THE PINEAPPLE THIEF
VENUE O2 SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE, LONDON DATE 16/03/2024 SUPPORT RANDY McSTINE
As a measure of the level of excitement preceding tonight’s show, an audible gasp from the stalls is swiftly followed by the kind of enthusiastic cheers usually reserved for favourite songs when two of the road crew lift the black drapes to reveal Gavin Harrison’s drum kit. Positioned away at stage-left instead of the upstage home that’s traditional for tub thumpers, the drum nerds strain their necks as they cast their admiring glances over an extended kit that includes a wide variety of rack toms, floor toms and a range of cymbals of different sizes. And though there are no such hollers for the unveiling of Steve Kitch’s keyboards, the love is undoubtedly still there.
Indeed, a level of politeness is palpable throughout, not least when a voice over the PA politely requests that patrons don’t film the show, an announcement that comes in stark contrast to the harsh greeting Roger Waters meted out to his fans last summer. And that warmth is extended to New Yorker Randy McStine, who reciprocates in kind with his opening set. Probably best known as The Porcupine Tree’s touring guitarist (“I was stood just there,” he says helpfully pointing at stage-right), the pulsating and undulating sequencers and synthesisers at the start of his set would suggest a student of the Berlin school, but he soon bunks off from class with his acoustic guitar, which is fed through a number of loopers while he dances nimbly across his pedal board. By the time he’s finished repurposing Activate and
Big Wave from his collaborations with
Marco Minnemann, McStine can chalk up a decent victory.
The Pineapple Thief are standing at a tipping point. This is the final night of a 20-date excursion that’s seen them tour from one end of Europe to the next and their name – alongside that of It Leads To This, their 15th and current album – has come to be mentioned in favourable terms even beyond the pages of Prog.
It also happens to be their biggest headlining date in the capital and that European sojourn has clearly turned The Pineapple Thief into a well-drilled band whose sheen matches the blue and red lights that frequently bathe the stage and strafe the audience.
Opening with recent single The Frost, The Pineapple Thief display no visible nerves as they set the agenda for the evening. While frequent dips into their considerable back catalogue are expected and made, their new material sits with ease and confidence.
Rubicon cuts and slices through angular verses before bouncing in between as elsewhere
Every Trace Of Us finds the band pushing and pulling with frontman Bruce Soord overdriving
his guitar in tandem with
Beren Matthews, a man given to playing over his neck with his fretting hand rather than under for a number of his six-string attacks. And for all his virtuosity, Gavin
Harrison never threatens to overwhelm by serving the material as he locks in with bassist Jon Sykes.
There are caveats. The
Pineapple Thief aren’t a band given to playing off each other, electing instead to maintain their positions onstage. Granted, Soord and Sykes move around towards the end of the set, but for the most part Matthews puts his foot up on Kitch’s riser while keeping his head bowed.
Minor quibbles aside, the aural experience makes up for any visual shortcomings. Versions Of The Truth remains pertinent at a time when reality is under attack from any number of vested interests, hucksters and snake oil salesmen. The explosive and passionate double whammy of Give It Back and The Final Thing On My Mind that brings the main set to a close is the kind of showstopper that could bring them to the attention of a wider audience. As they stand arm-in-arm to take their bow, The Pineapple Thief do so as a band absolutely at the top of their game.
“AS THEY STAND TO TAKE THEIR BOW, THE PINEAPPLE THIEF DO SO AS A BAND ABSOLUTELY AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME.”