Porcupine Tree – Astoria 2006

artist website

venue

buy

It’d been a little while since Porcupine Tree played London, and certainly quite a while since any new music came from the English prog rockers, so in a way it was only too fitting that this night brought those two concerns together, supported to mixed receptions by Paatos.

Unfortunately, the approach Porcupine Tree took made the first half of the two hour show rather inaccessible to start with. Basically, they played a straight hour of brand new songs, none of which had names yet, which haven’t even been recorded yet. Some may appear on their next album, or may not. They all seemed pretty good (although nothing as immediately striking as some of the great songs from the last two albums) but a whole hour of nameless songs no-one in the crowd have ever heard before is a bit difficult to latch on to and remember.

The second half was thoroughly more widely enjoyed. With new DVD Arriving Somewhere now out, which was recorded on the tour for last album Deadwing, the focus was entirely on songs from Deadwing and its predecessor In Absentia. The roar which greeted Open Car at the beginning of the second set (the band took a five-minute interval) spoke volumes for the tastes of current Porcupine Tree fans. It seems the heavier direction taken on the last two albums does not sit too well with fans of old, with some even stating they won’t see the band again if the next album is like the last two. However, the majority of the band’s later discoverers consider the last two albums to be amongst their best, and as such, an entire hour set of material from those records met with few complaints.

Porcupine Tree have done so much in their career that it’s near impossible to like all of it, and such there will always be disappointed fans. The band do change up their setlists from tour to tour, and sometimes from night to night, so on the next tour there’s every possibility that fans partial to the heavier side will be disappointed in the same way fans of the earlier material have been recently. All must agree however, that Porcupine Tree are remarkable musicians and on a creativity level are surely England’s answer to the mighty Dream Theater in the current prog arena. Certainly more adventurous.

“ inaccessible to start with ”

Setlist: Fear of A Blank Planet / My Ashes / Anesthetize / Sentimental / Cheating The Polygraph / Sleep Together // Open Car / Sound of Muzak / Buying New Soul / Arriving Somewhere But Not Here / .3 / The Start of Something Beautiful / Train // Halo / Blackest Eyes

Photo: Chiaki Nozu | www.chiakinozu.com

Written by Andy Lye
More: Gigs, Progressive, Porcupine Tree