There are some concerts that are destined more than others to remain part of the personal history of each one of us. Sometimes what makes an evening memorable is the feeling of being in front of something unique and unexpected. Sometimes it is simply the pleasure of finding ourselves pleasantly surprised in a world where we don't get surprised by anything anymore.

It's specifically feelings of this kind that our friend Guido Bellachioma has been working for years with his Progressivamente Festival: a series of concerts that often go beyond the mainstream, if we can talk of mainstream in the "progressive" context, going to discover again historical artists who, without hype, bring forwards their musical message.

One of them is for sure David Cross, the King Crimson violinist on Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red. After working for many years in theatre, Cross has started his solo path at the end of 80s', releasing some interesting albums such as Testing to Destruction (1994), Exiles (1998) and the recent Closer than Skin (2005).

In front of a not numerous but warm audience, David Cross has offered a play-list that was extremely intense and perfectly aligned with his sound - being "one stone's throw to metal", as defined by his comrade guitarist Paul Clark - dominated by the interplay between violin and electric guitar: grooves and cross-references typically Crimsonian, inserted in a coherent and effective way within the songs. Few solo digressions and a lot of work on the structures and metrics of the compositions.

On stage along with Clark, Cross and bassist Mick Paul - co-author of the songs on the latest two albums of the ex King Crimson member - were three young Englishmen: the clever Alex Hall at keyboards and sampling, the very good Joe Crabtree at drums and the convincing Arch Stanton at voice.

It's really the warm and expressive voice of Stanton (close to the voice of John Wetton and David Sylvian), together with the violin of David Cross that has been the trait d'union between present and future: from the songs of the latest Closer than Skin album - Are We One?, I Buy Silence - to the songs less recent as Tonk, Black Ice and the wonderful Calamity, up to the Crimsonian songs.

We had three extracts from Robert Fripp's band: Exiles, Starless and 21st Century Schizoid Man. The former has been performed faithfully sticking to the new version in the homonym David Cross album of 1998, introduced by a long keyboard and bass intro; the latter was performed as the encore sweeping away the audience with its raw energy.

Starless was without any doubt the climax of the evening: a precise rendition, complete and in my opinion the best I've ever heard - after the original King Crimson version.

The lanky shape, almost aside on the right-hand side of the large stage of the Stazione Birra, David Cross proved he was able to play his white violin with expertise, moulding it with effects pedals such as distortion and delay. In his eyes there is no desire for revenge, only the wish to remind the audience that many years ago, he was part of that adventurous King Crimson line up. For years, he told us before the concert, he has preferred to escape, hiding himself from a heavily conditioned heritage. Now that he has reconciled with his past, with his music David Cross has perhaps come closer to the hearth of King Crimson than King Crimson themselves.

by Paolo Carnelli : Wonderous Stories Magazine, Italy
www.wonderoustories.it