FraKctured - live performances - audient report
16/06/01 - 12th and Porter, Nashville
I attended the last two of the four King Crimson warm-ups
at 12th and Porter on Saturday, June 16, and Sunday, June 17, 2001, in Nashville,
Tennessee, USA. During both shows I attended, FraKctured was part of the set list.
Robert admits to having lost the grip on his pick on Saturday due to perspiration
accumulation, and this due to the fact that the playroom at 12th and Porter is a
quintessential sweaty small club (but quite a nice place just the same!) He also
notes (in his diary) that this is the first time in his recollection that he has lost the
grip on his pick. At any rate, there were a few flubs (in the moto perpetuo sections
I believe) due to this, from which he recovered admirably. On Sunday, the piece was
performed from the "brutal" section forward only, with no apparent missteps that
I could detect. Why this was done is unknown; I initially surmised that, at least in
part, Robert had perhaps decided to forego all but the
last of the moto perpetuo sections due to his pick slippage from the night before.
But there was more than enough opportunity for that in many other pieces performed
on Sunday that he may as well have not played at all if that was his goal! However,
performing the piece in such an excerpted fashion provides quite a jolt at the outset to
an audience unprepared for it.
An interesting development in both performances which I alluded to both in an on line
review of the shows on the DGM site as well as in a personal email to Robert, and which he
did not deny in response to either, is that Pat Mastelotto appears to be accompanying in
straight 4/4 time throughout the "brutal" section. Not possessing an
infallible memory, I was not certain if Pat was actually doing this or if his playing was
simply giving this impression. But, as I said, Robert did not dispute my
observation, so I guess I can still count beats (in 4/4 at least!).
What this adds to the piece, however, is a great deal of tension, not that there's a
shortage of that in the original arrangement!
Mike Champagne
New Orleans, LA, USA
From Robert Fripp's diary at DGM
Last night's show fell together, with the emphasis on "fall" and
"together". The overall performance held its integrity, rather than being an
episodic unveiling of surprises, treats, terrors and collapses, all of which continued to
feature but without disturbing the sense of a single event.
A new twist on "FraKtured": sweat managed to unseat my grasp on the pick. This maybe a first in my career: under normal conditions it is almost impossible to remove the pick from my firm, relaxed grip. But a small club in Nashville during June clearly provides abnormal conditions. Rather than flail even more pathetically than usual, I stopped and continued.
This piece continues to present me with insights into playing. Friday night I noticed (while up and flying) that to privilege the secondary accompanying part, even to grant it equality with the melody line, disturbs the picking. So, my aim last night was to slightly privilege the melody. Little hope of that, pick sliding around. I'm not sure how all this translates musically for an audience, but it demonstrates that high levels of challenge provide rewards for those dopey enough to expose themselves to public ridicule while feebly attempting to embrace the challenge.
Once again, a generous and supportive audience.