STEVEN WILSON BRINGS HAND. CANNOT. ERASE. TO LIFE

North American Tour Begins May 19 in Worcester

Prolific singer-songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and multiple Grammy nominee, Steven Wilson, will embark on the first leg of his North American tour in support of his current release, critically acclaimed Hand. Cannot. Erase. (Kscope), beginning Tuesday, May 19 at the Worcester Palladium in Worcester, MA.  Full routing below.

Wilson is arguably one of the most important artists in the music community today!  If you are not aware of Steven Wilson, he is a musician’s Musician!    Well beyond the reach of Prog with his new album, Hand. Cannot. Erase., Wilson weaves elements of ethereal Jazz Fusion, while taking you on a multi-layered audio journey inspired by the haunting true tale of a popular young woman forgotten by society and family as she sits dead in her apartment for more than 2 years.

The critics:

“…a towering masterpiece that will assuredly be a contender for album of the year.”  – Metro Weekly

“As someone capable of delivering accessible music that is, at the same time, compositionally and lyrically deep—detailed and, at times, unapologetically complex—Wilson makes absolutely no compromises in doing what he does. And yet, almost in spite of it all, his star continues on an increasingly rapid upward trajectory.
One can only hope.” –  All About Jazz

“Wilson’s refined skill as a songwriter and studio guru combine to fashion songs that deserve a much wider audience than one that views his work as a modern equivalent of Pink Floyd and Genesis.” –  5 stars – The Guardian

“It’s this ability to combine narrative and music in brave and adventurous ways during a time when the very longevity of the album-as-cohesive-statement is constantly being questioned that makes Wilson one of the most compelling musicians of his era. His music seeks to connect on a deeply human level, and stands in contrast to a popular music culture obsessed with disposability. This makes him a rare and precious commodity.” – Buffalo News

“Go ahead: Close the year-end polls in March.  This one is just a tremendous wonder-work.” – The Day

The following links are for a better understanding of the album, Hand. Cannot. Erase.

The story: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/oct/09/joyce-vincent-death-mystery-documentary

Blog: http://Handcannoterase.com

Video “Perfect Life:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOU_zWdhAoE

Tour trailer:  ▶ Steven Wilson – ‘Hand. Cannot. Erase’ Americas tour 2015 – YouTube

Best known as founder and front man of British rock act Porcupine Tree, Wilson has produced and collaborated with diverse acts as Opeth, Blackfield, Yes, Roxy Music, and XTC. His prolific engineering work can be heard on his mixes of classic releases from King Crimson, Jethro Tull, and most recently the 5.1 surround sound version of Tears For Fears’ classic Songs From The Big Chair reissue, released in November 2014. Porcupine Tree’s last album went top 30 in both the UK and USA, and the tour climaxed with sold out shows at Royal Albert Hall in London and Radio City Music Hall in New York.  Wilson has just sold out 2 nights at Royal Albert Hall in September 2015!

Steven Wilson has already begun his world tour tour, having assembled a virtuoso band – Nick Beggs (bass), Adam Holzman (keyboard), Guthrie Govan (guitar), David Kilminster (guitar) and Craig Blundell (drums).  His latest studio creation completed, the cinematic Hand. Cannot. Erase. features dynamic performances by Wilson, members of his touring ensemble, Marco Minneman on drums, and vocal accompaniment from
Ninet Tayeb.

# # #

www.stevenwilsonhq.com

Tour dates:

May 19                   Worcester Palladium                               Worcester, MA

May 21                   The Egg                                               Albany, NY

May  22        Berklee Performance Center                              Boston, MA

May 23                   The Whitaker Center                              Harrisburg, PA

May 24                   New Jersey PAC                                    Newark, NJ

May 26                   930 Club                                              Washington, DC

May 28                   Keswick Theatre                                    Glenside, PA

May 29                   Best Buy Theater                                   New York City

May 30                   Best Buy Theater                                   New York City

May 31                   The Grand                                            Wilmington, DE

June 02         The Palace Theatre                                Pittsburgh, PA

June  04        Park West                                            Chicago, IL

June 05         Park West                                            Chicago, IL

June 06         Barrymore Theater                                Madison, WI

June 09         Boulder Theater                                    Boulder, CO

June 11         Mesa Arts Center                                   Mesa, AZ

June 12         The Grove                                            Anaheim, CA

June 13         The Wiltern                                          Los Angeles, CA

June 14         The Warfield                                         San Francisco, CA

June 16         Aladdin Theater                                    Portland, OR

June 17         Neptune Theater                                   Seattle, WA

June 20         Vogue Theatre                                                Vancouver

June 22         Myer Horowitz Theatre                           Edmonton

June 23         Theatre Junction Grand (Flanagan Theatre) Calgary

June 26         The Danforth Music Hall                          Toronto

June 27         Montreal Jazz Festival                            Montreal

June 28         Montreal Jazz Festival                            Montreal

June  29        Impérial                                               Quebec City

Sept 28         Royal Albert Hall                                    London

Sept 29         Royal Albert Hall                                    London

–This information comes from the wonderful Kim Estlund

The WSJ reports:

During the song, each band member intended to make an individual, grand exit across the catwalk. But the Edge took a bad step and fell off the edge of the catwalk on his way out (Bono did his best to keep the show moving, and kept on walking while the crew attended to his bandmate).

The set list:

“The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)”
“Out of Control”
“Vertigo”
“I Will Follow”
“Iris (Hold Me Close)”
“Cedarwood Road”
“Song for Someone”
“Sunday Bloody Sunday”
“Raised by Wolves”
“Until the End of the World”
“Invisible”
“Even Better Than the Real Thing”
“Mysterious Ways”
“Desire”
“The Sweetest Thing”
“Every Breaking Wave”
“Bullet the Blue Sky
“Pride (In the Name of Love)”
“The Troubles”
“With or Without You”

Encore:

“City of Blinding Lights”
“Beautiful Day”
“Where the Streets Have No Name”
“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege (I don’t use that word lightly here) of attending Marillion Weekend in Montreal, Canada. For those who aren’t familiar with the weekend conventions, the band play three straight nights, each with a different setlist and theme.

Friday night featured the Anoraknophobia album in full, plus a few extras. There was a well-intentioned attempt to open the weekend with “Montreal,” a love letter to the city and its fans, but a blown fuse in the venue cut the performance short. (Not to worry, we eventually heard it during Sunday’s encores.) Unfazed, the band returned to the stage after a few minutes and launched into “Between You and Me.”

In my experience, Anoraknophobia is an album best enjoyed with headphones on a quiet evening, so it doesn’t exactly make for the best live album. Still, “Separated Out” and “If My Heart Were a Ball” were obvious standouts. The encore performance of “This Strange Engine” was one of the highlights of the weekend, as Steve Hogarth’s final lyrics – “is true, is true” – rang through the venue long after the lights came up.

On Saturday, the band performed the entirety of Marbles, probably the most beloved album from the Hogarth era. And unlike Anorak, nearly every song on the album lends itself perfectly to a live show. After the opening performance of “Invisible Man,” I looked around the venue and saw people literally holding their heads in disbelief, still in awe at a song they had likely heard hundreds of times. And it went this way for most of the night, from “Ocean Cloud” to “Neverland.”

It’s no exaggeration to say that everything – lights, sound, atmosphere – is in its rightful place at a Marillion concert, and the Marbles night showcased this perfectly. At the end of the show, I remarked to friends that the band’s lighting tech (whose name I embarrassingly can’t recall)* truly gets every song. The performances are as visually striking as they are transcendent.

On Sunday night, the band returned to fan favorites with a “charting the singles” theme that reached all the way back to 1982’s “Market Square Heroes.” I snuck a look at the setlist from the band’s earlier conventions in Holland and the UK, so I knew what songs were to come, but it was obvious from the reactions in the room that many other fans had waited to be surprised. As the band counted up the years from “Garden Party” and “Kayleigh,” they revisited a few rare tracks: “Sympathy,” “These Chains,” and the alternate, more hopeful version of “The Great Escape.”

The Sunday night show confirmed what I suspect those of us in attendance already knew: how deeply personal much of Marillion’s music remains to the fans, as long as 30 years after first release. As the crowd continued singing the last lines of “Easter” – “forgive, forget, say never again” – well after the song had ended, it was obvious that all of us in the room, band included, felt and appreciated the truth of those words.

Even weeks later, all I can think of is how grateful I am – grateful to Marillion for revealing elements of the human experience that are so often lost and obscured, and for helping us to remember that such experiences are still there to be had.

Edit: Marillion’s lighting designer is Yenz Nyholm, who deserves serious recognition for the lighting production.