Last and First

Bit of an apology here as it's been a while now since I updated this and I still have gigs from 1979 onwards to add!

I'm going to jump forward to what was my last gig of 2015, Steven Wilson at The Royal Albert Hall, London, Sept 29th.

Supporting was Matt Berry and his band, sadly they suffered from the fate of many a supporting band in that no-one knew any of their songs. They played an interesting set without really hitting any 'wow' moments.

Of course what a near sell out crowd was waiting for was the main event and what a gig this was, featuring a setlist that pretty much covered his whole career from early Porcupine Tree to songs from his latest solo release Hand. Cannot. Erase. Lots of guest appearances made for a great night and visually it was stunning.

Moving on to 2016 and it's that man Steven Wilson again, this time at Newcastle City Hall on Jan 30th. Two sets, the first being a full performance of Hand. Cannot. Erase. Followed by a mix of Porcupine Tree material and 3 songs from the latest release 4 1/2. You can view the set list here.

Sitting near the back this time, I'd left it late to get the tickets, but at least we had a good view of the projections, which were amazing and fitted the whole tone of the gig perfectly. Opening with First Regret, this was clearly going to be an intense first set. Dave Kilminsters guitar playing was simply superb and the band were really on top form as they played the full album.

The second set was for me the better part of the evening, a much heavier sound as the Porcupine Tree back catalogue was raided as well as early solo work, Index was particularly haunting. The stand out's were Lazarus, dedicated to David Bowie and the encore which included some audience participation... yes audience participation at a sit down 'prog' gig as we all got to our feet and sang the chorus to The Sound of Muzak! The highlight was the last song of the night as we were treated to what's probably the best version of The Raven Who Refused to Sing that I've seen. A great start to 2016's gig going.

I'll leave you with a video of that song, it's well worth watching and listening to.