Photo by Jeff Elbel
The group was anchored by Crim veterans Adrian Belew and Tony Levin. Virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai covered the territory of King Crimson mainstay Robert Fripp while applying his own dazzling style to Fripp’s meticulous and complex parts. Drummer Danny Carey was unavailable due to commitments with his primary band Tool, so the group had to settle for Terry Bozzio – that’s sarcasm, people. All four players brought off-the-charts musicianship to King Crimson’s famously tricky material while also promoting team spirit, intricate interplay and general goodwill.
The smile never left Belew’s face as the band opened with the thundering “Dinosaur.” Standing in front of an enormous array of guitar pedals and foot controllers, the inventive guitarist coaxed feral animal howls and roars from his guitar. “I’m a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones,” he sang in the song’s self-deprecating but winking chorus.
The concert would have been spell-binding without its visual element, but the band’s front line came dressed to impress. Belew wore a red suit and stylish black hat. Levin was dapper in all black topped with a white blazer. Vai was resplendent in his wide-brimmed black hat, black suit with gold highlights, and guitar to match.
Photo by Jeff Elbel
Levin shifted between instruments to hold down the band’s low end. The flowing and melodic “Walking on Air” featured his fretless playing on a five-string NS Design double bass while Belew coaxed seagull cries from his guitar. The hypnotic “Waiting Man” was among the songs performed on a 12-stringed Chapman Stick. For the deep prog-funk of “People” and the anxious “Sleepless,” Levin brought out his Funk Fingers. The modified drumsticks attached to two of his fingertips, and are familiar to Peter Gabriel fans from Levin’s work on tracks including “Big Time.” Levin’s modified Music Man Stringray bass painted to match the Three of a Perfect Pair artwork was used on songs including the turbulent “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part III).” On “Industry,” Levin played a hypnotic odd-time pulse on a bass synthesizer. Meanwhile, Bozzio unspooled evolving snare rolls and Vai alternated between Vangelis-styled guitar synthesizer sounds and otherworldly sci-fi noises.
Photo by Jeff Elbel
Belew also had familiar tools at hand, including his Mike Getz-painted Fender Stratocaster used for the springy-sounding passages on “The Sheltering Sky.” For most of the show, Belew used his silver Parker Fly guitar.
Vai’s performance was jaw-dropping throughout the night. Topping the wide array of guitar sounds coaxed via technology were the precise and flawlessly executed passages coaxed from his bare fingers. Vai’s masterful display on “The Sheltering Sky” brought the crowd to its feet for an ovation. He played superhumanly dexterous leads on “Neal and Jack and Me,” alternating with flowing melodic lines that modified Fripp’s signature Frippertronics.
Photo by Jeff Elbel
Bozzio sat encased in his so-called “small set” drum rig, surrounded by dozens of drums and cymbals. He emerged for a percussion solo that expanded into a duet with Belew during “Waiting Man.” Drawing attention to Bozzio’s effortless precision following the mesmerizing “Sartori in Tangier,” Belew joked, “Well, what do you know? We can play in 4/4 time.”
The band’s second set brought the crowd to fever pitch with a shuffled performance of the first side of the Discipline album. The lilting and legato “Matte Kudasai” was a showcase for Belew’s expressive vocal. Alongside “Three of a Perfect Pair” performed during the first set, “Frame by Frame” was the most conspicuous example wherein Belew and Vai intertwined undulating guitar lines. Bozzio propelled the slashing and bombastic “Elephant Talk.” Afterward, Belew declared over raucous cheers, “Could be the last time you hear it!”
Photo by Jeff Elbel
“Indiscipline” brought the house down with its mix of controlled tension and explosive catharsis. Belew’s lyric explored the paradox of pride and uncertainty in the creative process. “I repeat myself when under stress,” Belew intoned several times mid-song, joined by the audience. At the song’s climax, Belew’s declared in character, “I like it!”
Photo by Jeff Elbel
It wasn’t lost on many in the room that in addition to the two longtime King Crimson bandmates, there were three alumni from Frank Zappa’s bands onstage. In recognition and celebration, Beat encored with the adrenalized “City of Tiny Lites” from Sheik Yerbouti – an album on which both Belew and Bozzio performed, albeit not together. Vai appeared on several other Zappa albums, earning credit for “Impossible Guitar Parts” on 1982’s Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch. Multi-layered tale of urban danger “Thela Hun Ginjeet” brought the house down and completed the performance.
Photo by Jeff Elbel
It was the surprise success of the band’s first run in 2024 and public demand for a second chance that brought this year’s tour to Chicago as a victory lap. It’s a shame that Beat won’t return or create its own new music together as an offshoot King Crimson “ProjeKCt,” but it was an unexpected joy in the first place. Wednesday’s show gave younger fans at Copernicus Center the chance to leave with memories comparable to what original Crim fans gained decades ago, with a few twists.
Photo by Jeff Elbel
Set 1:
Dinosaur (from Thrak) Neurotica (from Beat) Neal and Jack and Me (from Beat) Sartori in Tangier (from Beat) Three of a Perfect Pair (from Three of a Perfect Pair) Walking on Air (from Thrak) Industry (from Three of a Perfect Pair) Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part III) (from Three of a Perfect Pair)
Set 2:
Waiting Man (from Beat) People (from Thrak) The Sheltering Sky (from Discipline) Sleepless (from Three of a Perfect Pair) Matte Kudasai (from Discipline) Frame by Frame (from Discipline) Elephant Talk (from Discipline) Indiscipline (from Discipline)
Encore:
City of Tiny Lites (from Frank Zappa’s Sheik Yerbouti) Thela Hun Ginjeet (from Discipline)
Photo by Jeff Elbel
