Their latest release contains a single, 55-minute piece of music. Earlier works are a 36:00 meandering combination of hard-edged guitar work, lilting acoustic work, and the kind of electronic keyboard sounds one associates with Pink Floyd at their trippiest. They also have songs that blister the ear drums, sounding more like Tool than anything else.
Often compartmentalized with bands like Radiohead and Marillion, Porcupine Tree is really just band-leader Steven Wilson's outlet for his musically fertile imagination. The fans crammed in to the Vic - and it was freakin' hot in there, more air would have been nice - while appreciating Kings X no end, was there for Porcupine Tree. I would have loved to see a two-hour set by Kings X, all on their own, but when PT came out, and blasted the opening of The Incident through the PA (which was either too large, too heavy, or both to be suspended from the ceiling, so was sitting on the stage; the folks on the floor could feel the sound) we erupted in sheer joy.
Live, the band projects a (good) weird vibe. Leader Wilson, who plays barefoot, seemed oddly reserved, almost shy. Keyboardist Richard Barbieri, for all that he creates moods at turns sinister, frightening, and soothing through his rack of keyboards, complete with iMac, looks more like a technician than a musician. Drummer Gavin Harrison's trap set is large, diverse, and he sits behind it, head hanging down listening for the cues for his breaks, his attention all on what comes through his wedges. Bassist Colin Edwin seems to enjoy nothing more than playing. When the music builds up to a release he really likes, you can see the smile on his face, then his eyes close very briefly, and he moves very slightly - I was impressed by Edwin more than any of the musicians because he seemed to appreciate the music more without having any need for histrionics of any kind.
I've been rocked at concerts many times. Musically, however, this was the single best concert I've seen. For all the first part of the show was completely new music (and they debuted another song off the new album last night, asking for audience indulgence because they needed to concentrate really hard), the entire show seemed, to me at least, flawless (except for something going wrong with Wilson's acoustic guitar at some point), the music by turns flowing out then suddenly beating the audience over the head. They ended their encore with "Trains", after announcing they would be back through Chicago on the second leg of their tour, sometime in the winter. If I had to guess, I would say that most of the people there last night will be back.
They performed this song last night, Wilson pointing his guitar at bassist Edwin who smiled and played the opening riff, his head moving ever so slightly to the rhythm. "Strip the Soul" is its name:
Virtual Tin Cup
