Steven Wilson

Images of pigeons, pecking their lives away atop buildings, were transitioned into various street scenes around London, as Adam Holzman set the stage at the Gothic Theatre with “First Regret”. The rest of the band appeared one by one, while the ominous keyboard sounds silenced the sold-out crowd. We had all become voyeurs peeking into the windows of the apartment building projected on the screen in front of us. Lights cycled on and off, representing the lives being lived inside each bedsit, as the time-lapsed film fast-forwarded through the days and nights and weeks and years. Only one window stayed lit the entire time. The television flickered forever behind the curtains in that room, broadcasting banality to a ghost. But that was just a preview of the inevitable devastating conclusion. As the guitars and percussion came to life for “3 Years Older”, so did Wilson’s beautifully tragic protagonist.

The unbelievable story of Joyce Carol Vincent, an attractive 38-year-old woman who lay dead in her bedsit for almost three years before being discovered, weighed heavy on anyone with even the slightest sense of decency, but for Steven Wilson it was something he just couldn’t escape from. So, being Steven Wilson, he used Vincent’s story as a foundation for a concept album about isolation. With Hand. Cannot. Erase., Wilson created a fictional character and backstory to fill in the gaps of the real-life tragedy, while also providing his own commentary (and criticism) on how disconnected society has become in the age of the internet and so-called ‘social media’. Written from the point of view of the female lead, the story contained within the songs was expanded with a blog, diary, and various short films and videos. With so much time and effort put into the concept, it only made sense that the whole album would be performed in its entirety.

A beautiful, very much alive, girl is shown walking around the city, smoking cigarettes. Her attention to style, her tattoos, and her pretty face mask the anxiety within, while Wilson exposes her innermost secrets in song. The music is powerful and all encompassing, as huge guitar crescendos give way to the pristine ringing of keys. Wilson’s melodic voice softens the blow of the gut-wrenching lyrics (“you think of love as just a memory; a fog that smothers you, it’s hard to breathe”) before filling the room with the soaring chorus (“I can feel you more than you really know; I will love you more than I’ll ever show”). Having watched the Dreams of a Life documentary and read the handcannoterase blog, I feel a weigh bearing down on me…as if I’m attending a memorial for a woman I have never even met. The whole thing is almost too much, but then the song comes to an end and Wilson speaks for the first time…

“Thank you very much. Do I call you Denver or Englewood? I think this is the first time I’ve ever been here.” When reminded he had actually been here twice, he claims to be extremely embarrassed, but then goes on to promise “an extremely sexual show,” with “no politics, except to say we are here to make pop music great again.”

That type of banter continued throughout the show, thus acting as a valve to release the pressure that built up with every song. The performance continued with the title track from the album. Despite the rather grim (but extremely honest) outlook on relationships and love, the song was extremely upbeat and provided the first sing-along session of the evening. The official video, showing the unnamed woman and a previous lover drenched in water, played out while the band fed off the energy of the crowd. Wilson then switched over to a synthesizer for” Perfect Life”, while Katherine Jenkins’ recorded voice narrated the images of a sister long lost and nearly forgotten.

see more at http://ilistensoyoudonthaveto.com/2016/11/14/steven-wilson-gothic-theatre-11-12-16/

Fantastic show from Steven Wilson and band last night. They opened with "Hand. Cannot. Erase." in its entirety and then came back out and played for another hour or so. Lots of great tracks from Steven's entire career.
Dallas crowd was in good form. Interestingly, everyone sat yet still responded with great energy, enough that Steven even commented on it in a positive way. We all stood for the encores. Given the heaviness of his subjects combined with the great variety of sonic textures and arrangements, I think either response is appropriate.

Hand. Cannot. Erase. is one of the best modern concept albums in my opinion. He carries on the tradition of great Porcupine Tree albums like Fear of a Blank Planet. It's based on the true story of a London woman who had died alone in her apartment and went undiscovered for several years. She was young, beautiful and had many friends and family with whom she had regular contact, but somehow she just "disappeared" and no one seemed to take note. The album is a commentary on modern life's frantic pace and the tenuousness of social connections, but at the heart, it's sort of a love letter to all of us. This could happen to anyone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand._Cannot._Erase.

Steven promised to "not get political" during the show and he mostly upheld that promise. He did make mention of how much 2016 sucked, specifically in the context of the great musicians we lost. He made special mention of the importance of David Bowie and Prince to his own music and music at large. He actually talked at length between a few songs about this and jokingly referred to it as his lectures on the downfall of pop music, part 42, addendum 7, footnote B, etc. He dedicated the PT song "Lazarus" to David, mentioning the great song with the same name off Bowie's last album. Interestingly, the main character of the PT song is called David.

In tribute to his purple majesty, the band played an excellent cover of "Sign O' the Times" during the encore. Steven talked about how rare it is for an artist to not only release new albums regularly but to be willing to change and experiment during their career, especially when in the public eye as much as David and Prince were.
My only complaint was the sound mix, it was painfully loud most of the time. This wasn't as bad during the heavier moments but it detracted from the quieter songs. One of the louder shows I've seen, and definitely the loudest I've ever seen at Majestic.

If anyone thinks rock is dead, they haven’t witnessed the psychedelic rock thunder of Steven Wilson ... in 21 time signature no less. The show was originally scheduled for last week at the Phoenix, but due to a water main break was rescheduled to last night at the Opera House.

So there I was at the Opera House last evening with good friends Rob and Kim Stuart, who kindly treated me to a fabulous evening of music. Wilson, ex member of Porcupine Tree (which I have to admit I didn’t know anything about before discovering Wilson about 4 years ago) is a totally engaging frontman who is in full control of the incredible musicians he has with him on tour. With the nod of his head, the point of his finger ... or just a look ... the band immediately responded to the ever changing tempo of his multilayered musical creations, none of which seem to come in at less than 10 minutes of ear exploding glory.

I highly recommend “Home Invasion/Regret #9” (from the album “Hand. Cannot. Erase.”) as a solid example of what I’m trying to describe. The band covered this epic song early in the 1st set, to my great enjoyment.

Wilson was very chatty and quite humorous during the show (his 2nd in Toronto this year) commenting on such things from the gender make up in the audience to the unfortunate decline of the guitar in music today. He asked who in the audience was under 25 years old and then held his ‘63 Stratocaster in the air, proclaiming to them “This is a guitar.” In another interesting moment, Steven admitted to being a child of the eighties where he grew up listening to Depeche Mode and the Cure, et al. But surprisingly he saved his highest praise for his favourite artist while growing up ... Prince. The band then broke into a thumping, yet honest version of Sign of the Times.

Two sets and 2 1/2 hours of some of the greatest musicianship I’ve witnessed live, since Frank Zappa's tightly wound bands of the 70's and 80's. Nice

STEVEN WILSON
"LIVE @ THE VIC"
(WEDNESDAY, MAY 2ND)
Steven and his amazing band performed TWO shows in the same venue, a rarity for this tour... And, as promised, whenever that is the case the setlist varies between the two nights. He tends to play his usual set on night #1, with variations on night #2...
We saw night #2...
Steven's fine New release, "To The Bone" is far more Pop oriented than his previous work. I love his NEW direction, some of his fans do not..
For starters, he started the show with the CD's title track, a rarity for this your (it's one of my favorites). The rest of set #1 focused on "Hand Cannot Erase" with the third song "Home Invasion\Regret #9" hitting an early show highlight!.. The instrumental "Ancestral" was a 10 minute prog-rock powerhouse.
Set #2 started with another new rocker "People Who Eat Darkness" before settling in for some of the controversial (to some..) Pop songs : "Don't Hate Me", "Song Of I" and the very ABBA like "Permanating". But the set ended with two of the heaviest songs ever performed by SW, "Vermillioncore" (where the lights and visuals were absolutely stunning) and "Sleep Together", a hold over from his Porcupine Tree days...
The encore included some big surprises (you can look those up elsewhere) but ended with perhaps his finest composition to date, "The Raven That Refused To Sing"...
Did I mention the screen with videos and holograms?
Or the true Quadrophonic Sound system?
We drove 5 hours to see this show. This was my 8th show featuring Porcupine Tree\Steven Wilson.
In my mind it was time and money very well spent.
(Steven reportedly recorded one of his Royal Albert Hall shows for future release. Those who foolishly passed on this your can then see what they missed...)
Many Thanks to Steven Wilson, his amazing Band and Road Crew!!...

Great concert. I left it awestruck. The production value of this concert was top notch. As is often the case with Steven Wilson's concerts, this one too was resplendent with rich visuals and some interesting screen projections.

This was nearly a three hour concert with a short intermission in between. The concert guide was available for purchase for 12 GBP (it may look steep but it is more of an album than a guide with some great photos from Lasse Hoile).

Steven Wilson played his Hand Cannot Erase album in full in the first half, and in second half songs from Porcupine Tree, his new 4 1/2 album and a tribute song to David Bowie. In between the songs, he likes to talk to the audience and share anecdotes and trivia, and also humor them. This distinguishes him from his contemporaries.

Also, live concerts is one of the strengths of Steven Wilson. They are as good as his studio releases. This was the first time I heard his "Hand Cannot Erase" songs (except for Perfect Life) and I was completely astounded by the theme and quality of his songs, but not surprised since I have been a fan of his works since 'A Sunday of Life' from early Porcupine Tree days.

All in all, in the end I only wanted more. I felt as though I should go for same concert in another town next day.

Outstanding musicianship great Venue Nice people. Steven thinks its impossible to make Keyboards sexy which i thought was hilarious as he looked at his keyboardist. I wish i shouted out Gowan as maybe he has never heard about the Canadian Legend. I like how he addressed the crowd in between songs to discuss the songs or a type of music. I love the To The Bone 2018 album i think they played Pariah 2nd off at the go. I was dying to see the female vocalist come out and crush that song. However they did it to a video instead which was still great but I really wanted see her sing it live..maybe next time?
I picked out so many styles of music for this Progressive Rock giant. Mesmerizing, psychedelic, jazz, Pop, Rock, Metal along with interesting Videos float you along a musical cloud with higher and lower intensity's. Well done guys and keep coming back to the USA and Canada!

I can't say enough about this amazing artist, and the incredible presentation of sound and vision he and band members delivered for the Toronto date of this current tour.

Focused on the recently released "Hand. Cannot. Erase." album, the set included all but one of the songs, played in order. It was interspersed with the occasional, similarly themed songs of contemporary urban disconnectedness from previous solo and PT albums.

The music is built on a firm foundation of progressive rock, blended with pop and jazz influences from the past 50 years. All band members are incredibly skilled, well rehearsed, a prerequisite for the inevitable instrumental heroics that his audience has come to expect.

A true guiding light for the future direction of rock.

sean317

Quite the unique show at the Beacon tonight in NYC. It started with SW coming out to announce for the first time in 20 years he has lost his voice. The first set HCE started with Dave singing the first song then Ninet singing perfect life, HCE, Routine she was mind blowing extremely powerful singer. Then she sang Transcience and anscestral. The only song SW sang was Happy Returns. Second set dropped some songs but added Sectarian. Ninet sung Bowie by herself and an audience karaoke to sound of muzak to finish things up. I've seen him about 20 times and I must say this was the most enjoyable. As tight as ever I like the new drummer better then Marco for my taste he's very tight and Dave has greatly improved from the tour last time around

Never a disappointment even if Steven did lose his voice (hope you're feeling better, Steven ). I was happy to see Ninet this time too....as she did not tour with him when I saw him and his band last Spring (in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania). I thoroughly enjoyed the new songs from the 4 1/2 cd and the others too....Index, Sleep With Me, Muzak, etc. I concider myself fortunate to have been exposed to his music (courtesy of my son) and have tried to expose others who are music enthusiasts, as well. I don't know where to begin to express how much his music moves me. Thank you, Steven, as well as your fabulous band members! I look forward to your next endeavors and your next tour. Fondly, Rebecca Brown

For those who may have been slightly less than enthusastic about Wilson's latest recording, I would urge you to catch one of the 2018 "To The Bone" shows.
While losing none of the subtle beauty of their original recording, there is a level of energy, intensity and rawness in the performance of these songs that is not immediately evident in the recording. It is all crafted into a thematically complete, dazzling presentation that is both epic and yet, intimate. The band is superb, and Wilson himself is more engaging than ever, treating the audience as equals while sharing insights into his thought process in creating the songs.
An unforgettable concert experience not to be missed.