King Crimson - 2014 - The Complete US Tour

All 19 concerts from the King Crimson’s 2014 USA tour.

Overheard in the crowd as fans left the Nokia Theater on Sept 21st, 2014:“…Our fourth King Crimson live show in as many nights, what could be better than that…?” The instant response:”…Seeing the whole tour…” That exchange drew knowing laughter from others in the immediate vicinity. Many had bought tickets thinking that this tour, like the US tour of 2008, would be a once-off, done in one, series of concerts, especially with such an unusual line-up: complete with three drummers and at the front of the stage. How could this even be achieved? And yet anyone who saw the 2014 tour would have sensed something different about this line-up, a sense of solidity that was there from the outset, a sense that this band was here not just for a single run of gigs, but for something more long-term.

The notion of being able to present complete or near-to-complete tours in a usable physical format has been around for some time. The historic King Crimson boxed sets tried to accommodate both studio and (what existed) of live tours across multiple discs and, as one of the audio testers of the 2017 Islands/Earthbound era boxed set reported at the time: “Listening to the gigs in chronological order made it seem like I’d gone on tour with the band…” 

All of these ideas coalesce in this new release, presenting the complete US 2014 tour across two Blu-rays & for those who don’t wish to make such a commitment – whether in terms of time or finance - the release is preceded by a representative 2LP/2CD/Digital compilation taken from across the four nights in NYC, compiled by DGM’s Alex R. Mundy.

That compilation was slated to be added to the 2Blu-ray release also – until KC manager David Singleton recalled Pat Mastelotto telling him that a friend of his had arranged for that first, friends & family gig to be filmed. That footage was located, edited and now features, fittingly – synched with the hi-res audio of the concert – as the opening section of Disc One. It may not be 4K ultra-HD but it is King Crimson history in the making. The inclusion of the footage necessitated the removal of the compilation, but every note performed on that tour is included.

19 concerts in full 24/96 stereo audio with video footage of the very first gig on two completely full Blu-ray discs. As that NYC concerts attending fan asked: “…What could be better…?”

“dear brother crims, we have one year to prepare for action of the savage variety, and be in Go! mode for september 2014 ... but essentially, King Crimson is in motion.”

That excerpt from Robert Fripp’s email to Gavin Harrison, Bill Rieflin, Pat Mastelotto, Mel Collins, Tony Levin and Jakko Jakszyk got very close to why the 2014 US tour felt so special.

It did not read like a neat announcement of a comeback; it sounded like a door opening. After six years away from the stage, King Crimson was suddenly in motion again, and not in a safe or nostalgic form. The seven-piece line-up looked slightly improbable on paper, especially with three drummers across the front line, but once it began playing, the idea made immediate sense.

The 2014 double blu-ray release shows the point where the final great Crimson chapter began to take shape in public with band settling, stretching and gaining confidence. The attraction isn’t only in the best nights, of which there are many, but in the movement between them - the small changes in attack, the way the drums answer one another, the weight of a Mellotron entry, and the moment an arrangement suddenly feels as if it has found its true form.

The older pieces are a huge part of that. Pictures Of A City, Sailor’s Tale, The Letters, Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part I, Starless and One More Red Nightmare do not come across as archive material being dusted down for sentimental reasons. They sound newly awake, as though the band are finding out what it can still do, ample testament to Fripp’s stated intent: “new whenever it is performed.”

At the same time, later pieces such as Level Five and The ConstruKction Of Light seem to benefit from this formation’s extra depth and pressure, as if the music finally finds the right body to move through.

What also makes this tour worth returning to is the mixture of precision and humanity. The playing is ferocious, but not airless. Audience gasps, quick saves, grins after mistakes, and the feeling of seven musicians listening hard to one another while something bigger than habit is taking shape. The variations, the occasional wobble, and the sudden lift when everything locks are what make this release fascinating.

You can almost hear and see the risk, the concentration, the humour, and the excitement of a band discovering it has a new future.