REVIEW

Music DVD Review: Blackfield - Blackfield NYC: Blackfield Live In New York City

Written by Glen Boyd
Published December 30, 2007

I've made no secret of the fact that the greatest, and most unexpected musical discovery I made in 2007 was the band Porcupine Tree.

Although I was a bit of a late bloomer to this band, once I "got it," I pretty much dove straight into the deep end of the pool — devouring everything I could get my hands on. Which proved to be a considerable task, since this band has apparently been the best-kept secret on this side of the pond since at least the mid-nineties.

So, in the way of a quick introduction for the uninitiated, Porcupine Tree began as a prog-rock band heavily influenced by people like Pink Floyd in the nineties on albums like The Sky Moves Sideways and Signify.

They have long since developed a harder, more distinctive sound uniquely their own on albums like Deadwing and this year's great Fear Of A Blank Planet, which I named my #2 Album Of The Year, right behind Springsteen's Magic.

In the #3 slot on that same list was Blackfield II, the second album from the side project of Porcupine Tree's resident creative genius, Steven Wilson.

So heres the thing.

Back in the seventies when I did my time behind the counter at a record store, I used to live to turn my customers on to guys like this. Steven Wilson is an absolutely major songwriting talent lying in wait to be discovered. With Porcupine Tree, he creates these incredible soundscapes that veer from quiet nuance, to bludgeoning metallic knockouts that quite literally split your skull in two.

Blackfield is Wilson's side project with Israeli singer/songwriter Aviv Geffen, that allows this amazingly prolific songwriter to explore lusher, more romantic pop terrain. Except for the fact that there is a dark edge to so many of these songs, masked as they are by the denser arrangements of Blackfield's two albums.

What we have here is a live DVD recorded earlier this year at New York City's Bowery Ballroom.

My review is simple. It's great. Buy it. There's nothing really fancy here. It's a great, if very straight forward — there are no special effects or tricky camera angles — document of the event. Well okay, I'm a little bit mystified as to why Aviv Geffen has all of that glitter all over his face.

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GlenSoprano

You'll find Blogcritics assistant music editor Glen Boyd sharing his Thoughtmares on his personal blogs The World Wide Glen, and The Rockologist, as well as at Cinema Blend Music. In a previous life, Glen was a music professional and journalist whose work has appeared in The Rocket, SPIN, Pulse!, and The Source. Glen is also seeking an active full-time writing gig. Will somebody please hire this man?
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Blackfield - NYC (Live in New York) Blackfield - NYC (Live in New York)
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Arriving Somewhere (2pc) Arriving Somewhere (2pc)
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Music DVD Review: Blackfield - Blackfield NYC: Blackfield Live In New York City
Published: December 30, 2007
Type: Review
Section: Music
Filed Under: Music: Live Concerts, Music: Progressive Rock, Music: Video, Review, Video: Music
Writer: Glen Boyd
Glen Boyd's BC Writer page
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Comments

#1 — December 31, 2007 @ 14:10PM — Pico [URL]

The videos you provided really help to tell your story. And you're right, there's nothing fancy in their show, and the songs are fairly straightforward renditions of what you get on the album, with just a bit harder edge. But with songs that good, there's no need to glam 'em up.

I was surprised I found "End Of The World" to be the best performance of this sampling being that it's my least favorite tune on Blackfield II (although I still liked the studio version alright). When the opportunity comes up for both Wilson and Geffen to sing lead together, they do it well.

Thanks for the write-up, Glen.

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