Gavin Harrison on Letterman

By Michael J.W. Stickings

What I love about Porcupine Tree isn't just the music, among many other things, but the musicianship. Which is to say, the four regular band members (Steven Wilson - guitar, keyboards, etc.; Colin Edwin - bass; Richard Barbieri - keyboards, programming; and Gavin Harrison - drums, percussion) and one touring member (John Wesley - guitar) are incredible musicians.

Now, other than some piano as a child and some dabbling here and there, I'm not much of a musician myself, but I think I can tell the good from the not so good, and I think I can identify the great as well. And these are some great musicians.

Gavin Harrison is widely regarded as one of the best drummers in the world, and on August 23, 2011 he performed on Letterman as part of that show's Drum Solo Week. (To give a sense of how good he is, other drummers that week included Neil Peart of Rush and Stewart Copeland of The Police, two of the all-time greats.)

It's better when he's propelling Porcupine Tree, to be sure, but this was a fantastic performance. Enjoy!