Thursday, October 13, 2011

"2 of a Perfect Trio" Comes to the Regency

Guitarist Adrian Belew, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Pat Mastelotto, members of Robert Fripp's King Crimson, have combined the forces of their trios, the Adrian Belew Power Trio and Stick Men, for the "Two of a Perfect Trio" tour. This double trio is touring the United States this fall, with select Canadian dates."It's a rare treat, both for us in the band, and for the audience, for three King Crimson members to be together onstage", says Levin. And the supporting cast are excellent players in their own right. They will be in full force next Tuesday, October 18th at the Regency Ballroom on Van Ness.

The performance will feature two sets with an extended encore of music all featuring King Crimson material. The show will kick off with sets by Stick Men, featuring Mastelotto on electronic and acoustic percussion, Markus Reuter on his self-designed Touch Guitar, and Levin on Chapman Stick; and the Adrian Belew Power Trio with Belew on guitar and vocals, bassist Julie Slick, and NYC drummer Tobias Ralph.

For the extended Crim-centric encore, fans will be treated to the three Crimson members Belew, Levin and Mastelotto, covering some of their favorite pieces from their work in King Crimson. "King Crimson is an elite club", says Belew. "There have only been seven members in the last 30 years. Having Tony, Pat and myself onstage, three legitimate Crimson players, will make this as close as currently possible to the actual thing."

To make this concert even more colossal, the trios will combine to close out the show. Then the others will come out to join us as a double trio, fairly well covering what Crimson had in the 90's lineup, says Levin. It should be a big challenge, wild music, and great fun. "Im very excited at the sound I hear in my head of this particular double trio," says Belew. Its monstrous.

Adrian Belew's resume reads like a who's who of innovative rock music: Zappa, Bowie, Talking Heads, Graceland, Downward Spiral, add in a 30-year stint as frontman/writer/guitarist/singer for King Crimson, 5 records with the avante-garde pop band the bears, and 20 critically acclaimed solo records and, well, you get the picture.

Tony Levin, a master of the 10-stringed "Chapman Stick", was also a long time bassist with Peter Gabriel and has played with many rock artists, including John Lennon and Pink Floyd. He's had 6 solo releases, as well as 3 Stick Men CD's. His website, tonylevin.com, has one of the longest running musician blogs on the web.

Pat Mastelotto, perhaps best known for pop hits with his 80's band Mr Mister and others like the Rembrandts, XTC, Jude Cole, Michael Penn, etc. After a 1993 world tour with David Sylvian and Robert Fripp, Fripp invited Mastelotto into King Crimson in 1994, where he has remained - contributing to dozens KC releases , two official DVDs and countless live shows.

2 of a Perfect Trio
Adrian Belew Power Trio
Stick Men featuring Tony Levin and Pat Mastellotto
Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, CA @ 8:00pm
Tuesday October 18, 2011