Last night (September 10), U.K. rockers Porcupine Tree kicked off their first tour in 12 years at Meridian Hall in Toronto. Fresh off the release of their new album, CLOSURE/CONTINUATION, the band who headed the prog-rock revival of the 90s returned to the realm of live performance with a 2-part concert experience in the great white north. Despite a scattering of shows earlier in the summer of 2022, this performance marks the band’s first official tour together since 2010 when they toured in support of their 2009 album, The Incident. Last night’s show kicked things off as this tour has Porcupine Tree going around the world until mid-November.
Largely credited for keeping the prog-rock scene relevant in the 90s, the Steven Wilson-led troupe is known for its collage-style approach to the classic progressive rock sound bringing in elements from genres that range between post-punk and electronic music. Their 2022 album marks the band’s first full project together since their aforementioned 2009 LP. The band landed on Glide’s list of shocking band reunions that happened within the last year, and their return to the stage was so effortless you wouldn’t believe it’s been over a decade since their last time up there.
Porcupine Tree’s first show of the new tour was stacked with live debuts and classics. This was the first time the band had a chance to perform songs from CLOSURE/CONTINUATION, and they took full advantage of it. 7 of the 21 songs performed last night in Toronto were from the brand new LP, songs like “Harridan”, “Of The New Day”, and “Rats Return” all saw a performance for the first time ever. The band didn’t hesitate to reach back in their storied discography, they performed “Drown With Me” from their seminal 2002 album In Absentia and the title track from their 2007 album, Fear of a Black Planet for the first time since 2008. From that same album, they performed the hit “Anesthetize” for the first time since 2008 and even dusted off “Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled” for the first time since 2003.
With Porcupine Tree feeling right at home on stage, their upcoming tour is sure to be one of the better reunion moments of the year. The band has another date in Quebec before coming to the states with stops in Boston, New York, Denver, and more.
Check out the full setlist, tour dates, and footage from the first show of the tour below:
