Vivek’s Blog

Let me start by saying that Porcupine Tree are a great live band. Their songs are great on the albums but live, there is an energy to them and they burst into life. Plus, Steven Wilson being the technical genius that he is, their sound in a live concert is very close to the album versions. And the icing on the cake was the venue: this was my first time at the Nokia Theatre at Times Square and it is a terrific venue. The construction looks futuristic and the lighting and decorations are well-done. They have seats in the back and standing room up front and can hold 2100 people at once. Plus you can ogle at Nokia’s line of cell phones to kill time! Anyway, let’s get to the actual concert!
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Linkin Park were the first rock band that I really got into. I would listen to their stuff all the time and along with Green Day, they were my favorite band for a while. Since then, I’ve gone through phases of liking several bands as favorites namely System of a Down, Metallica, Pearl Jam, and finally Tool. I think Tool are going to be my favorite band of all time as long as they don’t release something atrocious. Heck, I think they’ll still be my favorites. Of course, I also love Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, Rush, The Decemberists, and Led Zeppelin among others. But then again, this is a review for the new Linkin Park album. So lets get to it!
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Two years after Deadwing, Porcupine Tree are back with a new studio album. Last year saw the release of a live DVD, Arriving Somewhere But Not Here… which featured a concert filmed in Chicago. A great DVD for any Porcupine Tree fan! On the tour to support the DVD, PT started playing some new songs that they were working on. Fans returned from these concerts saying good things about the new material, in particular a monster twenty-minute track. The new album, Fear of a Blank Planet is out now, and this is my review!
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