BACKDOORS PART-2(STEVEN WILSON)

EDIT: The link for the photographs for the Backdoors event is out on their official page, and so I am updating the post with the link down here. Do check it out 😀

https://www.facebook.com/pg/thtbackdoors/photos/?tab=album&album_id=627211697403883

 

It has been exactly one week since the BACKDOORS event happened, and I am still not over the awesomeness of it. Continuing from my first part of the BACKDOORS experience, I will now cover the most important aspect of this show, the one and only STEVEN WILSON!!!!

The crowd had thronged to the second stage, and were eagerly waiting for the band members to take stage. People were trying to push through the front as much as they could to get a glimpse of the man himself. The excitement levels were such that any passing person on the stage would be met with cheers and screams, expecting him to be one of the band members. We thought we would have to wait out for a few more minutes. Moments after that thought crossed my head, the band members, Wilson included came onto the stage and took their respective positions.

The crowd went mad, the moment was here. The genius was on stage, the instruments were ready, and the cheers didn’t stop for even a second. Looking out to the crowd, the band started off by playing the intro riff of the title song, “Hand Cannot Erase”, which kicked things up even more, as the crowd starting singing along, and grooving to it. Steven Wilson played the last show of his worldwide tour in Bengaluru, to promote his album, “Hand Cannot Erase”. After the song, the band themselves got the hang of the mad crowd, which I am pretty sure they would have expected, but not to the extent of the reality at Backdoors. 😀

He then armed himself with the bass guitar, and they started off to “Home Invasion”, infusing the required energy into the show, changing the entire setting of the show, from a show playing soothing, peaceful, to a power packed show, where half the crowd were already headbanging. The lighting and the sounds did their part in making this show as exciting as it already was.

After that energetic song, and that treat of pure prog rock music, he then went on to speak to the crowd, and present one of his own famous songs as a tribute to the late David Bowie, and that song is none other than Lazarus. This is one of his most recognizable songs, written during his stint with Porcupine Tree. True to its nature, the crowd sang the chorus louder than Wilson (Of course they were singing the other parts with him, but nothing beats the chorus). The setting was perfect, with Wilson on the acoustic guitar, the lights focused on him, and the crowd singing with him, and losing themselves into the music.  The “Lazarus” moment was captured by many smartphones during the chorus. The piano kicks into the next song, and he begins to sing the song “Happy Returns”, making the crowd sway to the soft acoustic song, supported suitably by the band.

Apart from the music, the band also played visuals for each of the songs behind, which was like an icing on the cake, adding to the overall experience. He then moved onto some of his older solo work, starting with one of my all time favorites, Harmony Korine and then going to Index. The execution of the song “Index” was done differently, with the introduction based on clicks of fingers by all the members keeping time, with Wilson singing the first part, and then the band kicking into the music after the chorus.

To give the crowd sometime to breathe, and relax into his music, he then moved into “Ancestral”, which is a 13-minute-long song, and gave us the right kind of mood to just enjoy and sink into his lovely compositions. It was with songs like this, that they keyboardist of the band, Adam Holzman, played all kinds of sounds, making us pause and notice his mastery behind the keys. Steven himself went behind the keyboards for this one, separately in the center. He went back to Porcupine Tree with “Don’t Hate Me” and “Sleep Together”. A newer version of this song was recorded for his latest EP release, “4 ½”, which was a little longer one, with more music. He then he kicked into the instrumental “Vermillioncore” from the same EP.

Wilson then teased the crowd by saying Goodnight, and leaving the stage with his band members, leaving us wanting for more, but of course came back and promised us more music for the night.

The band returned, and then Wilson talked about how Prince influenced life and his music, and had only great words to speak about him. Paying a tribute to the late artist, they kicked into their cover version of the Prince song , “Sign “☮” the Times”.

He then started off “The Sound of Muzak” and asked the crowd to sing the “catchy chorus” along with him, since he barely gets catchy choruses to write. After all the singing, swaying, and headbanging to the music, it was time for the last song. He got his chair near the mike, and the visuals were in sight. Many people like me guessed the song that was coming, and the first few chords of the piano led us to “The Raven That Refused to Sing”, which got all the die hard fans crazy, since he hadn’t played any songs from that album yet. While some of them lightly sang the initial lines with Wilson, most of them were either lost in the music, in his voice, or in the lovely music video of the song that was being played behind. There were many others, like me as well, who kept watching the visuals as the song went by, getting us into tears, and immersing ourselves into the pain expressed into the song.

He then kicked in with the electric guitar, and went into the final parts of the song, kicking into the stirring motif in a dramatic manner, with the dramatic lighting, bringing an end to his show at an emotional, but a satisfactory high.

This night was a dream come true for all Steven Wilson fans, as no one, like me would have expected him to play live, that too in our own city. When I wore the Raven t-shirt(Courtesy: Headbangers Merchandise), I felt proud to see Bengaluru listed as one of the cities along with those all over the world, where he toured and enthralled the crowds, and also the fact I was in the crowd as well. This night will be remembered for years to come, not just for Steven Wilson, but for the entire musical experience. I don’t think we can thank The Humming Tree enough for giving us Backdoors, and for giving us the Steven Wilson experience, down here in Bangalore. With smiles, and a heart full of satisfaction, the night came to a close. Well I wish I had better photographs, but I got this one from a friend, who was with me.

Picture Courtesy: Fisto Jose

PS: The experience is penned down based solely on memory and a little help from the Internet. The views expressed are solely personal, and does not attempt to be a critic in any form, on any department.

The setlist for this show(Steven Wilson) can be accessed from here:

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/steven-wilson/2016/indiranagar-club-bangalore-india-13fb8109.html

 

BACKDOORS Ft. Steven Wilson, Patrick Watson and Jose Gonzalez- Part 1

I still remember the moment, somewhere in mid-October I guess, I was sitting on Instagram post midnight, and I come across this post by The Humming Tree on it saying, they’re getting Steven Wilson and 2 other artists for a new event named “BACKDOORS” in Bangalore. I couldn’t contain my excitement!!!. I had made peace with myself that I won’t be able to go to the Pune NH7 Weekender , thanks to my exams, and so watching the great Steven Wilson live was out of question. (And yeaa I didn’t go for Coldplay also).

But that post just gave me the kick again. The show was to be held on 4th December, one day before an exam, but I didn’t bother about that at all. I was going for this, come what may. I would also get to discover the other 2 artists in the lineup, Patrick Watson, and Jose Gonzalez. I kept my friends, who were SW fans, informed through Facebook for all kinds of updates on venue, timings, and tickets as well, by tagging them on the official posts from the pages, whenever I could. This was a big event. A big one. And this one coming next day after his NH7 gig in Pune.

My respect for The Humming Tree just shot up, getting Steven Wilson to play down South, that too even after the disappointment of Bengaluru losing out on a Weekender this year. Seeing the number of fans he has here, it would have been sad that most of us would have missed out on him coming to India, that too after so many years(He came last time to Mumbai with Porcupine Tree in 2008). You guys rock. \m/

After waiting for all these days, the D-Day was here.  The venue was Indiranagar Club, the same one where The Aristocrats ended up playing in September( No I didn’t watch them). The gates were open by 4:30 pm. I gathered at a friend’s place to get some company with me to the venue. I managed to reach at sharp 6pm, when the show was scheduled to start.

After getting our wrist bands, post confirmation, we went through 2 rounds of frisking, as there was a strict “No-Smoking” rule inside the concert. We then passed by the stalls, food stall, the Headbangers Merchandise stall, as we explored the place a bit. We then went inside and Jose Gonzalez, the first artist was already live on stage. The stage was magnificent, well lit, and big, which was a delight to the eyes. We then see the huge line gathered for drinks coupons, while the show had already begun. We were on the tennis court of the Club, and two stages were set up parallel to each other, between which we were roaming about and enjoying the music.

The place was brimming with people already, and Jose Gonzalez was setting the mood for the gig.  His soft songs, coupled with his work on the strings of his classical guitar already gave us the impression that this night is going to be as musically memorable as it can get. Apart from singing his own compositions, some from his latest album “Vestiges and Claws”, he even had a few covers as well.(I am yet to see the full set list, so need clarifications), and not to forget, he had a soothing voice as well. Being an indie folk musician, he did have some songs playing around with a little percussion too. He ended his set with his rendition of his cover of “Heartbeats” by The Knifes.

After the beautiful set, it was time for Patrick Watson and his band to take the stage. The setting of the stage took some time, as they had to put up the pet orbs(See it in the picture), and a grand piano as well. They the;on began their set, with the lovely setting and the beautiful piano being played by Patrick Watson himself on the side, and giving vocals. As and how the the music flowed, the lights kept changing. I just stood there and enjoyed the soothing vocals of Patrick and his piano, with his band complementing him. Patrick Watson was on an India tour to promote their latest album, “Love Songs for Robots” (Thanks Backdoors page for the info :D)

As their set went, they went more into a more Floyd-like zone with their sound, and also had elements like, bringing in the drums suddenly into the song, after a nice, slow trip, which kept making us feel we are floating in some other universe, in some of their songs.(like how it happened in their song “Lighthouse”). If the music was doing it’s part, their lighting didn’t fail as well, turning it into a complete visual treat, of a kind I have never seen before.

Photos courtesy: Nikhil Alexander

Photo Courtesy: Backdoors Facebook page

I couldn’t be more happier, seeing that what my generation missed out big time on shows like “The Pulse” by Pink Floyd, I am getting a small preview of what a show like that would have been like in 1994.

I also spotted a woodsaw player in the band(who was also the drummer), and I was trying to filter out his sound alone with my ears, trying to hear what it sounds like. I did manage to, but I felt it was a little feeble, or that was because the mic wasn’t set up properly for him. Anyways he made up for that, when all the band members came to the center to use just one mic for all the members. It was there the woodsaw got it’s sound and added the element of bendy tones to the layer of soothing music that was created, adding a touch of psychedelic aspect into the music. The audience were lost into the music, or busy standing in line for drinks,(or waiting for SW) but then the set came to an end, and we were left wanting for more.

Of course, one part of me couldn’t wait for Steven Wilson to come on stage, but the other side, I was so content and musically happy that apart from Wilson, I also got to hear two other soulfully beautiful artists, who set the mood and gave us beautiful music for a memorable night and for a lovely event like Backdoors.

The announcement then came in, which said that Steven Wilson will come on the other stage(A bigger stage), just parallel to this one where the other 2 artists played. The crowd starting moving there, trying to get to the front as much as possible. Mind you, some of the SW fans were already present there, booking their spots and enjoying the music playing on the other stage. It was time, for the master to take stage. This will be covered in the second part of the blog.

PS: I will add better photos to the post once the official ones are out from the Backdoors Facebook page. Till then, let’s wait together 😀

 

EDIT: After posting the links of the blog to the BACKDOORS page, apart from acknowledgement,  I also got the set-lists of both Patrick Watson and Jose Gonzalez from them in response as well. Thank you BACKDOORS for this 😀 (Time to check them out). Here they are: