Adrian Belew, the longtime guitarist and singer for Progressive Rock legends King Crimson, has dedicated the last three months of 2014 to performing live with his Adrian Belew Power Trio. Those looking to brush up on their Rock-n-Roll history will find while browsing through the Belew achives that not only has Adrian been a part of the aforementioned King Crimson, but has also worked with artists such as Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Tori Amos, Nine Inch Nails, and many more. Although it must be noted Belew is not currently involved with the newer version of King Crimson, he is not bitter about it. However, he does think that King Crimson belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, stating “I think King Crimson has created within and without me a huge body of work that deserves recognition.” Taking pride in the classic Prog music he helped craft during King Crimson’s, as well as a his strong stand alone career, Belew’s music runs the gamut from the progressive power of solo record Twang Bar King (1983) to the power-pop of tracks like “Pretty Pink Rose” that continues to please each and every long time follower. Getting the ball rolling for the year-ending tour on October 22nd, the 25-date North American trek came to the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona on Tuesday November 18th to play in front of a crowd of enthusiastic fans.
Beginning a little after 7 PM Belew was bursting with energy, and picked up on the crowd’s positive reaction immediately. Rounding out the trio drummer Tobias Ralph, and bassist Julie Slick felt the same sensation Belew did as they looked out into the essentially sold-out room. Slick, a former student from The School of Rock (San Mateo chapter) played bass, and has been with Belew for eight years now. The very talented Ralph(also with a history apart of the trio) seemed right at home on stage. Opening with a strong set of songs from his career, fans were ecstatic to hear songs like “Big Electric Cat” from his 1982 solo album Lone Rhino. With the time to perform two separate sets, the band played a strong and tight set of classic Belew songs such as “Dinosaur,” “Pretty Pink Rose,” “Young Lions,” and King Crimson standards including “Heartbeat,” “Three of a Perfect Pair,” “Neurotica,” “Walking On Air,” “Elephant Talk,” among others that all span his four-decade plus career.
Continuing along, Belew had the audience swaying and smiling to the endless stream of music emanating from the stage. Some songs were intentionally incomplete, and broken up by prerecorded sound effects that Belew orchestrated with grace. The evening was filled with a set to please the masses, resulting in multiple standing ovations until the final song “e”. Belew, grinning ear to ear, came out for a little intimate merchandise signing after the show sipping a martini and said, “This was such a fun evening.” With a career as storied as his, Belew is truly one of greatest guitarists in the world. The intimate Showroom Theater in Scottsdale was forever grateful for an evening of authentic Avant-garde Progressive Rock music.
Tour dates:
12/3 Asheville, NC New Mountain Theatre
12/4 Atlanta, GA Terminal West
12/5 Carborro, NC Cats Cradle
12/6 Annapolis, MD Rams Head
12/9 Dunellen, NJ The New Jersey Proghouse at Roxy & Dukes
12/10 Bay Shore, NY YMCA Boulton Center
12/11 Falls River, MA Narrows Center For The Arts
12/12 Laval, QC Salle Andre-Mathieu
12/13 Quebec City, QC Salle Sylvain Lelilevre
12/14 Trois-Rivieres, QC Salle J-Antonio Thompson
12/16 Gatineau, QC Maison des Culture
12/17 Toronto, ON Mod Club
12/18 Ferndale, MI Magic Bag
12/19 Indianapolis, IN Radio Radio
12/20 Knoxville, TN The International
12/21 Cincinnati, OH 20th Century Theatre
Coming out soon, Belew will be releasing an ambitious new app called FLUX:FX which innovatively blends music and art into an interactive experience that never plays the same thing twice.
Always thought the “Lone Rhino” was great. It’s my favorite solo album of yours