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Porcupine Tree Concert at The Moore Theater in Seattle, WA September 15, 2009

Doug and I caught our limousine service from Vancouver to Seattle around noon.  Anticipation mounted through the trip as we exchanged stories; the time passed quickly.  Good company does that.  Arriving at The Moore Theater we saw Porcupine Tree’s bus parked out front.  A handful of people were hovering around the ticket window.  We had to stop for a photo-op under the marquee.

We checked into The Moore Hotel next door.  This 102 year old hotel and theater was originally host to Vaudeville acts in a previous life.  After hearing the sound check rattling through the hotel, we were revved.  We went on a walking tour of downtown Seattle since the concert was over 3 hours away.  Returning for the show, we waded through the now-extensive lineup to get our tickets from our rooms.  At the entrance to the theater, one of the doormen was warning everyone that there should be no photography or recordings at the show.  We soon found our seats: balcony dead center, seven rows back in the center of the domed theater; speakers at ear level.  Perfect.

From the darkness the opening power chords to The Incident exploded with light and the sub woofers hit us with a heart-skipping blast.  Then just as suddenly, silence and darkness.  Anxious moments passed and a second bombardment hit our senses.  Darkness brought silence again.  With the third barrage Porcupine Tree launched into Occam’s Razor which set the tone for the first half of the show.  This was the world premier of The Incident live, Porcupine Tree’s newest CD released today.  They paused after the first few songs and Steven Wilson officially announced the 55 minute musical piece to kick off their latest tour.

Gavin Harrison’s amazing drums with Colin Edwin’s hypnotizing bass locked the rhythm section throughout the epic while Richard Barbieri’s synth murals waxed and waned, painting the background where John Wesley and Steven Wilson sketched guitar fantasies.  The band led us through the tragic story (that will take me a few listening sessions to comprehend), while lights washed the stage and the video screen displayed signature Porcupine Tree artwork clues rife with symbols of trains, youth, love, death and dystopia.  Upon completion of I Drive the Hearse, the band took a well-deserved 10 minute rest to catch their and our breath.

The second set started with The Start of Something Beautiful from Deadwing as the audience cheered the band’s return to the stage.  This was followed by another personal favorite The Sound of Muzak from In Absentia, which Neil Peart says is one of their best songs.  Lazarus was next.  The most powerfully delicate melancholy piano and acoustic guitar song in their or anyone else’s catalog.

The rest of the show was dark and heavy with excerpts from Russia on Ice and Anesthetize. Normal from Nil Recurring bridged Fear of a Blank Planet and In Absentia with the Sentimental and Trains allusions.  Bonnie the Cat from The Incident was premiered next.  Way Out of Here from Fear of a Blank Planet was the last song, and after introducing it Steven responded to the crowd’s moans with the retort “we all know the charade.”

The encore was the instrumental Mother and Child Divided, and it was all over way too soon.  I could have easily enjoyed another set since there are so many Porcupine Tree songs I would like to hear live, but Steven said they had a curfew and they took their bows.

Respecting the spirit of the no amateur media request, I didn’t take any photos or recordings during the show - except this shot after the band had left the stage post-encore.  For official photos, check their photo blog here.  On the seventh photo, you can just make out my smiling face to the right of the guy standing in the center of the balcony at the front!

My first Porcupine Tree concert - an amazing trip experiencing music.  Hey guys, next time come to Vancouver.

Death Cab for Cutie concert at The Coliseum in Vancouver, BC Thursday July 16, 2009

Bryan and I made our way to The Coliseum for the first concert I’ve seen there in about 15 years. Ben Gibbard and company took the stage for a fantastic night of thirty-something angst with The Employment Pages and No Sunlight to set the mood. They enthusiastically played their hits from previous albums like The New Year, Summer Skin and The Sound of Settling, and new songs from their latest EP, The Open Door.

Ben’s constant swaying to a different rhythm than laid down by band mates Nick Harmer (bass) and Jason McGerr (drums) somehow kept him focused on the music while Chris Walla filled out the wall of sound with layers of guitar and keyboard work. The sparse stage was lit by an excellent light show that moved through waves of primary and secondary colors mixed with islands of white.

The audience was fixated on every word and sang along with the band throughout the night. The encore opener of I Will Follow You Into The Dark was reminiscent of a campfire sing-along with 10,000 of your best friends with Ben playing acoustic guitar solo on stage leading the troop.

Personal favorites included Marching Bands of Manhattan, Title and Registration, Soul Meets Body and I Will Possess Your Heart which just kept building on Nick’s hypnotizing bass line. The final song Transatlanticism rocked to a thunderous crescendo with Jason banging the shit outta his drum kit for the last few bars of the song. Another excellent concert in Vancouver and a great way to experience music.

I watched a live webcast of Terry Bozzio, Neil Peart and Doane Perry on www.DrumChannel.com earlier tonight. It was an hour and a half educational chat with the drummers from Frank Zappa, Rush and Jethro Tull as they discussed influences, experiences and advice, then followed that with a Drum Jam.  This was the latest Thursday Night Live Webcast that the Drum Channel has produced and I’ll be tuning in for future episodes.

The webcast will be rebroadcast on Tuesday June 23, but there are many other interviews and Drum Jams in their archives, so check it out while you wait. I watched a 5-part interview with Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chile Peppers, then watched an 82 minute recording of a performance he did with his Bombastic Meatbats. Cool.

The Drum Channel is a great website for drummers and musicians of all kinds. I want to work for these guys!

Just saw The Dead Weather on Conan O’Brien. Jack White on drums laid down a great beat and Alison Mosshart ripped up the vox. Geddy Lee’s love child Jack Lawrence layered on bass and Dean Fertita added great guitar work. Live Rock is back. It was 1974 all over again.

They’re playing two shows at The World Famous Commodore Ballroom on August 21 and 22.

Knocked the dust off the ol’ black Ludwig Vistalites today for about an hour and a half.  Put the iPod on shuffle and had some fun. First up Peter Garbriel - Intruder which I haven’t listened to in a few years let alone play it. Good one to start with though since Jerry Marotta lays down a sinister straight ahead beat that doesn’t vary much. Good practice in discipline.

Next Genesis - Wot Gorilla? for about a minute. Fun rhythm that one. From there it was a wandering journey through different styles of Jazz Miles Davis, Shuffle Blues Harpdog Brown, Rock Alice Cooper - Under My Wheels, Prog Porcupine Tree - Tinto Brass, among others. Golden Earring - Tons Of Time was a lot of fun as was The Odds - Someone Who’s Cool. Ultravox - One Small Day was the crescendo grande finale. I gotta say I think I played that one the best, so in George Castanza style I got up and walked out; drenched. Hot afternoon in the Luna Sea Studios DrumRoom.

The Crystal Method Concert in Vancouver, BC June 1, 2009 at The World Famous Commodore Ballroom

Bev and I made our way down the under-construction sidewalks of Granville Street last Monday to the World Famous Commodore Ballroom (of the bouncing-tires-dance-floor fame) to see The Crystal Method perform to a less than full house. Unfortunately the balcony was roped off; that would’ve been a great vantage point. But this way, they forced everyone onto the dance floor, and after all that’s where you should be at an electronica show.

The stage was setup with a ton of synth gear that rose and fell between two circular screens that flanked either side. There were sequencers and drum machines and keyboards and racks and knobs all over the place that Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland tended while they bounced up and down and we all tripped like they did.

The subwoofers were merciless as the kick and bass kicked us in the basement. I’ve never felt anything like it. Shirley had warned us that The Crystal Method made her vagina vibrate, and I told Bev that it made my vagina vibrate and I didn’t even have one! No wonder women like these guys so much!

The light show was phenomenal with rotating nuclear warning signs and dancing floodlights. I watched the lightman at the front of house station and his fingers were syncopated with the music to enhance the senses-bashing show. This was a physical heart-pounding, retina-melting, ear-drum-destroying show that was probably the LOUDEST concert I’ve ever been to. I’m still deaf 3 days later and we wore earplugs! Fuck ow!

Ken and Scott ran through their hits, past and present including songs from the new album Divided By Night and old crowd favorites like Get Busy Child and the encore Trip Like I Do. After an hour and a half I was glad the aural assault was over. An unbelievable show and one of the best of the year. The Crystal Method are truly a band for experiencing music. (Take your earplugs, seriously.)

Koko Taylor, “The Queen of the Blues”, died of complications from surgery on June 3rd, 2009 at the age of 80. Here is the Chicago Sun-Times obituary.

I first saw Koko at the House of Blues in New Orleans the first time I was there in 1995. She put on a great show and I instantly loved her music.

The last time I saw Koko was at the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival in 2006 - the first time I was there. She put on another great show then and I will miss her smile.

Doug stopped by Luna Sea Studios today to test out his new Mesa Boogie Mark I Electro Voice 8 Ohm speaker replacement. He had a Celestion 16 Ohm in there which seemed to muddy things up a bit. But once he turned it on we both instantly loved the true tone of the Boogie that shone through. Clear and clean, thrashy and classy.

We worked on a couple of songs we’ve been kicking around for awhile, and a new dark guitar slow rocker that has some great potential. It needs to be arranged and tightened, but I like where this is going. Lyrical themes sprang out quickly and the overall feel has been established so I look forward to fleshing it out.

We had Cakewalk Sonar 8 running for 45 minutes without stopping while tracking 7 drum mics and 1 guitar amp mic. The stability of this system is still impressive. There were a few gems in the playback that we can expand on, and some forgettable stuff, but it was a fun and productive session.