Live Review: BEAT at Copernicus Center • Chicago

Brassneck | November 4, 2024

BEAT

Copernicus Center

Chicago, IL

November 1, 2024

Review by Steven Kikoen. Photos from San Diego by Marc Glassman.

Flashback to the Fall of 1981 when I was asked by friends to join them in attending a concert at the Park West Theatre in Chicago to catch the newest incarnation of one of the preeminent progressive rock bands known to the world as King Crimson.

Arguably one of the earliest examples of a progressive rock band to emerge out of what was to become the second coming of the British invasion, King Crimson was as single-handedly integral to prog rock as The Beatles were in single-handedly starting the initial rock group movement. Both bands, with their ever-evolving multi-genre identities, became greater than the sum of their parts. Crimson’s album, which had just been released in 1981, was entitled Discipline, which sent shock waves through the corridors of the music world and became the first of a trilogy of albums that would define the 80’s decade with some of the most ground-breaking prog that had been released thus far.

All one has to do is look at the quartet of musicians that made up the early ‘80s Crimson to understand how this collective so easily informed the new sound of the group at that time: Robert Fripp, founder and figurehead of Crimson on guitar; Adrian Belew, recently from Frank Zappa, David Bowie, and Talking Heads; Bill Bruford from Yes, and Tony Levin, from Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, and John Lennon’s & Yoko Ono’s last studio album (Double Fantasy).

With Fripp playing impossible arpeggios with break-neck speed and dexterity to Belew’s melodic finesse coupled with his otherworldly animal sounds cacophony (drawing instant comparisons to Hendrix as heir apparent), along with Levin’s low-end bass expeditions and newly adopted muse in the Chapman Stick, to Bruford’s unique take on progressive rock drumming with all of its odd time signatures, bravado, and the then state-of-the-art electronic drumming gear, collectively left audiences spellbound and wanting for more. To experience the 1981 King Crimson in person––when its debut album had only been out for a mere 8 weeks––was unprecedented.

Fast forward to the evening of Saturday, November 1, and the vibe at the Copernicus Center was palpable – not unlike how my companions and I felt in 1981. The Copernicus never looked or sounded as good as I experienced on this night – thanks in part to BEAT’s exemplary crew, as well as a nod to Scott Gelman of One Eleven Productions along with Danny Zelisko Productions. As Belew tells the story, he came up with the idea to reform King Crimson as an homage to their 3 defining ’80s albums (Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair) in pre-pandemic 2019 when he phoned Fripp to run it past him as the 40th anniversary of the Discipline album was approaching. Fripp was amicable in having an initial dialogue about the idea, yet ultimately declined the invitation––but not before giving his blessing to Belew–should he want to pursue the idea without Fripp’s involvement.

Belew reached out to the only guitarist he could think of who could do justice to Fripp’s parts yet still retain his own instrumental personality, and that was the impeccable Steve Vai. Vai was most excited at the invitation, but the idea was short-lived as the early 2020 outbreak of Covid 19 had other ideas. Two years passed before talks resumed for the new Crimson idea. Belew contacted Danny Carey, drummer for Tool, as Belew states that Carey was the only drummer that made sense to him who could cover Bill Bruford’s Crimson parts (Bruford was not available due to his retirement from live performances). Then, when original ’80s Crimson member Tony Levin’s tour with Peter Gabriel ended, he was available to join forces with his long-time Crimson comrade Belew, and BEAT was officially born.

The Chicago show began with “Neurotica” from the Beat album, and we were off to the races with its siren-like slide guitar work by Belew complimented with schizophrenic guitar lines by Vai. The “rap” style dialogue was pre-recorded by Belew and sat perfectly into the 4/4 time signature that produced a funky groove you can move to (was it really ‘only’ in 4/4!), with a 5/8 time signature returning––sans recorded rap dialogue––and back to the schizophrenic Vai lines. A great opener. The second song was the infectious “Neal and Jack and Me” from the same album, and BEAT performed it effortlessly.

Other songs in Set One included “Heartbeat,” with Levin’s lower singing harmony complimenting Belew’s wonderful tenor and making for such a strong hook, then “Model Man” came along with its avant-garde-meets-chorus groove, which featured Belew with a stunning array of slightly strange vocal intervals, seemingly created either by pre-recorded tracks, a vocoder, or a harmonizer on his vocals. With pieces like “Industry,” one could hardly believe the sonorities coming from the stage. Just as you marvel at Vai’s phenomenal output and choices of guitar/synth patch sounds, Belew steps up and equally astounds the listening observer into prog rapture. After a while, you can’t help but notice that Vai’s signature Ibanez guitar becomes the personification of his incredible sonic personality – just as Belew’s signature Parker Fly guitar becomes a visual representation of the whacky, eccentric, and majestic sounds emanating from him – and equally captivating the audience. An added bonus for guitar geeks: Belew resuscitated his iconic multi-colored Fender Mustang short-scale guitar earlier in the set that he kept on a stand under a black veil – until the designated time came to unveil it. He excitedly mentioned to the audience that he “only used the Mustang in 1983 and ’84, after when it had been relegated to join the other guitars on the wall of my home studio – “until now!” At one point, describing what we were all hearing and seeing this November evening became ineffable. The first set ended with the long-held Crimson staple from the ’70s, “Lark’s Tongues in Aspic Part III,” and was executed flawlessly.

One intermission later, we begin Set Two with a personal favorite: “Waiting Man.” It begins with an electronic drum solo by Carey, which then leads into the well-known triple-time signature pattern. Then Belew, originally a drummer as a teen, emerges from the wings to face Carey right across from him, drumsticks in hand, and weaving in and out of the triple meter pattern, at once playing in unison along with Carey, and then complimenting Carey’s patterns by playing in the space between them, just as Belew and Bruford had done all those years ago. It was one of many highlights of the show. Belew announced that the material in the second set would be culled from Crimson’s first two albums and that may have more audience awareness due to the fact the the ’80’s King Crimson toured those two albums more than they had toured the third one. And sure enough, with songs like “Frame By Frame,” “Matte Kudasai,” “Elephant Talk,” “Three of a Perfect Pair,” and “Indiscipline,” the entire audience was fully engaged with multiple standing ovations throughout the majority of the second set.

So, let’s talk about the elephant in the room––literally! Designed by Dan Ermey, the enormous black & gold Elephant logo that permeates all of the BEAT publicity, merch, and, of course, most of the back curtain at every theatre show was undoubtedly a topic of discussion within my earshot of the audience. So many were saying that it is not only the best King Crimson-connected logo; I overheard people saying it was their favorite logo ever. I agree; Mister Belew absolutely “stuck the landing,” to use an Olympic phrase, when he hired Dan Ermey to design BEAT’s Elephant logo. Fans of BEAT assume that because Crimson’s signature song has always been the perennial “Elephant Talk,” that must be the reason behind the logo. Right or wrong, the elephant plays; it just works.

The first encore piece was another opus from Crimson’s ’70s decade called “Red” (from the album of the same name), which, like “Larks Tongue,” just killed it. The final encore song was the great narrative “Thela Hun Ginjeet,” always a fan favorite.

On my way out of the theatre, I passed the merch table and noticed a very tall young man packing up merch. He was simultaneously engaged in what appeared to be an exuberant conversation with a few BEAT fans. As I passed by, I leaned over to tell him,” The shirt you’re wearing, and even you, look so much like Steve Vai.” He replied, “Well, that totally makes sense as he’s my Dad!” A very nice coda to a concert that not only met the expectations of ’80s King Crimson fans but exceeded them on a global scale. Everyone, including my newly acquainted young Mister Vai, was celebrating the elephant in the room.