March 16, 2007 Bowery Ballroom, New York City

Okay, who's up for a little adventure?


It had started raining the night before and the weather reports were predicting a messy wintry mix in the Northeast. Just in time for our trip to New York City for the Blackfield DVD shoot. What do we Blackfield travelers do? We rent a 4-wheel drive Jeep and, at about 12 noon, we leave the Baltimore area heading North into a big messy, frozen rain storm. As we neared Philadelphia, the frozen rain started to coat the highway with a slick layer of ice. By the time we reached the New Jersey Turnpike, we could no longer drive 55. It was more like 35. We passed several cars that had slid off the road and were stuck in the frozen mess. We got a call from Lucsam and he had heard from his friend who said that the traffic about an hour behind us was at a stand still. We just kept on driving. We reached the already well coated New York City at about 5 o'clock pm and checked into our hotel. We were almost certain that no one would be crazy enough to be waiting outside already for an 8 O'clock door time in this this freezing, cold mess.

We decided to check it out anyway and, sure enough, there were about six folks there waiting under the Bowery Ballroom awning. I joined them and Jason ran to get us some snacks and an umbrella. So, there we stood, all of us shivering and getting freezing rain and snow on us. We all started talking, and that helped the time go by faster. The guy right ahead of me was Matt (aka Vapor Trail) who had traveled with his father all the way from Minneapolis. They had already been to the Philly show and also had the rest of the tour on their agenda. You have to love us "Die Hards." Lucsam and Moonchild (Jon & Linda) showed up. They already knew Matt from the PT forum. We heard that the show and the DVD were both still on despite the horrible weather conditions. All of the Studio M guys had made it.

The staff opened the doors early at 7 pm because of the weather and we thanked them for that. We were all getting numb out in the cold. We were let in to the basement bar area where our tickets were taken. Unfortunately, I got the will call tickets on the Internet which meant no actual tickets for me! They just checked my name off on a list, so no ticket stub. I ran into Susan who had just endured a four and half hour drive down from Hartford, Connecticut. After a little waiting time in the bar area, we were allowed to go upstairs to the stage area. We all made our usual mad dash upstairs. The front of the stage had been taped off and a train track of sorts was there so a steady camera could slide across it to film the show. There were also cameras on either side of the balcony and a single cameraman moved back and forth while filming the back of the stage and also the front of the stage at different times. GK showed up with Serge after a horrible drive like the rest of us. I had told him that I would save him a place next to me up front with us so he could get on the DVD since he was left on the cutting room floor on the PT DVD, for some reason.

Jordan opened up again and moved the crowd yet again with his powerful selections from Progressive days past. There were a lot more singers this night, singing along to Yes's "Soon" and Genesis's "Carpet Crawlers." He also played "Lazarus" again which had us all singing along. Jordan's performance was also filmed by Studio M.


Then, after a short break to clear Jordan's gear away, Blackfield were all set to take the stage. The lights dimmed and Tomer Z came out and started things off. Then came SW and Seffy and the keyboardist. Finally, Aviv joined in just as "Once" came crashing in. Aviv had his glitter eye shadow back on and a chain wallet for this show. The crowd was very enthusiastic as the set continued "Miss U", "Blackfield", "Christenings." I found myself watching Tomer Z quite a bit. I really think he is a very facially expressive drummer and despite, the fact he is in the background, he has quite a stage presence. Seffy also did quite a few interesting dance moves.


Aviv got into the whole sexy, rock star thing, unbuttoning his shirt in "Where Is My Love" and taking it off for "End Of The World." I thought he could of used a few hundred push ups myself, but it's his show and his DVD shoot. I'm not sure SW really thought it was a great idea from some of the looks he gave Aviv.


The band encored with "Hello" and another rocking version of "Once" and then everyone sang along with "Cloudy Now." I personally think that they played better in Annapolis, but I think everything went okay for the DVD shoot. On the other hand, Studio M also filmed the Philadelphia Grape Street show and that footage has never surfaced. Also, I remember waiting out front on the second night for PT in Chicago and there was talk that the first night's DVD footage was too dark, and they didn't know if they could use it and they did. So, who knows? We'll just have to wait and see if all of us in the front row and beyond show up on the DVD or if we end up on the cutting room floor. One thing is for sure. A lot of us really went through a lot to get there.


SET LIST
Once
Miss U
Blackfield
Christenings
The Hole In Me
1000 People
Pain
Glow (Aviv Solo on Keyboard)
Thank You (Just SW and Aviv)
Epidemic
Someday
Open Mind
My Gift Of Silence
Where Is My Love
End Of The World

ENCORE
Hello
Once (Twice)
Cloudy Now

March 15, 2007 Ramshead Tavern, Annapolis

Now this was more like it! Didn't have to travel very far for this show. The venue is about twenty minutes from our home. This show turned out to be more like a gathering of friends and musicians from MD, PA, DC and VA. Quite a few of the regulars were there. GK was there. Lucsam and Moonchild came down from NJ. I scored them stage-side seats at the table next to mine. Table?!? Yes, this was a seated event, kind of like a dinner theater. It was quite intimate. And, as far as fans go, everyone knew everyone. Or, if you didn't know them, then your friend did. Some of our friends outside of Porcupine Tree circles were there too. We know a lot of them from a monthly dance party in DC called Blowoff hosted by Bob Mould (ex-Husker Du and Sugar) and DJ Rich Morel. There was actually a whole table of these folks. I saw my friend Steve from Rockville who was also sitting at the Blowoff table by coincidence. Our other very good friend, Donn, was there with his brother Dave who has been a really big PT fan for a very long time. He has a PT collector's site called Pure Narcotic. I had never met him before, but it was fun to talk to him about his collecting hobby, or is that habit, that we both have in common. Jason decided to switch seats with Dave and give him the closer seat to the stage, so he sat with me at my table in front of SW.

The show started with an announcement from Adrian, the Blackfield tour manager, that there was to be no picture taking of any kind and no recording of the show tonight. Anyone caught doing so would be asked to leave immediately. Shortly after that, Jordan Rudess came out and thrilled us with another great set of classic prog pieces. He explained that he was also approaching these performances in a very improvised manner and that he was also preparing to record some of these pieces. He asked us to join in by singing and, in some places, we did and he would smile. The crackling sound that was noticeable in the Philadelphia show had been corrected and Jordan's set went very smoothly.

Next up was another no pictures reminder from Adrian and a few minutes later the lights dimmed and Blackfield came out to the stage. Tomer Z started things off again and the rest of the band came on one by one. SW wore a red T-shirt with Coca-Cola written in Hebrew on the front.


This was a very good show. The band sounded great and really tight. Seffy accidentally knocked over SW's back-up guitar while dancing around. Aviv made an announcement about when they came in and saw that the Ramshead was a table and chair venue, that they were not real happy about it since they are used to playing to standing audiences. He later remarked that he was happy to play for us during his first trip to Annapolis. SW's voice seemed so on key this night. Sometimes, he strains to hit the high notes, but he was very on for this show and there weren't any equipment problems like strings breaking. The set list was basically the same as in Philadelphia with the exception of no "Once" being played twice during the encore.

After the show, there was more good fan/friend interaction. Someone gave me a boot of the Blackfield Philly show from just two days previous. I saw Jane who I had met in Chicago at the PT DVD shoot. I talked to GK a little bit. Adrian was kind enough to give me Tomer Z's broken drum stick. I saw Seffy and he signed my American BFII CD. The word earlier in the night was that Aviv, after seeing the small seated Ramshead Tavern, did not want to play the gig. Supposedly, he had to be convinced by Steven Wilson that he should do it since a lot of people came along way to see the show. Porcupine Tree also has a show booked in May at the much larger Ramshead Live venue in Baltimore, so it was in everyone's best interest to play the show. In protest, I think, Aviv did the show but he did not wear his usual glitter eye make up.


We waited after the show until the crowd thinned out. We were hoping that SW and Aviv would come out of the dressing room and do a meet and greet. But, as the crowd went from 30 people to 20 people and then below, a Ramshead employee came back and said to the small group that was still waiting that he had never had anything like this happen at a show. He said that the band did not want to sign anything and that they were asking for an escort out to the bus. This didn't sound like the often very fan friendly SW that I knew. We decided to leave. It was raining pretty hard, and we had a long drive to NYC and an approaching winter storm to worry about for the next day. Later, we found out that SW did come out and sign a few things for people, but Aviv went right on to the bus.


SET LIST
Once
Miss U
Blackfield
Christenings
The Hole In Me
1000 People
Pain
Glow (Aviv Solo on Keyboard)
Thank You (Just SW and Aviv)
Epidemic
Someday
Open Mind
My Gift Of Silence
Where Is My Love
End Of The World

Encore
Hello
Cloudy Now

March 13, 2007 World Cafe Live, Philadelphia

We headed out from Baltimore to Philadelphia at around 2 O'clock. We made surprisingly good time, arriving at the World Cafe Live! just before 4 O'clock. We parked and went in to check the line where we ran into George from Science Friction and his significant other, Tammy. We had a great time talking and hanging out with them as we waited. George and I have a lot in common including a long history of following Rush since our teens. We are both in our forties now. We chatted about how Rush had just released a brand new single on the Internet the day before this show and, of course, about Alex Lifeson playing on the new Porcupine Tree CD. George and I had a lot to talk about. We also ran into Geoff K. and Serge who were both hanging out behind closed doors with the band and crew. We chatted with them a little. The doors were supposed to open at 6pm, but the sound check ran a little over. I think there may have been some equipment troubles. A street teamer showed up and handed out some posters and postcards for the new Blackfield and PT releases to those of us waiting in line. The merchandise booth set up and I bought a BF II t-shirt. Finally, they opened the doors and let us in. We hurried down to the front of the stage to stand in front of Steven Wilson's microphone stand and gig rug. Fellow travelers Lucsam and Linda joined us at this point.


After a brief period of getting everyone in the doors, (the show did sell out) the lights dimmed and Jordan Rudess, who had help SW and Aviv on the first US Blackfield tour, came on as the opening act. And, what a show he played for us. Playing only a synthesizer with a piano sound, he started churning out these old classic, progressive rock, and it really struck a nerve with the crowd. The first set was from the first King Crimson album. Next was a set of old Genesis songs. Then a set of classic Yes. All of which were filled with a neverending flow of tickled ivory notes that surrounded the familiar melodies. The big surprise was when Jordan started playing Porcupine Tree's "Lazarus" which got the same treatment and was beautiful. Jordan, who was sporting a stylish chin beard, explained that he was using some new equipment and hadn't quite gotten all the bugs worked out. So, every once in a while, some crackling would show up in the mix. It was a little distracting, but didn't ruin the great performance.


After a brief intermission, the main act was up. The lights dimmed and Tomer Z walked out and went behind his drums and started playing the opening drum beats to "Once" over and over again. Then SW walked onstage and began to plug his guitar in. He was followed by Seffy and the new keyboard player. Steven began to play and sing and then Aviv walked onstage wearing a sharp black jacket and a Rod Stewart T-shirt as well as fabulous glitter eye make up that he had smeared around a bit on his face. He strapped on his guitar and then the band just crashed in together. But, just as the song was reaching it's peak, SW broke a guitar string on what appeared to be a brand new gold PRS guitar. There wasn't really time to switch guitars, so the rest of the band just finished the song. There wasn't much time for a pause as they went right into "Miss U" and then "Blackfield." Somewhere in there, SW got his restrung gold guitar back in time to play "Christenings."

The band continued playing songs from both the new BF album and the first one. At one point, the stage cleared out except for Aviv who played "Glow" by himself on the keyboards. Then, SW came out and joined him on guitar and sang "Thank You." Then, the rest of the band returned for the very dramatic "Epidemic." The band continued playing more selections from the second half of the new album. Whereas most of my attention is usually focused on SW or Aviv, I found that, on this night, I kept starring at Tomer Z who was incredibly tight and wonderfully dramatic in his playing style. Not since Keith Moon have I seen a drummer that has so many different facial expressions while playing. Every cymbal crash and snare beat commanded these great facial expressions that added to the intensity and feeling of the live music.


After playing most of the new record, the band said good night but returned for and encore of "Hello" and "Once" (again). And, as if breaking a string one time during this song wasn't enough, it happened again. Sometimes these little things happen they can't be helped. Because I go to so many shows, I always think that they add to the show's own uniqueness. The band closed out the night's performance with "Cloudy Now" and the audience sang the choruses. Jason and Linda took a bunch of pictures (with no flash) throughout the show. Everyone has to enjoy the show in their own way, and I always love the photographic results. That kind roadie who restrung SW's guitar gave me Seffy's set list. (Notice that "This Killer" was dropped for some reason.)



The band didn't really hang out too much after the show. SW wanted to go check out a show by the band Isis that was also playing in Philly that night. So, he and GK and Serge snuck out and away. I saw Aviv and told him that we would see him on Thursday. I wanted to talk to Tomer Z, but he seemed a bit busy with the breakdown of his drum kit. Oh well. There is always Annapolis... or New York City... or New Jersey. We hung out with our friends for a bit and chatted and then we made our exit. The one hour and forty five minute drive home was an easy one, thankfully with no traffic.

SET LIST
Once
Miss You
Blackfield
Christenings
The Hole In Me
1000 People
Pain
Glow
Thank You
Epidemic
Someday
Open Mind
My Gift Of Silence
Where Is My Love
End Of The World

ENCORE
Hello
Once (again)
Cloudy Now

September 28, 2005 Lupo's, Providence, Rhode Island

This was originally a Porcupine Tree show and, later on, it was announced that Blackfield would be the opening act. I think this was because Robert Fripp, who was opening most of the shows on the PT tour, doesn't like to play to standing audiences who are often not as attentive to his soundscapes as seated audiences are. So, this being a general admission standing show, it seemed more suitable that Blackfield should be the opener. I was thrilled. We showed up early at about 4pm. The doors were not due to open until 8pm. Well, it's Blackfield and Porcupine Tree in one show. That doesn't happen too often. To my surprise, we were not the only ones already there. Cindy, who is the PT street team captain in these parts, and her husband Steve were already there. It was nice to talk to them and catch up on how they have been since last spring's PT tour. Cindy and I also sahre the same philosophy about GA concerts. Get there early so you can get close to the stage and really make it a memorable experience.

I also met another PT street teamer at this show. You can usually spot them by their street team T-shirts. His name was Jeff. (not the GK one) He kept appearing and then disappearing while we were waiting in line. Soon, it became apparent that he was a little tipsy which was cool. It was a concert, after all. We watched as the Blackfield band members and Aviv arrived in a small van and loaded their equipment into Lupo's. SW was already there traveling with PT. The doors opened and we got in. I have no ticket stub for this show since I bought the crappy internet printout kind. Cindy and Steve and Jason and I rushed to get those prime places in front of the stage only to realize that we had gone too far. We were supposed to have waited at another set of doors since Blackfield was still sound checking. SW asked, "Are they letting you guys in already? Were not finished yet." We were like, whoops! I said that I promised that we wouldn't look and covered my face. The security guards escorted us back to the previous set of doors to wait. Then, finally, we were let in and we ran to the front and got our special up close spots.


Cindy and Steve were on one side of SW's microphone stand and Jason and I were on the other and street teamer Jeff was somewhere between us. The place was also a dance/nightclub on some nights complete with dance cages and disco balls. After a while, the lights dimmed and the band came out to loud cheers. The show began with the opening notes of "Blackfield" and we were off again into the darkened place known as the Blackfield. Then shouts of "You're Awesome" came from behind my left ear. "Woo Hoo!" I turned around and Jeff is yelling "You Rock" and other things over top of the music as loud as he can and right in my ear. I moved away and tried to ignore him. The set continued "Open Mind", "Glow" and I hear his voice again. I turned and now Jeff is on his cell phone. "You'll never believe it man! I'm in the front row and Blackfield is on stage right now!" Cindy and I gave each other looks like 'are we allowed to kill this guy who is ruining our perfect moment with Blackfield just so he can gloat to his friends on a cell phone?' I controlled myself, barely. But, Cindy gave him a good scolding between songs about how rude it is to a performer (let alone to those around him) and then he mellowed out a bit for PT.


This Blackfield show seemed to be a lot tighter than the NYC show a few days earlier. Again, Aviv was rather crazy compared to the more reserved Aviv that I had seen on the US tour in May. Tomer Z was amazing again. He had his kit in front of Gavin's kit due to space restrictions, so it was just a few feet away.
The crowd seemed to be rather enthusiastic about these two bands playing together, and I can understand why. Some of the crowd I would see again at the Boston show a few days later. There were others though that I bet had no idea how lucky they were to see Blackfield opening for Porcupine Tree. I was well aware of how special this show was though and so were Cindy and Steve.


Set List
Blackfield
Open Mind
The Hole In Me
Glow
Pain
Epidemic
Hello
Cloudy Now

September 25, 2005 Jewzapalooza, Riverside Park, New York City

This was the first stop on a week long adventure under the Porcupine Tree for us. Six shows in seven days. A free show with Blackfield headlining was hosted at a Jewish cultural and musical festival called "Jewzapalooza" on a reasonably warm Sunday September. We left home at about 1:30pm and got to New York City at about 5pm. We met up with Moonloop and her husband who we had met on the Blackfield tour last March and Lucsam and Linda who we had met on the PT tour last spring. We also met another Linda who Moonloop had previously met on the PT forum. She was there for her first Blackfield show. We walked around the festival and checked out what was going on. There is a band on stage, but I'm not sure who it was. There was also going to be a special mystery guest who was to play, but I don't know if this is them or not. I got a kosher turkey sandwich and found a place to hang for a while. The band onstage sounded like a cool, middle eastern prog band with a female singer. My Blackfield t-shirt got some attention from a few people who asked if there is a table where they were selling them. I told them no, that I had gotten it at another show in Boston and there were only a few left from the European leg of the tour. I was lucky.

The Eastern prog band finished their set, and that's when I made my move. Even though there was another band coming on before Blackfield called Soul Farm, while the crowd was dispersing from around the stage, we all moved in and up to the fence right in front of the stage. No problem. The crowd was pretty sparse. Soul Farm came on, and they were not as good as the eastern Prog band, but some of the crowd was liking them. Then, after they cleared the stage of the Soul Farm's gear, Blackfield came on. Daniel Salomon started with those first few keyboard notes and we were all going back out into that field, so dark. Sometimes, you can take a small thing like a free show and it just seems so special. This show was like that for me. The whole band was finally together on U.S. soil.


The show was not without it's glitches though. In fact, I asked Steven how he liked it and he thought it was pretty disappointing. So, that can give you an idea of a fan and an artist's different perspectives on the same thing. Steven first started out playing a guitar that I had never seen him play before for the first few songs including "Open Mind" which had not been played on the tour last March. Then, during "Glow", someone brought SW his green PRS and he spent most of the song tuning it while Aviv sung. The guitar had apparently forgotten it had a show to do. It hadn't made it onto the flight to New York, so it arrived late. After the guitar arrived, SW seemed much happier and there were a few moments like in "Epidemic" where the band was really on and Aviv was very energetic jumping off Tomer Z's bass drum in a long winter coat. The crowd seemed to be liking it too and a lot of them sang "Cloudy Now" in Hebrew. They played the other new song "Miss U" as well. It was cool to hear the new songs with real drums behind them. Tomer Z was intense. We stood right between Seffy and Steven. Jason took some pictures. It was a free show after all and open to the public. Why didn't I remember to bring the camcorder? Then, all at once, it was over .


The stage hands were nice enough to give Lucsam and me the set lists. I got the one with the Steven Wilson's shoe mark on it. Yes, he wore shoes for this show. Even though the list has ‘Lullaby" written onit, it wasn't played that night. After the show, Steven came out and chatted with some of us and signed stuff. I told him that he would see a lot of us over the next week, and he seemed pleased. Then, it was time for the long ride home back to Baltimore. I wasn't too worried since I knew that I would be seeing Blackfield again in a few days in Providence.


SET LIST
Blackfield
Open Mind
Hole In Me
Glow
Pain
Epidemic
Miss U
Hello
Cloudy Now

March 14, 2005 Club Iota, Arlington, Virginia

This was actually the closest show to our home in Baltimore. It was just about an hour away. So, it was just like a normal day with no major traveling involved. When we got to the club, we noticed that it was located just off of Wilson Boulevard. (Interesting). There were no advance ticket sales for this show. We just paid at the door. So, a large crowd had developed, waiting to pay for tickets and we listened as the band warmed up. We chatted until the club decided to take our money, then it was time to stand up against the tiny stage with it's Christmas lights for stage lights. That should give you an idea of how tiny the Iota Club is. Steven's microphone stand was just inches from me and the guy who stood next to me. Steven came out wearing shoes but he only kept them on long enough to get to the stage, which he had to walk through the crowd to get to. He took the shoes off before he started playing though. He told the crowd (the ones who hadn't already seen a Blackfield show in the last few days) about how the full band was not able to make it as planned. Then, he started playing "Even Less." When he introduced the next song, "Christenings", he made mention that he had made a complete disaster of it when he debuted it in Philadelphia a few days earlier. Apparently, he had told GK who was standing right behind me that he had flubbed the words, but since it was a new song to us, we didn't know. Steven finished out his set and said that Blackfield would be up next.


The band returned a few minutes later and that is when some problems began. If you remember how this tour began in Cambridge with SW breaking a string on the very first song of the first set. Well, on the opening song of the last set of the tour, the same thing happened. They start into Blackfield and everyone is digging it and then, snap! SW's guitar string breaks. Steven makes a yell out and, for a few minutes, we are treading water. "GK, do you have your PRS with you?" Jordan Rudess seized the opportunity for an impromptu keyboard solo (which was dazzling) as we waited while the crew tuned Aviv's white PRS and Andy restrung Steven's black PRS. With all of that done, we were off and into the Blackfield again and the songs continued in the same order as the previous shows until the end of "Pain." Then, Aviv's acoustic guitar broke a string. No big deal. Let's just change the set list while this guitar gets restrung. So, Aviv switched to keyboards for "Epidemic" and "Thank You" until the guitar was restrung and they could continue.


The rest of the show went fairly well with no more major problems and the D.C. area crowd really seemed to enjoy the show. There were some fans there that were fans from way back and there were a bunch of folks who had never seen Steven Wilson before with Porcupine Tree or with Blackfield. There were no cameras allowed at this show. D.C. area shows seem to be more strict about some concert going rules that other cities are more relaxed about. So, that is my concert tip to those of you who travel and see shows in other cities.

After the show, the band came out and hung out with the crowd and signed stuff and chatted. I told Steven that it was my 38th birthday on the 8th of March and it was my present to myself to spend the past week in the Blackfield. He said that he was honored that I thought that it was a worthwhile birthday present. I told him that it was one Birthday that I would remember for a very long time. Wouldn't you?

SET LIST

STEVEN WILSON SET
Even Less
Christenings
How Is Your Life Today?
Lullaby
The Day Before You Came

BLACKFIELD SET
Blackfield
Glow
The Hole In Me
Pain
Epidemic
Thank You
Summer
Miss U
Cloudy Now
Feel So Low
Hello

ENCORE
Pain (again) (With an extended spacey keyboard intro by Jordan Rudess)