Adrian Belew
Hometown: Burbank, Ca.
http://www.adrianbelew.net
Adrian Belew Concert Photos
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Cactus Cafe (Austin, Texas)
also:
Saul Zonana
To refer to the Cactus Cafe as intimate would be an understatement. I think my high school football locker room had more space. It's amazing that this tiny venue, which only holds 150 people, attracts such eclectic and noteworthy artists to its tiny stage. Nestled into the back of the University of Texas' Student Union, the Cactus Cafe has had such performers as Taj Mahal, Bob Dylan, and Chris & Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes.
It was at there that guitarman extrordinaire Adrian Belew, former member of King Crimson, literally packed 'em in, standing room only. Playing such a small venue really did make it a very personal experience, with Adrian taking time out to interact with many in the audience. This audience was nothing but longtime fans and guitar heads, too; nary a person under 30 could be seen.
Ripping through his own songs such as "Dinosaur" and "Big Electric Cat," he also took time out to play many of the King Crimson songs as well like "Thela Hun Gingeet" and "Frame By Frame" and "Elephant Talk." Supported, ably, by a brother and sister drummer and bass player combo, Eric and Julie Slick, whose combined age was less than anyone in the room, this show was an event to remember for the few people able to squeeze in. I was able to go to the show with a bunch of my old music crew from back in the day and we all sat basically front row, passing my cameras around like some electronic doobie, each snapping pictures from our own perspective in turn. While my cameras were put to good use by the others, I managed to capture a couple of numbers on grainy video using my cell phone and these can be viewed to the right.
After the set Adrian and band hung around to greet fans, take pictures, and sign autographs. Our crew hung around as well, being the last to leave. I got to ask Adrian a few questions, focusing on his new disc and his work on it with Les Claypool. He said that working with Les was great, he had worked with him before, and that he is as just like you would expect, as crazy as his music. He took time to take a few pictures with my friends, then we all headed off to find our cars, as Adrian and crew packed up for their next tour stop.
Opening for Adrian was solo artist (sort of) Saul Zonana. I am not very familiar with his work, but he sounded great, and certainly had a knack for interacting with the audience. He brought along his band in an electronic format to provide his rythym section as needed. His most memorable song was a song about a blow-up sex doll named "Bette". Poppy, clean, he is less daring and more mainstream than Belew's music, but a good match for the venue.