Arriving Somewhere (2006)

Should be arriving in your DVD player...

My acquaintance w/Porcupine Tree has only been for the past few years, & the majority of their CDs that I own are their latest releases. In other words, I don't feel I have a very "historical perspective" of the band's catalogue.

Having made that disclaimer, I eagerly awaited getting to see a concert version of PT, & I was/am not disappointed. In fact, I find the whole thing jaw-droppingly good. Porcupine Tree is not a terrific visual act, such as KISS or Madonna; they just let their musical prowess say what needs to be said.

And what prowess! I was pretty sure that Gavin Harrison's drumming would be stellar & it is. The biggest revelation to me was how Richard Barbieri's keyboards soared over all the other instruments, creating a very unnerving & even at times frightening vibe. Of course, that, to me, is the crux of Steven Wilson's worldview, that humanity has veered off track, leaving us a very uncertain future. To have that uneasiness expressed musically was to me the glue that held the show together.

I'm not ignoring Steven; it just seems that as the creative force of the band, there is not much I can add that would not be drooling (I do enough of that uncontrolled at my age as it is). It has actually taken me most of those several years I mentioned above to fully realize how he really is a worthy successor (all by himself) to say, Pink Floyd or King Crimson.

If I do have a complaint, it's about the effects used to make the image look like old newsreel footage, & perhaps too much jumping from color to black & white, but the music is strong enough to make these quibbles easily ignorable. The second disc is a bit of a let-down length-wise, but still adds a couple extra live tracks, a bunch of photos, & a Gavin Harrison song called "Cymbal Song"; the title tells you what you're getting, but it is fascinating nonetheless.

All this has led to me making this final recommendation: get it! You can always resell it right here. October 23, 2008

Absolutely Fantastic!

A great band performing great songs. The dvd itself is pretty good in terms of presentation and features, but it's the footage of the band live that is what it's all about for me, and in this respect, it rocks! If you like this band, it's a must-have. If you're still on the fence about them, then you will LOVE them after seeing them perform on this dvd. October 10, 2008

The best live performance in existence!

I've been around a long time and heard almost all of them. This is the best for a number of reasons:

1) Steven Wilson
2) Porcupine Tree, damn they are great and Gavin is a killer, listen to this version of Hate Song.
3) DTS version, if you have it or know someone who does, listen there
4) best song writing going out there now, the world is full of crap now, but this you must hear. October 5, 2008

Hidden Gem

This dvd is a must for any lover of great rock/theatre live shows.Porcupine Tree are truly of the hidden gems of the music scene with their mix of metal and laid back moments.The anti sell out lyrics of Steve Wilson compliment the music brillintly.I would say to any fan who likes rock music the way it should be to put Arriving Somewhere at the top of your list. August 30, 2008

Excellent

This DVD has everything you may wish for. I have successfully managed to get numerous friends interested in Porcupine Tree just by showing them some songs from this DVD.

Production is excellent, with fantastic audio in stereo or surround (except for "The Start of Something Beautiful" in the stereo mix, which unfortunately has the vocals mixed a bit too far to the background), and interesting live footage treatment by Lasse Hoile that adds to the atmosphere.

The band is in excellent shape and performs some of their best material of the time mixed with daring and great re-interpretations of older material. Especially "Hatesong" is mind-bogglingly excellent.

If you like Porcupine Tree, this is a must-have that you will never regret buying. If you don't know Porcupine Tree yet, you may start liking them based on this DVD. August 28, 2008

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