Porcupine Tree – Greek Theater
On 03rd Oct 2022
By Alex Kluft
Porcupine Tree played the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, CA on Friday night as part of their Closure/Continuation Tour. This was the first Porcupine Tree tour in 12 years. The group was founded in 1987 by guitarist/vocalist Steven Wilson. In 1993, keyboardist Richard Barbieri joined, and in 2002, Gavin Harrison. They are now joined by touring members, guitarist Randy McStine and bassist Nate Navarro. There were a total of 20 songs in two sets lasting over two hours. This is a very visual show, as aisle seats are considered limited view because the full screen cannot be seen. This lineup has released five albums since 2002, most recently Closure Continuation, where the tour’s name comes from, and their first release since 2009’s The Incident. The band was spaced out across the stage, with Harrison and Navarro stage left, Wilson front and center, and Barbieri and McStine stage right. The opening song of set 1 was ” Blackest Eyes” and the last was “Chimera’s Work.” Set two began with “Fear of a Black Planet” and ended with “Sleep Together”. Porcupine Tree returned for a three-song encore of “Collapse the Light Into Earth,” “Halo,” and “Trains.” Scientific, mathematical, and beyond this world would be words to describe a Porcupine Tree show being one of the greatest prog rock bands of our time. Admirers of Porcupine Tree include Alex Lifeson from Rush, Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess and former drummer Mike Portnoy, former King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew, and the great Neil Peart, who wrote the forward to Harrison’s book Rhythmic Composition.
Setlist
- Blackest Eyes
- Harridan
- Of the New Day
- Rats Return
- Even Less
- Drown With Me
- Dignity
- The Sound of Muzak
- Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
- Chimera’s Wreck
Set 2
11. Fear of a Black Planet
12. Buying New Soul
13. Walk the Plank
14. Hard Culling
15. Anesthetize
16. I Drive the Hearse
17. Sleep Together
Encore
18. Collapse the Light Into Earth
19. Halo
20. Trains
