Porcupine Tree – Bristol Colston Hall 10/10/09
Firstly, the negatives: Colston Hall is a great venue, but the standard issue of three urinals per gents toilet is simply shite planning! Especially for a Prog gig with the male to female ratio the way it is, queues were somewhat huge making many a desperate patron suddenly develop mysterious injuries that momentarily allowed them access to the “disabled” toilet, only to be miraculously “cured” upon leaving a few moments later!! Also, what the fuck is up with people needing to head out for beer so many times during a gig?? Especially for a seated performance, this becomes a serious distraction.
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
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