We arrived in Montreal with enough time to book a room for the night and to get a bite to eat before shooting off to see Porcupine Tree at the Club Soda. Got to the venue, and still had time to sink a couple of beers before Steve and his merry men started off with Open Car from their excellent new Deadwing CD. I had been looking forwards to seeing tracks from this opus played live, and I wasn't to be disappointed! In Absentia's Blackest Eyes swiftly followed along with Lazarus, before the highlight of the new album, Deadwing itself was aired. This was heaven, and I don't mean the gay club.

Then they played the haunting Don't Hate Me, another of my favourites, which was trailed by the instrumental Mother and Child Divided. Another haunting track, Gravity Eyelids, came next and held the crowd in its hands, enraptured.

The next track, So Called Friend, Steve explained was from the Deadwing sessions but didn't make the album, however it was on their recent European single - Ebay, here I come when I get home! A classic song, I fail to understand how it didn't make the cut. Don't know what I would have left off to make room for it though. They followed this with the 13 minute epic Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, which was well played by everyone in the band. This was very well received by the crazy Canadian crowd!

Heartattack in a Layby drove by then two future classics finished the set - The Start of Something Beautiful and the wonderful Halo.

The band left the stage to rapturous applause, and returned to play the crowd pleasing favourite Radioactive Toy, played in a chilled and laid back way. Nice. The final final track was Trains, and a fitting way to bring the curtain down. Not that there was a curtain.

So after my second 2 hour concert, I was dog tired, but I hung around after the gig to meet the band: Colin - you rock!, Steve - Thanks for signing my t-shirt, and the rest - well, thanks for shaking hands!

A $15 motel room bed never felt so good!

Terry Tannenbaum