Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Trieste / Teatro Politeama Rossetti / Italy
Concert date: April 26, 2016
Attendance: 1500
Ticket price: €52.00 (orchestra)
So much ink has been spilled over the past ten years on Steven Wilson, the English multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer, producer, computer wizard and sound engineer, the central patron of modern progressive rock, a visionary and the ultimate musical workaholic, that there’s no point endlessly listing all his virtues and outstanding achievements. The man is simply in a class of his own. A master of the eternally youthful look who likes to stroll around the stage barefoot while carefully shielding his private life from intruders, he’s exactly the kind of musical genius the modern prog rock scene desperately needed to start moving in the right direction and avoid stagnation.
This year Steven is continuing his successful »Hand. Cannot. Erase« tour, which he kicked off last year, and in the first half of each night he plays the whole of that current studio album plus a few fan favorites from his solo career and from the days when he led the cult, currently inactive, band Porcupine Tree. Since our last meeting with Steven in Vienna last year, his backing band has gone through two major changes. Guthrie Govan has been replaced as lead guitarist by Dave Kilminster (best known for working with Roger Waters, Ken Hensley and John Wetton), while behind the drum kit Marco Minnemann gave way to the lower-profile but equally highly regarded (among experimental music fans) Craig Blundell (Pendragon).
Kilminster, who’s famous for his extremely sophisticated guitar technique, was the logical pick to replace his longtime friend Govan, and it was a real treat to listen to Dave’s melancholic solos, grafted with a generous dose of finesse. The bass and Chapman Stick wizardry was in the hands of none other than the cult multi-instrumentalist (and singer) Nick Beggs (The Mute Gods, Kajagoogoo), who was also responsible for the fantastic backing vocal harmonies. Adam Holzman was once again in charge of the keyboards, the only American among the Brits and an exceptional session musician who earned special respect for his work with Miles Davis too.
Mr. Wilson and his excellent musical comrades opened the show with »First Regret«, which also kicked off the »Hand. Cannot. Erase« performances, backed by more and less interesting video projections. Steven wore a black T-shirt with a gold ‘David Bowie’ print, a lovely tribute to one of his main musical role models, who sadly is no longer with us since the start of this year. The reserved, ascetic chief of the band had a guitar slung around him for most of the show and only once surprised us with a bass in his hands. In the middle of the stage there was also a table with an Apple laptop where Steven stored various sound samples, including the accompanying voice of the ‘missing’ singer Ninet Tayeb, who guested on the original version of »Routine«, one of the highlights of the first part of the show. Wilson and Beggs were perfectly in sync all night when singing the vocal harmonies, since the cult bassist is still an outstanding singer, and his past in art pop rock always comes in handy. Despite the seated venue, Steven urged the audience to be as active as possible and cracked us up with a description of the passivity of the crowd in another European country. The first part flew by in a flash, followed by an intermission and preparations for the second part.
Then came performances of material from different periods of Steven’s career, and of course his first solo single »Harmony Korine«, originally released on the debut album »Insurgentes« (2008), was among them, with a surreal video projection in the background once again showing sinister people with raven heads. One of the most moving moments came with the performance of the Porcupine Tree ballad classic »Lazarus«, which Steven dedicated to his recently deceased musical idol David Bowie. Interestingly, by coincidence, Bowie put out a song with the same name and a similar message on his final studio album »Blackstar« (2016). Mr. Wilson, who has named Frank Zappa and Miles Davis among his great musical idols too, kept us entertained between songs with witty quips with a typically English flavor. Despite the considerable seriousness on his face throughout the show, the eternal melancholic even smiled a few times and cracked a joke at his own expense. Longtime fans were happiest about the Porcupine Tree numbers, of which there were a few more than usual at Steven’s solo shows. Besides »Lazarus«, we heard »Dark Matter«, »Don’t Hate Me«, »Sleep Together« and »Sound of Muzak« that night. After »Don’t Hate Me«, a transparent curtain suddenly covered the stage for two songs, creating a symbolic barrier between the band and the audience in the style of the Pink Floyd classic »The Wall«. In the second part Steven also played »My Book of Regrets« and »Vermillioncore« from the current EP »4 ½« (2016), which serves as a bridge between »Hand. Cannot. Erase« and the next studio album
For the encore, Steven really caught us off guard with a cover of Prince’s standard »Sign o’ the Times«, dedicated to the recently deceased artist, whom Mr. Wilson reportedly loved listening to in the eighties. In fact, he honestly surprised us by saying he preferred listening to Prince in the eighties over Genesis, whom he only warmed to in his later years. The cover, the only song that night where Steven didn’t use any instrument and focused on the microphone instead, came off very solid. You could tell Steven has the seasoned pop rocker Beggs in the band, someone who never had any trouble with radical jumps between genres. The master of melancholy then sent us into total delirium with his favorite solo song, which in his own opinion is the peak of his solo creativity. The grand finale arrived with a dark and at the same time shattering confession about an old man, his sister’s ghost and a raven, the central characters of the masterpiece called »The Raven That Refused To Sing««, which Steven’s band played with a very special fire, moving those present one last time that night with a flawless performance and the timeless message of that classic. Three hours of more or less melancholic revelations and shattering confessions flew by as if cut off with scissors, which usually only happens when everything on stage is in perfect harmony.
The prog rock visionary made our night in Trieste with a fantastic show, treating us to a generous helping of choice standards from different chapters of his magnificent musical career. Anyone who knows Steven’s perfectionist approach to everything he takes on wasn’t surprised by the superb sound and lighting. The band was incredibly in the mood all night long and maximally tight, while Steven’s stage presence, crowned with extremely youthful energy, you’d sooner attribute to some young musician still eager to prove himself than to one of the most seasoned players on the modern prog rock scene, who has never forgotten his humble beginnings. And to the delight of longtime fans, even though he’s been on the edge of major global success a few times in his career, he never ‘sold out’ and delivered change just when most people least expected it. Some were admittedly saddened by Steven’s words that change is a constant in his musical past, a past it makes no sense to get stuck in, and that this past includes his most popular and influential band, but he was still far from declaring ‘Porcupine Tree, yesterday and never again’, so hope for a possible return remains.
Setlist
Set 1 (Hand. Cannot. Erase.):
1. First Regret
2. 3 Years Older
3. Hand Cannot Erase
4. Perfect Life
5. Routine
6. Home Invasion
7. Regret #9
8. Transience
9. Ancestral
10. Happy Returns
11. Ascendant Here On…
Set 2:
12. Dark Matter
13. Harmony Korine
14. My Book of Regrets
16. Index
17. Lazarus
18. Don’t Hate Me
19. Vermillioncore
20. Sleep Together
—encore—
21. Sign “☮” the Times
22. The Sound of Muzak
23. The Raven That Refused to Sing
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