up some of these more memorable concerts. But I lose the autobiographical thread by jumping out of place. I don't want to get too in-depth with my mom issues, but here's a little background. When I was growing up, my mom and I had a lot of conflicts. Too many arbitrary rules and punishments.

I was a good kid. I realized that I had goals I wanted to achieve - go to a good college and get a good job. Be independent. Get away from home. I also realized that my mom's rules had nothing to do with my goals, and more to do with her frame of mind at the time. So if I could do what I thought was reasonable and not get caught breaking her rules, good for me.

This story could have happened with any parent, nothing spectacular, but I was not having this conversation with a typical parent. So, when I decided I was going to see King Crimson in New York, I was going to do it. The "big city" aspect didn't scare me, I grew up in Philly and that whole city was my playground. And I had been to New York before for concerts, albeit with older fan chaperones. I had street smarts. And I was an adult, I was 20 years old. But I had moved home for the summer and my mom raised a shitfit. "It's a dangerous place", she said, unknowingly quoting King Crimson. She was actually not going to let me go.

This could have been any mother's overreacting comments to a daughter. But I was hearing with the same voice as "you can't go out tonight" with no good reason or "you're grounded because you looked at me funny and have a bad attitude" or "you're just as bad as your brother" and every stupid thing I had to deal with as a teenager. This issue became my big fight to do what I wanted to do without having to sneak around to do it (except when I wanted to keep something private, of course).

Eventually, my sheer force of will won. It must have been, because logic never won an argument with my mom. I was going to take Amtrak up that afternoon. Go directly to the venue. Take a cab directly after the concert to the train station. The one point I didn't win was after arriving in Philly - I would have just taken the local train back home, but she insisted that she and my dad were going to pick me up at the train station in Philly at one in the morning. Fine with me.



The day of the concert, I arrived in New York City. I wore my new red tshirt with the VROOOM artwork. I ate at the train station. The weather was gorgeous. I asked a cop how to get to the venue's address and walked there. And sat there for several hours. The goal was to see the band enter the venue and get some more autographs. I brought my Discipline LP, where I only needed Fripp's autograph and my THRAK. I had only learned about Fripp's attitude about fans and autographs at the show in Philly days earlier.

I wrote up my encounter with Fripp for Elephant Talk a few months later.

"Fripp arrived and was walking towards the entrance of the Town Hall. Remembering the warnings I had received from other fans, I was careful not to walk right up to him. I walked to within ten feet of him, and asked him if he would please sign my Discipline album. He looked at me and said "Can I blow you a kiss instead?" This was not what I was expecting to hear from him, and for a moment I was speechless. He blew me a kiss and walked away. I think I thanked him afterwards. The rest of the day I remember being absolutely thrilled that Fripp spoke to me. Fripp is the only musician I've ever met who wouldn't sign an autograph for me. He has his reasons, and I'd never ask him again, but I'm really glad that he did take a moment to speak to me."

I was more successful getting Pat Mastelotto's autograph. He was very friendly and asked my name.

"Rhea."
"How do you spell that?"
"R-H-E-A"
"What is it again?"
"Rhea. R-H-E-A"
"Ohhhh. Like Rhea Perlman"

He signed it "To RHEA. Pat Mastelotto. Thanx!"



I don't remember talking to anyone else in the band, but Tony waved to me on his way out. I don't know if he recognized me from the other day in Philly. Later on, before the doors opened when a crowd had gathered out front, he opened up the stage door and started signing autographs for people. So cool.

I don't know if I was posting anywhere online at this point in time. I can't find any review I wrote of this show. I do have this show on cassette, and the setlist is:

coda: Marine 475
Frame by Frame
Dinosaur
Heartbeat
Red
B'BOOM/THRAK
Matte Kudasai
Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream
People
Vrooom Vrooom
Elephant Talk
Indiscipline
drum duo
The Talking Drum
Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part II
One Time
Vrooom
coda: Marine 475 (again)
Walking on Air

There was one additional song from my previous show, Heartbeat, but the setlist was in a slightly different order so you'd never know what they'd play next. The concert was enjoyable. I felt stifled sitting still in my seat, so I asked the people next to me if I could switch seats with them. I was now in the far aisle and up and dancing.

After the concert, I hightailed it outside and took the first cab to Penn Station. No problem catching my train. It was worth it not just to indulge my musical passions but to be able to go where I wanted to.

If you have a good eye, you'll notice that Fripp's signature is on my Discipline and THRAK covers. I'll tell that story some other time. ;-)

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.