Beat: Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA, 4 December 2024

Stephen Mazikewich

Introduction

There are many scenarios where a progressive rock band is synonymous with one member of the band. Usually the member that has outlasted all others. Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson is a more well known case. Perhaps Camel's Andy Latimer is a lesser known case. Probably one of the earliest examples of this is King Crimson known to many as the first real progressive rock band. Their debut, In the Court Of The Crimson King was released in October 1969. By the end of 1970, for their third album Lizard, the band had been completely overhauled. The last man standing being Robert Fripp, not counting lyricist Pete Sinfield who would soon depart. Even this incarnation wouldn't last long enough to play a single gig together.

King Crimson would finally see more stability with bassist/vocalist John Wetton and drummer Bill Bruford beginning with Larks' Tongues in Aspic, but 1974 saw the last Crimson 70s album with Red. Crimson was disbanded before they could get on the road with a tour in support of the album.

By 1980, Fripp had made many guest appearances on albums including the likes of Peter Gabriel and David Bowie, but it was time to form a new band. With no intention of reforming King Crimson, the band Discipline was born, bringing in American musicians Adrian Belew on guitar and vocals as well as bassist Tony Levin. Bill Bruford would also be brought back into the fold. Gone were the days of woodwinds and the mellotron as the band expanded their sound with dueling guitars, electronic drums, and Levin's Chapman stick. Fripp's presence was enough to call the new band King Crimson, but with the return of Bruford, and Fripp feeling the spirit of King Crimson, it was the right time to resurrect the name King Crimson.

From 1981 to 1984 the 80s version of Crimson released three albums, Discipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair. The sound blended elements of new wave with progressive time signatures while adding African type percussion. Crimson was well received and entered the emerging 1980s with an accessible mixture of styles while maintaining a certain uniqueness that Crimson was always known for.

Beat

So what does a Frippless King Crimson look like?

Beat (promo photo, courtesy of Beat)

Skip ahead 40 years to Belew wanting to do something to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 80s incarnation of King Crimson. Fripp and Belew ultimately declined, however, Steve Vai was the next best choice to handle Fripp's guitar parts and was the first on board. Levin's schedule opened up and Tool drummer Danny Carey was the missing piece of the puzzle. The name Beat was adopted from the second Crimson 80s album as Three Of A Perfect Pair wouldn't have made much sense.

The resumé of this band is a mile long. Both guitarists are Frank Zappa alumni. Our favorite mustachioed bass player even played for jazz funk trumpeter Chuck Mangione if you can picture him with hair, clean-shaven face, and glasses. David Bowie, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel... The list goes on and on.

The newcomers in 1980 are now the veterans. Adrian Belew and Tony Levin had a long tenure with King Crimson. Belew was right at home being the frontman for the current band, acting as MC humorously bantering with the crowd. His voice has barely aged and carried throughout the theater with zero strain. Keep in mind Belew too is a lead guitarist with extreme technical skills. He plays with such ease it makes sense as to why these musicians can last what seems like an eternity.

Levin is a consummate professional making him one of the most sought after bassist in the genre. When the Chapman stick appeared you knew real magic was about to happen. Essentially it is like playing bass with the left hand and guitar with the right hand expanding the instrumentation to sound like more musicians are in front of the audience.

The Beat tour started in September and this brings us to December 4th 2024 with just a couple more weeks of touring left. The venue is the FM Kirby Center, a very ornate art deco styled theater in the heart of Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania. Beat took the stage at 8.

Keep in mind I walked into the venue with little knowledge of what the night was going to be like besides reviewing studio and live material from the original incarnation of the band. Avoiding spoilers from YouTube and not even viewing a setlist would lead to a much bigger surprise... and it certainly did.

First Set

The concert immediately kicked into gear with Neurotica showcasing a good cross-section of what was on the way and then headed into Neal And Jack And Me. Both songs featured King Crimson's unique style of interplay that weaves the notes of dueling guitars and the Chapman stick into a sonic tapestry of sorts. Belew, dressed in a white suit as if it were still the early 80s, joked after the opening songs that they played the easy ones first.

One of three questions I had going into the concert, was how Steve Vai and Danny Carey were going to fair sitting in for Fripp and Bruford? Vai unsurprisingly filled in seamlessly on guitar with a much more animated presence than Fripp who usually opted to sit on a stool. Vai was not restricted by any means to Fripp's guitar parts and had opportunities to be himself. Carey, demonstrating a balance of sheer power and technical skill, would mostly stick to the script with Bruford's tribal-like drumming, but had time to break out. Vai and Carey, who are admitted fans of this era of King Crimson, did not take it upon themselves to change the sound of what had already been perfected. Both Vai and Carey were inevitably given solos later in the evening showcasing why they were invited to join the band in the first place.

The sound in the Kirby Center was appropriately loud for a rock concert, but all instruments came through clearly with very little sounding noisy considering everything going down on stage. I have visited this venue many times before even seeing prog acts from Jon Anderson to the Frank Zappa hologram tour. In 2008 the original members of Asia with John Wetton covered The Court Of The Crimson King, so this was not the first time I had heard King Crimson live at the Kirby Center from a previous member of the band.

I found the order of the nine songs in the first set to be slightly perplexing, with the first four songs from the band's namesake Beat and the next five from Three Of A Perfect Pair, including the doom-laden avant-garde instrumental Industry. Discipline, which is probably their most popular album from the era, was noticeably absent from the first set. Surely that would be corrected right?

Second Set

Danny Carey took the front of the stage in the beginning of the second set, eventually joined by Adrian Belew, for the tribal percussion intro to Waiting Man and finally the first Discipline song surfaced with the instrumental The Sheltering Sky. Three heavy hitters from Discipline would be played back to back including fan favorite Elephant Talk with its very recognizable Chapman stick intro putting the crowd into a state of frenzy. The set would finish with the title song Three Of A Perfect Pair and Indiscipline.

My second question was answered at the beginning of the encore. Would Beat play any classic King Crimson songs from the 70s? After Belew thanked Robert Fripp and Bill Bruford, the band went into Red from the 1974 album of the same name. This was definitely an appropriate choice that fit well with the sound of the night. Something like 21st Century Schizoid Man would have been too much of a stretch really only playing fan service.

The night ended with Thela Hun Ginjeet, capping off a very high-energy show. At this point a good portion of the enthusiastic crowd had wandered to the front of the theater to get a closer look. As the four members of Beat were taking their final bow, Tony Levin was taking pictures for his road diary as onlookers returned the favour before the band exited the stage. I highly recommend checking out Levin's road diary and his photographs on his website.

Getting to my third question. Was Beat a cover band? In short, no. This was definitely authentic King Crimson. Yes, Robert Fripp is essentially the Crimson King, but this era saw the major influence of newcomers Belew and Levin updating the sound for the times. All I can say is that waiting a few more years for what was supposed to be a 40th anniversary tour was well worth the wait.