yesterday was like any other friday. just glad the week was over. except i was getting out of work to go to St. Pete to see one of the greatest guitar players in the world and the lead singer and guitar player for King Crimson....thank you Adrian Belew!!
  i got the Tortoise box set in the mail and we listened to it on the way there. (this is the music to save my soul, no doubt).
  we had dinner at Bangkok #9 (i'm eating sticky rice and mango for breakfast) and went to Daddy Kool record store. i picked up a Yo La Tengo cd and David Byrne's Rai Momo and a t-shirt of Iggy Pop from The Idiot.
  we waited outside the theatre. there were two or three people around. Adrian came out and said hi to all of us and left to go have dinner. he made sure he let us know that the grand cherokee he was driving was not his. it was a rental. Adrian is a loveable, goofy guy.
  we went across the street to a pool place and had, sigh, beers. everyday i become more like Frasier...it's sort of embarrasing asking for wine at a pool hall when you're with a beer drinking girl.
   we left, got in line at the theatre and waited to get in. it was hot and sticky as it hadn't rained the way it did on this side of the bridge.
  Jerry Outlaw opened the show. Jerry leads the Frank Zappa tribute band, Bogus Pomp. he played all new songs, which, well, sounded just like Frank Zappa's instrumental stuff. he played a tribute to Belew and Krimson sound man, Ken Latchney , who passed away recently. hell, even i remember Ken from previous King Crimson shows. Jerry played a beautiful, beautiful version of Frank Zappa's "The Black Page". that is truly one of Frank's greatest pieces.
  in between the shows you have the guys in their 40's and 50's talking about having seen Zappa in the 70's and how many times they've seen King Crimson, what tour, the time they saw Yes with Bill Brufford, yadah yadah yadah. it's always hilarious to hear these converstaions because sometimes they get the facts wrong--
  "Belew played in Roxy Music for a while, then Bowie and then Frank Zappa."
  Ade never played with Roxy and he played with Frank before joining David Bowie and Eno. then came the Talking Heads.
  and then....and then....Adrian came on stage. he was playing a trio format. he was all smiles and brilliant playing, looking straight at me in the front row and i was laughing back and nodding my head that his guitar playing was phenominal. his bandmates were 19 and 20 year old brother and sister who recently graduated from the real School of Rock. the girl looked like honie bee when i first met her, long curly hair and a beautiful but with an often indifferent look on her face. but this girl was really focussing on what she was doing. she had to concentrate on those intricate bass lines played by the likes of Adrian (on his solo albums), Les Claypool and of course, Tony Levin. holy shit. her brother was an amazing drummer. he was Adrian, John Bohnam and Bill Brufford put together. and still i'm not believing i was witnessing Adrian playing and playing so well with these kids. man. it was amazing.
  Adrian played an excellent selection spanning most of his solo career. he opened with "Writing on the Wall" and then....AND THEN....he played "Dinosaur" from King Crimson's Thrak album. then it was "Ampersand" and so on and so on. he played some solo stuff ala Robert Fripp with guitar loops and synth lines. he even did a cover of  "Within You Without You" by the Beatles. i had a feeling he would do a Beatles cover because he often does. i was curious as to what. he played an "acoustic" set including "Young Lions" (siiiggghhh) and "Lone Rhinocerous" which often makes me think of a friend. then the kids came out again and he played an amazing "Of Bow and Drum" (how the drummer could play all that is beyond me) and then....and THEN...."Big Electric Cat" from his first album....i was good then...and suddenly Ade asks the audience, "what time is it?"
 i thought he was ready to leave until he answered, "it's 80's King Crimson time!"
  the place just about fell apart with screams. i was so fucking excited and he went right into "Frame By Frame", going as far as aping his own parts and Robert Fripp's missing parts at the same time! holy shit. it begs the question, does King Crimson need Robert Fripp?
  then he played "Three of a Perfect Pair" and closed with "Thela Hun Ginjeet". they left the stage and came back for and encore....of "Elephant Talk"!!!!! it was so weird watching the bass player ape Tony Levin and do it so well.....
  i was blown away, honie bee was ecstatic. she seemed very happy. music had tempered my soul. we got an autographed cd and went outside where we ran into Peter Tush. we spoke, compared notes. Rayzilla interviewed Ade. Peter introduced us to the usual cast of artists, musicians and important people in St. Pete. the rest of the night got a little weird after that, maybe even dangerous, but we got home safely. i was wide awake and ready. things could have turned ugly when someone approached us with bad intent as we were breaking up our circle, but thankfully it didn't come to that. the music healed, protected. carried us home.
  i definitely forgot how to remember.