Concert Review: Porcupine Tree at Radio City Music Hall

Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree makes a point.

Porcupine Tree's first-ever appearance at Radio City Music Hall was a banner show for the British progressive rock band. The five-piece emphasized their deep catalogue and the psychedelic workouts that made their initial reputation in the 1990s. 

This was not your average set list.

They didn't play "Trains."

The show started with an opening act called…Porcupine Tree. The five members of the band sat downstage and played an entertaining five-song acoustic set with Steven Wilson on acoustic, Gavin Harrison using brushes and Colin Edwin looking overjoyed to be playing upright bass. Starting with the gorgeous, under-played "Stranger by the Minute," Steven Wilson opened deep cuts like "Burning Sky" and "Pure Narcotic" before concluding with an unexpected, stripped-down "Futile," a B-side from Deadwing that is normally played a skull-splitting volume.

Steven Wilson spoke the the audience occasionally, mentioning that there was really "no plan" for the evening's setlist at this historic venue. The show consisted of deep cuts and rare versions (including the full, 15-minute "Even Less") along with old songs like "The Sky Moves Sideways" and "Tinto Brass."

Second guitarist John Wesley left the stage occasionally, letting the band play in its original four-piece configuration. (Wes returned for the newer numbers that require a second guitar part and backing vocals.) The band also sampled gorgeous, softer material, including a version of "Lazarus" that had the voices of Radio City lifted in song.

The second set was more traditional, with newer material from concept albums Fear of a Blank Planet and The Incident. Drummer Gavin Harrison powered thunderous versions of "The Blind House", "Drawing the Line" as Lasse Hoile's videos jittered and twitched behind the band. "Anesthetize" was a climax of the show, complete with a video montage of media overkill, staring children, swirling pills and an electrical barrage that would make Nikola Tesla envious. The three-hour set concluded with "one last song" (as Wilson put it) "but a really fucking long one": "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here."

Here's a nice performance of 'Trains.'