Porcupine Tree - Electric Factory - Philadelphia, PA - May 25th, 2007
Posted by Dan Marsicano on 06.04.2007
Progressive metal fans were brought together to witness one of the leading bands in the genre. Could Porcupine Tree deliver the ultimate progressive metal show? Guess what? Porcupine Tree delivered!
Porcupine Tree has become a huge part of the modern progressive rock movement, especially after their 50 minute concept album recently released, Fear of a Blank Planet. Popular overseas, Porcupine Tree has not been able to really make a huge dent in the music industry in America. However, the band does have a cult following and is an underground favorite among metal and progressive rock fans. These fans came out in full force to the Electric Factory in Philadelphia on May 25th to see their favorite band play Fear of a Blank Planet in its entirety and a few classics to boot.
The show did not begin until 8:30 p.m, which is unusually late, especially for a weekday. That did not seem to affect the crowd, which ranged from middle-aged businessmen to 12 year olds with their parents in tow. While the club was not as packed as it was for Muse last year, the attendance was still high, considering the cult status of the band. It is a different experience to go from being a few hundred feet or so away from the stage watching Heaven and Hell perform to being about 10 feet or so away from the stage. People were excited and anticipation was building for Porcupine Tree to come out. However, the opening band, 3, came out first.
To say I was surprised of 3’s performance is an understatement. I had never heard much of the band before, only hearing brief clips on their website and one or two full-length tracks on their Myspace. I was, to be honest, not impressed at all with the small sampling I had heard. So my expectation of their performance was very low. It was nice to be surprised by an opening band that I had never heard much of. The band really worked their asses off to deliver a great show. While I don’t remember the song names, there were many highlights to their set. The main highlight was the lead singer’s acoustic guitar jam. The jam started off with him going insane on the guitar before the drummer and percussionist did their own thing. The rest of the band joined in to complete the jam, and the set, on a high note.
Once 3 were done, and my ears were ringing, the wait for Porcupine Tree began. It would only take 15 to 20 minutes before the band came on stage around 9:45 pm.
Setlist:
Fear of a Blank Planet
Lightbulb Sun
My Ashes
Anesthetize
Open Car
Mellotron Scratch
Drown With Me
Sentimental
Blackest Eyes
.3
Sever
Way Out of Here
Sleep Together
Encore:
Trains
Mother and Child Divided
Halo
After seeing Heaven and Hell tear up the stage five nights prior, I thought that Porcupine Tree could do no better. Well, I was wrong. Porcupine Tree absolutely killed for almost two hours as they played their entire new album, front to back, and a few classics, ranging from their previous album all the way to their 1996 album, Signify. Reports on internet forums have stated that at some of the shows, lead singer and lead guitarist Steve Wilson sounded “tired” and the band’s performance suffered because of that. Well, there was none of that here, as the band sounded energized and excited about playing in Philadelphia.
The sound quality was phenomenal, for the most part. At first, it took some adjusting for my ears to get used to the sound. The opening band 3’s sound was very loud and actually made the instruments blend in together. Once Porcupine Tree got on, the sound seemed to be perfect. All the instruments were clear and the mix was balanced perfectly.
The highlight of the show was the entire Fear of a Blank Planet played from front to back. While the studio album is a great piece of progressive music, the album live is amazing. Songs which are considered a bit softer on the album, like “Way Out Of Here” and “My Ashes,” sound more powerful and have a bit more edge to them live.
The other songs also sounded great as well. It was nice to hear a varied amount of material from Porcupine Tree’s career. While I honestly did not know every song that was played, since I am a new fan of theirs, I still found myself enjoying all the music. The two hour set flew by before I knew it.
Overall, it was a great show. Both bands really brought their A-game and were impressive. My only problem with the show was the sound quality in the beginning and the reaction of the crowd. Unlike the last show I went to, the crowd was dead for a good portion of the time. Sometimes, I felt like I was the only one banging my head and moving around. That was okay though, because the crowd became more alive near the end. This show, along with Heaven and Hell, were the best pair of shows I have been to in a long time.
The 411: Another great show that really gives you you're money's worth. I only payed about $35 to see a three hour show and I was ten feet from the stage! Not too bad, in my opinion. It also helped that both bands brought their A-game and kicked some ass. If you get a chance, and you are a fan of progressive music, you owe it to yourself to see Porcupine Tree next time they come around in the states.
