Band(s): King's X & Porcupine Tree

Date: 2009-09-26

Venue: Electric Factory

City, State: Philadelphia, PA

Reviewer: Nick

Official Porcupine Tree Website

Official King's X Website

    Although I went into the show mainly as a Porcupine Tree fan, I did have a bit of exposure to King’s X. Despite knowing some of their material I certainly wasn’t prepared for the awesome show they put on. For almost fifty minutes the guys entertained with their own special brand of Rock ‘N’ Roll, and if I had to sum up their performance in one word it would be “inspiring”. Due to the band’s enthusiasm on stage and Doug Pinnick’s performance and talk between songs I really think that everyone felt a lit bit better after their set then they did before the band came on. On top of that the band was getting a tremendous amount of support from the audience, and one could tell what may have been considered by some to be an odd pairing of bands was actually a great one. The only thing that was a little disappointing was the lack of Go Tell Somebody in the set; I figured that would be a live staple for sure! Still, it was a fantastic set and not one I would complain loudly about!

    By the time King’s X had finished their set I looked around to see an absolutely packed venue, and I couldn’t believe it. Apparently the show had sold out the day prior to the show, and from the stage to the doors, and on the entire balcony people were packed in as tight as they go. Conservative estimates place the venues capacity at 2,500, which for Porcupine Tree is absolutely fantastic I’d say. It’s nice to see such a good act, which is always standing behind its new material doing so well, even during tough economic times.

    Going in I knew that Porcupine Tree would be opening the show with the nearly hour long “The Incident”, and having listened to the album every day since it came about two weeks prior to the show I was very much looking forward to its performance. It did not disappoint. One of the biggest comments I’ve heard about the album, and certainly an observation I’ve made about it is how hard the album is to digest. It’s not a grower in the sense that it necessarily gets better with each listen, however you seem to more fully understand it every time you listen to it. And I would say I’ve never been able to digest it better than when I saw it live. Something about the album just lends itself to a live performance, and I felt that part of it was that a lot of the shorter, more atmospheric pieces and parts were more engaging live. Despite that highlights of the first set were movements like “Drawing the Line” and “Time Flies”, though honorable mention must go out to “I Drive the Hearse”. After that song the band went off for an intermission and did something that should be mandatory for all bands who ever take an intermission, they put a digital clock up on the big screen to count down the time until they would return.

    At this point I can tell you how pleased I was once again with the Electric Factory due to the sound. I’ve seen Queensrÿche their twice, and Porcupine Tree there once before, and all those shows, and this one sounded great. This almost makes up for the fact I was practically given a full cavity search at the door to get into the place. The man searching me pretty much grabbed my ass when padding my back pockets, and every square inch on me pretty much got touched except the one place you can probably guess that they thankfully did not go. That does not mean the show was without issue. Just through the first set one could tell that technical difficulties would become commonplace that night. Bass feedback here, weird noises there, broken strings and the wrong guitars at the wrong time. Between his banter on the subject and his lack of appearance at the band’s after-show you could really tell that Steven Wilson was not having as much fun as he could have that night. However the issues were generally corrected in a timely manner and they did not take away from the show much at all.

    The second set would consist mainly of material from the band’s back catalog, and having followed the set-lists from the tour to a certain extent I can say that if I were allowed to pick which songs they played at this show based on what they were potentially playing, I would have picked exactly what I got. The set opened with “The Start of Something Beautiful” which was amazing! Then again they could have played pretty much anything from Deadwing and probably have gotten a similar reaction from me. After that came “Russia On Ice” which I have always found to be overrated amongst the band’s fans, but the song featured the most awesome guitar I have ever seen in my life. When the song started the lights were down and all you saw was the middle of this guitar glowing, and throughout the song the color pattern and shapes changed, and it was just one of the trippiest moments of my sober life. However the song did see the return of some more unfortunate technical difficulties. After that, the mellowest part of the second set, the band decided to launch straight into the middle section of “Anesthetize”, which is arguably the most rocking/metal six or so minutes the band has ever done. It also seemed to be a huge crowd pleaser, and I certainly could not be happier with its inclusion.

    What came next was another highlight of the show. Having seen the band on the Fear of a Blank Planet and Nil Recurring tours there was only one song from those sessions I had not yet seen live, and it was one of my favorites. So when Steven Wilson switched over to his acoustic guitar, and then said they planned to play a song written for Fear of a Blank Planet, but that later came out on the Nil Recurring EP, I began to ask god for a quick favor. Then he announced “Normal” and I was ready to flip out! It completely lived up to expectations, with the instrumental section being perhaps the best on the entire night, and the end of the song is quite simply one of the most beautiful things the band has ever put on record, and seeing it live was truly a treat. After that the band ripped into one of the many amazing tracks from In Absentia I had not yet seen, “Strip the Soul”. Barbieri’s haunting keyboard work and the rest of the bands performance made this another one to remember. Next the band decided to perform my favorite song off of the second disc of The Incident, “Bonnie the Cat”. The vocal effects and their interplay with the music came across exceptionally well live, and it was another great addition to the second set.

    After that the band went off stage, and when they returned they just so happened to play my favorite song from In Absentia, “The Sound of Muzak”. This song gives me chills every time I hear it, and it will always be welcome in their live set. Finally the band closed the night with the greatest performance of “Trains” I have ever heard. They seemed to really enjoy themselves with it, adding in little things here and there to give the song new life, and it really showed through, and the audience ate it up. All an all a fantastic show from the opening act to the final song of the evening. I must say that hearing “The Incident” start to finish was a treat, but the second set was the better half of the show.

    Afterwards I was fortunate enough to get to go back and hang out with Colin, Richard, and John and as always they were very nice and hospitable. They seemed to be quite happy about the sellout when I brought it up to them, and I was able to talk to Colin about the forthcoming DVD, taped in Europe on the previous tour, and all I will say is things sound quite promising!