FraKctured - live performances - audient report

07/06/00 - Stadthalle, Offenbach

From Trey Gunn's diary at www.treygunn.com

June 7, 2000 -- Offenbach, Germany (near Frankfurt) / Stadthall

I was wrong about this being our last German show. We still have a gig in Leipzig after we leave Poland and the Czech Republic.

Tonight was great. These folks got a real treat of a show. The sound was fantastic and the band was hot. Plus, we did a whole new slew of improvisations as well.

When we were at soundcheck we all remarked how great the sound was. Well, around 30 minutes before show time I joked that we wouldn't have to worry about the sound changing from soundcheck because no one was out there even though the doors were open. It turned out I was wrong -- there was a very good size crowd by the time we hit the stage.

There were quite a few folks who we didn't seem to be winning over. In particular there were three guys and two women up in front who I was afraid to look too closely at because they didn't look like there were enjoying the show. However, by the end of 'Thrush' (which was even more fantastic then last night) it was clear that we had won them all over. I've, also, been a bit nervous about 'Heroes' since the minor negative reactions we have been getting. But, it went over quite well.

The improvised segments were great. We made a general plan, but didn't really stick to it at all. I found myself soloing unexpectedly over the RF fretless bass samples! Then Adrian took off and I moved over to bass. Before not too long, I pulled out the rubber bass (which I have been using on 'Cage') and wailed away on that. Then Pat went in 'Seizure', which I would normally play on the Warr Guitar. However, I already had the rubber bass on, so I reached over to Adrian's stack of picks and began to 'C'-zure. I realize immediately why I don't use a pick anymore. Because I am crap with it! but, I made my best effort.

Then, with the Seizure groove still going, Adrian got out his acoustic guitar and brought in 'Cage' over the top. This was fantastic. So, Pat and I just keep going as we were and we all modified the tempo and vibe of 'Cage' to suite. This was a classic Crimson moment. Too bad for the poor guy who decided not to go to any more of our shows because we weren't improvising enough. He definitely missed out tonight.

There were a lot of photographers tonight. I had a constant fear that RF would leave the stage at any moment. This certainly kept me on my feet.

On to Poland.