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. 

Thanks for the excellent review.  Brings back very happy memories of the Colston Hall gig in Bristol last year.