Steven Wilson – Prog Rock’s Chief Patron Delivers a Masterclass in Melancholic Perfection in Trieste (2016)

Location: Trieste / Teatro Politeama Rossetti / Italy
Date: 26.04.2016

So much ink has been spilled over the past ten years on the English multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer, producer, computer wizard and sound engineer Steven Wilson, modern progressive rock’s chief patron, visionary and ultimate musical workaholic, that there’s no point rattling off all his virtues and extraordinary achievements again. The man is simply in a class of his own. A master of the eternally youthful look who prefers to stroll around the stage barefoot while guarding his private life from intruders, he’s the musical genius the modern prog scene badly 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. Every night, in the first half of the show, 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 his work with Roger Waters, Ken Hensley and John Wetton), while Marco Minnemann has made way behind the drum kit for the lesser-known but equally highly rated (among experimental music fans) Craig Blundell (Pendragon).

Kilminster, who’s famous for his remarkably sophisticated guitar technique, was a logical pick to stand in for 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 came courtesy 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. Back on keys was Adam Holzman, the only American among the Brits, an outstanding session musician who also earned special respect for working with Miles Davis.

Mr. Wilson and his splendid 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 golden ‘David Bowie’ print, a lovely tribute to one of his main musical role models, who sadly is no longer with us as of the start of this year. The reserved, ascetic head honcho 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. At center stage there was also a table with an Apple laptop, on which Steven kept various audio samples, including the backing voice of the ‘missing’ singer Ninet Tayeb, who guested on the original version of “Routine”, one of the highlights of the first half. Wilson and Beggs were perfectly in sync on 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 crowd to be as lively as possible and made us laugh with a description of the audience’s passivity in another European country. The first half flew by in a flash, followed by an intermission and preparations for the second half.

Then came the turn of material from various periods of Steven’s career, which of course included his first solo single “Harmony Korine”, originally released on the debut “Insurgentes” (2008), so we once again watched sinister people with raven heads in a surreal video projection in the background. One of the most moving moments came with the Porcupine Tree ballad classic “Lazarus”, which Steven dedicated to his recently departed musical idol David Bowie. Interestingly enough, Bowie released a song with the same name and a similar message on his final studio album “Blackstar” (2016). Mr. Wilson, who also named Frank Zappa and Miles Davis among his great musical idols, kept entertaining us between songs with witty quips with a typically English flavor. Despite the considerable seriousness that rules his face throughout the show, the eternal melancholic even smiled a few times and joked at his own expense. The 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 also heard “Dark Matter”, “Don’t Hate Me”, “Sleep Together” and “Sound of Muzak” that evening. After “Don’t Hate Me”, a transparent curtain suddenly veiled 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 half 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 pleasantly surprised us 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 really caught us off guard by saying he liked listening to Prince in the eighties much more than Genesis, whom he only warmed to in his later years. The cover, the only song of the night where Steven used no instrument and focused solely on the mic, turned out thoroughly solid. You could tell Steven has a seasoned pop rocker in Beggs, someone who has never had trouble with radical jumps between genres. The master of melancholy then sent us into complete delirium with his favorite solo song, which in his own opinion represents the peak of his solo creativity. The grand finale arrived with the dark yet harrowing tale of an old man, his sister’s ghost and a raven, the central characters of the masterpiece “The Raven That Refused To Sing”, which Steven’s band played with special fire, moving everyone 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 harrowing confessions passed as if cut off with scissors, which usually only happens when everything on stage is in perfect harmony.

The progressive rock visionary made us happy in Trieste with a fantastic show, during which we thoroughly feasted on choice standards from various chapters of his splendid musical career. Those who know Steven’s perfectionist approach to everything he takes on well weren’t surprised by the brilliant sound and lighting. The band was incredibly in the mood and maximally tight throughout the show, and Steven’s stage presence, crowned with extraordinary youthful energy, would sooner be attributed to some young musician who still has something to prove than to one of the most seasoned musicians on the modern prog scene, who has never forgotten his humble beginnings. And to the delight of longtime fans, even though he’s been on the verge of huge global success a few times in his career, he has never ‘sold out’ and has made a 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 in which there’s no point getting stuck, and that this past also includes his most popular and influential band. Still, he was far from declaring ‘Porcupine Tree, yesterday and never again’, so hope for a possible return remains.

words: Peter Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik

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