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The Porcupine Tree Corner


Uncle Skid

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Caught the Philly show last night. I really enjoyed it. I was impressed with them playing "The Incident" straight through, though I"m not sure all of its parts hold up well live. A few were standouts, including "Time Flies". There were a couple of technical glitches with guitar cables that seemed to annoy Steven Wilson a bit, but I think they got a laugh out of it after a while.

The video guitar thing was interesting - he played it during "Russia on Ice". Not sure if there were technical problems with it either, but he switched half way through the song.

Setlist:

The Incident

--

Start of Something Beautiful

Russia on Ice

Anesthetize pt 2

Normal

Strip the Soul/.3

Bonnie the Cat

--

Sound of Muzak

Trains

Overall it was a great performance, though I could quibble with a few of the song choices in the second half. A few mellower songs to divide the set up would have been nice.

King's X opened, and they were ok. They didn't blow me away though - most of their songs (at least live) seemed to sound the same - same aggressve sound/tone throughout. Maybe I'll check out some of their cd's to see how they come off in the studio.

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Great that you were able to see the show, and that you enjoyed. I'm underwhelmed by PT lately, I'll have to get the new cd and give it a try, but to my ears they're getting in a rut. Russia on Ice, Sound Of Muzak, Trains, meh, not too excited about that. I do not want to be a wet blanket, but I think that Wilson isn't doing anything different, which is okay, but he just seems stagnant to me. Sorry, I'm just down on PT right now.

Edited by Matthew
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Unable to see this tour, but I gotta say that I'm still quite excited with the music PT is releasing. The Incident takes a few spins to sink in, but details continue to emerge. The bonus disc doesn't get mentioned enough, some great songs on there, especially Black Dahlia which might be my favorite song on the entire album.

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I've been a fan for a while now, and I'm glad being are enjoying the new album, but I feel they've actually lost some of their uniqueness and that certain something that made them interesting ever since In Absentia. At the time I celebrated their embrace of heavier music but now it seems to constrain them. Their earlier work is so much more varied, unpredictable. Now it's all kinda samey and boring. Deadwing was the last album of theirs I realy enjoyed straight through.

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I tend to agree with just about everything you said, take5. I'd like to see them take a left turn in their style again, like they were doing for a while.

They still put on a fine concert though. I agree with Buzz about Start and Anesthetize - I also enjoyed quite a bit of The Incident live as well.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Been following this thread (and mentions elsewhere) with curiosity - so many references to the music I cut my teeth on 35+ years ago. I listened to a little on Spotify in early September - liked much of what I heard but wasn't sure I could cope with the Zepplinesque riffing (much as I still enjoy Zeppelin!).

Took the plunge this week and downloaded 'Stupid Dreams' and 'In Absentia' (after really enjoying a couple of pretty bottom heavy latterday Crimson albums over the last week).

Gosh! What have I been missing! Brought back floods of memories of what it was like to stick on a well crafted rock record for the first time and melt to the wonderful melodies. So much of this hits all the spots I recall - good songwriting, interesting playing, solos (!!!!), tracks that go on for a long time, spacey things, mellotrons (or pseudo-mellotrons!), the beauty of the electric/acoustic contrast, vocals that don't sound pseudo-oikish, guest flutes etc. For me the trump card is the skill at building really memorable choruses - layered vocals and that 60s/70s trick of shifting into an unexpected key part way.

Pink Floyd, Genesis, King Crimson, Zeppelin, Gong (yes, Gong! in their 'You' phase) all came rushing back.

Whilst in Cambridge on Saturday I also picked up the most recent album - for the first 10 minutes I was disappointed - seemed more grungish with repeated vocal lines that always drive me nuts but it then opened out nicely.

So many thanks to all who flagged this up. I hardly touch contemporary rock these days...the last band I enthused about were XTC in the 80s/early 90s! I think I've found a band here I can really engage with.

Incidentally, would I be right in guessing the critics loath this lot? Porcupine Tree seem to celebrate everything that critical orthodoxy has condemned since punk kicked in.

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Incidentally, would I be right in guessing the critics loath this lot? Porcupine Tree seem to celebrate everything that critical orthodoxy has condemned since punk kicked in.

Probably, though it's hard to say. Some of the indie critics favorite darlings have started showing proggy leanings, namely The Decemberists "The Hazards Of Love" But this album was also skewered by some of the publications that previously praised every warble or fart produced by Colin.

Metacritic doesn't go back very far but Fear Of A Blank Planet and The Incident got some decent reviews. It seems being ignored is more likely to happen now than having some big time magazine tear a work to shreds.

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I am a new fan of this band, though I have heard about them for eons, of course. I never got around to them, but I bought tix to their Chicago show last month. I bought the last four records the week before to get ready and I have to say that The Incident really drew me in. I have been listening to a lot heavier music lately - like Opeth, Mastadon and Meshuggah - so I really enjoy the mix of the Crimsonesque aesthetic, alongside Floyd, classic prog traces and this progressive metal edge playing out today. I don't see that sort of range in a lot of bands. Being a fan of lengthy, complex music, I certainly loved the "first set". I am a bona fide fan for sure now and in particular, Gavin Harrison is a fantastic player. I plan on seeing them when they come back late-winter/spring.

BTW - I decided with The Hazards of Love that I detest the Decemberists, after really enjoying them for the last five or so years.

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Steven Wilson's solo album Insurgentes is truly brilliant, a stunning record that allows him to stretch the envelope a bit more than he can do in PT.

I started listening to the newer era PT first and worked my way backward, I actually love it all.

I've also been on a kick with bands like Opeth, Mastodon, Pelican, Yob, Shrinebuilder, etc.

LOTS of really good progressive/heavy music out there these days.

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  • 2 months later...

Upcoming tour dates - Australia and a 2nd tour for North America, hitting places they missed on the fall tour. Further dates to be announced:

Feb 05 2010 BRISBANE, Australia: The Tivoli

Feb 06 2010 SYDNEY, Australia: Enmore Theatre

Feb 07 2010 MELBOURNE, Australia: Palace Theatre

Apr 14 2010 MEXICO CITY, Mexico: Teatro Metropolitan

Apr 20 2010 DALLAS, USA: House of Blues

Apr 21 2010 HOUSTON, USA: House of Blues

Apr 23 2010 ORLANDO, USA: House of Blues

Apr 24 2010 MIAMI, USA: The Fillmore

Apr 27 2010 ATLANTA, USA: Tabernacle

Apr 28 2010 CHARLOTTE, USA: Amos’s Southend

Apr 30 2010 CHICAGO, USA: Riviera

May 01 2010 CINCINNATI, USA: Bogart's

I'm tempted to see them in Houston, after seeing the Philly show last September.

Edited by Aggie87
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Thanks for the info, Agg. I'd like to see them live sometime -- PT sometimes seems so totally Steve Wilson-centric that I forget there are other players involved. At that's unfortunate, as I'm sure the other members in the band are great musicians as well.

Received "The Incident" as a xmas present. Hasn't left the CD player since.

Edited by Uncle Skid
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