UNFINISHED SYMPHONY

While I can understand Elliott Davies’ desire to put the pandemic behind us [Bloody Well Write, Prog 122], that “consummation devoutly to be wished” isn’t entirely within our control.

I learned that lesson the hard way this week: despite being fully vaccinated, I fell ill and tested positive for Covid19. As a result, I’m missing what was going to be my return to live prog shows, cheering on Kansas at my local amphitheatre tonight. Now, I’m not looking for pity: I only have a mild case of Covid (and I’m recovering nicely, thank you) and my lovely wife has tested negative. So many others are worse off and have lost so much.

And every time the situation seems to improve, our societies are thrown for another loop. These are still “the

strangest times”, and they have been a disheartening slog for all of us.

Thanks to your efforts over the years, there are so many musicians covered in Prog that I admire and have loved seeing in concert, right up to those dreadful days of early 2020. Which is why I truly appreciated your Back To Live feature; you did a first-rate job mining the complexities of a quite unpredictable situation, and making sure we got a wide variety of perspectives on possible ways forward. Glad you made sure we heard from the fans as well!

I’m also grateful for the intestinal fortitude of King Crimson, my alltime favourite band, currently braving American shores (as well as the ridiculously complex paperwork involved) to preach the good news that music is our friend. If all goes well, I look forward to cheering them on live. Hopefully the first show of many more!

Rick Krueger, Michigan, USA