Adrian Belew‘s all-star tribute to ’80s-era King Crimson got underway Thursday night at San Jose Civic in California. Beat also includes his long-time former King Crimson bandmate Tony Levin, Steve Vai and Danny Carey of Tool.
They’re presenting music from 1981’s Discipline, 1982’s Beat and 1984’s Three of a Perfect Pair during a trek with additional stops in Los Angeles, San Diego, Toronto, Dallas, New York, Boston and Las Vegas.
The opening show featured 19 songs across two sets, including “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part III),” “Elephant Talk,” “Three of a Perfect Pair,” “Indiscipline” and “Red” – along with the first live performance of “Model Man” by any Crimson-related band ever. See the videos and a complete set list below.
“It’s amazing to hear and amazing to see,” Levin told Guitar World. “I’m a photographer in addition to being a bass player, and my temptation is to pick up the camera and take pictures of them about every 30 seconds! I have to remind myself to stick to my job and leave the photography for in-between pieces.”
READ MORE: How Adrian Belew Put Together His ’80s King Crimson Celebration
Belew and Levin joined King Crimson in 1981 and remained in the lineup until Robert Fripp put the group on hiatus in 1984. They were also part of subsequent lineups between 1994 to 2008, with Levin continuing through what appears to be King Crimson’s final tour in 2021.
There was an initial schism when Fripp decided to jumpstart King Crimson without Belew in 2013, but they mended fences a few years later. Fripp has given his blessing to this new project. Belew said Fripp suggested the name “Beat.”
“The producers had made up a name which had my name in it – which I didn’t like that much because I didn’t feel it represented the whole band, but I told Robert anyway,” Belew told UCR. “They wanted to call it Crimson Belew. He said, ‘Hmmm, oh.’ I could tell he was balking. I said, ‘Well, I don’t really like it either. I’m not happy with that, but what would you call it?'”
Watch Beat Play King Crimson’s ‘Heartbeat’
Watch Beat Play King Crimson’s ‘Man With an Open Heart’
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Like Belew, Steve Vai is a former guitarist with Frank Zappa. Vai has also toured and recorded with David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Alice Cooper, Motorhead and, most recently, Joe Satriani. He’s called Fripp “one of our historical geniuses” while trying to put guitar performances on songs like “Frame by Frame” from Discipline in perspective.
“It’s the endurance,” Vai told Guitar World. “It’s the absolute relentlessness of what he does that makes it so difficult – because it’s constant and it’s intense, and it’s fantastic. … His style is so specific and refined, it’s not something I could just jump into. It’s a study.”
King Crimson has previously opened for Tool. Carey also appeared on Belew’s 2005 album Side One. “I mean he’s just nuts about [former King Crimson drummer] Bill Bruford,” Belew has said. “Like, those records and Bill’s playing changed his viewpoint of music. So when you have someone like that, that’s exactly who you want in the band, someone who has a deep vested interest in the music because they learned from it.”
Watch Beat Play King Crimson’s ‘The Sheltering Sky’
Watch Beat Play King Crimson’s ‘Matte Kadusai’
Beat, Sept. 12, 2024, San Jose
1. “Neurotica”
2. “Neal and Jack and Me”
3. “Heartbeat”
4. “Sartori in Tangier”
5. “Dig Me”
6. “Model Man”
7. “Man With an Open Heart”
8. “Industry”
9. “Larks’ Tongues in Aspic (Part III)”
10. “Waiting Man”
11. “The Sheltering Sky”
12. “Sleepless”
13. “Frame by Frame”
14. “Matte Kudasai”
15. “Elephant Talk”
16. “Three of a Perfect Pair”
17. “Indiscipline”
18. “Red”
19. “Thela Hun Ginjeet”
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