The Girl in the Scarf

Writing today instead of my usual Tuesday, as I have a full day of driving to look forward to tomorrow back to Omaha. This is also my first concert blog post. Exciting, right? I think it is! So let’s get into it.

So, I was stunned to learn that this is Steven Wilson’s first solo tour since 2018. This is largely due to the pandemic interrupting his chance to release and tour his album THE FUTURE BITES. There was also, of course, the long-awaited Porcupine Tree reunion in 2022 that stalled another solo release. But in time, we got his eighth solo record, The Overview, and last night, on a clear night in downtown Denver, we got to watch Steven and his band bring everything to life.

Ok, I took one photo during the show. Just one. I confess. Don’t tar and feather me, please.

Anyway, the band comprised a group of familiar faces I’ve had the pleasure of seeing perform with numerous lead artists like Steve Hackett and Marillion. We had Nick Beggs on bass and Chapman Stick, Craig Blundell on drums, Randy McStine on lead guitar, and Adam Holzman on keyboards. What a lineup, right? Impresive to such a degree that at one point in the show I finally got to hear Steven Wilson declare himself the “worst musician on the stage.” He’s not a bad player himself, but when he’s up against that level of musicianship, he is for sure outmatched.

Anyway, this was “An Evening With,” so there was no opening act. Instead, we got over 2.5 hours of new and old content, divided into two sets. The first set was a performance of The Overview in its entirety. While I’m still iffy on the music of that album, I wasn’t when it came to the visuals. The visuals that accompanied the music were easily the best part of the first set. Set two had its share of strong visuals, don’t get me wrong, especially during songs like “Home Invasion,” and the show’s closing song “The Raven That Refused to Sing.” That said, musically, I was more invested in the second set. Even after having seen Steven Wilson as many times as I have since 2011’s Blackfield tour, I don’t go into his shows hoping to hear any particular songs, unlike others in the audience who insisted on shouting out song requests at any given chance.

One thing that made this night special was that it was Steven’s sixth wedding anniversary. Since he couldn’t be home to celebrate with his wife Rotem, he enlisted the help of the audience to record a special iPhone video, sending her love and good vibes, and having us all shout “Happy anniversary” on cue. Best wishes to them both!

The show highlights for me had to honestly be the encores, with “The Raven” being the very last song, and then “Ancestral” being the one before it. I thought those were such good ways to end the show on a high note (I’m talking about the strength of the music more than about the lyrical content). Upon researching the setlist for the 2018 and 2015 US tours, I realized that I hadn’t heard any live performances of songs from “The Raven That Refused to Sing” since the 2015 tour for Hand.Cannot.Erase!

It was fun getting to watch the show while sitting in such close proximity to some good friends and acquaintances by complete chance, with two being seated directly behind me, and my friend Dylan being seated just one row ahead. That’s a concert first for me! A fun night was had by all!