21st Century Schizoid Band

[DTMX]

Normally I stay away from tribute bands - Mickey Thomas' Starship, Creedence Clearwater Revisited - you know, the bands with that one guy who was a latecomer to the original group in its final days plus some hired guns for the gig. Of course, jazz has its "ghost bands" playing Basie and Ellington, and groups like Sphere that explore the music of Monk. But jazz is by its very nature a creative music - so a jazz tribute would contain as much personality of the tributer (tributerator?) as the tributee, rather than a rock tribute that plays songs that "sound just like the CD (I fucking hate that phrase)".

But this one I gotta recommend: 21st Century Schizoid Band. I saw them in Atlanta last night and they were great. Granted, their pedigree is better than most - four out of five members were actually in King Crimson. Peter Giles on bass, Ian Wallace on drums, Mel Collins and Ian McDonald on reeds and keys, and Jakko Jakszyk (yeah, I never heard of him either) on guitar and vocals. I went on a whim thinking it would be neat to see Ian McDonald and Mel Collins trade fours (they didn't). The band's set is made up of the main songs from Court, Posidon, Islands and Starless from Red. The music is not treated as canon - with the extra members there are some nice new arrangements. The mellotron has been replaced by a Korg, there's grand piano onstage, and doubling the size of the sax section adds some new sounds to the old tunes. I have enough Crimson on CD to choke a horse so as I'm watching the set I thought "What would make me buy a live CD by these guys (available in the lobby) since I've already got the originals?". Quite a few things: the improvisation that bridges Formentara Lady and The Sailors Tale, the 3-flute intro to Cadence and Cascade, the ass-scorching version of Ladies of the Road, Ian McDonald's flute solo on I Talk To The Wind, the new Jakko Jakszyk (yeah, I never heard of him either) instrumental Catley's Ashes, a funky Cat Food, bluesy riffs in Schizoid Man, Ian Wallace live, and so much more. Only one beef: they shoulda oughta laid off the mello-Korg and played more saxophone - and threw in some of those Mel Collin's baritone sax blues numbers like Earthbound.

Thumbs up all 'round. 21st Century Schizoid Band Official Bootleg Volume Three: Live in Italy rawks. If you ever wanted to see the sax version of KC live (with extra saxophones) - this is the closest you'll get.

[7/4]

Jakko Jakszyk? I've never heard of him.

[Guest ariceffron]

THAT SUCKS THEY ARE NOT COMMING TO OREGON OR WA. JUST CALIFORNIA. THAT IS INTERESTING THEY DID STARLESS AS REALLY NONE OF THOSE GUYS PARTICIPATED IN THAT RECORD, BUT MEL COLLINS. BUT I STILL WOULD HAVE WANTED TO HER THAT THE MOST.

[DTMX]

Starless was their encore. Or the first one at least. Probably the only one since they did a meet-n-greet after the show. I was winging it home by then.

[Guest ariceffron]

i want to hear starless they need to play seattle i guearntee it would sell out