Porcupine Tree live in Australia - brief thoughts and setlists
I just had the best weekend of my life. I am exhausted, my legs ache a lot, my ears are ringing, and I think I may be lightheaded from dehydration or too much headbanging or most likely both. Why?
I just saw Porcupine Tree's three Australian shows. I just saw all three of Porcupine Tree's Australian concerts from the front row. THREE OUT OF THREE. Two of those were just pure dumb luck - when a spot's free in front of you, you'd be insane to not take it, especially when you're a short and nearly legally blind guy like myself. The third, Brisbane, was very much intentional; I got there quite early in the well-placed hope that I would secure a spot on the rail.
I need to sleep and I suspect I am not entirely coherent right now, as I just got back from the Brisbane show half an hour ago, the most awesome and intense gig of the lot. I'm still in a bit of awe. That was the best gig I've ever seen. So I'm not even going to attempt lengthy thoughts or recollections. I would just like to note two of the moments that most stick in my mind. Firstly, Even Less in Brisbane! That alone made the trip worth it. Secondly, in Melbourne during Hatesong, Steven Wilson got his earpiece lodged in his ear canal! He played on like that through two songs, then finally a roadie was able to remove it with tweezers - as SW remarked, you get everything at a Porcupine Tree concert, including surgery live on stage!
I shall now proceed to bed, but below are the setlists for all three shows. I would normally be critical of static sets, and Porcupine Tree have had more variety on this tour's European and North American legs, but it's worth noting the isolation of these three shows. They're over four months after the band last played, and subsequent shows are just festival appearances in the Northern summer. That fact combined with the reality that these are the band's only Southern Hemisphere shows ever meant I expected them to just pick a single set and play the same stuff all three times. What variety existed was therefore a pleasant surprise indeed.
2007-04-25, Palace Theatre (formerly The Metro), Melbourne
1. Fear Of A Blank Planet
2. What Happens Now?
3. The Sound Of Muzak
4. Lazarus
5. Anesthetize
6. Open Car
7. Dark Matter
8. Hatesong
9. A Smart Kid
10. Blackest Eyes
11. Way Out Of Here
12. Sleep Together
13. Trains
14. Halo
2007-04-26, Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Soundcheck: Included Way Out Of Here twice, Sleep Together, and Fear Of A Blank Planet.
1. Fear Of A Blank Planet
2. What Happens Now?
3. The Sound Of Muzak
4. Lazarus
5. Anesthetize
6. Open Car
7. Dark Matter
8. Hatesong
9. A Smart Kid
10. Blackest Eyes
11. Way Out Of Here
12. Sleep Together
13. Mother And Child Divided
14. Trains
15. Halo
2007-04-27, The Tivoli, Brisbane
Soundcheck: Way Out Of Here, Sleep Together, Even Less, Sentimental, Way Out Of Here again, Sentimental again, Fear Of A Blank Planet
1. Fear Of A Blank Planet
2. What Happens Now?
3. The Sound Of Muzak
4. Sentimental
5. Anesthetize
6. Open Car
7. Dark Matter
8. Hatesong
9. Even Less
10. Blackest Eyes
11. Way Out Of Here
12. Sleep Together
13. Trains
14. Halo
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axver) wrote,
