The Albert Hall gig was the second of two special fan orientated shows (the first at Radio City in New York) that aimed to explore the back catalogue more fully throughout an expanded three hour set starting with an acoustic opening slot. Wilson and the band came across extremely relaxed on stage as the first of many Cliff Richard references were made (Sir Cliff was in the middle of a run of shows at the Hall), and the atmosphere was intimate and friendly from the start. But this was never going to be a greatest hits show as was instantly made apparent by starting with two songs rarely, or never played live before: Stranger by the Minute and Small Fish. Considering that when Small Fish was first released in 1993 on the Up the Downstair album it probably sold less copies than there were people in the Albert Hall, it was a surreal experience. After five acoustic songs the stage was cleared to make way for the electric instruments, and as the house lights faded the familiar orchestral opening chord of Even Less faded in over the PA and, for me, the gig begin for real. But of course this being no ordinary gig we were instead treated to the full length 14 min version of the song. I’d been at a gig in 1997 when Porcupine Tree opened with this same long version of Even Less as an unknown “new” track, and then having to wait until 1999 for the song to appear on the album Stupid Dream albeit in truncated form. There were maybe thirty people in the room at the first gig, but 13 years on the song is if anything even more powerful as it blasted out to thousands of fans who all unanimously abandoned their seats in favour of standing for the vast majority of the three hours. Following up with a crowd pleasing Open Car from Deadwing established the vibe for the rest of the evening with longer, older pieces being interspersed with new tracks: in the “oldies” camp were such epics as the Sky Moves Sideways (phase 1) and the title track of Up the Downstair, both of which reminded the audience of a side of the band that has long since been left behind – dance influenced beats and long spacey improvisation that all sounded as relevant and thrilling now as anything the band has released in recent years. Wilson really let himself go on many of tunes with some great effects laden guitar solos at ear bleeding volume. In fact, the sound in general was easily the best rock sound I’d heard in that particular hall, with Steven’s voice in particular crystal clear above all of the intricate textures. The lights and visuals were also to the same standard, with the great yet disturbing robot animation for Bonnie the Cat really standing out.

The new album was not played in full as many had expected seeing as it was the last night of the tour, but a generous enough portion of it was played, possibly for the last time in a while – 13 months is a long time to be playing the same stuff over and over again – but it all sounded as good as it had a year before when I’d heard it at Bristol’s Colston Hall, albeit with a little less of the nervous tension that surrounds the early days of a tour. A final treat came in the encore in the form of one more epic tune – the centre piece of the Deadwing album Arriving Somewhere But Not Here. And of course Trains  rounded things off complete with Gavin Harrison magic trick and a mid song thank you to everyone that had made the tour such a success, including a slightly anxious looking lighting engineer who was giving Wilson the “look at your watch” hand signal as the band’s 11pm curfew was dangerously close.

I’ve been lucky enough to see a few special Porcupine Tree shows: Shepherds Bush Empire, the first headlining slot at the Astoria and the aforementioned “intimate” performance on the tail end of the Signify tour. This show probably beats the lot in terms of being “special”, but ironically there were so many unique elements to the three hours that it somehow didn’t manage to eclipse the show a year before at Bristol – not least because of seeing a complete performance of the Incident at that show, plus a few rarities such as Remember Me Lover and Buying New Soul. But, at its best Porcupine Tree at the Albert Hall were as mesmerising and powerful as any rock band, progressive or otherwise, could hope to be – and the real impression was simply one of celebration of all that they have achieved with hopefully a lot more still to come.

2. Steven Wilson – Cover Versions 1 to 6 (2010)

3. Kimara Sajn – Life Stories (2009)

4. Pat Metheny – Orchestrion (2010)

5. Anthony Phillips – Private Parts and Pieces (the whole lot…all 10 of em!)

6. Genesis – Selling England By The Pound (1973…not the remixed version!!)

7. Bass Communion – Chiaroscuro (2009)

8. Bill Evans – Explorations (1961)

Anyway, the gig! Porcupine Tree are the best live band in the UK today. There, i’ve said it! Possibly the best band in the world, considering the uniqueness of what they do. For those who have been living in a cave for the last few months, this tour features the band playing there 55min epic song-cycle “the Incident” for the first half of the show – and it was incredible. From the moment that Wilson and the band walked out and hit those deafening opening chords to the final acoustic arpeggios of “I Drive the Hearse”, the Bristol audience were treated to a masterful display of songwriting, musicianship, texture and dynamics. In a nice touch, Steven used the brief gap between “the Blind House” and “Great Expectations” to speak to the audience to say how great it was that every time they play Bristol they get promoted to a bigger venue.

And it’s true. My first Porcupine Tree gig was in 1997 in a tiny club with about 30 people in the audience that nearly ended in a mini riot when Wilson started having a go at the lamentable venue management (there wasn’t enough power to run all of the band’s equipment and no promotion had been done). Later gigs at Shepherds Bush and the Astoria showed how the band had managed to punch through all the odds to be a cult band with a respectable following. But i’m sure every long time fan has seen the difference in all aspects of the band’s promotional activities recently. It certainly felt different arriving at Colston Hall, with a wonderfully diverse collection of fans of all ages, proving that Porcupine Tree may not be “cool”, but as Frank Zappa said, “who give s a fuck anyway!”.

Highlights of the first set included the monumental guitar solo in “Time Flies” and the mesmerising animation that formed the backdrop for “Octane Twisted” – a deeply disturbing yet beautiful sequence that sees some bizarre robot type creatures causing a train crash…I think. All of the projections were great in fact – and there were even some dead babies thrown in for good measure to keep the Bass Communion fans happy! The sound was spot on, allowing even the most subtle of keyboard effects from Richard Barbieri to be heard clearly. Top marks to for the lights – simple yet effective use of colour without too many vari-lites going berserk, although those white lights on either side of the stage did burn permanent shapes on to my retina, but not to worry.

Set Two was mainly for oldies, that’s if you count everything from “In Absentia” onwards as being old of course. A decisive moment happened two songs in when Wilson asked the audience to stand up. It has to be said, the energy in the room increased enormously paving the way for a jaw dropping rendition of the middle part from “Anesthetize” – for me the absoulute highlight of the gig. That was, at least, until “Strip the Soul”. So, so, so very fine indeed, plus a nice segue into “.3″, also from “In Absentia”. Wilson had some issues with his in-ear monitor leading to some amusingly home-erotic comments from the crowd as his guitar tech fitted him with a new device – which can’t have worked too well as the audience’s over enthusiastic clapping nearly caused a train wreck during “Lazurus”!

Encores were the now obligatory “Sound of Musak” and “Trains”, and they were just the right thing too, after an intense show. All in all, it was a fantastic performance all round. Special mention should be given to John Wesley who’s role on 2nd guitar and vocals seems to keep getting better. Gavin Harrison played to his usual standard, whilst i’m fairly sure at one point Colin Edwin on bass managed to find the resonant frequency of Bristol itself such was the vibration that shook through the room!

You’re left wondering, with music as relatively demanding as this, can Porcupine Tree better this next time around. Although I seem to recall thinking the same many times before….

Setlist:

The Incident, Start of Something Beautiful, Buying New Soul, Anesthetize part 2, Remember Me Lover, Strip the Soul/.3, Lazurus, Way Out of Here, the Sound of Musak, Trains