Steven Wilson 2013-03-11 Amsterdam FLAC

Steven Wilson

Melkweg (Rabozaal)
Amsterdam
The Netherlands

11th March 2013 (2013-03-11)


BAND:

Marco Minnemann - drums
Adam Holzman - keyboards
Theo Travis - flute
Nick Beggs - bass/Chapman Stick
Guthrie Govan - guitar


RECORDING:

Type: Audience master, recorded 8 - 10 metres back from the left-hand side, suspended PA stack.

Source: Factory-matched pair of Schoeps CCM 41V microphones (DINa mounted) -> Marantz PMD661 recorder with Oade Concert Mod (-18 dB gain/44.1 kHz/24 bit WAV)

Lineage: Audacity 2.0.3
* Individual attenuation of peaks caused by nearby clapping.
* Normalised to 0 dB.
* Applied variable amplification across recording for consistent listening experience.
* Attenuation of audience noise.
* Added fades.
* Split tracks.
* Converted to 16 bit.
-> FLAC (compression level 8) [libFLAC 1.2.1 20070917]

Taper: Ian Macdonald (ianmacd)


SET LIST:

01. [00:42] [intro]
02. [12:30] Luminol
03. [00:43] [banter]
04. [07:46] Drive Home
05. [05:12] The Pin Drop
06. [00:31] [banter]
07. [04:33] Postcard
08. [10:14] The Holy Drinker
09. [09:04] Deform To Form A Star
10. [03:24] [The Watchmaker video interlude]
11. [11:59] The Watchmaker
12. [00:38] [banter]
13. [04:52] Index
14. [04:21] Insurgentes
15. [00:33] [banter]
16. [05:11] Harmony Korine
17. [06:02] No Part Of Me
18. [01:56] [banter]
19. [19:43] Raider II
20. [07:54] The Raven That Refused To Sing
21. [02:41] [encore break]
22. [01:12] [banter]
23. [11:50] Radioactive Toy
24. [02:13] [bows]

Total running time: 135:45


NOTES:

It's freezing outside the Melkweg tonight. Last week, the first hint of spring
had been in the air, but winter has reclaimed the country over the last few
days and it's below zero as I stand here waiting to get inside.

Coaches line the Lijnbaansgracht and there's at least one other sold-out show
taking place at the Melkweg this evening.

The venue's web site makes it appear as if an unnamed support band will be
kicking off the evening at 19:30, but that turns out not to be the case. It's
just as well, too, because I don't make it inside until something like 19:40.

The evening starts off humorously; humorously, that is, if you're only reading
about what happens next, as opposed to actually being the person it happens
to.

I head to the lavatories to prepare myself for recording the gig, but I fumble
one of my batteries and it falls to the floor. As I crouch to grab it, it
rolls under the partition wall, into the cubicle to the left of this one.
Shit!

Now, I don't know about you, but starting up a conversation with the man in
the toilet cubicle next to mine is not something that comes naturally to me. I
think for a moment and then announce, in my best heterosexual voice, that my
battery has rolled into his cubicle, and would he be so kind as to give it a
tap with his foot to send it back my way.

Well, he informs me that the bloody thing has rolled straight past his feet
and on into the cubicle to the left of his. Fuck! How many toilet-goers am I
going to have to harass this evening?

I exit my cubicle and discover, somewhat to my relief, that there is no second
cubicle on the left. Bending, I see that my battery has finally run out of
momentum under one of the urinals, where some bloke is now standing, having a
piss. I wait for him to finish and then retrieve the errant item from the
piss-spattered floor.

Let's hope that little adventure forms the extent of my mishaps the evening.

I enter the Rabozaal, which is filling up fast, and move into position. It's
not the easiest of places to record in, because of the positioning of the PA,
which is suspended high above the audience. I must either stand further
forward, sacrificing an ideal line to the PA, or move further back and to the
centre, which will inevitably increase crowd noise.

Moving further back in this particular venue would also entail positioning
myself close to the sound desk and, with Steven Wilson's well-documented
dislike of taping, that's a particularly undesirable place to stand this
evening.

Similarly, I don't wish to stand too far off to the side, because the security
gorillas are out in force this evening and they may have been instructed to
keep a particularly vigilant eye open for tapers on this occasion.

No, discretion is key tonight, so I opt for a forward position, slightly
to the right of the suspended left-hand PA stack. Bodies soon assemble around
me, ensuring that I can't be observed by security from either the front or the
sides. This should work out OK.

Steven Wilson is a punctual man. It can't be a more than a few seconds past
half eight when his band take to the stage and slide into 'Luminol' from the
new album, 'The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories)'.

The album is performed in its entirety this evening, along with selected songs
from Wilson's previous solo outings.

A translucent curtain drops after 'Deform To Form A Star'. As the band file
from the stage, a video interlude begins, projected onto the curtain and
forming an introduction to the next song, 'The Watchmaker'.

The band are presumably off enjoying a toilet break, a beer, a fag or some
combination of all three. They reemerge a few minutes later and continue.

Wilson has assembled an amazing band, it has so be said.

Nick Beggs oscillates between the bass and the amazingly cool-looking Chapman
Stick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapman_Stick). I don't recognise Beggs at
the time, but in the course of my research of the band, he turns out to be
none other than Kajagoogoo's old bass player; yes, the one with the platinum
blonde locks and beads. Well I never.

Guitarist Guthrie Govan is dazzling to watch at work. Wilson is no novice of
the fretboard himself, but he's made to look like one next to Govan, who is an
absolute master of the instrument.

All of the band have an impressive CV, to be honest. They've all played with a
list of known-name musicians as long as your arm.

Prog-rock is not really my thing, but I wanted to catch Wilson on this tour. I
didn't bother the last time he was in town, but I enjoyed hearing the new
album and thought it would be fun to see him perform it live. And it has been.

The encore turns out to be Porcupine Tree's 'Radioactive Toy', justified by
Wilson on the grounds that 1992's 'On The Sunday Of Life' album was, in fact,
technically a solo record. It probably forms the highlight of tonight's set
for me.

It's a respectably long show, clocking in at two hours and fifteen minutes,
with the band turning in a blinding performance. They finish, stood at the
front of the stage, taking bows to rapturous applause from the assembled
throng.

The quality of the recording is excellent, if not quite amongst my very best
work. No fan will be disappointed, however.

Samples are included to help you decide whether the recording is worth your
while.