The ‘BEAT’ of King Crimson

The dancers pranced; the colorful video on the background scrim dazzled; the intricate light show was dizzying.

Nah, none of that happened at the Boston concert by BEAT. In fact, the two-set, two-hour-ten-minute concert was so stripped-down, old-school in its presentation — great musicians playing great music — that it was positively refreshing not to have the window dressing so common to most every live act now. Aside from the musicians, the instruments and the effects boards the only thing on stage at Boston’s Shubert Theatre Oct. 12, was the big image of an elephant head looming behind the band.

BEAT is the touring group comprised of King Crimson vets, singer-guitarist Adrian Belew and bassist Tony Levin (who has remained with KC forever and would likely be there if there was another one), plus guitar ace Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey. The project has been in the works five years— it was a matter of timing, clearing schedules to get this tour up and rolling — and, yes, Levin told me, it has been Robert Fripp-approved.

The idea was to feature the music from the 1981-1984 version of the band, songs from the albums, Discipline, Beat and Three of a Perfect Pair.

If you’re guessing the audience demographic was about 180 degrees away from a Taylor Shift show, you’d be right: About 90 percent male and mostly the AARP generation. No shock. No complaints. For whatever reason, prog is mostly a guy thing and if you see somebody with a walker or cane — we saw several — so what? They’re out and about, and they dig the prog. More power to ‘em.

The more complicated or lesser-known songs came during the first set: “Neal and Jack and Me,” “Model Man,” Lark’s Tongue in Aspic (Part III).” Belew acknowledged that early on before “Heartbeat,” then noting they would then “proceed from there.” And then, preceding “Elephant Talk,” midway through the second set, he said, “I thought that you’d probably like the second set a little better. That’s OK. We planned it that way.” Belew had a clever way of introducing “Elephant Talk”: “That was No. 1 on MTV for years — in an alternate universe.”

I’d concur with Belew’s assessment and the set began with a hypnotic, dreamy and a little spikey “Waiting Man.” It started with Carey alone playing a rhythm on a percussion stand with six drums, with Belew joining him after a few minutes to do the same, and then Levin and Vai taking their spots. Next up, the eight-minute-plus “The Sheltering Sky,” and not for the first time, the phrase “cerebral headbanging” entered my brainbox. You can admire the virtuosity, but you have to (want to) grasp the physicality of it all, too. I’m pretty sure the last time I wrote about Carey’s main band, Tool, I used that phrase, too. He was the perfect stick man to take over Bill Bruford’s spot.

But I think a more positive tilt toward the second set had to do with (re)learning the Crimson language during the first – the big roar with delicate dropouts and intricate interludes, the mesmerizing interlocked guitar parts (sometimes sounding like chainsaws, other times birdsong), the way all four players command equal attention. The first set put you in the mindset and the second — after a fifteen-minute break — built from there.

Vai, like Fripp, remained wordless and pretty motion-less (although standing, not sitting), letting his guitar do the talking and if you missed Fripp (cos, y’know he’s Fripp) going in, that thought dissipated pretty quickly. Sure, his stamp was all of it, but his physical self needn’t not be. (Fripp pretty much buried King Crimson in his last MOJO interview; then again, it’s been buried and resurrected before.)

Belew, being the singer as well as other guitarist, served as the frontman, and carried that role well. BEAT were not just four remote musicians playing for themselves; they were reaching out, performing. The rangy, mustachioed, shaven-headed Levin draws your eyes to him, too, as he moves between regular bass guitar and Chapman stick. In terms of the singing, I can’t say Belew’s vocals were clear, most were lost in the instrumentation and, though frustrating at times, vocals/lyrics are not really the essence of what these guys do or what you’re there to hear.

By the way, BEAT had Fripp soundscapes played during intermission and following the show.

Catch this incredible band while you can!

• Author
• Recent Posts

Jim Sullivan

Jim Sullivan is the author of Backstage & Beyond: 45 Years of Classic Rock Chats and Rants, which came out in July, and the upcoming Backstage & Beyond: 45 Years of Modern Rock Chats and Rants, which will be published October 19 by Trouser Press Books. Based in Boston, he's written for the Boston Globe, Herald and Phoenix, and currently for WBUR's arts site, the ARTery. Past magazine credits include The Record, Trouser Press, Creem, Music-Sound Output. He's at jimullivanink on Facebook and the rarely used @jimsullivanink on X.

Latest posts by Jim Sullivan (see all)

• St. Vincent Goes to the Symphony - June 10, 2026
• A Decade Without Prince - April 21, 2026
• Rob Hirst Was the Engine of Midnight Oil - January 23, 2026