Porcupine Tree at IIT Bombay

So I saw Porcupine Tree Live twice in 3 months. I must admit I cannot even fathom any other show that could be greater in magnituge, feelings, awesomeness and a coolness factor than these 2 shows. Both the shows had the feeling of godliness in them, so much so, that it becomes useless to even listen to any other music. But there were the differences. Hence, I shall point them out here for those who should know.

23rd September, 2009, Vic Theatre, Chicago - 1st time seeing the band live, goosebumps, not so many people (1000?), most seemed out of place. small auditorium, had a feel of closeness to the band. most people with dates except me, the dates seemed bored to death except a few. excitement was limited to the beginning and the end of the songs. some people knew the songs. set list was limited to the entire new album as well as 4-5 old good songs. AWE. Personal EMOTIONS - MAX. almost scarring. Realizations of God and Steve Wilson. He looks like Jesus Christ??>!!. How can there be a band like that??? Brilliant Sounscape for 3 hrs. The best $30 spent ever. Beyond Comparison. Again, Surrounded by unfeeling, unemotional bags.

21st December, 2009, Open Air Theatre, IIT Bombay (Mood Indigo) - 2nd time seeing the band live, goosebumps considering that I was about to see God again. Not many people get to see God twice over. I was about to. Not a very huge place. Not a very small place either. familiarity was uncanny (6000?). Almost everyone knew what was about to unfold. Waiting for the God. Waiting for Parikrama to finish their forgettable show (wait!!...did they perform..?..:P) Most black tee clad boys with death written on their faces. almost no dates. everyone EVERYONE KNOWS THE SONGS. Steve Wilson surprised and amazed. Guitarists smiling like crazy. They think we are too much. They feel like they are performing for the right people. Almost all old songs. good songs. Lazarus. Blackest Eyes. some new songs. Right place I am. Right atmosphere I am. I am in known territory listening to the best ever things made in life. The best $14 spent ever. Beyond Life. Beyond thoughts. Surrounded by tired souls made to fall down to earth by Gods who have fallen themselves. They have surrendered. We have surrendered. This is the feeling. Good music always has the charms.

Reading Shantaram. Listening to Blackfield.

Rhythm

Today's exercise in rhythm: Count with this - 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1-2-3-4-5-6-7

The music is amazing!!

Liquid Tension Experiment

Some of the members of Dream Theater (and one from King Crimson) got together, jammed a lot and released two albums with the name Liquid Tension Experiment.

It would be a stretch to call the album Liquid, in the sense that I think of it: flowing from one song to the next, smooth etc. The songs are distinct, many different styles are covered and very little of it is smooth (though some of it is). Styles and time signatures jump in the middle of songs and it's only after I heard the album a few times that I stopped thinking of these changes as abrupt. Scales go up and down and round and round, but I'm not qualified to comment on their complexity. The drumming is awesome and very impressive if you can keep count. These guys play awesome stuff. I no longer think of them or even Mike Portnoy (the drummer) as the best at this, but they're still far cleverer than me and so it's still a lot of fun to try and keep up with them.

The word Tension suits the album pretty well, especially in the fast songs. I hold my breath whenever Acid Rain or Paradigm Shift plays. The word Experiment is kind of obvious and if you think of other albums by Dream Theater, you would think of the characteristic as obvious.

The problem with the albums is in the mood swings. The songs where they maintain a consistent feel, like Acid Rain and most of Universal Mind are excellent. But, these guys don't seem to care much for mood. I'm sure if they sat down and thought about it for a few minutes even, they would do the jump from happy to sad or from angry to funny in a way that wouldn't leave me behind. The jumps are abrupt and make me suddenly lose track of the music. It could be said that they were jamming, but that's no excuse.

The styles, instruments and sounds on the album are very varied. Mike Portnoy uses everything from watery sounds to xylophones to whatever else that he uses. The sounds of the keyboard (or the piano, whenever it's used) seem to have been chosen well in each song, so it doesn't sound as out of place as it could. The guitar sounds funny in a few songs, but good overall. The bass sounds like a bass, and it sounds like it's being played very, very well.

So overall, points to remember:

• The musicians playing this stuff are awesome. It would do you (or at least me) a great deal of good to keep track. Even count along. That's a lot of fun too.
• The mood swings are a little jarring at times. They even take the fun out of a few songs and all that's left is awesome musical ability, no emotion. Sometimes (and in some moods) that's okay. But it robs the album of the greatness that it could have had.
• There are many styles, sounds and instruments involved. 

Overoverall, the album is enjoyable more from the point of view of the side of me that's trying to learn music than from the side that's trying to listen to music. Some albums are great enough to appeal to both, but this set isn't one of them.

Listen in wonder...