Renowned British band Porcupine Tree to perform

 

Renowned British progressive rock band, Porcupine Tree, will perform on Saturday, July 7, in Hala Wisly, supported by a promising young group, Pure Reason Revolution, also from the UK.
           
The Band
 
The genre of progressive rock is usually associated with such artists of the 1970s as Pink Floyd, King Crimson or Genesis, and it seems that what was then considered to be ?progressive?, has now become either ?classic? or ?forgotten.? However, such is not the case with Porcupine Tree, who, although admitting they have links with the ?original? prog-rock movement, constantly head forward in their own direction.
The mastermind behind the group is certainly Steven Wilson. Apart from being the lead singer, guitar player and composer, he is also a self-educated producer ? and a renowned one, indeed. He has cooperated with various musicians, including Marillion?s Fish, Swedish progressive death metal band, Opeth, jazz vocalist Anja Garbarek and Israeli pop singer Aviv Geffen, with whom he formed the band Blackfield.
All of these experiences have helped to form Wilson?s musical personality, and, more importantly, Porcupine Tree?s style. The band first saw the light of day in 1991, as their first studio album, ?On the Sunday of Life,? was released.
This, and two subsequent records, were more of Wilson?s studio project than a real band, which wasn’t formed before the release of “Signify” in 1996. From that record on, the band?s songs became shorter, and more dynamic ? this process cumulated on Porcupine Tree?s 2005 album, “Deadwing,” which at certain points comes close to metal ? and small wonder, since one of the musicians invited for the session was Mikael Aakerfeldt of Opeth.
Deadwing?s successor, ?Fear of a Blank Planet,? is much less extreme, except with the exception of the first single, which bears the same name as the record ? and which reminds the listener of the former record?s aesthetics.
Here, too, the band has been backed up by some of Wilson?s musician friends, including Rush?s guitarist, Alex Lifestone, and Robert Fripp, the mastermind of King Crimson.
Thus, a link has been established between the new guard and the old guard of progressive rock music.
The record?s title is a clear travesty of Public Enemy?s 1990 album, ?Fear of a Black Planet.?
Wilson explains that whereas the rapper wanted to deal with race issues, which were important at that time, today it is essential to face the problems of information technology and the civilization changes of the early 21st Century. The lyrics ? written from the perspective of a child, clearly a victim of the x-box culture ? are strongly influenced by Brett Easton Ellis? novel, ?Lunar Park.?
Porcupine Tree is no stranger to Polish audiences, as the band has visited the country several times. Their last visit was in 2005, when they played with a British alternative metal band, Anathema, during the ?Deadwing? tour.
This performance will be one of two concerts to be held in Poland during this portion of their European tour, with their other appearance to be held in Warsaw a day earlier.
Pure Reason Revolution is a young British alternative (or new-prog) band. Their first full-length studio album, ?The Dark Third,? consists of songs combining grunge guitars and harmonic vocals into a fresh, progressive sound. In fact, the band?s style has been compared to The Beach Boys singing Nirvana songs.
We?ll never know what Kurt Cobain would have thought about this idea, but it is certain that Steven Wilson doesn?t want to let go of the young Brits, as they have already supported him during his last Blackfield tour in 2006.Hala Wisły is on ul. Reymonta 22. The tickets cost 100 zloty until July 6, and 110 zloty on the day of the concert, and can be bought via the organizer’s Internet site: www.rockserwis.pl or at www.ticketpro.pl and in selected stores around Krakow.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *