KC have been one of my favorites for decades now... I'm not too huge on the current lineup (feels a bit "best of" I suppose Fripp's earned it), but I was lucky enough to catch the later incarnations of the Belew lineup live.
Their catalog of studio and proper live albums are great, but the rabbit hole of DGM tour recordings goes DEEEEEP lol.
There are a few absolute stand-outs from over the many years, and all this Crimson talk got me fired up for some particular favorites I've picked up over the years...
RME ADI 2 -> Topping A70pro -> FiR Audio Rn6 (
RED module)
https://www.dgmlive.com/tour-dates/371?year=1981&liveshow=on&page=5
DGM Live said:
The smoky, sweaty atmosphere of the tiny club is tangible; the place where Red makes its live debut – seven years after it was first recorded.[endtease]The ambition of what’s being attempted, let alone achieved, makes for extraordinary listening. Fast-moving and furious, even the somewhat raggy sound can’t disguise the fact that this is astonishing stuff. No wonder an excited RF noted in his dairy after the gig “This band will be colossal – it’s that good. For me, this is the band I’ve spent four years getting ready for.”Material that would form a staple part of King Crimson repertoire for the next twenty-odd years is lifted sizzling hot and startlingly new from the creative forge that was Moles. Mind those flying sparks! First released in 2000 as KCCC11.
Terrible recording quality, can practically hear the smoke on the tape. Doesn't matter in the slightest, the energy of this new lineup and resurrected Crimson is blinding through the murk... the dedicated listener is treated to proto-versions of Discipline's best tracks as well as some new takes on the European trio's highlights (including the first live performance of Red!).
https://www.dgmlive.com/tour-dates/370?year=1974&liveshow=on
DGM Live said:
Of this momentous concert John Wetton comments “If I shuffle off this mortal coil tomorrow that gig would be the one for me. That was the one…it was almost tearful, it was so emotional.” [endtease]Memorable for not only being the last date with David Cross but also for Fripp the first gig “since the 1969 Crimson where the bottom of my spine registered ‘out of this world’ to the same degree.” Of the improv, Cerberus, John recalls “It's very together. It's almost telepathic the stuff Bill and I are doing…The energy level is terrifying.” And so it is. An unbelievably poignant gig marking the end of an era but the beginning of something else. Just a week later with David Cross no longer with them, they entered the studio to start recording Red and just two months after that, King Crimson would "cease to exist." Please note that this concert has previously been released on CD as King Crimson Collectors' Club #10
From a beginning to an end... the final performance of what many consider to be the best Crimson lineup, wrapping up their 74 USA tour in New York. Hearing the last time Starless was performed by its creators is worth the price of admission but the entire thing is an absolute treat... this lineup's improvisation means each performance was a special event and this one is absolutely the apex. The prior evenings in Providence were used more heavily for the Great Deceiver boxset (and in further reduced form on the Starless studio album), but I think this was due to the much better recording quality available, as the performances here top them.
https://www.dgmlive.com/tour-dates/868?year=1994&liveshow=on
DGM Live said:
This is King Crimson’s first performance in front of a crowd since they had wowed the punters at Le Spectrum (documented on Absent Lovers) back in 1984. [endtease]Essentially a dress rehearsal in front of invited guests and the South American press, the tickets that had been made available sold out in two hours flat.
You can hear the first night nerves on tracks such as Vrooom and a slightly unsteady Discipline, though after an absence of ten years from the frontline such wobbles can easily be forgiven. . A brisk One Time and an exceptionally good Sleepless shows Adrian in fine voice, whilst the opening sections B’Boom has a hair-standing menacing edge. Elsewhere, Funky Jam makes it’s short-lived mark on the set-list for the first time – there’s a cutesy disco feel to the track which is appropriate considering that the venue used to be a premier dancing hotspot.
We’re used to hearing Vrooom Vrooom taken at an energetic sometimes breakneck speed but here it’s gone through in something akin to slow motion replay. Overall, this is a performance where a somewhat tired Crimso leaps and sometimes makes it to the other side.
This entire inaugural tour by the new 90s double trio lineup is absolute dynamite, but it's fun to imagine what those in attendance at this first show must have felt to hear and witness the new sound. The double drum configuration always seems to mean for spectacle with Crimson and hearing the idea take off on tour at launch... it's why I get headphones
