[Forgive the detail-deficient nature of this review. I tried to take notes in the darkened theater, but the discreet light from my phone near my lap apparently bothered the guy next to me. Because, despite the spectacle of seven world-class musicians performing some of the greatest rock songs ever onstage, a tiny flicker of cell-phone illumination in one’s peripheral vision is distracting. Cry me a river.]

King Crimson allowed no photos or videos to be taken during their shows on this tour. We heard the group’s members provide rationales for this policy over the PA. So the sold-out Moore crowd had to be content with enjoying the 19-song set in the moment, paying full attention to the intricate beauty and finessed power of seven musicians operating at a supremely high level of technical proficiency and inventiveness. It was a sacrifice worth making.

Experiencing King Crimson live, even in 2014, is like seeing a Kandinsky painting come to life before your eyes, with their baffling mathematical complexity, grotesquely bombastic beauty, and dramatic shifts in dynamics. Adding to the unforgettable experiences were the freakishly telepathic interplay among the three drummers (Gavin Harrison, Bill Rieflin, and Pat Mastellotto), the magisterial presence, uniquely sick tones, and iconic riff construkction [sic] of guitarist Robert Fripp, Mel Collins’ calligraphic sax and flute embellishments and oratories, Tony Levin’s subtly effective bass maneuvers, and Jakko Jakszyk’s tremendously emotive vocals, which captured Greg Lake and John Wetton’s firmament-filling bravado. If I have one quibble, it’s that “Red” felt kind of lumbering with the trio of percussionists. But otherwise, no complaints—except for the absence of "The Great Deceiver" and "I Talk to the Wind."

As you can see from the setlist after the jump, KC leaned heavily on their ’70s repertoire, for which I and many others were thankful. As with any unit led by Fripp, the familiar songs were not replicated with rote devotion to their recorded templates, but rather extrapolated on and revivified according to the skill sets of this particular, vital configuration of King Crimson. A scan of setlists from previous gigs on this tour revealed a scarcity of material from the first album, In the Court of the Crimson King. But one sensed that the band felt so rabidly embraced by the Moore audience that they decided to bestow a special treat during the encore. They proceeded to blow our wigs clean off with a devastating rendition of “21st Century Schizoid Man” (you know, that tune Kanye sampled? It’s the “Iron Man” of the MENSA set). [A commenter correctly noted that "Schizoid Man" has been a frequent show-closer on this tour; we're not special at all. I must've been looking at the wrong setlists.]

Everyone I spoke to afterward was gushing superlatives. This show was one for the ages. And not once did Fripp say, “Seattle! How ya doin’?! How 'bout those Seahawks?!”

Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One
Pictures of a City
VROOOM
Coda: Marine 475
A Scarcity of Miracles
(Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins cover)
Red
Hell Bells
The ConstruKction of Light
Level Five
The Light of Day
(Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins cover)
The Talking Drum
Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two
Hoodoo
The Letters
Sailor's Tale
One More Red Nightmare
Starless
Encore:
Hell Hounds of Krim
21st Century Schizoid Man