Author Topic: The Incident Tour - Montreal, May 08: Long-winded story  (Read 1604 times)

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Offline setrataeso

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The Incident Tour - Montreal, May 08: Long-winded story
« on: May 08, 2010, 11:47:52 AM »
Okay, so here's just a rundown of yesterday, where I went to go see Porcupine Tree  :metal :metal in Montreal. So, yeah Spoiler Warning for those who don't want to know the setlists, I talk about it.

So, I'll preface this by saying I went with a bunch of DTF members. My pals Jacob (Global Laziness), Nic (Space Invader), Zach (Zachydou), and Ouda (Ouda) headed off to Montreal mid-afternoon yesterday. We stopped at a few different spots on the way to Le Place D'arts, and arrived at about 7:00. We all bought T-shirts except for Zach. The shirt selection was alright; not a lot of selection, but the designs were all pretty sweet. Anyway, we took our seats and awaited Bigelf.

The foursome came on stage and opened with The Evils of Rock and Roll. I recall this one from when they played PN09 last summer, and I still love it. These guys seemed to be pretty on last night, and performance-wise were a joy to watch. They followed with Neuropsychopathic Eye, and Pain Killers (a song they dubbed "for the ladies"). I felt bad for Bigelf, though. The crowd was not overly receptive, which surprised me, considering there were a lot of old fogies in the crowd, and this seemed like it would have been right up their alley. When the singer asked if anyone had bought Hex or Cheat the Gallows, from where we were sitting, it sounded like 3 people responded. Anyway, they continued with Bats in the Belfry, and Hydra. I like these tunes a lot, and I was hoping they'd pull out Hydra. They closed with "Money Medley" which consisted of Money, It's Pure Evil and Money Machine. They got a standing ovation, and the crowd seemed far more receptive by the end of the set. My buddy Ouda instantly headed over to the merch stand and picked up both Hex and Cheat the Gallows. I guess he liked Bigelf :P After attempting unsuccessfully to chat up some girls behind us, we took our seats in anticipation of Porcupine Tree.

The lights dimmed, the silhouettes of the band members appeared, and the curtain raised. When the first note of Occam's Razor rung through the gallery, everyone cheered. They proceeded to play the entire first CD of The Incident. Standouts were Blind House, Drawing the Line, Time Flies, and I Drive the Hearse. When Steven came on and sat down with his acoustic guitar, and played the memorable opening to Time Flies, the crowd was practically on its feet (although not quite, the first set seemed to be, unfortunately, a "sit down set", which Steven Wilson commented on, asking the crowd to stand up when the second set started). The rear-screen projections were a real treat to watch, and were sometimes more animated then the band. In particular, the section The Incident provided a very cool backdrop (and the shirt I purchased was based off of the art in that song). Wilson did talk to the crowd a bit in between movements, and seemed to be in high-spirits, commenting on the beauty of the concert hall, and joking around with some fans in the front row. Anyways, the first set ended and we stood up and stretched for 10 minutes. At this point, my friend Nic had been anxiously debating buying Steven Wilson's solo album Insurgentes, and decided to grab it during this break, while Ouda went off and got a second beer (a second underage beer, mind you). I vowed I'd be standing during the second set, so when the second set started, Jacob and I got on our feet. No one else did. Granted, we were in the balcony, and there seemed to be less of an incentive to rock out up there, so Jacob and I headed to the back wall, where we could stand and have a good time.

The second set opened with Hatesong, which I was not expecting. Considering I've been keeping up to date with PT setlists throughout this whole leg of the tour, I had an idea of what to expect, but Hatesong did surprise me. Nic joined Jacob and I partway through the song, so we left all the loser friends to sitting down and being lame. They followed with Buying New Soul, another song I was not expecting (they usually play Russia on Ice in this spot). The song was OK, but not overly exciting, so I heavily anticipating what was about to follow...MOTHERFUCKING ANESTHETIZE!!! Now, they only played the middle section "The Pills I'm Taking", but, well...I've always been of the mindset that the middle section of Anesthetize is some of Porcupine Tree's best music, and is perfect for a live setting. Well, I was right. Goddamn, the headbanging barely ceased throughout that entire section. And, when they got to the fast-as-all-hell thrash section near the end of the middle part, I went berserk. Basically, to the point where I practically tore my neck from my shoulders. Oh, yeah it hurt. Seriously, as I'm writing this, my neck has restricted mobility, and I can barely look to either side without a fair amount of pain. Anyway, Anesthetize received a standing ovation from the crowd. At this point, the girls who rejected us earlier walked to the back and joined the 3 of us in standing appreciation. Steven talked about how the last time they were in Montreal (September '09), was the first time in 10 years that they had been there. By that time, they had already had a substantial back catalogue which had been played to death, hinting that they were about to play an old song. After turning down a front-row fan's request for Jupiter Island, they began Stars Die from The Sky Moves Sideways. Now, I've been pretty vocal about my dislike for this album, but the live setting benefitted Stars Die immensely. They followed with Way Out of Here, and the 3 of us exchanged high-fives at this song, considering we had been commenting on the awesomeness of it earlier that day. The girls beside us really got into it, and two of them were pulling off some legit headbanging, which I applauded. Anyway, the song was awesome, and I wrecked my voice singing along to the chorus. Steven introduced the next song as a B-side of Fear of a Blank Planet. I knew what was coming, but hearing the opening to Normal got me excited nonetheless. I actually prefer Normal to Sentimental, and my friends were siding with me on that after the show was done. Singing along was good fun, and one of the girls seemed to know all the words to these songs, so they were clearly no half-hearted PT fans. The second set closed with Bonnie the Cat, my favourite song from the second Incident CD. Cool song live, and Harrison was a beast as usual. Actually, I guess I didn't really talk much about the band members performances. Well, they all kicked ass. Barbieri was a bit too low in the mix, and my buddy Zach mentioned that he went off-time at several points in the set. Harrison is god, as usual. Edwin was a quiet figure on stage, but played his part nicely, and his bass skills were certainly noticeable at partcular moments. John Wesley, their touring guitarist, surprised me with his stage presence and guitar/singing skills. He took a fair amount of time in the spotlight thoughout the whole show, and was fairly animated (though not quite as much as Wilson). Steven Wilson was, of course, the star here. His banter was entertaining, his singing was sublime, and he clearly was into the show. Overall, the band was brilliant to see. While there weren't major changes to the songs, there were enough subtle changes to enhance them from the studio setting.

The encore consisted of Blackest Eyes followed by Trains. I was hoping for Sound of Muzak to show up instead of Blackest Eyes, but considering they're pretty much #1 and #2, I can forgive. Trains was actually way better live than on the album. While I like the song, I never quite understood the universal love for it, but after seeing it live my appreciation has certainly multiplied for it. Wilson did a quick band members introduction before finishing off Trains. The band members took their bows and headed off stage. Because we were all pretty sleepy and had a good 2 hour drive ahead of us, we decided to head straight home.

So yeah, pretty great concert. Wrecked my neck, but it was worth it :P
« Last Edit: May 08, 2010, 03:17:06 PM by setrataeso »
NEW REVIEW: Lady Gaga - Born This Way
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=25343.0

Setra, I think that is the best statement I have read on this forum.  Very well said.

Offline sonatafanica

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Re: The Incident Tour - Montreal, May 08: Long-winded story
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2010, 12:00:15 PM »
I've always been of the mindset that the middle section of Anesthetize is some of Porcupine Tree's music,

Hey, whaddya know!

Offline faemir

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Re: The Incident Tour - Montreal, May 08: Long-winded story
« Reply #2 on: May 08, 2010, 01:52:14 PM »
I cannot wait to see them in October, glad to see such greats songs on the setlist :tup

Offline setrataeso

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Re: The Incident Tour - Montreal, May 08: Long-winded story
« Reply #3 on: May 08, 2010, 03:18:15 PM »
I've always been of the mindset that the middle section of Anesthetize is some of Porcupine Tree's music,

Hey, whaddya know!

Fixed
NEW REVIEW: Lady Gaga - Born This Way
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=25343.0

Setra, I think that is the best statement I have read on this forum.  Very well said.