So my original plan was to just see this one show, since it was on a weekend. Like the 2008 tour, I chose to fly in during the evening of the day before, since thunderstorms are common this time of year. In hindsight, this ended up being a good choice.
Of course, I was able to meet with some of my fellow campers before the show, and we went to dinner.
The venue itself was very impressive, with outstanding acoustics, and excellent sight lines, as you'll see in the pictures below.
Humorously, the merch table was run the same person who has done the merch for Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson. Looking back at the history, I found my post from 2007. People were audibly complaining about the length of the line for the merch, saying it was the longest they had ever seen at a show.
Chuckling to myself, I was happy I loaded up on merch during the dress rehearsal show at the Egg, when the crowd was small. I guess some things don't change. ;)
The show itself consisted on a single set with an encore. As before the setlist had been already posted when I checked back at my hotel.
So, now that the tour is underway, I'll talk briefly about the music. As you know, the players are arranged in an unorthodox fashion, with the 3 drummers in the frontline, and the Sax, Bass/Stick and 2 Guitarists in the back.
The songs were selected mainly from the early albums, before the Adrian Belew/Discipline era. In particular:
In the Court of the Crimson King (21st Century Schizoid Man)
In the Wake of Poseidon (Pictures of a City)
Islands (Sailor's Tale, and the Letters)
Larks' Tongues in Aspic (LTIA pt1 and pt2, and Talking Drum)
Red (Red, One More Red Nightmare, and Starless)
The only new vocal songs were 2 selections from the Scarcity of Miracles, and instrumentals from Thrak, the Power to Believe, and the ConstruKction of Light.
Other than that, the two shows differed in this way:
The ConstruKction of Light Part 1 was played during the rehearsal show, but not last night.
The show last night featured Vroom and Coda Marine 475.
This show will be a treat for any KC fan, and for me the highlights were hearing LTIA part 1, One More Red Nightmare, and Starless. All classics in my mind, and songs I had thought I would never get to hear played live.
Here's hoping for a second leg of the tour in the near future, although there is something in my gut telling me that this may be Robert Fripp's Swan Song.
As Before
Tony Levin's road diary contains some excellent shots, at the following link.
I signed up for Tony's guest-list for the final Rehearsal Show of King Crimson, at the Egg, in Albany, NY. Since it was a Monday night, I thought that I might not be able to go, but the stars aligned properly, and it became a reality.
Preshow Dinner
My camper friends and I, all agreed to meet at the Hill Street Cafe prior to the show. Brian McGuinness gets the award for being invited to the show twice, once directly by Tony Levin, and indirectly by Tony, through Uncle Funk member, Joe Beesmer.
It was fun sitting with Joe and Brian, and reminiscing about the late 80's era Woodstock.
After dinner, we drove the short distance over to the Egg, for the show. Here the biggest challenge was figuring out where to park. For some reason, I forgot to take some pictures from the plaza in front of the main entrance, since the venue is very impressive.
As I walked up to the main entrance, there were even more people from camp. What a wonderful group of people.
The Main Course
The actual show commenced promptly at 7:30 and lasted a bit over 2 hours. Of course, no photography or recording was allowed, and I would have never dreamed to violate this request. The best you're going to get is this picture of the stage.
I was also going to wait until the first show tonight to post my setlist, but someone had already done it. You can browse the setlist here. If you don't want a spoiler, then I would say, don't click it ;)
I will say my favorite KC album was well represented in this setlist.
Post Show
Afterwards, I was able to briefly say hello to Tony and Pat. Robert surprisingly came out and spoke with some of the guests, but was eventually ushered off to safety, by the tour manager, as some started requesting autographs.
But for me the highlight might have been being able to talk Jakko Jakszyk, after the show. Jakko had changed into street clothes, and very nonchalantly returned without bringing much attention to himself. Myself, and two others had a great convo with him.
I also took a few quick pics of some old friends.
The Next Morning
The 5:30AM flight out of Albany to Chicago was slightly more bearable, with my two fellow campers from Texas, Mark Cook and Mike McGary. Now, to repeat this all again this weekend. ;)
Update
Tony Levin has posted a nice account of last night's show here.
So, I'm sitting in my Living Room a day after returning from my third TOAPP camp, absorbing the experience, and dealing with the inevitable exhaustion. Just like anything else, things evolve, and that includes the camp. So, I'm only going to talk about what was new, you can read more in depth accounts of my previous camps here and here.
Like 2012, Pat, Adrian, Tony, and Markus were there all week. This time around, all 4 were very focused on teaching. Once again, Markus provided scheduled one on one lessons, which were very informative. In my case, I picked up with the son and daughter on a U8 Touch Guitar. I made sure to attend one of every session type, and that included doing drum stroke rudiments with Tobias and Pat, which was a blast, BTW.
Every morning of camp, a dedicated few convened on the lawn with Markus, and did some polyrhythmic movement and clapping exercises. These got to be very challenging, and were also great fun. I came to the realization that while I had internalized some polyrhythms in my hands, things were a lot more difficult starting with the feet and legs.
The group jam, was replaced with a set of smaller jams spread over two nights. Tony, Pat, and Ade selected two songs each, such as Red, Walking on Air, Larks Tongue II, Happy with what you have, Elephant Talk, and Schizoid Man. Campers could then sign up for the individual slots. I played keys backing Adrian and some others on Walking on Air, and sang lead vocals for Happy with what you have to be happy with. I really enjoyed this.
Pat and Adrian had some shorter group recording sessions, which were intended as samples for a project in Pat's case, and Flux, in Adrian's. I attended both. I really enjoyed the chance to display my cymbow chops.
This year, the show at the Bearsville Theater was Friday evening, after camp finished, rather than Thursday. This meant that there was one additional full night, and we were able to do more things Thursday.
As a result, the last night, Adrian and Gary Slick (Julie's dad) sat around the campfire with us, and led us in a whole slew of Beatles songs.
Other matters
This time, I shared a vehicle with Cedric Theys, and chose not to rent a keyboard from Alto Music, figuring that there were plenty around the last two camps. Well, I won't make that mistake again. There was only one keyboard in camp in the Roadhouse. Perhaps next camp, I will have a touch guitar. I'm not sure, but am leaning heavily that way.
I also didn't contact John Esposito this time, and am regretting not staying an extra day, because he was playing a gig with Jeff Seigel in Woodstock, last night. But, I would have been forced to choose between his gig, and a gig Markus did in Beacon. Instead, I saw neither, returning to home to find the AC on the fritz.
Conclusion
Rather than attempt to do the equivalent of Dancing about Architecture, I'll just say that there is a great vibe around the camp, and it unbelievably refreshing to spend some time with some old friends, and make some wonderful new acquaintances, as well. I wish you could be there to see it!
What better way to follow-up the Corea/Fleck show than with my buddies from Stick Men? I found it kind of humorous that I not only knew the band, but about half the people in the audience. If you had me told a decade ago that I would be on a first name basis with musicians of this caliber, I would have never believed you.
To summarize quickly, SM played about 2 hours, with a healthy dose of new material. Here's the setlist
After the show, I spent the better part of an hour talking to Markus, Tony and Pat. Unfortunately, this was their last evening in Austin, before heading to the West Coast. I have to say, Tony's touring schedule is insane. He'll be doing tours with Stick Men, the Crimson Projekct, more Peter Gabriel shows, then finally King Crimson this year.
I probably should have taken a few more pictures. (Oh well) Tony Levin did take a selfie of the two of us, so hopefully he will post in the tour diary section of his site in the next few days.
All I can say is that I can't wait until August for my third TOAPP camp!
I try to keep tabs on the various musicians I admire through their websites. In the case of Tony Levin, I was already tracking his site in preparation for camp this past August.
On one of my regular visits to Tony's site last spring, I noticed that he was going out on tour with Peter Gabriel, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of So. After carefully looking over the tour dates, I zeroed in on the Red Rocks show.
I had always wanted to see a concert at this legendary venue, this show was on a weekend, the Ravens played on the Thursday night before that weekend, and I had close friends in Denver (no hotel required). Shot, score!
The Pièce de résistance came at camp. Tony had a sign-up sheet, and promised to try and get any campers with tickets to one of the Peter Gabriel shows, back-stage/hospitality passes. Browsing the list at camp, I could see that myself and 3 other campers would be present at the Red Rocks show.
Arriving Early at the Venue
The Park which includes the Amphitheater is in the foothills of the mountains, southwest of Denver. I estimate that it somewhere between 1,000 to 1,500 ft above Denver. The drive in is stunning and breath-taking, as you slowly climb the hills heading toward the large sandstone formation.
We arrived at the Box Office early in order to pick up the passes. I was given 2 passes. I used one myself and gave the other to my friend's spouse, who was also a big fan. She had enough wisdom to take a lot of pictures, some of which are mixed in with mine in this post. (Thanks Sarah!)
As you can see in the picture above, it is quite a workout walking up the ramp to the base of the amphitheater. The air was particularly thin for a low lander like me.
On the way to the entrance to the back stage area, I stopped to take a picture of the empty venue from the front of the stage. As you can see, the seats have a respectable slope. The capacity is said to be approximately 9,500.
The small group of about 20 of us was led to the Hospitality area. It was well stocked with drinks, and snacks. It was one of three such areas, that I observed. There was quite a bit of activity back stage, all well organized, and running like clockwork.
After a short wait, Tony arrived and welcomed us all.
Of course, one of the first orders of business was to take a shot with the 4 TOAPP campers.
While Peter himself didn't make back to our room, keyboard player, David Sancious, did stop by. Also present, as a fan, rather than a performer on this night, was Paul Richards, from the California Guitar Trio.
Guitarist David Rhodes was the last band member to stop by our suite. Here you see him posing with my friend, Sarah.
The Openers
Of course, the back stage fun had to came to an end. So, we found our seats in the amphitheater. Ane Brun was originally supposed to be the opener for this tour, but she had became unexpectedly ill.
As a result, Peter's backing singers, Jennie Abrahamson (on piano) and Linnea Olsson (on cello) played a set of Jennie's music. It should come as no surprise that the acoustics in this venue are exceptional, and this only enhanced, an outstanding performance. I am not familiar with Jennie's music, but have ordered a CD, after hearing her.
As the show began, a nearly full moon was visible above the stage, and the lights of downtown Denver were visible, down below, behind the stage.
Peter's Band takes the stage
The stage change over was completed in short order, at which time Peter walked out on stage, and announced that the show would be served as 3 courses:
The setlist seems to be constant during the tour. It contained several magic moments. Peter was also able to get the entire crowd to sing along, at several key times.
The last note of the show ended at 10:58PM. (Two minutes before the 11PM curfew). For the remainder of my days on this planet, I will never forget this night.
On the way out, I snapped one last picture of the crew breaking down the stage.
Post-show Update
Tony Levin has posted some of his pictures from the show. Tony Levin's page
Preparation for this trip was much easier, since I pretty much knew what to expect from last year. I flew into Newark Airport the day before, and spent the afternoon with some friends in New Jersey, before heading up to Middletown, NY. I crashed early, knowing that I was looking at some long days and nights.
Day 1
Waking up early the next morning, I headed over to Alto Music to rent some gear, and then drive up to Big Indian from the west. This trip is very scenic, and takes you by Rondout Reservoir, part of the NYC water system.
I arrived at the Full Moon about 45 minutes early, stumbling upon the entrance just as I was beginning to think that I had gotten lost. I immediately saw my friends Steve and Dawn Webster (from last year's camp) and Markus Reuter talking in the parking lot. Said hello to them and proceeded inside to get my keys.
After getting my room key, schwag, and throwing my suitcase in the room, I ran into Pat with Deb's son, Jeremy Minten (another Austinite). We walked to the barn, to help set up. John Sinks and Bob Frazza already had things well in hand.
Shortly afterwards, almost everyone else arrived, and we convened in the Barn to be welcomed by the band. Here they discussed the basic schedule (always subject to change), and took some questions. The rest of the day was filled with Happy Hour on the front lawn, dinner, and then a concert by Ade, Tony, Pat and Markus.
During the afternoon, I took John Sinks up on his offer from last year to learn about sitting and the first few exercises related to picking, from GC. He also showed me his electric mandolin, a very cool instrument. Later in the week I did something similar with Jim Lange, who showed me a few more GC exercises.
The day (or night rather) ended with the jams, kicked off by Tony Levin playing a blues with some of the campers in the Roadhouse. I spent my time in the Cafe jamming with several people, and had a great time.
The only problem of the day was losing some of the photos from my iPhone while transferring them to my laptop, due to a bad cable. Fortunately, I had a back up cable to prevent further loss.
Day 2
I woke early, and really enjoyed my coffee in the crisp mountain air. As you can see, the weather was beatiful. Mornings at the Full Moon are always punctuated by Breakfast. Once again, everyone I spoke to was very happy with the food service at the resort. You very much look forward to meal times during the week.
The morning began with a Q&A session about what it takes to run a band, and how this differs from being a session guy and/or side-man. Of course, the campers had plenty of questions, and the band relayed some interesting personal stories, particularly the mistakes they had learned from.
Later, during lunch, Pat had a copy of the first contract he signed. It was somewhat humorous in that it seemed like it was for an indentured servant, rather than a drummer.
Classes
Before lunch, the Adrian, Tony, and Pat held classes about the gear and techniques they use. These were very interesting, even if you don't play guitar, bass or drums.
The band of course, is also looking to learn from the campers. During the bass session a camper Mike, from Christchurch, New Zealand (the furthest traveler this year) got up and showed off his custom made, 10 string bass guitar.
After lunch, Tony Levin had prepared charts for Thrak in preparation for the Jam, on Wednesday night. The battle plan was to open and close with Thrak, and have a long improvisation in the middle.
The key parts of Thrak are that it has two accompanying parts one in 5/4 and one in 7/4. The lead line or melody is based on diminished (or symmetric) scales. Tony had prepared 50 copies of some handwritten charts in bass and treble cleft.
After class some enterprising campers with Sibelius on their laptops, transcribed these into prettier versions, as well as preparing charts in B flat for the one trumpet player in camp. People were rehearsing Thrak all over camp.
During the day and afternoon, Markus and Tony were giving private one on one sessions with campers, as lessons. I asked Markus if I could learn something about Touch Guitar, with no previous experience on any stringed instruments. He said, most definitely, yes. So I signed up for a session, Wednesday morning. (More on that later).
In hindsight, I wish I had taken the opportunity with Tony, as well, because he wasn't just doing bass lessons. He was talking to people about the music biz, and asking what their goals were. The feedback from Tony and Markus was positive enough, that Adrian said he was looking forwarded to doing one on ones at the next camp.
None the less, Adrian did teach several classes devoted to mastering the parts of Three of a Perfect Pair, and reviewing Frame by Frame. These classes went surprisingly well, particularly Frame. A class of 30 was divided into two sections, playing Adrian's and Robert's parts, respectively. At the end of the first session, it was listenable. A testament to Adrian's ability to teach and communicate.
The day ended with a continuation of the being in a band seminar, followed by another late night of jams, at the Roadhouse. One camper, my friend, Marco Machero, got an unexpected treat. He was asked to join the band on Red, and nailed it!
Day 3
My morning consisted of waking at 7AM, followed by the three S'es, then breakfast. The morning consisted entirely of classes, and my appointment with Markus in the Yurt, was a half an hour into Adrian's first class. Rather than go to that, I hung around outside the Yurt, and looked at the Esopus Creek. (Managed to spot a hummingbird in the process!)
For my lesson, Markus strapped one of his custom made U8 guitars, on me. We went over how to properly balance and hold the instrument, and discussed the overall relaxation of the body. I was able to draw upon what I have learned as a pianist, particularly from the exercises in Gyorgy Sandor's book, On Piano Playing, as well as my past experience with Tai Chi Chuan. The rest of the lesson consisted of some exercises called the Son and the Daughter. These exercises were consistent with some of the Acoustic Guitar exercises John Sinks had shown me, during the previous day.
I discovered through my conversations with Markus, that many of the people selected for touch guitar during GC, started as pianists, including him. Not surprising, I guess. The biggest problem for me now, the cost of a touch guitar. I must say after trying a Chapman Stick and the U8, I much prefer the latter.
At the end of the morning sessions, a truck showed up for the setup and load-in of about 50 Amps began, for the large Jam.
Wednesday afternoon also marked the arrival of the remaining ABPT and Crimson Projekct members, Tobias Ralph and Julie Slick. A quick rehearsal was held for Thursday's show, but nothing anywhere near as comprehensive, as last year. Unlike last year's camp, this year they were coming off of a tour, not about to start one. From the get-go, everything was already tight.
Some highlights of the rehearsals during the camp were that we got to hear them play Sleepless, and Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream, songs that they didn't play on the tour.
Other notable events occurred during the afternoon. The Full Moon Resort is host to multiple music camps, of which TOAPP is but one. While our camp was underway, Allman Brothers band drummer, Butch Trucks, was present with his manager, looking over the facilities.
Thrak Jam
After last years Jam, Tony decided to utilize a Crimson song as the launchpad, for the Mega Jam. This year, he settled on Thrak.
Charts were prepared, and classes setup to teach any camper with the desire, the key parts of the song. Pat conducted similar sessions with the drummers. I sat in on several of Tony's sessions, and decided to tackle the melody, which is based on a diminished, half-whole tone scale.
A smaller group of us joked about and an a cappella interlude, during the improv. We actually convened a mutant, barber-shop quartet to sing the diminished scale melody, accompanied by some drones. Tony thought it was a great idea, but when the actual time came, all of my cohorts backed out. ;(
The actual jam was about 40 minutes, and was a load of fun. The campers were joined by the entire Crimson Projekct, and Butch Trucks. Like last year, Bob Frazza, our fearless sound dude, made a recording of the jam in all of its glory. Tony then transferred it to USB keys, and one was given to each camper.
After participating in this for two years, I must say it's a lot of fun. I was disappointed however, that we didn't arrange a large group circulation. (Maybe next camp).
The night concluded with yet more jamming in the Roadhouse.
Day 4
The last full day of camp is a little more relaxed, mainly because other people were packing up the band's gear for the show at the Bearsville Theater, on this night.
Adrian did another guitar class, and then band held a Q&A session, in the barn.
Things died down to around 2PM, and a group of us older farts, took a nap in the lobby of the main lodge.
As we were congregating out front waiting for the buses to take us to the Bearsville, famed Jazz drummer, Jack DeJohnette, arrived and toured the grounds with Butch Trucks. It made me wonder what was being planned, but I didn't find out.
After about a 35 minutes bus ride. (Our crew took the short bus, of course). We arrived at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, for dinner and the soundcheck.
After the show, a significant number of the campers, the band, and families hung around a bonfire, down near the campgrounds. This went well into the night, with me finally crashing after 4AM. Just like last year, we hung out drinking shots and eating Doritos. (Thanks Stan!)
Day 5
The final day consisted of breakfast, taking a group picture and checking out.
Post camp
Unlike last year, there was no hurricane. I headed back up to Kingston after returning my gear to Middletown, and caught my old piano teacher, John Esposito's gig at Prospect Park, in Troy, NY. This put an extra punctuation point on the whole trip.
Only one question remains, When is the next camp? 2013 or 2014?
After attending the TOAPP Music Camp, I was a little bummed about the fact that tour wouldn't be coming through Texas. Fortunately, the winds of luck changed, and the opportunity to catch them on the second to the last tour date, presented itself. So, I made my plans for a one day trip to Nashville, TN.
Meet and Greet
The show was at the historic, Belcourt Theater. It's actually a two screen movie theater, with one of the rooms used for music, but typically acoustic acts. King Crimson however, has played there on multiple occasions.
One of the nice benefits of attending the camp was that I was able to attend the Meet and Greet, for any show on the tour, for which I had a ticket. I ate at one of the restaurants down the street and showed up at the theater door, at approximately 5:40PM. I did run into Adrian and Julie out front, and we exchanged hellos, as soon as they recognized me.
I got in promptly at 6PM, just as they were finishing their Sound Check. As it turns out, I was the only camper for this show, although I know from Facebook posts, that fellow campers had been present at many of the shows.
I must say, my life has taken a surreal turn. I was greeted by Pat as he came off of stage, saying with a big smile and handshake, What are you doing here? Glad you could make it! This made my night. Pat also let me in on some Austin dates for certain acts in the near future.
I had to smile to myself, as the other people in VIP were wondering who I was, and why the band and crew seemed to know me, not realizing that I had spent 5 days in Catskills with them all. Needless to say, rather than be an autograph hound, or get myself into pictures with the band, I opted for a picture of two of my new friends:
After the Meet and Greet, the band left to go eat dinner together, so most of us sat in the theater and picked out our seats in the first 3 rows. I plopped down in one of prime seats, right at the end of the row. The only mistake of the weekend was my forgetting my ear plugs.
Stick Men started the show with their 45 minute set. Markus was the only musician of the 6, not able to make camp, so I really didn't get to hear much of the Stick Men material, during the camp rehearsals. I knew they would be good, but I was blown away by the stoic, but amazing Markus Reuter.
Tony mentioned that both trios had agreed to save the King Crimson material for the Crim-centric set, but they had loophole, so they were going to play Breathless. All I can say is, Wow. Hearing this song from Exposure was a pleasant surprise.
After a short intermission, Adrian's Trio took the second 45 minutes set. It was equally powerful, and they maintained the full court press. I was further blown away by Tobias Ralph and pleasantly surprised when they played Young Lions, one of my favorites. ABPT also snuck in a KC song, too, Neurotica. They hit that one out of the park.
The ABPT set included:
Young Lions
Beat Box Guitar
Neurotica
Of Bow And Drum
e
Crim-centric Set
Crim Quartet
After a second intermission, the 3 Crimson Alumni were joined by Markus Reuter, who did an incredible job covering Robert Fripp's guitar parts. I also had to laugh at Adrian's intro for Red, when he said:
This next song is the oldest King Crimson song that we will play tonight. It's from before any of us were in the band. In fact, it was written before I was born.
The quartet played 3 songs
Three of a Perfect Pair
Elephant Talk
Red
Double Trio
The night ended in full Double Trio mode, and was thundering. This was as close that you could get to King Crimson, without Robert Fripp. I must also add, that it was nice to see the rehearsals and then a show at the end of the tour. It was interesting to see how much tighter they had gotten with a month of road practice.
They played the following songs, to finish the night:
B'Boom
THRAK
Dinosaur
One Time
Frame by Frame
Indiscipline
Encore: Thela Hun Ginjeet
Post Show
The show ended shortly after Midnight, and the other theater had a special Halloween showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I spent a little time afterwards, talking to John Sinks, Markus and Pat as they were packing up afterwards. I then went out to the lobby and looked at the merch table, and to say goodbye to Ade and Julie who were signing CDs and merch.
There was a woman at the merch table, with two young daughters. I quickly realized that it was Ade's wife, Martha, and two of his 3 daughters. I told Martha I would buy something, if I didn't already have all of the CDs on the table. She promptly produced a copy of the Acoustic CD, which I had to buy.
While waiting, I had to laugh though realizing that Ade's daughters (and in fact, anyone under the age of 30) has no idea what the Rocky Horror is. So, imagine the looks on their faces as a young waifish guy, in black fishnets, and a corset, walked through lobby.
Of course, when they realized I was a camper, his daughters started peppering me with questions about the Full Moon. Understanding why Adrian did not bring them along, and that they apparently had wanted to go, I made sure not to sell it too much. I did however, tell them that they had one of the Coolest Dads on the planet.
When I first saw the announcement of a 5 day camp in the Catskills, with 3 members of King Crimson, last winter, I made a very quick decision to attend. I sent in my deposit, sometime in April.
This trip was also a present to myself, leading up to my 50th birthday, and it also afforded me the chance to return to the Mid Hudson Valley (a place where I lived for the first part of my adult life), for the first time in over 16 years.
As I'm typing this now, I am sitting in my living room, a week later, digesting the experience, and the subsequent drama with Hurricane Irene. I must say, that the most striking thing about TOAPP camp, is the fact that it went by so quickly. I believe that if you informally polled the other attendees, they would all be in agreement with me.
I am sure that the band and their techs were totally exhausted. Unfortunately for them, they will have very little downtime before they commence a US tour, on September 19th.
Day 1 - Monday 8/22/2011
I started the morning by driving over to Alto Music in Middletown, NY, in order to rent a Kurzweil PC2. This was to insure that I would have an axe to play. In hindsight, this was unnecessary, as they had several keyboards at the camp, already.
I headed north out of Middletown, right after lunch, and drove directly to the Full Moon Resort, in Big Indian, NY. The last 15 miles of the trip were through some narrow roads through the wooded Catskills, coinciding with a complete loss of cell phone service. It's probably good that there was no cell service at the Full Moon, but it certainly was inconvenient.
After getting my lodge keys, and unloading my luggage, I proceeded to the Barn, where we were all greeted by Tony Levin and Adrian Belew. Pat was already inside, and all three conducted a one hour session, where they talked about the schedule and logistics for the camp. One of the suggestions forwarded by Tony was that we take the opportunity to network, since bands like the California Guitar Trio were formed under similar circumstances.
We then all proceeded to the Front Lawn for a Welcome Social/Happy Hour with an Open Bar, which was followed by Dinner. I must say that all of catered meals at the Camp were excellent. Every fellow camper that I spoke to, had a similar assessment of the food.
The night concluded with a welcome concert by Ade, Tony and Pat. Afterwards, three buildings were available for people that wanted to jam. Two of which were reserved for acoustic only, with the last, the Performance Space, available for Electric Instruments. The Perf Space also had a Cash Bar, and a Campfire outside. Thus started the first of four straight late nights, with matching hangovers the next morning.
The highlight of the day for me was hanging out around the campfire with some campers and Adrian Belew, and hearing about his two auditions with Frank Zappa, and his musical career, which included working with David Bowie, Brian Eno, and the Talking Heads, in addition to King Crimson.
I was also happy that Pat recognized me from Austin, and really made me feel welcome, when he saw me at dinner. Surprisingly, out of 75 campers, 5 of us were from Austin.
Day 2
I had no trouble getting up at 7AM. The temperature was brisk, and the weather beautiful, as you can see in this picture. I made my way over to the lodge for the Wi-Fi and some Coffee. A full breakfast was served every morning at 8AM, and really hit the spot.
The first part of the day was individual sessions. They were appropriately staggered, so that it was possible to attend all three.
Adrian - Songwriting and Adventures
Adrian spent quite a bit of time with two different one hour sessions, discussing songwriting, his effects and playing style. I was interesting to hear about how someone who doesn't read music was able to hold down gigs with Frank Zappa, and then Robert Fripp.
Adrian talked at length about how Fripp had taught him the Discipline material, and postulated that he was actually the first Guitar Craft student.
He also introduced us to John Sinks, his long time tech, who is also a Crafty, and lived with Robert Fripp for some time. I must say, both Ade and John were some of the nicest, down to earth people, I have ever met.
Pat - Electronic Drumming
After the Adrian's first session, Pat conducted a seminar on his Electronic Drums setup, and the tools he used, particularly Ableton. Pat's Tech for the camp, Adrian, is also an Austinite. You can see the two of them in this picture.
Tony - Bass and Chapman Stick
Before he started his session, I was able to spend some quality time with Tony, as he showed us how to operate his Espresso machine.
Tony first talked about his background and musical education, and how he came to be a professional rock musician. He also discussed his playing philosophy and style, and spent a lot of time talking about his equipment.
The second half of his session, was devoted to Chapman stick. There were at least 8 or 9 touch guitar players in camp, with most playing Stick, along with one Warr guitarist, and one touch guitarist with a custom made instrument.
A highlight for me was that Stick Enterprises had sent two 12-string, and one 10-string Sticks to the Camp, for the attendees to try. Two very experienced players in camp, Matt Tate, and Jim Meyer, very graciously spent some time afterwards with all of the Newbies like me, who wanted to give a Chapman Stick, a test drive. I took full advantage of this, and have the seed of an idea in the back of my mind to perhaps buy a Stick, one day.
Here's a shot of Matt, showing us how:
Group Jam
The highlight of the day however, was the Group Jam. All 75 campers, along with Adrian and Pat, convened in the Barn. Tony Levin was the conductor and stood in the middle of us with a black felt pen, and a notepad. He conducted the group, and wrote instructions to guide the group.
It was a huge helping of cacophonous fun. I had jokingly told a couple of people that if it was recorded, that we could release the record under the title, The Worst of Glenn Branca. (Little did I know about a surprise, later in the week).
The first surreal moment of the camp occurred for me during the Jam. I sat down at a piano, and looked to my left to see Adrian Belew, right next to me. I would have never dreamed that I would have been in this situation, in a million years.
E for Orchestra
After the Group Jam, a number of us stayed in the barn for movie night with Adrian. He screened his recently released DVD, E for Orchestra. It is fantastic, I've already ordered my copy.
The day ended with more late night jamming in the Performance Space, and hanging around the Campfire.
Day 3
Adrian and Pat start teaching
The morning started once again, with me waking up before the Alarm Clock. Adrian continued his session from the previous day. Pat also talked about how he and Bill Bruford arranged the double drumming for the 90's lineup.
The stories about working with Bill were fascinating. Bill had apparently said there were 5 levels of double drummer playing. He called the simplest, level 1, the Allman Brothers Band, where all the drum parts are just doubled, and you get the inevitable flam effects. They of course, were going for Level 5, and Pat said he thinks they achieved it. Pat continued and discussed how he was taking on Bill's role with Tobias Ralph, the current drummer in Adrian Belew's Power Trio.
Pat also talked a bit about Polyrhythms, and had the campers perform various clapping exercises, including learning parts of Thrak, with is signature 5 against 7.
Trio Rehearses 80's lineup material
Adrian, Tony, and Pat's held their first full rehearsal as a Trio, performing Crimson material. Before each song, Adrian and Tony talked at length at what they played originally, and how they would be rearranging the parts, for one guitarist, instead of two. In most of these cases, Tony was picking up the slack on Stick.
More surreal moments occurred. Like, hanging out on the front porch with Tony and 2 other campers, and just chatting before lunch.
5 Piece Rehearsal
Although the Two of a Perfect Trio tour will have 6 musicians, Marcus Reuter the third member of Stickmen, was still in Austria, and was unable to make camp. The members of Adrian's Power Trio, Julie Slick and Tobias Ralph, did make it, and arrived in the afternoon. So, we had a double trio minus one.
The rehearsals became more complex, and all 5 were playing material from the 90's lineup of King Crimson, the double trio.
Day 4
Morning
For the morning session, Adrian taught campers how to play the parts from Frame by Frame, and Discipline. This was very interesting.
This was followed by another 5 piece rehearsal, which sounded drastically more polished than the previous day. The pressure was on these guys preparing for the show at the Bearsville Theater, that night. It was particularly amazing to hear how quickly Pat and Tobias tightened up their double drumming, in just 24 hours.
For the rest of the afternoon, the band and techs were very busy loading up gear to head over to Woodstock.
Bearsville Theater
At 5PM, the entire camp loaded up in two school buses, and took the half hour drive over to the Bearsville Theater, in Woodstock. This was the first time I had been back to Woodstock, in 16 years. The time passed quickly, as many of the campers were doing the Thrak clapping exercises from Pat's sessions.
I thought I had previously seen shows at the Bearsville, but had mistaken it for the Woodstock Town Hall. No matter, this was also an excellent venue, with great acoustics.
Dinner at the Bearsville
After arriving and having drinks, dinner was catered at the club. A really nice touch, the bar and club were separated by walls with large panes of glass. So, we could easily see and hear, the setup and soundcheck going on in the other room, as we ate and drank.
The best part of the libations was the fact that the bar had a Milk Stout on tap. Mmmmm.
Soundcheck
After eating, the campers basically had free rein of the club, during the sound check.
Setlist
After another hour, they started letting the rest of the people in. I ran into an old friend and Bass player, Mike Ralf, who I hadn't seen in at least 20 years. We both recognized and remembered each other, but couldn't remember the specifics under which we had met. I think he auditioned for Tom Limbaugh's band.
The opening act was Joey Eppard, lead singer of the band, 3 (and brother of one of the founders of Coheed and Cambria). I had seen him open several times for Porcupine Tree in Boulder and Houston (where I spoke to him after that show). For this show, he was performing solo.
After reintroducing myself to Joe, we had a nice conversation. He is an amazing acoustic guitar player and singer, with a heavy Flamenco influence. Unlike the Del Castillo brothers ( from a Flamenco influenced act here in Austin), Joey plays steel string acoustic, rather than nylon.
The main act, my 5 new friends, started at around 10PM. They did 3 phases of the show, the Trio (Ade, Tony, Pat), Stickmen (minus Marcus), and then the Double Trio (minus Marcus). Here was their setlist:
Pat, Tony and Adrian
Three of a Perfect Pair
Elephant Talk
Sleepless
Red
Stickmen
Slow Glide
Adrian Solo
Something from E (I think?)
Two of Perfect Trio minus 1
B'Boom and Thrak
Dinosaur
One Time
Frame by Frame
Encore: Thela Hun Ginjeet
During the show, it seemed like a switch had been thrown. Everything was better and tighter than any of the rehearsals we had attended. It was interesting to see a group of professionals turn it on like this, at just the right moment. Their show went by too quickly.
Late on the Porch with Ade
After the show, we road back on the bus, and a group of us were anxious to hit the Performance Space, which was unfortunately closed. So we convened out on the front porch. We were eating Doritos, and drinking Vodka.
Pat, Tony, and Adrian arrived in a car, and hung out for a while. Adrian had his usual happy demeanor, and joined us on the porch. Pat and Tony mentioned they were leaving after about 30 minutes, to go to their cabin. Adrian turned his head and said "ok".
Those two left, without Adrian noticing, with his asking whether they had gone without him, some time later. As we said yes, he just shrugged his shoulders and continued talking with us. The whole group hung out at least another hour and half, finally hitting the hay at 3AM. What an incredible punctuation to our last night there.
Day 5
The camp wrapped up at 11AM. There were no sessions in the morning, we all ate breakfast and hung out. Right before everyone left, we all posed for a group photo.
Fun with Irene Afterwards
My original plan was to stay two extra days in the MHV, so that I could catch John Esposito's (my former piano teacher) gig. Hurricane Irene unfortunately intervened and the gig was cancelled.
Then, through a comedy of errors, that seemed like they were out of the movie, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, I did not return to Austin, until Tuesday afternoon. Two days later than planned.
Despite that, I would not have traded this experience for anything in the world, and I'm seriously considering returning next year. I already have one friend who is interested in going.
Other Blogs
You may be interested in reading Adrian's and Tony's blog entires about the camp, as well.
Updates
I'm finding other camper's blogs, now. Will link to them, as I find them.
