Author: Primož Novak
Location: Orpheum/Graz/Austria
Concert date: April 24, 2016
Ticket price: €31
If you listen to progressive rock, it’s hard to get around the name Steven Wilson these days, even if you swear only by old-school prog. Wilson is a name that insists progressive rock hasn’t lost its creativity and openness yet, and in his case that shows in a unique blend of the new and the old. Steven Wilson built his career with the cult band Porcupine Tree, but in recent years he’s devoted himself to his solo career, where he carries on with his mission, spreads his vision and, of course, shows off the universality of progressive rock. His workaholic streak shows in a successful solo career, which is also why he’s simply shelved Porcupine Tree until further notice, along with countless other projects. Every album is special, and after all these years Wilson has stayed unpredictable and at the top of his game, as you can tell from the regular album releases and constant touring. Every year Wilson visits our neck of the woods and thoroughly presents his work. A professional crew helps him do it, and he can always count on them.
In 2015, Wilson released another well-received album, Hand. Cannot. Erase., which he decided to keep promoting in 2016 as well. On the second leg of the European tour, Wilson stopped near us once again, specifically in Graz, Austria, at the cozy Orpheum hall.
The clock struck eight, the projections showed lights in an apartment block slowly going out, and a few minutes later the outstanding keyboardist Adam Holzman was the first to step on stage, opening the long epic with a gentle piano intro, kicking off a set that began with the aforementioned current album played in its entirety. Then Steven Wilson, bassist Nick Beggs, guitarist David Kilminster and drummer Craig Blundell came on. The band played the first long song, 3 Years Older, which showed off just how tight they are. But there were no doubts there anyway. Guitarist David Kilminster, who among other things played on Roger Waters’ The Wall tour, perfectly took over the role of the mad professor Guthrie Govan, who was absent because he’s touring with Hans Zimmer. Kilminster may have had a slightly different sound, but you couldn’t detect any deviations. Drummer Craig Blundell, meanwhile, had learned even the tricky parts of Marco Minnemann, who was also absent due to other projects. After that, Steven Wilson spoke for the first time and announced an extremely long show in two parts. Above all, he loved cracking jokes and had the whole hall laughing more than once with his cynicism. During Hand. Cannot. Erase, things hit a snag because Wilson’s guitar wasn’t working, and his tech tried to fix the problem through the entire song. The song was played to the end anyway, with Kilminster slyly covering Wilson’s guitar. Wilson apologized for the mishap and carried on with his set. Before Routine, which is truly sad in nature, he joked at his own expense again, calling himself a miserable bastard, and then explained how he interprets sadness through art and tries to give it special dimensions, for which Routine is a perfect example. Before the band even played the song, Wilson mentioned that singer Ninet Tayeb, who sings on the studio recording, isn’t on tour with them, and added: »Ninet is here, though, you’ll hear her with the help of Apple technology.« Even though Tayeb really wasn’t on stage, Routine still had its intended effect, and for good measure the sad music video played on the video screen too. Wilson and the crew kept confirming their top form, and with Home Invasion and Regret #9, which were joined into one, they showed off exceptional technical chops and a ton of know-how, with the members standing out in their solo spots. Next came a short breather with Transcience, where Nick Beggs additionally picked up an acoustic guitar, which was already the fourth instrument he played at this show. He was of course primarily the bassist, but he also grabbed the chapman stick, and played a bit of piano too, the one meant for Wilson when he wasn’t on guitar or bass. Beggs also contributed plenty of vocals. It’s worth adding that Wilson played bass and Beggs the chapman stick, whenever a punchier section came along, which rounded out the sound even more. Wilson is undoubtedly someone who puts a huge amount of effort into his live shows. Back to the gig: after that mellowed-out song, the band served up probably the most colorful track on the current album, Ancestral. With it, Wilson squeezes in elements of progressive and psychedelic rock, and toward the end comes a heavy distorted section that’s pretty metal-flavored. This is where drummer Blundell finally silenced the skeptics, steering the song to its peak with great transitions and quick reactions. With Happy Returns, Wilson added something a bit more cheerful to the repertoire. The song sounds quite similar to Trains by Porcupine Tree; it’s catchy, melodic and uncomplicated. The band then left the stage, leaving only keyboardist Adam Holzman, who briefly wrapped up the first set. A twenty-minute break followed, after which Wilson promised songs from earlier albums.
Wilson and the crew opened the second half of the show with Dark Matter, which especially delighted the die-hard Porcupine Tree fans. The song comes from Porcupine Tree’s early period, when the band put more emphasis on psychedelic rock. Next, Wilson played Harmony Korine, touching on the first album of his solo career, which differs slightly from his current albums. This year Wilson also released the EP 4½, which serves as a stopgap between the current album and the new album, probably due sometime next year. It collects songs that somehow didn’t make it onto the album or weren’t quite right for it. Even though they could have been just b-sides, Wilson proved the exact opposite by playing My Book of Regrets. The song is varied, the solo spots stand out, and at the same time it’s unpredictable. With Index, Wilson dipped into the rather exhausting but also very strange album Grace for Drowning. Index may not have been the best example, since the album boasts some truly excellent songs. Another long announcement followed, in which Steven Wilson said that two of his biggest idols, David Bowie and Prince, had died since the start of this long tour. He paid tribute to Bowie with Porcupine Tree’s Lazarus, noting that Bowie named a song on his last album Lazarus too. With that song, the Porcupine Tree connoisseurs who swear by the band’s more emotional material finally got their turn. It was the same with the more wistful Don’t Hate Me. Then a curtain dropped in front of the stage, which has become a staple of Wilson’s setup. The transparent curtain pushes the band further into the background and gives priority to the projections. Vermillioncore achieved an incredible psychedelic effect, and at times it felt like the band had taken some space rock outfit as their model. Next up was the Porcupine Tree song Sleep Together. An atmospheric, melancholic number, it had a special effect behind the curtain, and it also made clear that Wilson wanted to present the song at the show for a very particular purpose. After it ended, the curtain dropped and the band left the stage again.
The applause was long, and after a short break Wilson came back for the finale of this long, epic show. In his address he said that Prince was one of the most important idols of his career. So you wouldn’t get him wrong, he added that he’d of course listened to Genesis too, but they were »fucking unsexy« to him, because among other things they sang about vegetables. He explained everything about Prince in superlatives and announced a cover of Sign “☮” the Times, with which he paid tribute to his idol. Even though Wilson can’t sing like Prince, the song was played brilliantly. It’s worth pointing out that the band only recently started playing it on tour, so they were able to rehearse it before the shows. On top of that, Wilson gave the song his own stylistic touch, which deserves all the respect. Two more songs followed, one cheerful and one sad. During the show Wilson also sized up the crowd, saying he couldn’t define it, which counts as a plus at most, because his music can’t be pinned down right away either. He also took a jab at metalheads, saying there were quite a few of them at the Vienna show and they were all bearded long-hairs in awful T-shirts. There actually were a few metalheads at this gig too. Two tough guys even windmilled their hair during the heavy parts to prove their allegiance, which ended up looking downright hilarious. Back to the show itself: Wilson offered The Sound of Muzak by Porcupine Tree, saying people could sing along since it’s one of his rare simple and »catchy« songs. The closer, The Raven That Refused to Sing, was undoubtedly sad but beautiful at the same time. Unfortunately, it was also the only song from the phenomenal previous album, which may not have quite satisfied those who swear by that record.
There’s nothing to complain about with the show itself. Steven Wilson and his crew played a three-hour set, and even though this show had the smallest turnout of the tour, you couldn’t tell that Wilson put in less effort or played it all more routinely. His energy and his vocals, which he pushed to the limit, proved that too. Steven Wilson at Graz’s Orpheum definitely made sure that everyone in the audience will remember his show for a long time. With outstanding musicians, projections, great stage lighting and varied, epic songs, his gig was a proper little spectacle.
photos: Anja Ivanovič
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
Photo gallery
