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!

I have been closely following the band’s setlists from this tour and so I knew what to expect. They started with the title track off the new album and it rocked everyone’s balls off. Then, instead of going to an older song, the band starting playing My Ashes, also off the new album. It was clear that they intended to play the album in its entirety first and older songs later on. Up next was Anesthetize, arguably my favorite off the new album. It sounded even better when performed live! The middle section was amazing and the band did a great job of recreating the song live. What was great about the entire concert was that people actually knew the lyrics to all the songs and were singing along quite often.

The band went on to finish with Sentimental, Way Out of Here, and Sleep Together, the latter two again topping the album versions. It’s astounding how PT can make the live versions sound even better than the studio versions. At this point, the band took a five minute break. When they came back out, it was time for the old material and they kicked things off with Lightbulb Sun. It sounded different but they pulled it off well. Open Car was immediately after and it sounded great! Gravity Eyelids isn’t exactly my favorite song on In Absentia but the instrumental section in the second half of the song blew me away. On this tour, the band have been playing some songs they haven’t played in years and even outtakes. Drown With Me was an outtake from the In Absentia sessions and they played it next. The layered vocals didn’t work very well here but it was a nice version of the song.

And then came the song I really wanted to hear: Blackest Eyes. It is pretty much my favorite PT song and it also happens to be the first song by PT that I heard. In a way, it got me into PT. It was just amazing seeing it performed live. It sounded great. Half-light from the Deadwing sessions and Sever from Signify followed next. Usually this is where the band takes a break and the crowd yells for an encore. But they weren’t leaving and Wilson took up his acoustic guitar. He told us how a girl in Cleveland had given him a box with little toy trains inside. Of course, he decided they were going to play Trains, trading it for Even Less. I like Even Less but I like Trains even more. I was not expecting to see it today but it was so good to see it! Even with a setlist I had pretty much memorized, PT were able to surprise me by playing Trains! When I first saw the band’s crew setting up the acoustic guitar, I was hoping for Trains.

The band returned for an encore with just two songs: Mother and Child Divided and Halo. Trains ate up Even Less which is usually part of the encore. I held out till the end to hear Arriving Somewhere… or The Sound of Muzak but that didn’t happen. The lighting for the show was good and the visuals were pretty nice. The band played well and hardly missed a note. Wilson’s voice was a little different than on the albums but he still has a beautiful voice! The sound guys/Wilson did a superb job of putting out great sound. I must say that the venue had good acoustics as well! Plus I got a special T-shirt and poster too! All in all, a fantastic show. And it was cheaper than big acts like Tool and Pearl Jam that I saw last year.

The opening band was called 3 and they were all right. They were talented musicians but the mix wasn’t too good. I could hardly hear the singer above the music or make out his lyrics. I will have to try out their albums to see if they are any good.

Setlist:

Main Set:
Fear of a Blank Planet
My Ashes
Anesthetize
Sentimental
Way Out of Here
Sleep Together
-Break-
Lightbulb Sun
Open Car
Gravity Eyelids
Drown With Me
Blackest Eyes
Half-Light
Sever
Trains
-Break-

Encore:
Mother and Child Divided
Halo