Venue:
Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
Date: 07/06/2026
First night of a 72-date tour, and thankfully this date was added, preventing an expensive trip to “that London”. A few minor cock-ups with the gear that will surely be ironed out on subsequent dates, but were managed magnanimously within the band. The set comprised a repertoire from all the “Talking Crimson/ King Heads” albums from the early 80s, plus “Larks Tongues in Aspic, pt 3” and “Red”. A lot of music (and even more notes) was played, which ranged from avant dicking-around to grooves made for getting down, if we were the age and sorts to do such undignified things. It was a gig with a lot of widdle and noodling, but also, paradoxically, done with a lot of taste. Tony Levin, now 80, was on bass and Chapman stick, plus the occasional keyboard, and clearly has a regular Wincarnis to keep fit. Belew alarmed me when the first track (“Neurotica”) was done with the vocals recorded, and I was ready to declare my outrage, but subsequently it all seemed live. Danny Carey showed what a great drummer he was, and I’ve never particularly bothered with “Tool” before. And Steve Vai … what can one say, despite his exquisite zoot suit, then Mexican gigolo outfits (LOVE the embroidered flares!) performed with (mostly) taste and discretion. The show raced along, and 2 hours 20 mins passed with almost no longueurs, the solos so tasteful as to occur without being obnoxious, as is so often the case.
The audience:
Us. Or people like us. Some long suffering wives and girlfriends. Progressive fans who want progressive music to not be trapped in a symphonic / moog synthesiser/ fantasy bubble, and which Fripp has worked hard to enable. Robert Fripp was present, and gave his seal of approval; I hope everyone near him was respectful of his privacy. Really, King Crimson should have had a Royal Box.
It made me think..
I very much doubt this lot will be around again, so it was a one-off event. Is there music being made like this now that will enthuse so much in 45 years time? Maybe it’s an age-cohort thing, when there were fewer distractions, so more was invested into the creations and communities around them.
I bet Bob’s glad he didn’t sign up for 72 dates with that lot. What a caper it sounds, glad you had a good time. Would have loved to have been there.
Nice teview….you make an interesting point at the end.
https://youtu.be/kzPbGa2Rxxs?si=aOEbLbbcWnKlAsI5
No idea Tony Levin, like Fripp, is now 80….how did everyone get so old!
Re. the last paragraph about challenging music around at the moment- Angine de Poitrine is the most obvious example, but there’s Black Midi, Black Country New Road, and a lot of other stuff that attracts devoted listeners. It’s easy to write off the current music scene, but it’s doing fine.
Would have loved to have been there, but my cycling weekends get organised even further in advance than octogenarian rock star tours.