Concert Review: Porcupine Tree live in Melbourne, 7 February 2010

After performing high quality sets in Brisbane and Sydney, I was finally able to welcome Porcupine Tree to my home city, and the first city they ever played in Australia back in 2008, marvellous Melbourne. It had been something of a stressful day for us and some of the other familiar faces that had come to make up the majority of the front row each night. Flights from Sydney to Melbourne had been cancelled, including mine; in a panicked flurry of activity far before any time I’d like to be awake, my girlfriend and I were lucky enough to make an earlier departure. In the queue outside the venue, The Palace (formerly The Metro) on Bourke Street in the CBD, we found out others had been affected, some arriving later than planned.

In the end, it seemed nobody had been too disadvantaged, and as the usual group formed at the head of the queue, I don’t think any of us quite realised what sort of a performance the band were about to give us …

Concert Review: Porcupine Tree live in Sydney, 6 February 2010

Porcupine Tree’s second of three Australian concerts for 2010 took place in Sydney on the 6th of February at the Enmore Theatre. After the Brisbane concert that I reviewed yesterday, my girlfriend and I, as well as a number of other avid Porcupine Tree fans, shot down to Sydney to see the band again.

As we sat on the pavement in Newtown waiting for doors to open, we pondered the possibilities for the gig, anticipating at least some change to the setlist. In Brisbane, we thought we heard Fadeaway soundchecked – alas, it was not to be; my favourite Porcupine Tree song (with Piano Lessons) from 1993’s Up The Downstair was simply being played from CD for purposes we don’t fully know. However, some other changes were in store …

Concert Review: Porcupine Tree live in Brisbane, 5 February 2010

February, fairly unsurprisingly, is concert season down here in Australia as overseas bands flee the Northern Hemisphere for our summery shores. Since my last concert review, I’ve been to seven more gigs and some more are coming up, so I better get my arse into gear and review them, huh?

First up, my favourite band: the one and only Porcupine Tree visited Australia for the second time in their history. Back in 2008, they hit Melbourne, then Sydney and finally Brisbane. This time around, they played exactly the same venues, but in reverse, and like last time, I was at all three. The 2008 visit was a bit of a foray to gauge demand, and given the strong response the band received, I was a bit disappointed they did not expand into other markets such as Adelaide, Perth, and New Zealand, but beggars can’t be choosers.

The pick of the 2008 concerts was probably the Brisbane show at the Tivoli Theatre. Melbourne was the most consistent, but Brisbane reached the highest peaks, especially during the face-melting second part of Anesthetize and the sole Australian performance to date of Even Less. Could 2010 compare?