Ok kids, this one was a show for the ages. I don’t even know where to start… I suppose a little background is in order, to explain my pre-conceived expectations and bias!
If you’ve never heard of BEAT, you’re not alone. And it was a curious choice of a name, considering we have The English Beat, aka The Beat AND The Paul Collins Beat, aka The Beat… and then along comes a Supergroup to end all supergroups, calling themselves BEAT. Whatever, they could have called themselves anything, and still outshine any 4 piece band on the planet.
BEAT is the brainchild(?) of guitar maestro Adrian Belew and bass virtuoso Tony Levin. As they describe it on their website BEAT is “a creative reinterpretation of the music of KING CRIMSON including the iconic albums, Discipline, Beat, and Three Of A Perfect Pair, and beyond.“
When I was a young’in coming up, I first heard King Crimson around 1982 and I was absolutely blown away. They were so completely weird, yet technical and futuristic that I couldn’t help but go bananas for them. At the time, I had NO idea of their pedigree, I didn’t know they’d already been around my entire life, I had no idea they had released half a dozen albums before I ever heard of them… I just thought they were another New Wave band and I was all in. (Remember, this was more than a decade before the interwebs, and being able to find out everything about anything with a couple mouse clicks…) Their drummer at the time, Bill Bruford, became a big influence on me and I was totally obsessed by Tony Levin on this new fangled instrument called the Chapman Stick. They were like aliens compared to the music that was on the radio in the day, and if you met somebody that was into King Crimson, you knew you had found one of your kind. They were undoubtedly NOT for everyone.
Long story short, I’ve gone down the King Crimson rabbit hole, discovered the many variations of the band and their music, the lineup changes, etc., and for me that Classic 80s lineup of Belew, Levin, Robert Fripp and Bill Bruford was the pinnacle of the group. But sadly, I was too young in this era to have seen them play live and figured that ship had sailed.
Then a couple years ago I found out about BEAT, a group put together by Adrian and Tony featuring Steve Vai in place of Robert Fripp and Danny Carey (from TOOL) on drums, playing my favorite generation of King Crimson music. Unfortunately when I found out about them, I couldn’t make the show. I don’t recall why, I’d either already missed them coming through my area or I didn’t have the scratch for the tickets or maybe had tickets to another show that same week…I don’t recall. Nonetheless, I was bummed. Again, I figured that ship had also sailed, it would be a one-off, and I’d missed my chance to see Adrian Belew, one of my “bucket list” artists.
But a few weeks ago, much to my joy and amazement, I heard they were making another round, only this time with my all time drumming hero, Terry Bozzio, on the drum throne! So this time, there was NO WAY I was missing the show!
I have seen Terry Bozzio play a few times and he’s mesmerizing. I also met him a number of years ago, and he was just a fantastic guy. And I couldn’t wait to see how one of my heroes interpreted the work of another one of my heroes, Mr. Bruford! I’ve seen Steve Vai live before and he too was out of this world. If anyone can fill in for the genius of Robert Fripp, Steve is the guy. And I once saw Tony Levin when he was playing bass for Peter Gabriel many moons ago, but the bass in Gabriel’s music is nowhere near as tantalizing as his work with King Crimson. And as I mentioned, Adrian Belew has been a bucket list artist for me for decades. Between his work with King Crimson, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Nine Inch Nails and The Bears, he’s been a favorite of mine as a guitarist for 4 decades. The very idea of these four together on stage gave me a level of fevered anticipation that I haven’t felt since I was a teenager just discovering live music.
The Quarry Amphitheatre is a new venue for me, despite being around some 50 years. Evidently they did a major renovation of the place in 2017 and started hosting rock shows there, but honestly I’d never heard of the place until this show came along. Located on the UC Santa Cruz campus, which is only about 20 miles from home. It’s been dubbed “Red Rocks in the Redwoods”, but since I’ve never had the pleasure of attending a show at Red Rocks, I can’t compare it myself. (A Red Rocks show is another Bucket List item for me though!).
The venue was cool. Parking was a bit of a walk, but I’ve had worse. (Looking at you, Shoreline Amphitheatre!). But the staff was pretty easy going and once I found the entrance, it was a breeze. Nothing but Porta Potties though, so the ladies might be less than thrilled. But generally speaking, not too shabby. It’s definitely got a vibe to it. Kinda like the Greek Theater at UC Berkeley, but more natural and a bit smaller.
No opening band tonight, it was straight to business. And let’s be honest, who could open for this collection of living legends?!?
The band came on stage (promptly at 8pm, like true professionals) and right off the bat, they were firing on all cylinders. To be honest, it was a little overwhelming. So many awesome things happening at once, it was hard to decide where to look! Adrian, Tony and Steve were all in suits, like the old days, and they just ripped out one barn burner after another for about 25 minutes straight. And Terry? My goodness. I haven’t seen him play with such power and intensity since I last saw him play with Missing Persons. It was, to put it mildly, awesome.
They slowed things down at the 25 minute mark, with a newly written song, performed for the first time evidently. Then into an unhinged instrumental section , that started with what sounded like sound effects from an old Sci-Fi movie – played on guitar, mind you which somehow turned into a wild, syncopated guitar jam that I simply don’t have the vocabulary to describe. And then at the 48 minute mark, they broke for an intermission. Thank goodness for that, my brain needed some time to catch up with what it has just witnessed. It’s times like this I wish I were a better writer, as I have no words…
After the intermission they came back for another hour of non-stop, master class level virtuosity that was mind boggling. They played a selection of classics, some improvisational instrumentals and next to last, played my absolute favorite King Crimson song Elephant Talk. And then an encore on top of everything else. What a night! I’ve now seen things I can’t even describe. I’ve heard sounds from guitars that have no business coming from a guitar. I’m flabbergasted. Awestruck. Bewildered. And I couldn’t be happier.
I started seeing “real” bands play shows at the ripe old age of 14, and in the years between then and now, I estimate I’ve seen between 450-500 concerts, from small clubs to massive arenas and I can say without hesitation that from a strictly musical standpoint, tonight was the best concert I’ve ever witnessed. It wasn’t flashy, there wasn’t some crazy light show, no video screens, no pyrotechnics. Just pure mastery from each and every musician on stage. It was a night I’ll not soon forget. As it turns out, tonight was the very first night of the tour, which means not only will it continue to get better (which I can’t really even fathom) but it means you still have a chance to see them! They are on the road through December 3rd, traveling Coast-to-Coast. If you love music, if you appreciate true mastery of instruments at the highest level, you owe it to yourself to see BEAT. Let’s face it, these guys are no Spring Chickens – Steve Vai is the youngest of the group and he’s eligible to collect Social Security benefits! These guys won’t be around forever, and while I’m not gonna say there are no up-and-comers that may be great players, there is nobody that matches the caliber of these guys when they are together in a group. It’s literally a once in a lifetime experience.
Mr. Belew, Mr. Levin, Mr. Vai and last but certainly not least Mr. Bozzio, THANK YOU for an absolutely unforgettable night of auditory magic. It was beyond delightful and a dream come true for this music lover.
And to my readers, thanks for stopping by!
