Adrian Belew - V drums & percussions
Trey Gunn - 8 strings Warr guitar
Here is my review of the two PROJEkCT TWO shows in San Francisco (March 21 & 22, 1998):
FIRST NIGHT
I was in a hurry coming back from school because I wanted to be in the front row. We (I and my friend) were about the 10 th in line...not bad! Please get to the show early because they started right on time (maybe a couple of minutes earlier). I was up to the front (2 metres from the stage).
They had tables for us this time. We had to sit about 4 people per one table. The Great American Music Hall is pretty small. It can hold about 500 people (I guess) for the main floor and the balcony.
Robert came out first. He was dressed in black. He played his soundscapes for a couple of minutes and the crowd was very quiet. After that Trey and Adrian came out. Trey played his 8-string Warr guitar and Adrian played the Roland V drum. Really cool indeed! The band started to play too loud for the first tune...really loud! I can't remember any name of the songs from the show when I came back home to play the PROJEkCT TWO cd. Sorry about that.
This WAS the first time that I saw Robert laugh and smile on stage. Yes, he laughed out-loud twice. People were in shock! He was in a really good mood. He laughed when Adrian tried to play difficult drums that made him (RF) and Trey have a hard time to join with Adrian. Adrian was really cool with his V drum set. He used the hi-hat pedal and the bass pedal at the same time. I was wondering how he concentrated on each instrument. His timing was awesome. Trey had a lot of fun with his Warr guitar. He took one solo (same tune as Robert's) but Trey's was louder!
All of them were incredible. One thing I can say is that you guys CAN'T miss the show.
The highlight was that Robert Fripp DID speak up! Yes, he walked up to the front of the stage after the 20-minute-break, and he said this was the second time he talked in 14 years [he's been saying this a few times this past year, hasn't he?]. He said "I will decline when people ask me for autographs, but my sister is willing to sign on all cd's, if you ask her she will sign them all." This WAS too funny. We all laughed out-loud. I agree on this. His sister's kind of the speaker of King Crimson. Ha!
I had a chance to talk to Trey for a couple of minutes. He was in a hurry. I asked him about the show on Sunday night ~ was it going to be different from Saturday night. He said yes, it would be totally improvisation ~ well, maybe or maybe not. It depends on the situation. I asked him to autograph my Projekct Two cd. He remembered me from the last Trey Gunn Band show in San Francisco in January '98, but he still could not say my Thai name! He said it's too hard to pronounce. I told him I would come for the second show.
(SIDE ITEM)
The Crimson/Discipline Global merchandise on sale at the back of the hall were:
T-shirts - Projekct Two (same design as the cd cover ~ a purple square with the red line on a white t-shirt; it looks okay but not that nice, IMO)
CD's - B'BOOM; Sometimes God Hides; 1,000 Years; The Third Star (not the digipak one); Epitaph (no box); The Night Watch, etc.
Videos - Three of a Perfect Pair; Beat; and some I forget (sorry!).
Please do not forget to pick up the "I've been FRIPP-notized" badge from Robert Fripp's sister at the merchandise boot. She said you can have it for free but don't forget to buy my brother's! That's funny!
The doors opened at 7:00 p.m. (for the Saturday show) and I got there around 5:30 p.m., but there was already a little line in front of the hall.
THE SECOND NIGHT
IMHO, the Sunday show was more exciting (a harder/more aggressive sound) than Saturday's show. Robert played his soundscapes for about 15 minutes before the show. He let us hear his humming guitar while he left the stage.
After the 20-minute break, some people shouted "Robert, come up here and talk!!" He just smiled and said it did not work tonight and started to play the guitar. He did talk after the band came back from the encore though. He mentioned about his sister that she always wears King Crimson t-shirts when she comes to see the show, but this time she was wearing her own t-shirt and she also has her own coffee mugs for sale at the merchandise booth, too. (Actually Patricia gave away the "I've been FRIPP-notized" buttons to all of us when we were waiting in line to get in.)
The band played very different from Saturday's show and they played VROOOM for the encore. It sounded pretty weird to me. Adrian was really crazy tonight. He did a bass drum solo that was out of tune and made Robert and Trey stop playing. They all laughed.
I bought the B'Boom cd for only $10 at the show. Cheap! I had Trey and Adrian autograph some of my cd's. Trey said "You again! What else have I not signed for you!?" Actually there are some cd's that I have not had him sign!
Trey told me that King Crimson would be back to San Francisco in January. I'm not sure that I will still be here at that time. We will see.
One more warning...try to get to the venue early. Today, I went there around 5:00 p.m. and there were a lot of people in line even though the doors opened at 7:00 p.m. I saw the same faces from the first night at this show. Crazy!
AE
Progressive Rock / Metal Concerts