By Chris Craddock
Prog-rock has always been a genre that I’ve never really connected to. I had my heavy metal stage during my early teens, moving onto more classical hard rock bands and ending up exploring indie music. The epically long guitar solos and the complex drum beats had put me off for a while. It didn’t help that my first band kicked me out over a disagreement over Deep Purple. However, when my housemate introduced to the Porcupine Tree’s powerful rifts and melodic choruses I changed my tune. I was then informed that these British rockers put on an amazing show, so I decided to give this beaten down brand of music another chance.
Some of my pre-judged stereotypes about prog-rock were confirmed as soon as I got into the queue. There was hardly a girl in sight and everybody looked like they had seen the fall of the Berlin Wall. My fears that I had stumbled onto another band that took themselves far too seriously were further backed up when we were told that Porcupine Tree had banned photography. Security was so tight on this that somebody was told off for taking a photo of the unused drum kit! Then again, percussion has feelings too, I guess?
All of this paled into insignificance when the band took the stage and showed me why it this is truly progressive music. I will confess right now that I didn’t know most the music that they played, but it didn’t matter at all. The eccentric perform of front man Steven Wilson, was all I needed. They were touring their latest album The Incident which I knew even less of, but songs like Drawing the Line and Time Flies completely converted me over to them. Their second half performance consisted of more popular tunes but with a repertoire that stretches back to the 80s, I was still left in the dark about most these songs as well. Yet, when the famous Anesthetize came on, the guy next to me almost had an emotional breakdown.
As I slowly edged away from this loon, I found myself swept up in all the musical sins that I had previously spited. The ridiculously over-the-top solos only inspired further mental moshing and in the end I found myself doing something that I never thought I’d sink too. I brought a band shirt at gig. Damn you Porcupine Tree.