I’m not quite sure if this was Blackfield’s last show or last show with this lineup, it remains unclear to me. Tonight’s show had a feeling of closure and finality. Having newly discovered this group I can say I was regretting not finding them sooner. The night started off with fellow Porcupine Tree alumni John Wesley. Not at all what I was expecting when I heard who was in his band. Wesley and his solo band put on a massively mellow and grooving set. Fellow guitarist and vocalist Ian Medhurst won me over very quickly. I was even more impressed with his rhythm section: former Iced Earth drummer Mark Prator and Sean Malone of Cynic. Their musicianship was uncanny. They powered through eight songs of new and old tunes with little or no effort.
Before Blackfield took the stage the crowd was already starting with chants of “Please don’t stop” and “We love you”. I met a guy named David who came all the way San Francisco to see the end of the show. That’s a true fan right there. He was even gracious enough to fill me in on the band history.
When they took the stage the crowd was hungry for their music. Blackfield headed up by Aviv Geffen and Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, Storm Corrosion, Opeth) they launched into a massive 20 song set. There was a wide range of emotions in this music. I was blown away, but the connection the crowd had with the band made every song was a sing along. From ‘Miss U’ to ‘Jupiter’ they showed this was more than just prog rock, it was just great music period. The closest thing they reminded me in terms of style was Pink Floyd with ‘Where is My Love?’. From the acoustic sounds to the ballad-tinged parts, it was one of the memorable songs for me. To help bring the night to a close Dream Theater’s Jordan Rudess came out for the extended last song, ‘Cloudy Now’. Jordan rocked on a keyboard and then an iPad. It was as hard rockin as this group gets, and the perfect ending to an eye-opening night.
Blackfield Set List:
Faking
Blackfield
Pills
Miss U
My Gift of Silence
Pain
DNA
Go to Hell
Jupiter
Disolving with the Night
Where is my Love?
1,000 People
Some Day
Once
Summer
Oxygen
Hello
Encore:
Glow
End of the World
Cloudy Now
OMAR CORDY