Porcupine Tree- Melbourne, Australia 7 Feb, 2010

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Porcupine Tree-
Melbourne, The Palace, 7^th of February 2010

First of all, what an
incredible concert. I have only known of these guys from Hemel Hempstead,
England, for a couple of years, (they’ve actually been around for two decades)
but now I’m a dedicated fan. I’ve collected all their albums. Word of mouth has
been critical to the success of this band. Theirs is a story of hard work and
passion for music over hype, substance over style, grassroots fan campaigning
and support over haughty Rock God image. Decidedly left of the mainstream, they
blend prog, metal, psych, electronica, and alt rock influences into an
irresistible concoction with something for everyone. Indeed, the crowd for the
gig ran the gamut from fans wearing Pink Floyd t shirts to those decked out in
metal band tees (I found my way to the gig by following the guys dressed in
Dream Theater and Opeth shirts. I was adorned in my Led Zeppelin ‘Stairway to
Heaven’ shirt). And also, could it be? Girls (and not ugly ones) at a prog rock
concert? I kid you not. 

The first half of the
gig was PT playing the entirety of their new concept album The Incident, which
sounded incredible live. Even more atmospheric, energetic, and heavy than the
studio recording. If you’re not sold on the new album yet (I’ve heard ‘em all,
and I think the new one is among the very best), I urge you to hear it live. It
may change your mind. The second half was a selection of material from their
last few most recent albums. The setlist was as follows:

Act
one (The Incident suite)

Occam's
Razor 

The
Blind House 

Great
Expectations 

Kneel
and Disconnect 

Drawing
the Line 

The
Incident 

Your
Unpleasant Family 

The
Yellow Windows of the Evening Train 

Time
Flies 

Degree
Zero of Liberty 

Octane
Twisted 

The
Séance 

Circle
of Manias 

I
Drive the Hearse 

(Break)

Act
two

The
Start of Something Beautiful (from Deadwing)

Russia
on Ice  (from Lightbulb Sun)

Anesthetize
(from Fear of a Blank Planet)

Lazarus
(from Deadwing)

Way
Out Of Here (from Fear of a Blank Planet)

Normal
(from Nil Recurring EP)

Bonnie
the Cat (from The Incident disc 2)

Encore:

The
Sound of Muzak (from In Absentia)

Trains (from In Absentia)

I pushed my way to the
forefront of the pit. I had a really good view of the band, positioned right in
the centre, a few rows back from the front. I was metres away from band
founder, chief lyricist, vocalist, and guitarist Steve Wilson. (The band began
as a solo project for Wilson, the other members coming onboard fulltime for
third album The Sky Moves Sideways). I could see Wilson was performing the
entire concert barefoot, and could actually see his fingers working the
fretboard on his guitar. He even looked me in the eye at one point. The band
played tighter than a pair of 80s spandex pants. This was a technically
flawless performance, the only goof I noticed was Wilson singing the first note
of ‘I Drive the Hearse’ off-key and starting again. Oh well. 

Special notice must be
given to drummer Gavin Harrison, who was freaking incredible. He’s an extremely
good drummer, his solos in ‘Octane Twisted’, ‘Bonnie the Cat’, and ‘Way Out of
Here’ being particular highlights. He got a rapturous applause from the audience
at the conclusion of the set.  (Harrison joined the band in 2002 for the breakthrough album
In Absentia, replacing outgoing drummer Chris Maitland, a key turning point in
the band’s sound). Bass player Colin Edwin (from Melbourne, Australia; a fact which
went down very well with tonight’s crowd!) was also rock solid. Richard
Barbieri on keyboards added subtle texture to the songs, without being too much
in the forefront (he didn’t get solos like Muse’s Matt Bellamy or Dream
Theater’s Jordan Rudess). Touring rhythm guitarist John Wesley was very good,
too. He should join the band full time (I love his vocal harmonies with
Wilson). 

There really was
something for fans of all stripes. It was interesting to see. Opeth and Dream
Theater- heads were windmill headbanging to ‘The Blind House’ (a very Opethian
riff) and ‘Anesthetise’. Pink Floyd and Rush devotees were nodding in approval
to wistful epic ‘Time Flies’. Nine Inch Nails, Tool, and Marilyn Manson fans
were grooving along to the industrial syncopations of title track ‘The
Incident’ and the tech-metallish ‘Circle of Manias’.  Muse fans were fist pumping to more poppish efforts such as
the chant-worthy ‘Drawing the Line’ and ‘The Sound of Muzak’.  I love all facets of their sound. 

This was only their second
visit to Australia, and they were greeted by the ecstatic crowd with the
fanfare of returning heroes. It goes to show that hard work, word of mouth, and
dedication to the crafting of great music really can transcend the ‘mainstream’
and become a cult phenomenon. The audience were great. Very supportive, and
cheering the band on. I remember yelling out ‘Lazarus!’ and ‘Trains!’ when they
said they’d be doing songs from Deadwing and In Absentia respectively
(unfortunately, they didn’t listen to the guy yelling out ‘Hatesong!’ and
‘Strip the Soul!’). I certainly hope they come down here again. My only
complaint was that they didn’t play anything pre-In Absentia (except for the
heaviest thing they did before that record, Lightbulb Sun’s ‘Russia on Ice’).
It might have been nice to hear some of the older, more psychedelic stuff like
The Sky Moves Sideways or Signify.  And where was the Stupid Dream album, one of my favourites by
them? I guess a lot of fans discovered the band through their more recent
albums, and they decided to concentrate the setlist mainly on their heavier
numbers. I’m sure everyone in the audience had their favourites that weren’t
played. It’s a testament to how many good songs the band has, really. And they
haven’t officially released a live CD since the Lightbulb Sun era, so I hadn’t
heard many of these songs performed live before.

I don’t really
remember the support band, to be honest (local group Sleep Parade). They
sounded OK, but the problem was I, and most of the audience, didn’t know the
songs. I suppose everyone has to start somewhere, slogging around touring with
more established acts. They weren’t too bad, but they did play overtime, which
meant Porc Tree came on late, which meant I missed my train (ironic,
considering ‘Trains’ was the final encore!) and had to take a cab home!

I think a fellow fan
leaving the concert put it best, in a conversation I overheard about PT. (This
may be slightly paraphrased).‘They do their own thing. They don’t wanna be just
a metal band, or just a progressive band, or just an indie rock band. They take
little bits of all of these. One day, they write this song. The next, they
write another different one. They do whatever the hell they want’ Hear, hear.
Go and see PT if you ever have the opportunity. Highly recommended. 