June 4, 2026 – Thinking back to the time I saw Blackfield

Sometimes the weirdest things occur to you just out of the blue. Earlier today, I came to the realization that the first and, sadly, only Blackfield concert I ever went to took place 15 years ago tonight! I was 14, and it was also my first time at the El Rey Theater, a small venue located in the Miracle Mile part of the Wilshire area in Los Angeles. I didn’t know much Blackfield music, or really anything about the band, apart from a few songs I’d heard off the 2007 Blackfield ll album. I don’t remember much of what happened before the show, other than briefly getting to finally meet some people I had chatted with in Facebook music groups, and in the, now deleted, guestbook of John Wetton. There were a few other people there who would eventually become friends of mine, but I wouldn’t meet them until Steven Wilson’s tour for The Raven That Refused to Sing two years later. Unlike most of my early concert experiences, I actually have quite a few surviving photos from that evening.

Keep in mind, it was 2011, so phone camera quality has improved considerably since then. Dad and I managed to get up front, a little off to the right, where Aviv Geffen would be stationed. I knew absolutely nothing about the band, or about Steven Wilson at the time, and wouldn’t learn Wilson’s name and musical history until later. they did have one opening act: Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater played a short set. If I remember right, he played a mix of his own material and some keyboard covers of classic prog tunes. One thing I distinctly remember is the cover he played of King Crimson’s “Moonchild” on an app that, I believe, he developed (or helped develop) on his iPad.

Despite knowing very little material going in, I’m surprised at how much of that show I remember 15 years on. Steven Wilson’s father had unexpectedly passed away shortly before the tour began, if memory serves me right, and I remember him mentioning it briefly near the end of the show before thery started into “Cloudy Now.” Blackfield were touring in support of their album Welcome to My D.N.A., so of course a good portion of their set included material from that, but I remember the content they played from Blackfield ll and Blackfield l. It was fun watching Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen jumping up and down during the lead-in to the chorus of “Once,” and watching some of Aviv Geffen’s moments of theatricality, namely when he pulled his shirt over his head while singing during “End of the World.”

Steven Wilson remained on the opposite side of the stage for most of the show, so that’s why I don’t have many photos of him. It wasn’t until at the very end, when he finally made his way over and stopped directly over me.

Despite not knowing who he was, I got a huge rush out of being inches away. The excitement didn’t stop there, however. During the final bows before exiting the stage, I got a special surprise from Mr. Wilson himself: a guitar pick! I believe this was my first time ever receiving a pick from a musician, let alone directly from the stage! There’s actually a YouTube video of that moment, fortunately. It’s at the very end of the video. You can just see my hand coming up and him handing the pick to me. That pick is still in my possession and now sits amid a small collection of other plectrums I’ve received over the years, including from Steve Rothery, Justin Hayward, Adrian Belew, and Greg Lake.