Steven Wilson v. To. The. Bone.

[countoftuscany42]

i really wish this was made clear before the tickets went on sale, as Marco and Guthrie were half the reason I was excited for this show.  Ive never seen SW so obviously I'm excited to see hm and hear his music, but $70 is a lot for a ticket where half the band I want to see isn't actually participating in the tour.  this whole tour announcement has been kind of a clusterfuck, hopefully the album and show makes up for the lack of info and clarification

[RoeDent]

Most of the promotion for the whole album so far has been off-par. Releasing a song onto iTunes only and not announcing it anywhere. Shows going on sale without any announcements.

[Zantera]

Considering his band is technically a bunch of musicians for hire, I don't really care too much about what band he takes with him on tour, even if it seems he will bring the studio band for the EU part. And I don't mean that in a disrespectful way, these are all great musicians, but this is SW's show and as far as I'm concerned, anyone who isn't SW is replaceable in this band. I saw him once with Guthrie on guitars and I saw him once with Niko, and it made no difference at all IMO.

[countoftuscany42]

fair enough, but i love both guthrie and marco, and have never seen guthrie live before so I'm disappointed i won't be able to see them at this show

[rumborak]

Yeah, I definitely don't subscribe to the "whatever, it's still SW" camp. Marco and Guthrie add a LOT to the show.

[King Postwhore]

Yeah, I definitely don't subscribe to the "whatever, it's still SW" camp. Marco and Guthrie add a LOT to the show.

I'll second this.

[snowdog]

I'll miss Marco but I'm excited to see who else Wilson is able to get to fill his place.  I'd love to see Chad Wackerman fill in for Marco like he did a few times last tour.  I'm a big fan of Wackerman's work while he played for Zappa so I'd love to see him doing this material.  But I'm sure he'll find an awesome replacement regardless.

[JayOctavarium]

Wackerman was alright when I saw him with SW in LA... but  Guthrie... geeze... Those are some big shoes to fill.

[ReaperKK]

Wackerman was alright when I saw him with SW in LA... but  Guthrie... geeze... Those are some big shoes to fill.

Yea Guthrie is no joke.

[RandalGraves]

Marco's a lot of fun to watch, but when Wilson played in Tampa last time (and Marco couldn't make it), I didn't really miss him.  Guthrie is a different story altogether, though.  In the end it's Steven's show so I'm sure he'll find someone good.

Also, I know I'm in the great minority when I say this but to voice the unpopular opinion, I absolutely loathe Raider II.  For me, it's easy one of his worst songs he's ever written and I find it a bloated, dull mess.  I'm not ashamed to say that both times I saw him tour and he inevitably played it, I found it a good time to hit the bathroom and check my messages.

[JayOctavarium]

Marco's a lot of fun to watch, but when Wilson played in Tampa last time (and Marco couldn't make it), I didn't really miss him.  Guthrie is a different story altogether, though.  In the end it's Steven's show so I'm sure he'll find someone good.

Also, I know I'm in the great minority when I say this but to voice the unpopular opinion, I absolutely loathe Raider II.  For me, it's easy one of his worst songs he's ever written and I find it a bloated, dull mess.  I'm not ashamed to say that both times I saw him tour and he inevitably played it, I found it a good time to hit the bathroom and check my messages.

-gasp-

[bout to crash]

What do you mean by bloated?

[Mladen]

We can only dream about him playing that entire track on this tour as well.

[?]

I probably need to give it more listens, but I don't like Raider that much either.

[rumborak]

Just popping in to drop the comment that IMHO, The Raven is the best album of the last 5 years.

[Zantera]

I would counter that by saying that Raven is my least favorite SW solo album and probably not even in my top100 for the last 5 years.

[King Postwhore]

Just popping in to drop the comment that IMHO, The Raven is the best album of the last 5 years.

Sorry Jimmy but I agree with Rumbo.  I base that on what albums I tend to play more than others.  I still love his other albums.  To me, Raven is that amazing.

[Zantera]

I do like Raven, quite a bit actually. But I just don't rank it THAT high. I'll gladly give it some appreciation since it's pretty good. I believe it was somewhere around the nr.30 spot in my top100 albums for 2013. And that sounds low, but it was a pretty good year. So my comment on it not making top100 for the last 5 years is probably accurate. There has been loads of great albums recently.

Grace For Drowning would probably be in my top10, maybe even top5 for the last 5 years though. That album is pretty much perfect, something I think few SW/PT album comes up to. Most of them are great, but most of them also have a few duds. GfD, FOABP and maybe Stupid Dream are some exceptions for me. Those are just flawless.

[kirksnosehair]

I think The Raven is probably my favorite solo album from Wilson

[JayOctavarium]

From SW's FB:

I’m very happy to announce that I will be starting the Americas leg of the Hand. Cannot. Erase. tour with a show in Chile at the Teatro Cariola in Santiago on 8th May.
This will also be the first show with a changed band line up, as Guthrie Govan (Official) and Marco Minnemann will be departing at the end of the European tour to fulfill touring commitments with their own band The Aristocrats. These 2 guys were always going to be a very hard act to follow, but I’m very pleased to introduce two world class British musicians in the shape of Dave Kilminster on guitar, and Craig Blundell on drums.
Many of you will know that for the last 8 years Dave has been the principal guitar player in the Roger Waters band (if you saw The Wall show you will have seen him on top of the Wall playing the solo at the end of Comfortably Numb!), while Craig has primarily concentrated on being an international clinician for Premier Drum Co, Roland U.S. and and Paiste. Both are extraordinarily gifted musicians and I’m honoured to welcome them to the SW band.

[JayOctavarium]

I am okay with this

[Sacul]

He'll start first with South America instead of the North? Is it Christmas already?

[rumborak]

Just popping in to drop the comment that IMHO, The Raven is the best album of the last 5 years.

Sorry Jimmy but I agree with Rumbo.  I base that on what albums I tend to play more than others.  I still love his other albums.  To me, Raven is that amazing.

Yeah, the replay value of the album is particularly amazing.

Regarding the "in the top 30 of 2013", Zantera, err, how much music do you listen to on a given day?

[Zantera]

Just popping in to drop the comment that IMHO, The Raven is the best album of the last 5 years.

Sorry Jimmy but I agree with Rumbo.  I base that on what albums I tend to play more than others.  I still love his other albums.  To me, Raven is that amazing.

Yeah, the replay value of the album is particularly amazing.

Regarding the "in the top 30 of 2013", Zantera, err, how much music do you listen to on a given day?

Probably 8-10 hours on average. Usually more. I usually squeeze in 4-5 new albums in a week, and I'm able to listen to all of them at least 5-6 times, plus I don't repeat listen as much as a lot of other people do, so I'm constantly searching for new things rather than listening to the same old. (But I still re-listen to the good stuff as well ofc)

[XB0BX]

Just popping in to drop the comment that IMHO, The Raven is the best album of the last 5 years.

The Raven is one of my favorite albums of all time. Top 20 for sure.

[KevShmev]

Just popping in to drop the comment that IMHO, The Raven is the best album of the last 5 years.

I probably agree with this.  I can't think of any album since the start of 2010 that I love more.

[bout to crash]

Just popping in to drop the comment that IMHO, The Raven is the best album of the last 5 years.

Sorry Jimmy but I agree with Rumbo.  I base that on what albums I tend to play more than others.  I still love his other albums.  To me, Raven is that amazing.

Yeah, the replay value of the album is particularly amazing.

Regarding the "in the top 30 of 2013", Zantera, err, how much music do you listen to on a given day?

Probably 8-10 hours on average. Usually more. I usually squeeze in 4-5 new albums in a week, and I'm able to listen to all of them at least 5-6 times, plus I don't repeat listen as much as a lot of other people do, so I'm constantly searching for new things rather than listening to the same old. (But I still re-listen to the good stuff as well ofc)

Do you... have a job? 

Anyway, as much as I love Guthrie and Marco they are still ultimately replaceable in SW's band and I'm excited to see what these other guys bring to the table. 

[King Postwhore]

Jackie, sounding more and more like an old fart!  welcome to the club!

[Zantera]

Just popping in to drop the comment that IMHO, The Raven is the best album of the last 5 years.

Sorry Jimmy but I agree with Rumbo.  I base that on what albums I tend to play more than others.  I still love his other albums.  To me, Raven is that amazing.

Yeah, the replay value of the album is particularly amazing.

Regarding the "in the top 30 of 2013", Zantera, err, how much music do you listen to on a given day?

Probably 8-10 hours on average. Usually more. I usually squeeze in 4-5 new albums in a week, and I'm able to listen to all of them at least 5-6 times, plus I don't repeat listen as much as a lot of other people do, so I'm constantly searching for new things rather than listening to the same old. (But I still re-listen to the good stuff as well ofc)

Do you... have a job? 

I don't, so I guess that helps. Also I think my approach to music just makes it a different situation for me. I listen to so much music, and after I broadened my horizons and went outside of Prog, I've gotten a very different perspective on things, and even bands like PT who I used to hold in such high regards are not as special anymore, and have lost some charm. Some people either have limited time or they just prefer staying within their wheelhouse of music, and I don't look down at those people in any way. It's a matter of what you prefer, and in the same way that I myself prefer to explore and always hear new things, there are people who just stick to what they know and love, and I don't think any of it is right or wrong, it's an individual thing.

I think if I had been the same person I was 6-7 years ago when I really lived & breathed almost 100% progressive rock, I would have hailed Raven as one of the masterpieces of the last few years. But having changed and having a wider range of music to choose from now, my perspective is just different. And this is just my own perspective I'm referring to. I hope it doesn't come off as disrespectful to the people here who do love the album more than me. You all have your reasons for loving it so much, so my example was just for me personally.

[TheOutlawXanadu]

Just speaking for me personally: I too went through a stage where I was listening to 50 albums a year but after a while I stopped enjoying it. It's sort of like that saying "If you have two quarterbacks you really have none". To me there's a point where you're taking in too much.

That's just my experience with it though. I know some people who need new stuff constantly.

[rumborak]

That's how it is for me, yeah. I will listen to just about anything if it's well done (and that's why my usual playlists go from prog to Pomplamoose to German rap to Ben Folds), but I also can tell pretty quickly when I won't like something. If I listened to 4-5 new albums a week, I would subject myself to a lot of crappy music.
It would also become one big blur for me.

[ariich]

Just speaking for me personally: I too went through a stage where I was listening to 50 albums a year but after a while I stopped enjoying it. It's sort of like that saying "If you have two quarterbacks you really have none". To me there's a point where you're taking in too much.

That's just my experience with it though. I know some people who need new stuff constantly.

I'm somewhere in between, but probably closer to Jimmy. I definitely get "new music fatigue", but I also like to explore an absolute ton of new music as well. If I like a band or artist at all, chances are I'll check out their new material. And I like a lot of different styles of music, so there is a lot of new music for me to check out.

I think where I differ from Jimmy though is that I don't feel like this has particularly diluted my interest in styles or bands that I loved before. Maybe a little bit, but I don't feel that I've moved away at all from the metal and prog rock that I used to mostly listen to 5-10 years ago, more that I've added to it.

[hefdaddy42]

I wouldn't listen to that much new music a year even if I had the opportunity.

[bout to crash]

Agreed, hef. It's too much.

Jackie, sounding more and more like an old fart!  welcome to the club!

 , thanks bruh. I really am one of you at heart.

[lonestar]

Just popping in to drop the comment that IMHO, The Raven is the best album of the last 5 years.

I probably agree with this.  I can't think of any album since the start of 2010 that I love more.

I probably got a pack of about six albums at the top. Raven is surely in that club.