BEAT Brings Court of the Crimson King to Las Vegas

^{BEAT, featuring former members of King Crimson with Steve Vai and Danny Carey, are doing only one show in Las Vegas, but the ’80s set promises to be special enough to merit its own felt at the Virgin Hotel’s Mohegan Casino. (Image: Facebook / BEAT Tour)}

This week marks the opportunity for Las Vegas denizens to step into the “court of the Crimson King.” On Friday, a band known as BEAT – former King Crimson members Adrian Belew and Tony Levin joined by guitar virtuoso Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey – will enter The Theater at the Virgin hotel and casino in Las Vegas for a one-night-only performance of a trio of the most influential albums from King Crimson. 

Tickets are on sale now through AXS.com and, from appearances, it will be a sellout show.

Unique Combo of Musical Display

The formation of BEAT is a unique combination of musicians and musical choices. Belew and Levin were a part of the legendary progressive rock band King Crimson during its 1980s heyday, and they are not stepping far from their knowledge bank. The show from BEAT will concentrate on three albums that represent the early ’80s output from King Crimson – Discipline (1981), Beat (1982), and Three of a Perfect Pair (1984). 

But, to bring these records to life, they needed to have musicians up for the task. 

First to join forces with Belew and Levin was Vai, the former Whitesnake guitarist who looked at the opportunity to play alongside those men as “an extraordinary privilege.” 

“(To play) some of the most beloved, timeless, and monumental music of the Eighties … resonates deeply with me,” Vai says. 

“Adrian, Tony, and Danny are unique musicians with an otherworldly insight into presenting rich musical complexities in a very accessible way,” Vai said, “and I am looking forward to searching each other’s musical minds in real time on stage.”

Carey was the final piece of the puzzle, saying that Vai and Belew “have always been a source of inspiration for me since the beginning of my career.” 

“There’s nothing better to make some sparks fly and light a fire under your ass than getting out of your musical comfort zone,” Carey stated, “and I can’t think of any other three guys that I’d rather do this with.”

Tour Dates and Venues

The tour is going to be a quick one. It just started in late September. The stop in Las Vegas at The Theater at the Virgin Hotel and Casino will be a warmup for the pop-up supergroup’s global livestream on Sunday, Nov. 10, from the United Theater on Broadway in Los Angeles. 

With concert dates running through December, BEAT will hit many of the casino venues that are becoming key to many US tours these days, including the Grand Sierra in Reno, Nevada (Nov. 21), the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana (Nov. 30) and the Tropicana Showroom in Atlantic City, New Jersey (Dec. 7), before swinging back across the country to close out the tour in California at the Yaamava' Resort & Casino at San Manuel on the outskirts of Los Angeles (Dec. 18). 

Historical Resonance and Rock Influence 

King Crimson is universally recognized as one of the finest progressive rock bands that have graced the stage. Originally founded in 1968, the band combined elements of rock, classical, jazz, and experimental music to create what was, at the time, an unheard-of new entry into the annals of rock history. The band’s leader, guitarist Robert Fripp, joined together with fellow improvisational masters in drummer Michael Giles, keyboardist Greg Lake, multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, and lyricist/vocalist Peter Sinfield to create the magic and mystery that became King Crimson. 

In October 1969, King Crimson released their debut album that would go on to reshape the rock and roll landscape. In the Court of the Crimson King tapped into the experimental side of the psychedelic wave and immediately hailed as a masterpiece. Success, however, brought with it massive changes as band members came and went, including founding some of the biggest bands in rock history. 

Lake would leave the band to partner with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer to form the eponymous band that would continue in a progressive vein, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. In 1976, McDonald would exit to become one of the founding members of the band Foreigner. A couple of other members who joined during the 1970s, Boz Burrell and Bill Bruford, would go on to greater success with Bad Company and Yes, respectively.

Fripp, however, continued to experiment and innovate. 

Joined by Belew and Levin in 1981, that version of King Crimson would create the trio of records that BEAT will pay tribute to on Friday night. 

Fripp continues to be one of the iconoclastic musicians in the world of rock, doing music his way (of late, that means doing interesting videos with his wife, singer/actress Toyah Willcox) and holding the King Crimson legacy high.