Porcupine Tree - Seattle May 8 2007

I caught their opening night show last night at the Showbox theater here in Seattle, and let me tell you, I walked away completely amazed.

It's a great place to see a show, club-like and only 1200 capacity, so there's not a bad seat, but also designed as a theater so the sound quality is usually very good.  there wasn't much press or advertising for the show, so I was very pleased to see a near sell-out audience attending. Everyone seemed to be there for the music which was perfect for this band.

Opening act  "3" came on strong with a 40 min set taken from their new album Wake Pig. If you aren't aware, they are kinda Tool 'lite'. Heavy instrumentation, dark sound, but certainly not delving into the mysticism Tool is known for, more focused on castles and sci-fi. Lead guitarist and vocalist was incredible, playing with an open hand technique highly reminiscent of Claypool's work, except maybe more aggressive.  I did enjoy it enough to buy their album after the set was over.

This was my first time seeing PT, and it knida bowled me over. I've only been a mild fan (have 'In Absentia' and 'Deadwing' but didn't often listen to them), but on the basis of the show I will definitly rethink that stance. The band was energetic and strong and very tight. The heavy atmosphere of the "Blank Planet" theme was offset by how much they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Even a techinical glitch (video playback stopped and had to be rebooted by the drummer?!?) that stopped the main part of show was handled with grace. Wilson said they wanted to provide the best show, so we should bear with them, and then he launched into an acoustic version of 'Trains' which was beautifully done. After a couple of self-depricating jokes, they got back on with it. Even though I was unaware of much of the material, the quality of the performance roped me in and I found myself really having a good time. The hit a lot of their career highlights, all of 'Blank Planet' and some rarities thrown in. Great, great show.

They are tourng the whole country, so I highly recommend seeing them if they are close.

Set list on next post. Skip if you don't want any spoilers.

Yep, I was there too.  Wonderful show.  There was only one song I didn't recognize there, so I really enjoyed it. 

I had never heard of "3" before, but I found them to be entertaining.  Loved the keyboardist/percussionist and the slapping on the acoustic by the singer.

PT had a wonderful show, played each song perfectly with some fun surprises thrown in (I wont ruin any of these moments, but they do rock).  The songs that were very memorable for me were "Trains", "Open Car", "Anesthetize" (AMAZING live), "Blackest Eyes", "My Ashes", and "Mother and Child Divided".  I really loved them all, but those ones really stick out as being great.

I had gotten VIP tickets from the PT pre-sale, so I got the signed poster and t-shirt.  I went with four other guys my age, and they all loved it too.  These guys do a great job live, the projection screen is awesome (except the technical difficulty, which I kinda think was maybe planned...I'll wait and see), and the show was just overall very fun. 

These guys love to joke around which is always great (some good quotes from a particular movie which I wont name), and they all played well.  Jon Wesley did a great job with them, playing every song and playing some great solos too.

Everyone should go see this show.  The first band is a little bit heavy (for those of you who like the older PT) but still a great show.

Glad we had a shared experience.

I was in the bar area on the left (looking from stage) right at the rail.

I'm short so it offered a better view over all the giants who seem to reside in Seattle

I hope I get to see them play Sever live! 

darkmatter wrote: I hope I get to see them play Sever live!

I did (sold out) Seattle as well and it was my 6th time seeing them here.  They will be doing their usual return tour in Fall and I'd suspect Seattle is on the bill since they have always done Seattle twice a year.