Sic Semper Tyrannis

Adrian Belew Live at the Granada Theater 11/1/2006

I’m sitting here writing this in the odd confines of a service department waiting room. I wanted to get this down while it’s fresh in my mind. Last night, (Wednesday night), Jeff and Ryan and I went to see Adrian Belew live in Dallas at the Granada Theater. They were good sports for coming along, even though I am the one who is freakishly fanatical about Belew and his music.

First of all, the Granada. I had never seen a show there before. It was surprisingly easy to get to and parking was so easy it seemed like we were committing a crime, parking for free no more than thirty yards from the front door. And the usher was tearing our tickets just as Adrian and his two young musical co-conspirators were beginning their show with the blistering “Writing on the Wall.” We could not have planned the pre-show timing any better. The Granada is in a part of Dallas that reminds me of Western Ave in Northwest Oklahoma City. The venue itself is reminiscent of the Will Rogers Theater.

It was rather bizarre to walk up into a mostly empty balcony with the crushing rhythm of the Adrian Belew Trio as the soundtrack. I can’t describe to you the rush of walking into that room and seeing and hearing one of my musical heroes in person, so close that he could possibly see and hear me. It was just surreal. Until last night Adrian Belew didn’t even exist in the same plane of reality for me. He existed in my ears, on CDs, on King Crimson DVDs, but not in the same three dimensions as me. It didn’t seem possible. (Do I sound like a fanboy yet?)

But there he was, pulling off that strange beautiful music with more power than I had experienced before: the subs pumping when Julie Slick would play low down on the bass. (Insert comment about testicle-rumbling bass tones here.) We discussed in the car on the way down about the vague “something extra” that accompanies seeing music performed live. And I know I was certainly transfixed for the whole show. I know this music really well, so I can’t possibly give a clear, unbiased account of what occurred, but I can speak in some generalities.

The venue felt like just the perfect size for this group. They weren’t swallowed by a cavernous space and the mix was pretty clear and powerful the whole time, the vocals pretty comprehensible, those magnificently weird guitar sounds up front. As far as material, most of the Crimson standards were represented—Jeff and I sharing knowing looks during his new faves-“Dinosaur” and “Three of a Perfect Pair,” which sounded really powerful, as did “Frame by Frame,” "Thela Hun Jingeet," and “Elephant Talk,” off the Discipline album. The Belew solo material focused on the newest Sides 1-3 stuff: “Drive,” “Ampersand,” “Beat Box Guitar,” (which I have just recently come to love), and “Matchless Man.” But I was very pleased to hear some middle period stuff like “Of Bow and Drum” off my favorite album Op Zop Too Wah, which Adrian said he never got a chance to tour behind and “Young Lions,” both of which I didn’t expect to hear.

It’s quite a thrill to see music like this stuff pulled off live with such aplomb. Adrian seems to be having a good time up there, with his young band, making those odd meters and guitar gymnastics look pretty easy. And I haven’t even begun to discuss how great his voice is. But all things come to an end, as this concert did. (I could have listened to them for another hour and a half or so, my love for the music is so great.) And Adrian ended the show a little oddly, by improvising some loops with synth and guitar and creating “walk-off music” for the audience, inviting them to leave whenever they wanted to or hang around and listen to the music “do its’ thing,” betraying the musical Minimalist mindset that I have come to know and love over the years.

I haven’t smiled so much during a concert in a long time.

It was pretty easy for me to stay awake for the three hour drive back home.

posted by Mike @ 12:32 PM