Went to see Porcupine Tree this past Saturday

I was very excited to see Porcupine Tree this past weekend. I only started getting into them this year. Just for the hell of it I picked up the Incident at a used store. I listened to it and liked it and decided to pick up some more of their stuff. Basically I got all the studio albums except for the first 2 or 3. When my friend told me they were playing in NY and at Radio City Music Hall I couldn't say no. It would be the first time I would step foot in Radio City too so I was excited for both.

The place is really nice, the people were friendly, the seats were comfortable and the isles were big enough where you wouldn't have to get up if someone in your isle had to go out.

The band finally came on they started off with an accoustic set, They were the only band playing by the way. That lasted about a half hour. They said they were going to be playing a lot of older songs, which right there made me think oh crap I'm not going to know anything but this gives me some idea at what some older songs sound like and maybe I'll find something I'll really like. So they finished up their accoustic set and they couldn't have done it any sooner because I was bored to tears. My gf who only knows 2 or 3 songs didn't like it either, we were both dissapointed already, but I told her its going to be a long show and they will eventually play something you know. So they came back out this time with electric guitars and videos screens (which they barely used til somewhere in the middle of the show). I have no idea what the first song was but I liked it and thought awesome theres a new song I like and I'll have to listen for. Second song was ok I liked that one too, third song was better I think that one was Lazarus and then after that the whole thing went downhill.

They just played song after song that bored the hell out of me. They would play instrumentals and some of their songs just go off into this spacey kind of thing that I just couldn't get into and everyone else was going crazy. I couldn't figure out what I was missing. I really like this band but their song choices, for me (and my gf) at this show were just horrible. My friend kept asking if I wanted to leave cause he saw me fall asleep a few times and I just said no lets stay I'm still listening. So they go to their last song after they were done I went to the potty and heard other people saying how they were falling asleep as well. I went back in the show and they were doing their encore. They started playing and I recognized the song but I was ready to leave and finally said lets go, before the song even finished. That was the first time I ever left a concert early. I was so dissapointed.

Heres the set list

1st set
Stranger By The Minute
Small Fish
Pure Narcotic
Black Dahlia
Futile

2nd set
Even Less
Open Car
Lazarus
Tinto Brass
The Sky Moves Sideways (phase one)
I Drive The Hearse
Bonnie The Cat

3rd set
Occam's Razor
The Blind House
Great Expectations
Kneel and Disconnect
Drawing The Line
Dislocated Day
Time Flies
Anesthetize
Up The Downstair
Sleep Together

encore
Arriving Somewhere But Not Here

I talked to another friend who went to that show, he said it was a fantastic concert (of course he's also been a fan since the late 90's). I have both of their DVD releases and have watched them over and over.

Porcupine Tree requires some study.

"The Sky Moves Sideways" (the song after Lazarus) is one of their earlier Floyd-esque ambient numbers, the album version runs about 20 minutes. Tinto Brass is another long instrumental.

It's cool they did "Dislocated Day" and "Up The Downstair", those are both very early songs.

Sorry you didn't like it, but PT ain't for everyone.

Too bad you didn't enjoy the show. Hope they didn't ruin your overall opinion of the band.

However if they did, I'll be happy to take thier cd's off your hands.

Nope I still like the band. It was just an off show for me. I've seen off shows by Iron Maiden, Weezer, Aerosmith, and Kiss I still like them.

So sorry your not getting my cds =oP

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

Nope I still like the band. It was just an off show for me. I've seen off shows by Iron Maiden, Weezer, Aerosmith, and Kiss I still like them.

So sorry your not getting my cds =oP

Funny avatar but the toddler running into the boobs was funnier.

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

Nope I still like the band. It was just an off show for me. I've seen off shows by Iron Maiden, Weezer, Aerosmith, and Kiss I still like them.

So sorry your not getting my cds =oP

Dang. Well it was worth a shot.

As far as seeing them live, I pretty much had the complete opposite experience. I was only vaguley familiar with their material thanks to a cdr comp that my brother-in-law gave me. Then I saw them live and I was completely hooked. They played The Incident in it's entirety, with video enhancement behind them, then did a whole 2nd set of older material. I didn't know it at the time, but apparently they broke out some older, obscure material that was bringing the hardcore fans to orgasm.

I still have some gaps in my collection, but I'm slowly gathering up discs when I find them.

tohostudios wrote:

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

Nope I still like the band. It was just an off show for me. I've seen off shows by Iron Maiden, Weezer, Aerosmith, and Kiss I still like them.

So sorry your not getting my cds =oP

Funny avatar but the toddler running into the boobs was funnier.

Hahaha it was it'll make an appearance again.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Phoenix Reign Drummer wrote:

Nope I still like the band. It was just an off show for me. I've seen off shows by Iron Maiden, Weezer, Aerosmith, and Kiss I still like them.

So sorry your not getting my cds =oP

Dang. Well it was worth a shot.

As far as seeing them live, I pretty much had the complete opposite experience. I was only vaguley familiar with their material thanks to a cdr comp that my brother-in-law gave me. Then I saw them live and I was completely hooked. They played The Incident in it's entirety, with video enhancement behind them, then did a whole 2nd set of older material. I didn't know it at the time, but apparently they broke out some older, obscure material that was bringing the hardcore fans to orgasm.

I still have some gaps in my collection, but I'm slowly gathering up discs when I find them.

I actually listened to the Incident today at work and I liked it. Then I went and put on Fear Of A Blank Planet. When I first heard that one I wasn't too crazy about it. But From what I listened to today its not as bad as I remembered. I just think, for me, when I go to a concert I want to see the band perform their best material. Too many instrumentals and slower songs will just kill it for me. If I wanted to listen to mellow stuff I would just listen to it at home where I could relax and if I fell asleep that would be ok, not at a concert. Cause I can listen to the cds no problem.

They played great and sounded just like they did on the album so as far as that goes they are awesome. The show before ours my friend saw the setlist and said I would have probably liked that one.