FraKctured - live performances - audient report

25/10/00 - 4th and B, San Diego

I saw King Crimson at 4th & B San Diego. Front row center. Fripp to the left and smokin'. The sound was great and the production was also great. I don't know if anyone in the back of the theater could see it but when Fripp was done he blew on his fingers and smoke came from them. Probably powder, but it was really cool.

Robin Craig
San Diego

From Robert Fripp's Diary

Thursday 26th. October, 2000

10.16
Hotel Modest & Acceptable, San Diego.

Last night's performance began strongly and then slowly ebbed away as the show's energy poured into the sieve. The flash only confirmed what was already apparent.

We began with a strong "Larks'" and then very quickly came the impression: this is like playing a Dorset village hall during the 1960s. Pat's take afterwards was that it felt like a High School Prom. Same energy, different culture. The audience from where I sat were an entertainment in themselves. That is, had I not been attempting to engage & partner with them in performance. Otherwise, look out.

Crim continues to astonish & amaze me in our capacity to discover new forms of simple error. My own contribution to this evolving art form was to hang myself out to dry in the fast metal section of "FraKctured" where my Lunar Module was 20 programmes away from the sound I should have been using.

As my "preternatural sensitivities" develop, my confidence in accepting what I see grows. I continue to discover depth in the mechanics of the performance process, and this continues to inform & educate me. The liberal education that the young Fripp, 33 years ago, hoped the life of the working musician might provide continues to be provided.

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

October 25, 2000 -- 4th and B / San Diego, CA

Tough show tonight. It was much more crowded then we hadanticipated. There were really strong walk-up ticket sales. It wasn't sold out, but the place looked completely full. Tonight I didn't feel that I was on-stage with King Crimson. I felt that I was in a really mediocre club band. This came from: the club, the playing and the audience.

The soundcheck was rather hopeless. The in-house PA was complete crap. Josh came up to the stage after we had been playing for about 3 minutes and said that he had all that he needed. That nothing that he was doing at the sound desk was having any effect whatsoever on the sound. He preferred that we just ended the sound check and let him deal with what he can during the show. So we played a few more pieces just for ourselves and finished.

The crowd began hooting and hollering even before the house lights came down. We went out on-stage and kicked in Larks' IV. This is our 'no comprises, no prisoners' beginning -- that is, starting with Larks'. We sounded great and everyone was floored by the band from the first note. But, then things began to turn sour. I noticed a lot of movement in the hall. Especially in the front rows, which I could see the best. It was a seated gig and people were coming and going from the chairs throughout Larks'. I thought to myself that eventually they would get settled so they could listen. But, they didn't. There was constant wandering going on throughout the whole piece. I think by the Coda there was a bit more stillness. Just the sheer length of this piece wore them down, perhaps.

This wandering never stopped, throughout the whole show. And was added to with: screaming, calling, standing up and turning around to the rest of the crowd and screaming, and many other spectacular gestures that, well basically, didn't quite work within the performance at hand. We played Larks' quite well, but from the second piece on, the band began to fall apart. This was my personal worst show for the whole tour including Europe in the spring. I played horribly. I hit so many bad downbeats. Here comes the down beat after a few beats break: flob....flop....flub. With each of us landing somewhere different. And myself? Miles and miles away from Pat. It started out funny and then began to become pathetic. Then it finally worked its way around to hilariously pathetic.

Now I would, in no way, personally blame the audience for the band having a bad show. However, it was clear that tonight we were not elevated to a higher level of performance by the audience. And this 'elevation' is exactly what happening in San Francisco and Los Angeles. So that was a bit sad for us. To feel the whole performance downgrading and degrading right before our eyes. And with no help in sight.

There was one redemption, however. When we played Elephant Talk (the last piece of the evening) I looked over to the right and there was a woman dancing. And not just tapping, or swaying, along. She was really moving. And then I noticed there were a few others around her, as well. Yes! Oh damn, I wished that I had noticed them earlier. It could have saved the show for me.

I had a very powerful moment backstage as I was warming up. Very subtle, but quite strong. I've been touching on the concept of 'letting go' over the last week. Mostly letting go of my ideas of various things, and about this internal kind of release. As I began to warm up, I allowed myself 'let go' of my idea of practicing and warming up for the show. I didn't change anything that I was doing. I kept playing through the exact same warm up exercises that I do before each show, but something happened. A kind a separation. I was looking at this action directly and, somehow, not through my idea of this action. And then.... there was a new energy coming in. A real, solid energy. How could 'letting go' give you more energy?