Review & photos by Ira Kantor
I’ll be honest… after witnessing in-person the BEAT quartet of Adrian Belew, Danny Carey, Tony Levin, and Steve Vai tear into tracks from the three of a perfect pair album lineup of King Crimson’s classic 1980s period, I gave serious thought to having this review be the following lyrics from the song “Indiscipline:”
“The more I look at BEAT, the more I like it.
I do think it’s good!
The fact is no matter how closely I study it,
No matter how I take it apart,
No matter how I break it down,
It remains consistent…
I wish you were here to see it!”
But that would have been taking the easy way out.
Another variation I toyed with ─ also inspired by lyrics from the same track ─ was the following:
“I repeat myself when I’m impressed,
I repeat myself when I’m impressed,
I repeat myself when I’m impressed,
I repeat myself when I’m impressed,
I repeat…”
But again, perhaps a bit too concise and cliché…
Either way, the one definitive sentiment I couldn’t get out of my head after watching BEAT all but blow the ceiling off the 1,300-seat Keswick Theatre over the course of two hours and close to 20 tracks was Belew’s same concluding, primal thought at the end of the song:
“I LIKE IT!!!”
Now, if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to go back a bit in time…
I was a sophomore at Binghamton University and a friend of mine named Bill Grant introduced me to Crimson’s seminal 1981 masterwork Discipline. I did not know at that time (but I would over the next 20 years) how influential that album would be in my life. Never before had I heard music so cerebral and so appealing at the same time. I couldn’t get enough of Belew’s slashing guitar soundscapes, Robert Fripp’s complex guitar arrangements, Tony Levin’s unique use of a Chapman Stick (a what??), and Bill Bruford’s intricate drum patterns ─ both on traditional and electronic kits.
From there, I would discover the group’s next two albums, Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair, each one individual in exciting ways. Two hours of collective music that I go back and revisit time and time again despite their disregard for commerciality. The vinyl album trio purposely sits above my desk so I can stare at them multiple times each day. To get my then toddler son interested in music, I would play “Waiting Man” on repeat and finger mimic the double drum parts.
For me, and the other 1,299 individuals in attendance, we came for a one-of-a-kind experience. We left jubilant and enthralled. I mean, anytime you walk into a venue and the background music playing is Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians, settle in and get comfy as you’re in for a real artistic treat!
Stepping onto the stage for their 20th show in a 65-show tour one-by-one at promptly 7:30 pm, each member acknowledged the crowd, plugged in, and proceeded to give it all they had mind, body, and soul. Four Beat tracks opened the show: a pulsating “Neurotica,” followed by the wonderful “Neal and Jack and Me,” “Heartbeat,” and “Sartori in Tangier.” Belew, donned in a black porkpie hat and black suit, let loose his distinctive vocal wail (which remains fully intact more than 40 years later) as Vai, looking like an expertly tailored amalgam of Billy Gibbons, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Zorro, made sure to contort his face to every thrust and blast of his multicolored psychedelic-looking guitar.
“Math rock!” said one photographer standing next to me with a smile. He wasn’t wrong. To play the tracks on these albums requires tremendous concentration and virtuosity. I mean math was a subject I was always good at but could easily lose focus while working on problems. For these guys though, the fun came in fitting the complex musical pieces together and letting loose with abundant smiles when the puzzle came together. Even when there was a one-off pedal glitch or slowdown in tempo, the band just grinned and shrugged it off making for an overall non-pressure-filled night. Synergy between members was top priority. From my seat, I would look at Belew and Levin’s movements and be instantly taken back to the classic Crimson concert footage I’d watch on repeat of shows in Frejus in ’82 and Japan in ’84.
Vai is no stranger to difficult melodies and technique. This is a man after all who managed to impress the unimpressible Frank Zappa when he was a teenager. But by not being a carbon copy of Robert Fripp, that alone brought a different energy and dynamic to what BEAT showcased here. The simple fact that Vai stood for the show and fired up his guitar with everything from tapping to shredding proved to be something unforgettable. His multi-minute solo on “The Sheltering Sky” in the second half of the show recalled everyone from Al Di Meola to Steve Hackett; it was a lesson in brilliance and we all eagerly took notes with our eyes and applause.
And speaking of being blown away, the collective sound of BEAT proved to be so loud within the cavernous walls of the Keswick that I couldn’t help but wonder if the residents of Cherry Hill, New Jersey – a 45-minute drive away from the venue – could hear the concert. Helping the music come alive, was a glorious light display encircling members in red, yellow, and blue colors throughout the concert.
Excitement also built when Belew brought out his multi-colored axe from the Three of a Perfect Pair touring period. “I thought I left this one at home,” Belew exclaimed, before adding it was the first time the guitar came “off the wall” in 40 years. “Now it’s the happiest guitar in the world,” he added. From here, the band would plow though several tracks from that same album – “Dig Me,” “Model Man,” “Man With an Open Heart,” and “Industry,” included. As mechanical as those tracks tend to sound on record, the group was a finely tuned well-oiled musical machine here.
After their brief intermission, Carey, the most casual looking member of the bunch in T-shirt and shorts, came on stage right as the house lights went down to start playing “Waiting Man.” Switching to a red suit reminiscent of his Lone Rhino days, but still keeping his black porkpie hat, Belew gleefully picked up another pair of sticks and proceeded to play right along with Carey who truly looked like a kid on Christmas morning. You could see his teeth radiating from the back of the venue.
Levin also shone through tremendously throughout the night, standing out in a stark white suit jacket and black clothes (perhaps in tribute to Peter Gabriel). “Sleepless” was particularly fun to watch, especially as Levin switched from his slapping days of yore to his trademark funk fingers.
“Are you having fun yet?” Belew smugly asked. He already knew the answer.
Even though the band didn’t have to prove anything to us, members proceeded to keep dazzling us with one stellar track after another. “Frame by Frame” was flawless, followed by the beautiful slide work of Belew on “Matte Kudasai.” Myself, I had goosebumps when I saw Belew play his guitar at the top of the neck during “Elephant Talk;” to me, this embodied earliest footage I had seen of the ‘80s Crimson lineup now personified in real time. If Vai was worried about pulling off Fripp’s guitar mastery, he needn’t have feared – he peeled back the layers of his talents just as he shed his hat and jacket for the second half of the show.
Before BEAT kicked into its encore, Belew made sure to acknowledge Fripp and Bruford for their respective contributions to this music. In tribute, the band kicked into a meaty cover of “Red” before closing out the night with the powerhouse “Thela Hun Ginjeet.” As I made my way out of the venue, I could still hear the concert reverberating down the street. Overall, the consensus proved both undeniable and palpable: Belew, Carey, Levin, and Vai are actually four of a perfect pair!
