Porcupine Tree in Atlanta

[progdirjim(Admin)]

I should have written this before I subsequently killed a bunch of brain cells, but...

Dot and Dale and Dale's wife Sally and I met for dinner Saturday night, so introductions were out of the way early. Just Dot and Dale and I made it to the concert Monday night. Dale picked me up outside of the nearby MARTA (local light rail) station, and we met Dot outside the Roxy theater in the Buckhead (I think, Dale will correct me if needed) neighborhood of Atlanta. After an unremarkable dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, we went to the show. Grabbed some seats in the balcony of a charming yet dilapidated old theater.

Three opened, and in general, I was not terribly impressed. Mostly hard rock with all the typical metal cliches. However, the last song featured acoustic guitar in an almost flamenco style, and the keyboardist played miscellaneous percussion (congas with drumsticks? what is THAT?) - he added more as a percussionist to my ears. That song was nice, and long as well.

Then Porcupine Tree took the stage. If I had to describe them in one word, it would be professional. They opened with the title track of the new album, sounding great (and not as loud as I'd feared). A slightly disturbing (implied violence) video montage played behind them. I believe Anesthetize from the new CD followed (actually, there was a song from Deadwing (I think) in between). If I recall correctly, they played everything from the new album, and much of Deadwing and In Absentia. They also played an older unreleased track that was nice. I would have liked a few older tunes tossed in, but as bands build their back catalog, there's always going to be "I wish they would have played "X""

It was the first time I've seen Steve Wilson without sunglasses.

They announced that they were recording the show for a live album, resulting in insane cheering. That, combined with it being the final stop of their North American tour, I'm sure contributed to this being the best sounding I'd seen them (third time) - and they are ALWAYS good.

I also ran into the band at the airport on Tuesday, and briefly chatted with Steve. He was personable enough, but I got the sense they were ready to switch to "human being" mode rather than "rock star" mode, so I kept it short.

Dot or Dale, feel free to add comments...