PT - Beacon Theater - NYC - 10-13-07
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Topic: PT - Beacon Theater - NYC - 10-13-07
Posted By: maani
Subject: PT - Beacon Theater - NYC - 10-13-07
Date Posted: October 16 2007 at 17:08
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This was my fourth time seeing Porcupine Tree, and they just keep getting better. One thing that helped was that everyone was actually in assigned seats; the last two shows were at the Nokia Theater, which is mostly standing room. (I happened to have a fabulous seat in the front mezzanine - and no one tall was sitting in front of me! LOL.)
The group opened with "What Happens Now?," from their new EP (Nil Recurring; see my review), a stunning, dark, extended, multi-textured composition, which literally mesmerized the audience into almost total silence. It was a tour de force opening, one of the best I've ever seen. They then dipped into a number of albums, including the most recent, Fear of a Blank Planet (Anesthetize, Way Out of Here, Sleep Together), Deadwing (Deadwing, Lazarus, Halo, Open Car), In Absentia (Blackest Eyes, Sound of Muzak, plus (I'm pretty sure...) Wedding Nails and Prodigal/3), Stupid Dream (Even Less, A Smart Kid) and Signify (Dark Matter). They also did Cheating the Polygraph from Nil Recurring. (Ironically, I had only listened to Stupid Dream for the first time the night before the concert, and was hoping they would do Even Less, which they did.)
As usual, the band was that seemingly impossible combination of loose and tight at the same time, and Wilson was far more relaxed (and genuinely humble!) than I had ever seen him. The sound mix was superb (once they quickly ironed the kinks out of Wilson's muddy mic and a too-reverberating bass guitar), and the light show was extremely tasteful, and perfect for the show.
The opening act, HeadFake, was a duo comprised of the bassist (Doug Wimbish) and drummer (Will Calhoun) of Living Colour. The music was a combination of metal, electronica, trance, and bits and pieces of rock, jazz, et al. Wimbish had a set-up that allowed his bass to sound like a guitar (for soloing), and a computer that generated either under-rhythms or bass patterns (while he soloed). Calhoun kept the beats, ranging from simple 4/4s to complex polyrhythms. Although the music itself was not bad (though the format became repetitive after a while), it would probably have come across better if Wimbish were not such a "theatrical" player, and both of them had not done the "New York!" thing to death; i.e., had they presented their music with a bit more "decorum" (not necessarily the stoicness of Fripp, but not the excessiveness of, say, Axl Rose), I (and others) might have enjoyed it a bit more. Still, despite the theatrics, most of the audience gave them the benefit of the doubt, and HeadFake successfully took them in.
All in all, a great evening at the Beacon, with PT giving one of the best concerts I have been to in recent memory. 4.5 stars!
Peace.
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Replies:
Posted By: Tony R
Date Posted: October 16 2007 at 17:49
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Great review Maani. I love "What happens Now" I genuinely believe it is a perfect song. I cant wait to catch the band again in December. |
Posted By: Chicapah
Date Posted: October 17 2007 at 08:37
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I will experience them for the first time a week from Sunday. Thanks for getting me even more psyched about it. ------------- "Literature is well enough, as a time-passer, and for the improvement and general elevation and purification of mankind, but it has no practical value" - Mark Twain |
Posted By: ProgBagel
Date Posted: November 05 2007 at 09:36
| I attended all the concerts you listed hahahaha. Anyway I don't think they played prodigal or .3. Where were you sitting at the Beacon theater anyway. |
Posted By: jikai55
Date Posted: November 12 2007 at 13:51
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I was at this concert too. Quite odd really, they played all the songs from Nil Recurring except Normal, which seems to be the one everyone likes most. Great concert though. ------------- 
I like cheese and I like metal! --Mikael Åkerfeldt |
Posted By: Aristilus
Date Posted: December 13 2007 at 07:37
| Saw them last night here in Glasgow and they were stunning. Two hours of beautiful music. Steven Wilson said they were having a rest and then recording a new album. Can't wait. |
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: January 07 2008 at 21:55
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I would have went to this concert as well...damn other things coming up.
Sounds like a great one...and  review.------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: ProgBagel
Date Posted: January 08 2008 at 14:54
Strange I thought Normal and Trains would be the encore. I couldn't believe they didn't play either. |
jikai55 wrote:Posted By: Statutory-Mike
Date Posted: February 17 2008 at 16:31
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OMG, that was an amazing show..I was there too....I think it was a great Idea of them to end with halo...also in my opinion Anesthetize made the concert for me...especially right in the middle at the really heavy parts...amazing show..and It was only my first time seeing them. ------------- 
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