BEAT: "Three of a Perfect Pair" (show 2, Napa, CA) Adrian Belew, Steve Vai, Tony Levin, Danny Carey

[@railgraf]

I do not get these negative comments really. Steve - 64, Adrian - 74, Tony - 78. Are you seeing mistakes? Seriously? for performing compositions that in the best KC years were considered very challenging to perform? Jesus Christ - give your head a shake! It is amazing that they did it!

[@garyshepherd9226]

Doesn't mean I have to like the music of this era of King Crimson. I have already said I applaud them for doing it - and have seen Danny Carey, Tony Levin, and Adrian Belew live, and King Crimson, and Robert Fripp. I just don't like those 3 albums - so would not particularly want to watch Beat perform them. Sorry if that offends people!

[@xprophet9]

@@garyshepherd9226😂

[@tonyevans9999]

@@garyshepherd9226 that's cool, no one is forcing you. I love the three album launch into the market place, I love that it did exactly what Fripp intended. This is a different thing, with a different intention and that's also fine

[@DMDesignStudios]

They need another 6 months of practice. They are not road ready at all. They can do it, but obviously this is harder tgan than they thought. Belew is having to help all the others way too much. I am disappointed in Vai. They should postpone the rest of the tour

[@garyshepherd9226]

@@xprophet9 😔

[@marcinmioduski5748]

Adrian and Tony - time has stopped for them. Brilliant

[@bingefeller]

As amazing as Vai and Adrian are, I think the fact that Adrian can sing and play this part at the same time incredible. Even trying to play it is exceptionally difficult.

[@MawcDrums]

100%! Dude is a monster.

[@Phil_Trujeque]

It's not as difficult as one would think -- I played Adrian's parts and sang this in a cover version, and Adrian's part is much easier to play and sing to than Fripp's.

[@j.reveille6815]

I believe Adrian and Tony are the real stars but what a great band. It’s new and fresh. Drums a little heavier , guitar viaish and it’s cool.

[@loki3292]

yeah, I never got that main riff up to speed. Adrian's an underrated monster. No slouch behind a drumset, either...

[@michaelhudson2912]

he must love it when the chorus comes ha

[@nogbadthebad2609]

Band sounds great. How the hell can Adrian Belew play those complex repeating guitar lines AND sing at the same time. That is so difficult and he does it with ease. Hope they come to the UK.

[@rodneyfrothingham2579]

He wrote it and has played these songs for 40+ years. He is super talented as well. I’ve seen him play lots of these with various ProjeKcts. Can’t wait for Saturday!

[@nogbadthebad2609]

@@rodneyfrothingham2579 Such a unique guitarist too. Enjoy Saturday.

[@rscottsandberg9303]

Fuck the naysayers! This is brilliant! I saw the Double/trio twice and that was amazing, but this artistry is next level. I love how Vai brought his stylings and Danny Carey!… forget about it.

[@eduardoignaciomartinezherr7373]

Es posible que existan detractores de tremendo espectáculo?? No hay nadie más adecuado en los tambores que Danny! Y ver a Steve en algo más grande es simplemente alucinante!

[@jmtennapel]

The internet is littered with bitter old men (even if they are not that old by real life age) who think they know better, can do better and propose examples of what they think is better and good riddance to everyone who thinks differently, because they are the bearer of truth. Why those bitter old men never seem to be able to just simply watch something else, or upload a video where they actually show that can do better is beyond me. But I guess that if they could they wouldn’t be bitter, but joyful.

[@MitroSquad]

Loving the groove Danny gives to this song.

[@poxcr]

Adrian looks so happy! ❤❤❤

[@timwhite5647]

Always does.

[@Bronco541]

this right here is one of the reasons I got into music myself. I started listening to King Crimson when I was a teenager and one of the things that impressed me was the live performances and how much fun Adrian always seems to be having :D

[@drunk247]

This is the undisputed best tribute band on the planet. Absolutely Unfuckwithable!!!!

[@Sabzirou2]

So happy Adrian's singing this stuff again with Tony

[@JohnLloydDavis]

Vai is getting to flex his rhythm guitar player chops. This is probably a harder gig for him than the other guys. Sounds great :)

[@drumrnva]

I was thinking this too ... Although I was a little disappointed Vai didn't do a solo on this one during the bridge, like Fripp did. Ah, well.

[@willemniehorster9836]

@@drumrnva Vai is good, Fripp is beyond good.

[@chongzilla]

Yeah, big shoes to fill!

[@willemniehorster9836]

Belew and that Parker guitar.... AMAZING!!!

[@anthonyalfredyorke1621]

STUNNING, ABSOLUTELY STUNNING, Vai is knocking it out of the park, he's keeping it true to the original and still adding his own flavour. I saw him saying he has to alter some things because he needs to give himself some space and also NOBODY BUT NOBODY PLAYS LIKE FRIPP, THE MAN'S AN ENIGMA. Have a wonderful Week everyone and PEACE AND LOVE TO EVERYONE ❤❤.

[@peteytwofinger]

Tony is straight up killing it on his stick here huge huge huge thundering bass and it sounds so original - nothing sound slike that really so cool

[@danieledaroma1446]

Adrian is still a no.1: who could be singing and playing with such an accurate cool style???

[@MrStrawberry86]

Tony levin ladies and gentlemen holy shit balls

[@DarthGem1]

Just incredible, those solos, pffff... beyond real!🤘

[@lhair02]

i am so happy to see Belew and Levin reunited again for this band to play out the 80s KC material with Danny and Steve would love em to bring this to australia but alas a man can only dream

[@rodentcafeteria]

Nice to see (and hear) Steve Vai being part of the ensemble, rather than being front and center, the way he usually is.

[@keefroc]

Danny Carey doing a very respectable job on this tune. You can see that he's really concentrating. I'm glad that they are doing this and I'm stoked to see them live in a few weeks.

[@Jean-FrançoisDesfossés]

Indeed he looks stressed. He seems to do a more than fine job. It's interesting because whenever you look at Bruford's videos, the guy is one cool calm looking drummer. Always seems to make things easy and relaxed...When a guy la Danny seems to find it hard, you KNOW the guy had unbeleivable talent.

[@aiwass84]

@@Jean-FrançoisDesfossés looks stressed

[@shaunanderson6456]

One of my favorite King Crimson songs!

[@Gene-XL]

Always loved the vocal harmonies in this song!!!

[@ericarseneau1904]

Oct 15 in Moncton can't come fast enough. I don't know if I have ever been this excited to see a concert. I was lucky enough to see Steve Vai last year but never thought I would get to see Belew and Levin playing some of my favorite music ever. This will be a dream come true.

[@rogsolaris7411]

Music of this quality and complexity is sadly very rare these days... Most bands simply can't touch this level of skill. It reminds me of seeing Anderson Rabin Wakeman a few years ago. These are giants.

[@WinstonTexas829]

It’s so interesting & fun to hear an all American version of this band. The grooves are different. This is a wonderful celebration of Robert Fripp’s vision. I saw one of the first gigs at Manchester Polytechnic in 1981.

[@douglasjackson8571]

Video ended lost my train matchbox car of thoughts. Like Fripps vision of his Dizzy Knee Land. Yeah pun intended. That 1970 KC big band Mashup 40 years later. Without Belew singing his own 1980s KC lyrics .Iron Horse records heavy metal bluegrass. Les Claypool does Thela hun Ginjeet live at festival concerts. And now Steve Vai learns Fripp without the techno stuff. Tony and Adrian could have wrote some KC style songs but ???

[@Pneuma84]

Damn! Danny is flawless!!!

[@raibirsingh9016]

thank lord for the guy who uploaded.

[@cfibanez]

Brian, you're the man! I have 110 vids in my BEAT playlist so far and yours have the best camera angles. Super! Thanks.

[@jxwhad]

So great to hear Tony Levin so clear! Thank you!!

[@jorgealfaro7691]

Danny, you are the best disciple that could exist of Bill 🐙✨✨✨

[@lrrpdude8694]

You can see him doin the math.

[@Dan_Pearson]

He's doing an absolutely phenomenal job! There's not many people in the world who could do justice to Bill's parts. I'd really like to hear him pull back on the tempo just a touch on a couple of tracks. "Frame By Frame" in particular. It sounds like the others are really struggling to keep up with him at times.

[@jerryoutlaw3396]

So hypnotic and beautiful.

[@TheTobesOfHades]

thanks for getting all these vids, appreciated. seeing them in a few weeks.

[@johnmcinerney1135]

Looking forward to this in San Antonio.

[@martinlopez1353]

Great performance beautiful to hear King Crimson again !,despite Robert... and unfortunate for some people (not me), they're no playing the "Best" albums...

[@basilandrigsby]

Adrians voice is still awesome!

[@victormanuellopezlabra4273]

What a way to preserve his beautiful voice ❤

[@ginoabeyta311]

Finding their groove! Sooo good

[@vronsky1632]

This is great! COME TO POLAND!

[@The_Grays]

Love what's happening at 2:45 ++. Wow.

[@0keyholder0]

Nowe we can see how hard to play is this. Fripp was play this music for morning coffe

[@TheWickerMan1981]

Stoked to see them soon. Thanks for the upload!

[@bushjon]

Excellent

[@WinstonTexas829]

The JC120s & harmonizer vocals ❤️

[@lionelcorno1371]

I like what I've heard. I just wanna say the best versions of Bowie's Station to Station were from 77-78 and 1990. A. Below plaid the intro and the solos.

[@julipander5684]

Vai is the perfect guy to fit these ensemble. A guy whose huge technical proficency has enough credit here...

[@stevemaconi3348]

Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one. For me, I am looking forward to seeing them live next week and am very glad that they got together to do this tour. Sounds great to me, and if I am missing something that somebody else is hearing then I just do give a damn. Life is too short for negativity. Enjoy the music. Nobody else is doing it like this.

[@chriskoszewski9812]

Fantastic!!!

[@marvelherman419]

Much better. Sounds great. I love beat so much. Bb.

[@willemniehorster9836]

no, not much better, I saw KC in 82, believe me, it sounded better!

[@marvelherman419]

@@willemniehorster9836 i was not born yesterday one and two your opinion is meaningless. Certainly better than their first performance. Their versions in my opinion are better than the original. I have seen crimson. I have played music. Check your tampon. Take care now.

[@willemniehorster9836]

@@marvelherman419 if my opinion is meaningless, why did you even bother to answer it? 🤣 And of course, you have to insult me somehow to prove your point? Says much of whom you are... Vai is great but nobody can imitate Fripp.

[@mikaelolsson9123]

One of the best songs (if not the best) from this era of King Crimson.

[@chuckamok12]

Adrian a great singer

[@Alex_Martz]

Bummer there was no solo on this one, I was hoping for Vai or Belew to do something, actually Adrian Belew never played the original recorded solo live because it was mainly him just fiddling around with the knobs of a Ring Modulator, thanks for uploading these videos!

[@acarbonbasedlifeform70]

As I remember, Adrian did play a solo on a 1984 Live in Japan

[@Alex_Martz]

@@acarbonbasedlifeform70 Yes, he used to play solos on this but I meant that the original solo as recorded it's almost impossible to re-create exactly because he was just noodling and fiddling with the controls of a Ring modulator, anyone who has used an analog ring modulator knows they're very picky

[@soundcanvas1450]

Yeah , with the solo missing it’s sort of lacking an important element. Still great though

[@Hierophant11]

Weird, this forgotten solo. On the plus side, Carey does a good job imitating Bruford.

[@acarbonbasedlifeform70]

@@Alex_Martz yeah, you're right, I misunderstood your original comment

[@elmolewis9123]

Excellent!

[@hesherk2]

Danny on drum is insane. I really like a tool cover

[@LuRojas]

Killer!!!!

[@axegas76]

Unbelievable

[@MikeGervasi]

This is great for Steve. He needed this to get his focus back as you have to be tight to pull this off. He'll be a better player HAVING to do these exercises every night. I'm certain he practices but no one at the level of Fripp.

[@DonMacanaw]

Thanks for this Brian! Weird, I used to work with a guy named Brian Miller. He's retired now but a great guy. Leaving a comment to say that the sound quality is significantly better here than the SJ show. Can hear the low end much more prominently in the mix. Sadly though, Vai sounds too thin, tinny. But that aside, this is a big improvement in overall fidelity. Well done sir and thanks again! 🎸

[@felipesoto9548]

Mi sueño es escuchar esta canción en vivo, creo que nunca lo cumpliré:(, me debo conformar solo con los pocos registros en vivo que hay.

[@Hierophant11]

Why the elided solo?

[@herbyverstink]

belew.. you ol stud you

[@pelucherabbit]

Monsters!

[@oneminutefixed5003]

What happened to Adrian's strat?

[@GenusWelt]

Wtf I came here for my life favorite solo and they are not playing it, whyyy

[@RichLyles]

Yeah, that 4 against 5 type of stuff ain't all that easy to pull off live. They made it all look easy all those years but there's a reason it sounds bad-ass. Because it is.

[@TimUckun]

Hey let's form a band. You be you, I'll be me, you be Bruford and you be Fripp.

[@andreykomarov4294]

😂

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

Is it just me or Vai is having issues doing the harmonizations with Adrian? The last one doesn't look as tight as the first one.

[@sonysc4957]

🖤

[@Shiny-Beast]

I'm down with the scrappy performance but missed the lead break.

[@LittleManFlying]

Okay...! 🤗

[@xdtshoaquewea]

YOU RE SUPPOSED TO PLAY IT SAT DOWN STEVE

[@stonerdemon]

It's just ironic that this song is so groovy and easy to the ears (for your average KC song) but at the same time so freaking hard to perform as a band. These guys are sharks at their respective instruments, but it's clear that this is one of the most difficult songs on the tour for them.

[@elfferich]

Great to see this line up. In 1982 I saw the original line up. As a professional drummer I have to say that Danny Carey is maybe too much a rock drummer and this kind of music needs a more versatile , creative drummer, meaning jazzy, funky etc.. Not too much emphasis om the bassdrum/kick but more on the hands.. Sorry to be so critical.

[@seamusmcfreak]

Hey Brian, how would you compare Napa to San Jose(which I was at)? Based on the vid sound quality seems like the sound was better in San Jose. Still, epic show!

[@BrianMillerConcerts]

Very similar. The Napa show was outdoors, San Jose was indoors. San Jose sounded excellent from where I was sitting in Row D on the Steve Vai side. I was in Row G in Napa, similar location relative to the stage. I think there were a few very minor mistakes in San Jose, which were fixed in Napa. Each night they will get slightly better and also play things like solos a bit differently to keep it interesting for themselves.

[@seamusmcfreak]

@@BrianMillerConcerts yes, I thought they struggled a bit with Frame by Frame. Wish I could see them at the end of this tour.

[@DaveKeenertheking]

adrain wrote everyting for king crimson from discipline on tell he got kicked out of kc

[@garyprice6504]

Has a cross between C&W and Daft Punk going on... loll

[@barryberko]

It just occurred to me that the verses are a blues form, wtf

[@azngoku666]

there's an old video somewhere on youtube analyzing the guitar chords/parts and explaining how it's a secret blues song, yeah

[@adrianschamberger6679]

HaHa yeah I was just noticing that! Another one of those really weird blues….

[@rhinomechanics8423]

>?

[@arc323is]

Hopefully the first month of gigs gets rid of the rough edges ..

[@DMDesignStudios]

The road is not the place to practice.

[@eĺæþĥæń]

ŻAɓłŕ

[@henrycow203]

Who needs Bruford??

[@garyshepherd9226]

I know it is difficult to play and very intricate. But is it any good? Not sure I like this phase of King Crimson - after Red I meant. But I don't find this era that listenable. I applaud the brilliant musicians for doing it - but it is not for me.

[@somosterriblelocura]

Is it any good? ITS FUCKIKG GOOD

[@virgil5650]

Its not King Crimson...

[@garyshepherd9226]

@@virgil5650 I am talking of the music of King Crimson in this phase which I don't really like - which then Beat are playing. Well aware it is not King Crimson who I have seen live.

[@TheWelhaven]

My favourite era.

[@marcsullivan7987]

I love the 80s incarnation material

[@DaveKeenertheking]

tight but the sound is not there

[@lumpytapioca5062]

Should have gotten Mike Keneally. Vai's playing isn't sounding confident, and Mike can sing. This era of KC was centered on discipline. Without precision that discipline brings, meaning, impact, and it's reason for being are lost.

[@carloseduardopassatempo5392]

Vai no puede tocar este tema ... no lo puede arpegiar como robert ... esto no es KC ... es"otra" banda para mi ... ni mejor ni peor ... otra cosa .

[@StevenSiroVai1]

Oh yes I can, every single note.

[@DMDesignStudios]

Another 6 months needed to practice. I cant believe they are taking this on the road. Vai looks so lost. First time i have seen him with no confidence.

[@eraldopaulesu1267]

publishing such low quality videos with awful audio is harming the efforts of this band

[@Gene-XL]

There will probably be a deluxe video version at some point.

[@azngoku666]

i guess you need to go to some of the shows with your equipment then, and enlighten us all?

[@foodog777]

Buy a ticket then!

[@micksterminator3]

Im listening thru some 50mm akg over the ear headphones. Sounds way better than my phone mic would do to be honest

[@ianmacher3062]

Of course this is only my humble opinion and Crimson is and always will be my number one above anything else. But the truth is they are not ready and don’t know if they’ll ever be without Robert. To many mistakes. It’s like everything is everywhere and I don’t see any of them enjoying what execute. Only for moments perhaps but you can see, hear and feel it. Maybe in the coming shows they’ll be more cohesive and sound like a unity. I’m hurt.

[@gregorykurst6565]

ditch vai and go as a 3 piece ill be there

[@bluesful]

What? Why?

[@gregorykurst6565]

@@bluesful hes a horrible fit. He is polar opposite to Fripp. Vai is alike a ragtime player vs Fripp who's l ike a Mozart. Vai's adaptations, dances, demeanor, lack of execution doesn't do it for me. Id rather toss on the vinyl or original performance on KZbin. Just my honest opinion.

[@bertbosman1955]

Adrian doesn’t use a pick here! In this song, that makes sense because playing this with a pick is hard, but I never saw Adrian fingerpicking ToaPP before.

[@jamesleavelle]

Awesome!.... thank you!

[@pabulumdrummer]

EPIC!!

[@TheFissionchips]

Vai needs to be replaced with a technician like Ron Jarzombek. He just ain't cutting the Crimson cheese and looks out of place in the Zorro costume bs.

[@robertlivingstone3364]

Totally agree, his Van Halen type solos don't fit at all either

[@peter-ek3uh]

I could never relate to John Meyer in The Dead and company. So I won't argue with your point. But I am digging it. It's a new time for this older music!

[@seamusmcfreak]

Couldn’t disagree more. I’ve seen Crim 4 times, including in ‘84 when they were playing this music. Saw Beat in San Jose. Great show and I came away feeling Vai nailed it. His solo in Sheltering Sky was the stuff of legend. Even Belew gave him a fist pump afterwards. Frankly I think it’s the best stuff Vai has done. No Van Halen histrionics here.

[@TheContrarianMedia]

Surprisingly not great.

[@robertlivingstone3364]

@@seamusmcfreak Saw them too with Fripp, Vai doesn't fit, even looks out of place with the silly Spanish Matador outfit

[@WinstonTexas829]

It’s so interesting & fun to hear an all American version of this band. The grooves are different. This is a wonderful celebration of Robert Fripp’s vision. I saw one of the first gigs at Manchester Polytechnic in 1981.

[@DKStanford]

I really noticed that fact hearing Vai add his own style on Fripp's solos. He brings just a bit of a twang. And Tony and Danny are really bringing a more pronounced "funky" feel, which is more hinted at on the original incarnation. But yeah, keen observation and a topic that I'm sure will be central to KC's history.