Porcupine Tree are an English progressive rock band whose roots can be traced back all the way to 1987. Within their two decades of existence, they’ve produced 10 full length studio albums alongside countless other releases, including compilation and live albums.

Porcupine Tree have been touring in support of their 10th studio album The Incident,  since last year. I attended their concert at The Vic Theater in September of 2009. A review of that particular show was published the day this website opened. Click here to view it.

Right across from Borders in uptown Chicago, lies an old jazz theater called The Riviera. Inside are gorgeous balconies quite similar to The Vic (also under the umbrella of Jam Productions). It’s going through some renovations right now to fix up the run down decor and ventilation.  The theater itself can hold about 2,500 people in a full house.

We had the luxury of watching the line through the windows of Borders, to get a rough estimate on how long we should wait to get a good spot. The weather was mild with a chance of thunderstorms later in the evening, which made for a somewhat comfortable 2-hour wait before the doors opened. I was even able to sit down on the concrete, borrow some wi-fi and post live pictures outside of the venue on my Facebook! Oh, the marvels of modern technology…

As the line moved in, I noticed a sign on the door of The Riviera. It stated that Porcupine Tree were filming, and that our likenesses may be used in the recording. There were 6 or 7 HD-cameras located throughout the theater’s balconies. There weren’t any on-rails or pointed at the fans (that I could tell). Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree’s multi-instrumental frontman/singer, said they wanted to get their new album captured on film. He wasn’t even sure what it would be used for exactly but said that they were coming full circle with concert films; their 2005 show was filmed in Park West, their 2008 show was filmed in The Netherlands, and now this one perhaps? I guess we’ll see.

Before the show, I darted to the merchandise stand and picked up this:

(click to enlarge)

The artwork on the shirt is based on the upcoming Blu-Ray, Anesthetize. It has the 2010 North American tour dates on the back.

Opening for the band was a skilled quartet called Bigelf. They represented a whimsical, carnival-eque side of psychedelic/classic prog-rock. Think Queen meets Sabbath meets early Floyd meets an evil clown. A song played that stuck out was called “Blackball”. It  had an unforgettable chunky guitar riff and classic rock grooves, with mellotron and keyboards. Sitting next to their lead singer (in a top hat!) for the whole show was a Yoda trinket, from Star Wars. He picked it up and faked out giving it to someone in the audience. All in all, Bigelf are a bizarre group that play some fun music. I think the main thing that hurt their set was that the volume was set to a ridiculously too high level. Hearing their studio music makes them sound tame to the blaring audio we were subjected to at The Riv. Here is a music video for their song, “Money, It’s Pure Evil”.

Next up was what we all came to see: Porcupine Tree! The stage crew lifted up the sheets, exposing Gavin’s drumset and Richard’s keyboards. The crowd erupted once the pre-show music came on -a loop of the electronic music, from the end of “The Blind House”. Being as how this tour is the 2nd leg of a tour supporting their album The Incident, they’re still playing the entire 55-minute piece as one whole set. These shows are going to be the last time they play it as one cohesive piece. So as such, the first half of the set was a predictable series of songs. This time though, I think people were much more familiar with the album. When I saw them in September, the album dropped a week prior (for those who held off listening to the leaks).

The show begins with a multimedia slide show depicting images of automobile accidents, veiled victims and general disarray. They opened with a tremendous ovation to the dimly lit “Occam’s Razor”, an unstable instrumental that serves as the lead-in to The Incident. From here on out, there was very little banter, which aided in presenting The Incident was one long song cycle. This album is in my opinion, their best work since 2000′s Lightbulb Sun, which received a high spot in Living Vicariously’s top albums of the decade. The concept of  sudden life-changing occurrences is one of shared empathy, and the sporadic dehumanization of tragedies in the media is mundane. This an album anyone can relate to, especially in a time of economic uncertainty.

It was a strong performance, overall. There was an accidental line swap in the title track, “The Incident”, though. The lyrics go, “When a f*ck is not enough you know you’ve slipped.” Instead, Steven said “When the church is not enough…” which is part of a line that follows.  The only reason this is mentioned is because they were filming the show, so I hope this doesn’t jeopardize the recording.  I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to play guitar, sing and remember all the lyrics perfect, all while knowing you’re being filmed for a possible commercial release.

Visuals play a compelling role at Porcupine Tree concerts. For “Time Flies”, the equally emotional music video is played behind the band, enhancing the experience. All the nostalgic throwbacks to Pink Floyd’s 1977 classic Animals is enough to make anyone reminiscence on days long past. The wailing guitar solo in the middle always evokes a huge reaction from the crowd. It’s a highlight to see them perform this song in its entirety. Things get heavy with “Octane Twisted”, showcasing Porcupine Tree’s less delicate side. Some members of the crowd got a bit rowdy during this song but luckily had no choice but to cool down with the acoustic “The Seance”…at least, until the instrumental metal song “Circle of Manias”. The erratic, wild mood swings on The Incident would make a catty teenage girl seem rational by comparison.

After the last song on The Incident, the band took 10-minute break.

Chicago got a bit of a surprise to open the second half of the show. The familiar bass line of the classic “Hatesong” sent the crowd into a frenzy. Just by watching the Arriving Somewhere… DVD, you can live vicariously through the energy generated by the live performance. Actually being there, though? It doesn’t compare. I can ironically say that “Hatesong” was the most loved song of the night. The chorus line of “yes I’m hearing voices, too” was infectious throughout the Riviera Theater.

Another track played off of 2000′s Lightbulb Sun was “Russia on Ice”. This was a repeat from their show at The Vic, with only the 1st half played.  Steven addressed the audience and said they were about to play the oldest song we’d hear that night. He gave a bit of back story on how the song was released as a single in Europe, and how it wasn’t even on the original issue of The Sky Moves Sideways. Finally, after three concerts, Porcupine Tree brought “Stars Die” to the windy city! It was surreal to hear the powerful climax of the song live and in person. I have now heard songs from every studio album except their first two. Maybe one day we’ll get “The Nostalgia Factory” and “The Joke’s on You”.  And hell, while I’m at it, maybe one day I’ll win the lottery.

It seems that at every Porcupine Tree show, I learn to appreciate a song that I either never thought much of (“.3″ at The Vic) or simply never heard before (“Drown With Me” at Park West). This show was no exception. On The Incident, there’s a track on disc 2 called “Bonnie the Cat”. For lack of a better way to describe it, it’s strange. The band was engulfed in green for the duration of this song, with lighting effects fitting the mood like a glove. Steven creepily mutters each lyric one syllable at a time, and at one point in the song it gets nearly dead quiet while doing this. It made for a moment to remember. Unforeseeably, this was one of the best performances of the night. Now it’s understood why they play “Bonnie the Cat” so much this tour.

With that comes the conclusion of the 2nd set. But as per concert etiquette, there has to be an encore, right? The band left the stage and returned only when there were enough cheers. Steven said that they had been ignoring a particular album that’s quite popular with the fans. That album was In Absentia.

“Blackest Eyes” got a tremendous reaction. The visuals for this song were memorable, as well. Edged around the stage were flashing red lights, that blinked on and off in unison with the crashing guitars. Immediately following “Blackest Eyes” was a double dose of In Absentia - Porcupine Tree’s most well-known song, “Trains”. As much as they play it, there’s nothing that compares to the reaction that particular song gets simply by mention alone.

In a quite humorous stunt, “Trains” derailed to a screeching halt during the quiet portion of the song. Gavin Harrison took it upon himself to perform a magic trick.

And after that – we’re still mid-song mind you – Steven decided to introduce the band.

He made a joke about their touring guitarist, John Wesley, coming “all the way” from the United States to perform. Steven then thanked Chicago and stated that they would come back “sometime.” Definitely not as welcoming as “next Spring” like the last show, but the band members all have various solo projects to work on during Porcupine Tree’s downtime, so alas, this is it for awhile. They played the ending of “Trains” and took their bow; the show has come to an end.

Outside the venue, we were greeted with a thunderstorm. Lightning and thunder followed the never ending rainfall, providing relief from the sticky heat inside The Riviera. This made meeting the band outside the gig a definite no, which saddened me since this will be the last time they play Chicago for a few years. The ringing in my ears lasted for several uncomfortable days, and I caught a nasty cold that as of this text I’m still enduring, but was it worth it? Of course! I’ve seen several concerts in my lifetime, including an unforgettable Tool show in 2006 with my buddy ATMC, but this one may have been the best. The Incident rocked, the second setlist had a couple surprises and being only a few rows away from the band made it a good experience. Hope to one day see this show on DVD/Blu-Ray!  See you guys in a few years.

And now for the goodies. Here is the complete setlist:

And here is a little compilation video:

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