The much anticipated return of Porcupine Tree to the live circuit finally reached U.K shores with this their first British date of The Incident Tour at Leeds. Hailed by many as influencal in the Progressive circles as Pink Floyd are, Porcupine Tree play an announcement before taking to the stage. It basically outlined that photography and filming of any kind would not be tolerated and any person found to be breaching that rule should be pointed out and would be removed from the venue. This left a slightly bitter taste in my mouth before they even took to the stage, I felt it was quite ironic that a band renowned for embracing technology effectively put a ban on what made them what they are today, you have been warned!

When the performance finally kicked off it was soon clear that they would be playing 'The Incident' in its full blown progressive entirety. With haunting images projected onto a backdrop screen it gave a little visual clarity of the message the album was trying to portray. With a fantastic accompanying light show this headline performance was something special and could be the tour to catch this year. Each member precise and exact in their performance they really are the consummate professionals. When the opening chords of 'Time Flies' strum into life the crowd greets it like an old friend. Steven Wilson is such a talented individual and with John Wesley by his side to beef up the layered sound it is here in the live arena Porcupine Tree truly excels. Clearly enjoying themselves time seems to stand still for a moment of contemplation of what we are witnessing.

After a ten minute recess they returned to perform some back catalog material from what seemed to cover the whole history of the band, a roaring version of 'The start of Something Beautiful' was soon followed by 'Normal' from the 'Nil Recurring E.P.' Encores of 'The Sound of Muzak' and set closer 'Trains' brought this evening of progressive perfection to an end. Porcupine Tree are gaining so much critical acclaim at the moment and it is truly deserved, since signing to Roadrunner the world seems to have embraced them, let's hope Mr. Wilson does not forget who it was that put him where he is today.

Set List
1. Occam's Razor
2. The Blind House
3. Great Expectations
4. Kneel and Disconnect
5. Drawing the Line
6. The Incident
7. Your Unpleasant Family
8. The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train
9. Time Flies
10. Degree Zero of Liberty
11. Octane Twisted
12. The Séance
13. Circle of Manias
14. I Drive the Hearse
15. The Start of Something Beautiful
16. Russia on Ice
17. Anesthetize
18. Remember Me Lover
19. Strip the Soul
20. .3
21. Normal
22. Mother and Child Divided Encore:
23. The Sound of Muzak
24. Trains

Mark Davies.