Porcupine Tree Setlist at Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY, USA

I'm hella stoked.

Can't wait till tonight's show!

can i get start of something beautiful? psyched for the show great band live!!!

Best Porcupine Tree show EVER. Acoustic Futile was awesome and I will be extremely shocked if they ever perform that again.

It was fantastic. Saw several members of Dream Theater and the bass player from Living Colour in the audience

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't they play SMS phase 2, too?

No Phase Two.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't that one of the best sounding concerts?

I really don't think this should be flagged as part of the Incident Tour; it was more of a stand-alone show.

I'm also aware that it wasn't typical show for that tour; however, according to the official PT website The Incident Tour includes this show as well ("Porcupine Tree will play 2 special shows to close the Incident tour cycle, one in the UK and one in the US.")

I heard Porcupine Tree playing in small to medium venues, where they performed with the usual raged passion and keen precision in front of a (growing) number of afictionados craving for their favorite playing their venerated hits. This time at the Radio City Music Hall, however, was different. I mean it was even much better than the usual great shows they usually perform. A great venue requires great shows, and tonight the band remarkably met this requirement by filling the most well-renowned and evocative 30's midtown Art Deco theater with a great musical experience, a Belle Époque rock atmosphere. Like Zappa's or The Who's concerts at the Music Hall, tonight's unique gig represented together a thrilling retrospective of the band by now impressive catalogue, and a fancy interpretation of some vintage compositions.
Steven Wilson and Co. melted together the psychedelic vibes of their early cuts with the loudly sonorities of their later works. Gavin's inspired and distinctive drumming was particularly effective in rendering the musical journey even more unique, and the expert hears of the most attentive fans appreciated with great delight how the old wine contained in such pieces as 'The Sky Moves Sideways' and 'Dislocated Day' aged gracefully together with the minds who conceived them -despite them being only in their forties. This re-experience of Porcupine Tree brought me back to my first acquaintance of the band and their early gigs in Rome hosted by Radio Rock, whose taste is now even greater due to the exquisite level of their performing that now match their ongoing creativity. The great John Wesley, by now a recurring figure in the band live shows and hearted half-porcupine, made his part by doing the most difficult thing after being Steven Wilson: namely, doing Steven Wilson -moreover when Wilson in his turn does Robert Fripp. Colin Edwin performed his impressive line of bass with the usual astonishing confidence, together with peace and pace in the tradition of the greatest bass players of rock'n'roll, while Richard Barbieri, a talent of his own, carried us away with his hypnotizing melodies and refrains.
In the opening act the band played a semi-acoustic set culminating in rather eclectic version of 'Futile', showing to the crowd all how amazingly versatile this band is, and how much elegantly it can meet even the hardest challenge of warming up thousands of excited fans with just an acoustic guitar, brushes, classic piano and a double bass. The central acts were pure energy and the elegant yet roaring walls of the Music Hall took life again on the notes of 'Bonnie the Cat' and 'Up the Downstairs'. The encore was my beloved 'Arriving Somewhere But Not Here', whose outstanding performance was the only efficacious antidote to the usual riot generated by the demand of the worshipped 'Trains'. I was craving for 'Collapse of Light into Heart', but this is hardly my last concert of Porcupine Tree.
A last word about the audience. The span of nearly fifty years of age characterizing the audience testify the great variety of musical experience this band is able to convey, and the enthusiasm around this ongoing project. At the venue you could appreciate teens wearing Tool, Opeth or God is an Astronaut t-shirts, as well as experienced fans wearing some Hendrix, King Crimson, Jethro Tull or Rush t-shirts (by the way, I had my Beatles vintage..), and this is not because of an ostentation of one's favorite band, but rather because many find in Portupine Tree a strand of their musical tastes as they have been explored by such great bands of the past or present past. I am pretty sure that in a not far distant future Porcupine Tree will be considered as musical pioneers in their own genre, and all sort of persons will wear their shirts as a tribute to their music.
Long live to Porcupine Tree, and see you soon somewhere, but not here..

This concert was beyond amazing and i have seen MANY concerts. in my top 5 of all time. sound quality coupled with just sheer brilliance of this bands work was enough to leave anyone happy to live their last day on earth.

I do not know if I will find any love here but I did not really enjoy the show. The set list could have been sooooo much better considering some of their concert masterpieces were curiously missing; Russia on Ice - Hatesong - Dark Matter - Radioactive Toy - Strip the Soul....I could add another dozen EZ.
On the other hand I was elated we did not get The Incident from start to finish...saw that already live.
Musically is there a better band for pure musicianship??? I think not, however it seemed as though they never really connected with the audience. SW seemed a little more prideful than usual, almost cocky.
Thanks to the RMC staff for tossing the idiot smoking a joint near us (I did not narc), I mean we are at RMC, not some dive....show some respect.

The setlist should list "The Pills I'm Taking vs Anesthetize with pills....etc listed in an info tag since this is how it appears on the official setlist
http://www.xs4all.nl/~bmetz/images/rcmhset.jpg

Excellent show. One of my favorites was Tinto Brass. IMO... that's one of their weaker songs, yet the performance on that was phenomenal.

Hey, it wasn't the premiere of Small Fish...he played it already in 2003 in Tel Aviv...watch it on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM2E5z-gonA

That was a Steven Wilson's solo acoustic gig.

Question for all you PT experts. I'm a new-ish fan. But I know most of their stuff. At this show, they played a song I loved but I can't figure out which one it was by going through and playing what's on the setlist. And I'm sorry I don't have any better way to describe it than how I'm going to. Just wondered if any of you might catch what I'm talking about. It was definitely not in the acoustic stuff. I'm pretty sure it was one with lights and not screen projections. It had a part with loud guitar strums and drums that would start out on time and then get really off-beat. And it did this several times during the song. Annnnd that's all I got. Any idea? Either I'm missing it on the album, or it was just a live jamming thing that isn't featured on the recording. Thanks for any ideas.

Great Show, it is my first time seeing them, I used to live in Chile and they have never been there. Great Set list, Great sound and venue. I hope they come to Latin America soon to see them again

it was a great concert but they should have played TRAINS :( :(

NikNak, my guess would be "Tinto Brass", from the album "Stupid Dream".

they played part of Russia On Ice. Before Sky Moves Sideway

jp - they absolutely DID NOT play any part of Russia on Ice!!!!

I agree the song NikNak is wondering about is most likley Tinto Brass

You sure BWB? I remember the riff that starts around 2:05. I wasn't too familiar with the song beforehand, but that riff was stuck in my head for days after until I went through every song to hear it

what was the title of the song called by Wilson as the "inappropriate" one?

That, my friend, was Futile ... he said it was an "inappropriate" choice to culminate the "Acoustic Self-Support Band" setup because the song in itself is pretty heavy... so It's not really the first song you'd think about for an acoustic rendition... But I must say it was glorious!!!!

And I will add that "The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase One)" really took me by surprise (also Dislocated Day and Tinto Brass) but PT performed them amazingly...

I was kind of hoping I would be able to listen to "Circle of Manias", "Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape", "Cheating the Polygraph", or "Way Out Of Here", but... I do intend to see this band many times more... so... I might still get my chance... Awesome show!!!!