![]() ![]() Instead, Wilson is forced to prematurely introduce the new touring band members, after which a third attempt at the song comes…not up to Mr. A second attempt results in “Pathetic!” His tech swaps out an amplifier while a concert-goer suggests, “Gavin knows jokes!” to fill the unexpected down-time. “It sounds like a banjo!” he exclaims as he actually stops the song. Just as the opening chord of “Even Less” is setting the stage for his signature slide guitar entrance, Wilson is not pleased with the tone coming from his amplifier. No question that this is a worthy modern PT classic. “Closure/Continuation” receives a large amount of air time during the first set, “Harridan” being the absolute standout with an incendiary performance accompanied by stunning video visuals. So, some of our cherished memories are jettisoned as Navarro ably covers the bottom end, end of story. But this is rock and roll and we do like our bands to stay intact, even if it doesn’t actually work for the musicians themselves. Not to mention his nod to jazz musicians who change their personnel out all the time, as they are more dedicated to creative evolution than loyal nostalgia. But Wilson has little regard for nostalgia, and plenty of reasons why it didn’t make logical sense to include Edwin in this iteration. Surely Navarro has no problem playing all the parts (though unfortunately the mix misses most of the subtlety of his playing and just wallops the audience with the deep notes through the subwoofers) but Edwin’s downcast smile and pocket groove are part of what the nostalgic kid in us loves about PT. Is Colin Edwin, the original long-standing PT bassist, missed? Yes, very much so. The disturbing videos of that “In Absentia” era are projected on the giant back screen and it does indeed appear that Porcupine Tree have returned from the dead.įlanking the stage are the new boys – Nate Navarro on bass and Randy McStine on guitar and vocals. It’s a spectacular if somewhat obvious choice, for many people this may have been their intro song to the band, perfectly mixing heavy distortion with acoustic guitar. Still shrouded in low lighting, Wilson already strikes a somewhat righteous pose as the opening intro of “Blackest Eyes” is played. But enough pre-concert chatter…on to the music!Īs the lights go down, the audience roars and the band takes the stage. Apparently this is also very much still a man’s band, as evidenced by the restroom lines which are about a mile long for men and non-existent for women. Wearing any color other than black in the audience will make you stand out and there are plenty of metal band t-shirts in attendance, a bit funny considering only a few PT albums have any metal elements on them and Wilson himself has claimed to be bored of the genre for some time now. The tour is curiously short, missing many prime markets for the band in North and South America, so any city which actually hosts a show is fortunate indeed. The air of anticipation is electric before the show begins. For many, it would be their first time seeing Porcupine Tree live, having discovered the band as the legend grew while being dormant. ![]() And here, finally, is the chance to experience those songs – and a wealth of back catalog – live in concert. ![]() Certainly the band thinks so, citing their collaborative songwriting approach as a primary reason for its success. But the overall sentiment seems to be that the band did a pretty good job (here’s our review). The internet having grown considerably during those dozen years, we can now hear thousands of different opinions as to whether or not “Closure/Continuation” is a worthy come-back album. ![]() While claiming this wasn’t technically a reunion (“ We never actually broke up.”), three-fourths of the quartet known as Porcupine Tree released their first new album in 12 years with the non-committal title of “Closure/Continuation”. The demand for revisiting Porcupine Tree finally has been quenched, thanks largely to the touring downtime caused by a pandemic, which led Wilson to scuttle touring plans for his last solo album “The Future Bites” – twice. ![]()
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