By Mark Derricutt

Date / Venue: Wednesday October 26th, 2016 - The Powerstation, Auckland

Over the years I’ve been to many gigs and performances: many small, several huge, for some reason however I’ve rarely felt that high of anticipation, at least not in ways that make me squeal like a school girl - but last night - last night was different.

Having established my long standing Steven Wilson / Porcupine Tree fan status during the interview I conducted last month, during the days leading up to the show the universe seemed fit to throw things at me which raised not the anticipation, but the anxiety, and that continued on right up til the music played.

As any concert photographer in New Zealand knows, the Powerstation is a legendary venue, especially for its photo pit access - which last night was around 10-15cm. Needless to say I was unable to squeeze in, so my shots were taking from the side/in-front of the barrier. Initially this put a slight damper on my mood but soon this may have ultimately been to my benefit - having full view of bassist extraordinaire Nick Beggs in my sights.

For the next two and half hours, a filled out Powerstation stood in awe as Wilson and band moved from the soothing/dream like sounds of Perfect Life through to the discordant, syncopated aural dissonance of Home Invasion, whose live interpretation and mix was way more intense.

Whilst we weren’t treated to the full visual show, there was still plenty to see - including a curtain dropping down seamlessly during/following Don’t Hate Me in front of the band/against the stage hiding the band away behind the visuals - definitely impressive, and when the curtain dropped away to reveal the band again - seamless, just like a well oiled performance machine.

As a long time Porcupine Tree fan, I was more than pleased with the inclusion of Lazarus, Don’t Hate Me, The Sound of Muzak and especially Sleep Together into the set list, but since this was the “hand.cannot.erase” tour - it was also “fan.wasnot.dissapointed”.

Set List

* First Regret
* 3 Years Older
* Hand Cannot Erase
* Perfect Life
* Routine
* Home Invasion
* Regret #9
* Transience
* Ancestral
* Happy Returns
* Ascendant Here On...

Second Half

* Index
* My Book of Regrets
* Harmony Korine
* Lazarus (Porcupine Tree song)
* Vermillioncore
* Don't Hate Me (Porcupine Tree song)
* Sleep Together (Porcupine Tree song)

Encore

* Space Oddity (David Bowie cover)
* The Sound of Muzak (Porcupine Tree song)
* The Raven That Refused to Sing

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE FULL STEVEN WILSON GALLERY BY MARK DERRICUTT