Porcupine Tree @ The Palace,Melbourne (07/02/10)

Thu 11th Feb, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Prog rock fans are an odd bunch. For much of recent memory they’ve been the lepers of the music world – either balding rock heroes who refuse to let go of their twenty-minute epics about backyard dabblings in Zen Buddhism, or pimply faced runts whose social skills consist of internet acronyms and computer game strategies. One feels the pain of Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy, who bemoans the fact that his sizeable fanbase seems to be totally devoid of girls.

It had become clear that the only way you could like prog rock and still have friends was to force your band to delve into pithy, poppy synth-rock. Or so we thought.

Enter Porcupine Tree founder Steve Wilson. His expertise in pop songwriting and producing, combined with an experimental ethos and love for prog, would culminate in one of the most important prog rock acts in decades.

Fear not the mention of pop, however. Prog still runs thick in the veins of this band, and they’re introducing the genre to a whole generation of deprived youngsters.

Their latest release, The Incident, is the band’s first chart success in Australia, breaking into the Top 40. And it’s hardly a commercial blueprint, either – the two-disc concept album includes a 55-minute, congruous title track in 16 parts. The full edit of its lead single clocks in at over 11 minutes.

Their shows, too, have begun to hark back to the glory days of prog. Their current tour has involved playing the hour-long suite in its entirety, complete with meticulous stage visuals courtesy of film director Lasse Hoile. The Melbourne show was no exception.

Even in a small venue like The Palace, of which a band of Porcupine Tree’s standing is utterly beyond, the production values were lofty. There were clearly limitations – the lighting rig was minimal, for example – but some deft work from the techs ensured such observations were quickly forgotten.

Hoile’s contribution to the show is extensive. Most of the songs from The Incident were accompanied by video, much of which is live action, others a mixture of visualisations, stills and stop-motion photography. The majority of the second half of the show, numbers from Fear of a Blank Planet, Deadwing, In Absentia, Lightbulb Sun and Nil Recurring, had companion visuals also.

His visual style is fascinating. The film shifts about between dark, abstract stills, monochrome footage of kitchen sink realism and vibrant footage of rural England with exacerbated lighting effects. Throughout, the vision is entirely harmonious and synced with the music. Even with steampunk stop motion vignettes and grungy, graffiti sketch animation thrown in the mix, it is assembled with congruence and consistency. This is better than what bands with much bigger budgets achieve.

Wilson is still the fountain of creativity which fuels this band. His wispy vocals flawless, his trademark vocal sound is occasionally replaced with personalities derived from Geddy Lee and Peter Gabriel. Wilson’s masterly approach to composition and arranging is the envy of many, and nothing is lost in the translation to live performance. Throughout The Incident, Wilson’s melancholic acoustic guitar and electric piano is lifted with soaring lead guitar melodies and walls of distorted chords, shaped both by himself and fellow guitarist John Wesley. Wilson’s versatility as a musician is showcased repeatedly, as he roams between dirty, crunchy modern metal riffs, folky acoustic strums and overdriven melodic motifs; from full-bodied vocal ascents to effects-laden heavy metal snarling.

All of this is undertaken without an ounce of pretension. Porcupine Tree have a unique ethos – the individual and his parts are subordinate to the whole band and its creative works. This is evident in the arrangements – the temptation to divulge one’s technical ability through showy playing is restrained, instead replaced with a focus on the overall aural composition of the arrangement. The result is not simplified music – quite the opposite – but a series of very well crafted works. Not an ounce of the sound spectrum is wasted – every instrument is utilised, often thriftily, almost always effectively.

Occasionally, though, we hear flashes of their underlying chops. The instrumental break during Time Flies turned into a festival of symphonic prog, teeming with elements of King Crimson and Pink Floyd. This was a rare opportunity for Wilson to engage in cascading scalic runs and other such solo gymnastics on guitar. During the encore set, fan favourites The Sound of Muzak and Trains, Gavin Harrison (drums) and Colin Edwin (bass) also let loose for brief periods.

Such democracy can prove frustrating for listeners – it was disappointing not to hear more of Richard Barbieri (keys), for example – but it’s key to the formula which makes Porcupine Tree one of the most accessible prog bands of all time. Their music is challenging, diverse and interesting, but still palatable to the musical layman. They’ve managed to cut through the barriers which have dogged prog in the past.

This utter lack of ego allows audiences to really connect with and relate to the band. This even extends to the band’s image – you couldn’t find a bunch of more ordinary looking chaps if you tried. Their live show lacks any kitsch stage antics, yet they still keep the audience totally engaged and interested through the most subtle of actions.

By the end of the show, I was convinced. As I looked around me, the usual ragtag band of nerds and retirees had been augmented with a whole new generation of fans – of the late teenage and twenty-something set, and stretching further in both directions. Prog rock is back. With a vengeance.

And, low and behold, there were even girls present.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE GIG