REVIEW
The California Guitar Trio + Tony Levin
TU+4
At the Third Eye Gathering, Irvine, CA. USA
27 August 2004
This is done from memory, so it is a bit feeble. I should have made notes on the day, but what the fuck, I was just lucky to be there.
There was hardly a mad rush to the front of the stage, so The Missus and myself stood smack dead centre of the performance area. I hadn’t seen the California Guitar Trio since they last opened for King Crimson in the UK in1996. I am not a particular follower of their music, but I’ve always enjoyed their live performances and this night was no exception. There was a mix of old and new (as far as I know, but I am no CGT expert) tunes on show including an excellent rendition of Heart of the Sunrise, complete with Tony Levin on funk fingers – though the song was held up slightly by the loss of the aforementioned funk fingers. They are under the case, Tony!
With Pat Mastelotto on drums and TL on bass, the trio was expanded and I really enjoyed the more rhythmic stuff. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the new tracks from the band’s new “Whitewater” album. I had downloaded a track “Atlantis” from their website to familiarise myself with the material and so I recognised this one when it appeared on the setlist. My only quibble was that the sound mix was a little muddy and I even though I was standing at the front of the stage, it was hard to tell who was playing what lines – such was the cruddy sound mix.
The band finished with Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody and the mic was lowered right above our heads – so if there are any recordings of this, the two voices at the front were the Brits, doing their best to remember the words!
TU came on shortly afterwards and two vocal loops taken from Queen were used as a backdrop to some early noodling. It was quite weird to have Freddie Mercury in the room with us, but it made for an interesting experience. The TU band, made up from drummer Pat Mastelotto and Warr guitarist Trey Gunn, play improvised, rhythmic electronica. It is reminiscent in places to some of the KC improves, but is more for the hips. While you can’t necessarily dance to it, you can have a good jiggle if so inclined. It became a very intense experience and I felt a part of this music. Every so often PM and TG would begin to spar with each other, deliberately trying to catch the other performer out. This interplay was good fun to watch and lifted the performance. It’s hard to describe the music. It is quite different from the TU album. It is heavy in places. It will hit you in the chest if you let it.
At the end, the special guests came on and it turned out to be Tony Levin and the California Guitar Trio. The trio began with a circulation and the rest of the players joined in. This was a bit messy in terms of sound because when the electric players hit their stride, the poor CGT were wiped out of the mix. Luckily, someone decided to push the CGT to the max.
Overall, it was a good evening of music and something I would not be able to see in the UK. I came away very satisfied, but I couldn’t believe that more of the so-called hardcore fans didn’t make an effort to see this event. But hey, you guys are the losers. I travelled 5000 miles and it was worth the fucking jetlag and the expense.

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