Steven Wilson v. To. The. Bone.

[Nick]

Saw the show last night in Philly and am still grinning ear to ear today. It just gets better every time. Sad Ninet was not with him of course, but it was yet another amazing Steven Wilson experience. Saturday and Sunday in NYC will be rounds 2 and 3!

[DTA]

I was also at the Philly show and it was probably my favorite show from him yet. The new songs were outstanding live and the visuals were interesting and unique. Detonation was my favorite song of the night as was Song Of I , a song in which I was not that interested in on the album. He's obsessed with dancing girls it seems. The first In Absentia song he played (trying to be vague to avoid spoilers) was incredibly good, yet the one in the second set, which is probably close to being my favorite PT song, didn't come across that well live. Overall, it was just an incredible night.

[Nick]

I was also at the Philly show and it was probably my favorite show from him yet. The new songs were outstanding live and the visuals were interesting and unique. Detonation was my favorite song of the night as was Song Of I , a song in which I was not that interested in on the album. He's obsessed with dancing girls it seems. The first In Absentia song he played (trying to be vague to avoid spoilers) was incredibly good, yet the one in the second set, which is probably close to being my favorite PT song, didn't come across that well live. Overall, it was just an incredible night.

That first IA song... oh man, was so fucking awesome to hear that. Still doesn't top seeing my favorite PT again, THE one from Deadwing.

[utopiarun]

Amazing show, on par with the HCE show I saw at Keswick a few years ago. Band was on fire, Blundell was great and smiling throughout. Show was one song short (SW's solo song at the beginning of the encore) of the usual setlist I guess due to time restraints (they had to be done by 11PM) but I wasn't complaining. Favorites of the night were "People Who Eat Darkness", "Ancestral" and "Detonation" was also great. The rockers REALLY rocked!! I thought the To The Bone songs translated much better live than on the album.

To whoever is going to NYC- enjoy, this show is fantastic!

[Metro]

I was at the DC show Tuesday night. First time seeing Steven and I could not ask for a better setlist, though I was a little disappointed he didn't play the title track to the new album. The few PT songs he did were a nice surprise. I never thought I'd get the chance to see some of those songs live.
My dad went with me to the show(He works in DC and got me a nice deal on a hotel room in a Navy Lodge.) This normally isn't his kind of music, but he really enjoyed it. He thought the videos that played during the songs were a little weird, and he audibly said "What the fuck" during the one for People Who Eat Darkness. The people who have seen the show might know what moment I'm referring to.

The other guys in his band are all killer musicians. Alex Hutchings is an amazing guitarist and I hope he sticks with Steven's band for a while. I know some people were on the fence about him now that Guthrie Govan is gone, but Alex's take on his solos were just as amazing as the original. Craig Blundell is also an incredibly talented and energetic drummer. Overall it was an amazing concert and I can't wait till the next one.

[DTA]

I was at the DC show Tuesday night. First time seeing Steven and I could not ask for a better setlist, though I was a little disappointed he didn't play the title track to the new album.

I am also curious about this omission. I know he's played it a few times but I wonder what about it makes it tough to play.

[goo-goo]

It wasn’t a good opener during the European lego so he changed it. I would love to hear the title track as well.

[King Postwhore]

Berklee in Boston last night.

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[Orbert]

Nice!  That looks like a great, intimate setting.  How big is the venue?  It looks smallish, which I think is perfect for this kind of music.

[King Postwhore]

It holds about 2000.

This is were MP, JM & JP went to school.

[Buddyhunter1]

Does Steven Wilson have a deal with the Berklee Performance Center to always perform there when he visits Boston?

It's a fantastic venue but it's getting way too small for the crowds he pulls.

[Orbert]

It holds about 2000.

This is were MP, JM & JP went to school.

[King Postwhore]

Does Steven Wilson have a deal with the Berklee Performance Center to always perform there when he visits Boston?

It's a fantastic venue but it's getting way too small for the crowds he pulls.

I agree.   I hope he plays another venue but he needs to grow in his fan base to do so.

[rumborak]

Incredible show yesterday, and super long too. Acoustic guitar encore with some Blackfield!

[PepeLePew]

It wasn’t a good opener during the European lego so he changed it. I would love to hear the title track as well.

Has the overall crowd response been bad to it, or did SW think it's not a good fit?

Personally, having seen the show in Frankfurt, I think it was a perfect opener for the show.

[?]

It wasn’t a good opener during the European lego so he changed it. I would love to hear the title track as well.

Has the overall crowd response been bad to it, or did SW think it's not a good fit?

Personally, having seen the show in Frankfurt, I think it was a perfect opener for the show.

SW was asked about it in some podcast interview and he claimed that the song didn't translate well live - too many layers or something.

[Rattlehead]

I was at the show last night too, it was excellent. I was a little disappointed to have missed out on some of the songs that were played on Saturday though, but the setlist was still great. Refuge was goose bump inducing as expected, it's become a top 5 Steven Wilson song for me. 

Also, I thought To The Bone was an excellent opener... it sounded perfect to me and seemed to be well received by the crowd.

[KevShmev]

It wasn’t a good opener during the European lego so he changed it. I would love to hear the title track as well.

Has the overall crowd response been bad to it, or did SW think it's not a good fit?

Personally, having seen the show in Frankfurt, I think it was a perfect opener for the show.

SW was asked about it in some podcast interview and he claimed that the song didn't translate well live - too many layers or something.

I think it was also said that not having the harmonica live really takes away from the song. 

In the end, some songs are great in the studio, but just don't work as well live for whatever reason.

[Nick]

Just got home from a long weekend in NYC focussed on Steven Wilson, and will hopefully get some comments in before I pack bags again for RoSfest, but for now, my three best pictures.

[Fritzinger]

The last one is clearly a fake. The dude you claim is SW, is smiling.

BTW I give you double of what you paid for this Haken shirt!!!  (Kidding, I don't think it's my size)

[Samsara]

Nick,

That's a great picture. Very cool.

[RoeDent]

Steven Wilson was on Jools Holland's BBC Radio 2 show last night. They played Permanating and Pariah off the album, ABBA and Donna Summer tracks that influenced him, and a live cover of Sign o' the Times.

[Nick]

The last one is clearly a fake. The dude you claim is SW, is smiling.

I know that it's not fake, and yet I can't argue with your logic.

As for the shirt, basically got it off of some site where someone uploaded the design to be printed. Had wanted it forever, but only had the chance to get it in M and needed XXL.

[Elite]

The last one is clearly a fake. The dude you claim is SW, is smiling.

I know that it's not fake, and yet I can't argue with your logic.

As for the shirt, basically got it off of some site where someone uploaded the design to be printed. Had wanted it forever, but only had the chance to get it in M and needed XXL.

That same shirt was on sale at Haken's shows around 2011-2012, when they released Visions. I own the same shirt, though Haken took it out of print (probably because of the obvious reference to a certain beer brand).

[Nick]

The last one is clearly a fake. The dude you claim is SW, is smiling.

I know that it's not fake, and yet I can't argue with your logic.

As for the shirt, basically got it off of some site where someone uploaded the design to be printed. Had wanted it forever, but only had the chance to get it in M and needed XXL.

That same shirt was on sale at Haken's shows around 2011-2012, when they released Visions. I own the same shirt, though Haken took it out of print (probably because of the obvious reference to a certain beer brand).

Yup, and they never played in American during the span the shirt was on sale in all sizes. They brought it on a cruise and tour later, but only M was left at that point, and they obviously can not print more.

[mike099]

Nice pictures.  Who is the guy with Nick in the top picture?

I bought a Haken hooded jacket a few years ago with that same picture.

[King Postwhore]

Craig Blundell.  He's drumming for Steven Wilson.   He also recently recorded drums for the last Frost*.

[Mladen]

Awesome photos, Nick. 

[Fritzinger]

The last one is clearly a fake. The dude you claim is SW, is smiling.

I know that it's not fake, and yet I can't argue with your logic.

As for the shirt, basically got it off of some site where someone uploaded the design to be printed. Had wanted it forever, but only had the chance to get it in M and needed XXL.

Damnit I need M
Can I get the design from somewhere? The Haken guys are so cool, maybe they send it to me...

[rumborak]

I had not heard this before:

https://youtu.be/Z_deuyn5UZo

SW covering Sign 'O the Times

[TioJorge]

Yeah, there's a whole album of those and some original material, they're all fantastic. A lot better quality than that radio version, although I suppose hearing it new and with a slightly different sound is cool. I prefer the album version, really awesome cover. I also really love Thank You despite hating the original. A Forest and The Guitar Lesson are fucking incredible though, I think. Both of those give me goosebumps every time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cover_Version

[RoeDent]

I'm beginning to think maybe I should pick up Cover Version, now it's so readily available. More SW can't be a bad thing.

[SwedishGoose]

I'm beginning to think maybe I should pick up Cover Version, now it's so readily available. More SW can't be a bad thing.

Do it..... wonderful collection of songs

[cramx3]

I had never listened to his music until this week.  I caught his concert in Denver while out here on a work trip and was pretty impressed with his show.  I was all the way in the back so didn't have a great view, but did manage to get one full song:

Steven Wilson - People Who Eat Darkness Live @ Ogden Theater Denver CO

I love his banter before the song too about the electric guitar 

I'd say his music is a bit all over the place in that not everything I heard clicked with me, but there was a lot of awesomeness in there.  Set 2 was really good, I found it better than the first set.  The videos and the front drop for the videos really added to the show especially for someone who didn't know the music.  Made it real easy to just sink into the music when there were cool visuals to go along with it.

[nobloodyname]

In my view, there's quite a bit of music in the setlist that isn't 'instant' so I'd say you did pretty well

One interesting note about the night you went to is they tried opening with To the Bone again. It was dropped early on in the tour for Nowhere Now simply because they didn't feel it worked too well live. It then became the de facto opener on the second night of a two night stand.

Also interesting you enjoyed his speech before People Who Eat Darkness: a lot of people Stateside have been complaining about his 'rants'. I found them all pretty funny but then I'm British and was born and raised within 30 miles of Steven's hometown so it was just like me or one of my mates being British and moaning/whinging as sport. Suspect that's been lost on quite a few people