Marillion - London Review

For the past ten or so years, Marillion have been one of my very favourite bands. While initially I only knew the band's very early work with their original lead singer Fish, as these are the CDs that my Dad already owned, seeing the band at the Cambridge Rock Festival in 2008 really opened my eyes to the rest of the band's diverse and expansive discography. They are now one of the few bands of which I enjoy every album (to an extent at least) that they have put out, and they are a regular feature on my stereo. I had seen the band live a few times over the years, and always enjoyed their live shows, so when the band announced a special show at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London I knew that I had to get tickets. In fact, the tickets went on sale the day after the band's show in London in December last year, so I purchased my ticket for the Albert Hall show in the car on the way home. It was just as well that I did, as the show sold out almost instantly, and it became something that I spent the whole of 2017 looking forward to. It is not too often that a rock band plays the Albert Hall, so it was a new venue for me. Part of the excitement of the trip was just visiting this hallowed musical ground, and the venue did not disappoint. Despite part of the building being clad in scaffolding due to maintenance works, the iconic Grade I listed building looked fantastic, and was even better when I got into the venue and found my seat. I went to the concert with my Dad, and when we found out just how close we were going to be to the stage we were shocked. We initially had tickets for the standing gallery, which is about as far away from the stage as possible, but for some reason our tickets were upgraded to the stalls. We were only a few meters from the stage, right next to guitarist Steve Rothery's little base, with a perfect view across the stage. It really was the perfect place to be situated, and it was fantastic that the venue chose us to get these fantastic seats. Lots of other guests of the band were sat in and around us too, with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett perched just behind us modern prog legend Steven Wilson a few rows behind us too. With Marillion scheduled to take the stage at 7:30pm with an 11pm curfew, this promised to be a long evening.

The band took to the stage bang on time, and a huge roar from the crowd greeted Marillion as they sidled onto the relatively small stage. The acoustic opening of El Dorado started things off nicely, and it was clear that they were going to start the evening with the whole of their excellent latest album  Fuck Everyone and Run. The album was one of my favourite releases of last year, so getting to hear it full live was a real treat. The band had played a fair chunk of the album at the O2 Forum last December, but hearing it all in sequence with excellent video projections really helped to bring the album to life. While the band initially seemed overwhelmed by the audience reactions and the grandness of the venue, they soon overcame this and proceeded to play through the album with extra vigour, and by the time El Dorado came to a close, they received the first of many standing ovations of the night. While everyone on stage really gave it their all, it was frontman Steve Hogarth that was the real standout performer. He seemed even more animated than usual on stage and really gave the vocal performance of a lifetime in these hallowed halls. Even when he was sat behind a keyboard, as in Living in F E A R which followed El Dorado, he managed to capture all the attention. It was great to hear the lengthy The Leavers live for the first time after this. It has always been my least favourite of the three epics on Fuck Everyone and Run, but hearing it live it really came into it's own. The excellent video projections really fit with the themes of the song, and the crowd seemed extra engaged here. About half way through the song, Rothery launched into one of his trademark guitar solos and it was at this point that I realised just how great the live sound in this venue is. Even as close to the stage as we were, everything sounded crystal clear and Rothery's guitar solo just cut through the mix perfectly to fill the venue. The ending of The Leavers is one that encourages crowd participation, and unsurprisingly everyone was on their feet for the One Tonight section and sung lyrics back at the band. White Paper, which is a real favourite of mine from the latest album, was another real treat. The melancholy tune came across fantastically live, with both Hogarth and Mark Kelly behind their keyboards for a dense and enveloping sound. The first set really came together towards the end however, with a barnstorming rendition of The New Kings - which is easily my favourite piece from the new album. I particularly love Hogarth's lyrics in this song, and hearing him spit them out in his smooth voice in this grand venue really made the song hit home even more than previously. After The New Kings finished, the band left the stage to take a small break as Tomorrow's New Country was played over the venue's PA and the crowd were left to digest what they had just heard.

This break also gave the band's crew chance to set up for what was coming next, as the second half of the show featured the band playing with a string quartet, a flautist, and French horn player. After about half an hour, the classical musicians took to the stage and immediately hit into the opening notes of The Space.... As they did, the place erupted and the band filed back into the stage for what seemed like one long, triumphant encore. The Space... is a magical song anyway, but hearing it with live strings just elevated it above it's already-grand status. What followed was a second set filled with some of the band's best-loved material, all augmented with live strings, to great effect. Both Afraid of Sunlight and The Great Escape felt more powerful for the extra musicians, and the emotional impact of the latter really hit home with Hogarth's stunning vocal performance. Easter was another highlight of the evening. The song contains one of Rothery's best guitar solos in my opinion, and seeing him play it from only a few feet away was a very special moment. It received one of the biggest cheers of the night, and that is saying something considering nearly every song received a standing ovation! The rarely-played Go! was up next, and this featured one of the most memorable moments of the night as nearly everyone in attendance raised little LED lights up in the air during the song's climax. The effect this had was fantastic and, as the stage light dimmed, the whole place was lit up by these little LEDs. This was done in an attempt to recreate something that spontaneously happened at one of the band's conventions earlier in the year, and it works fantastically and proved to be an emotional moment. The main set then came to an end with Man of a Thousand Faces, which starts as an upbeat rocker with Kelly's piano driving everything, before descending into an atmospheric wig out with Hogarth's effects-heavy vocals the swirling strings from the classical musicians. It was a triumphant finish, but there was of course more to come. The classical musicians joined the band again for the encore, and the oldie Waiting to Happen got given a rare live outing. I have been a fan of the song for a long time, and thing that Holidays in Eden is one of the band's most underrated albums, so hearing it live was a real treat. The aching chorus, with Kelly's keyboards and the dense strings, really filled the venue and I could see more than a few tears in eyes around me. The band's 'traditional' set-closer Neverland followed. This song is pretty much ever-present in the band's live shows, but this version was the most powerful version of it that I have ever heard, and one of the most powerful pieces of live music ever. The string section added so much, and the thick fog that swirled around the stage really added to the atmosphere. Rothery turned the entire ending section of the song into one of the best guitar solos I have heard in quite some time, all while the rest of the band created the rest of the song's magic. It rightly received another standing ovation, and it was hard not to be overcome by the majesty of what was going on on stage. After a brief step off stage, the band came back one final time for a reprise of the One Tonight section of The Leavers, this time with the classical musicians in tow. Everyone was on their feet by this time, and the 'We come together' section of the song resonated around the venue long after the band had stopped playing. The band took their bows and left the stage for the final time, probably failing to take in exactly what they had just achieved. The setlist was:

El Dorado - Part I: Long-Shadowed Sun
El Dorado - Part II: The Gold
El Dorado - Part III: Demolished Lives
El Dorado - Part IV: F E A R
El Dorado - Part V: The Grandchildren of Apes
Living in F E A R
The Leavers - Part I: Wake Up in Music
The Leavers - Part II: The Remainers
The Leavers - Part III: Vapour Trails in the Sky
The Leavers - Part IV: The Jumble of Days
The Leavers - Part V: One Tonight
White Paper
The New Kings - Part I: Fuck Everyone and Run
The New Kings - Part II: Russia's Locked Doors
The New Kings - Part III: A Scary Sky
The New Kings - Part IV: Why is Nothing Ever True?
Tomorrow's New Country
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The Space...
Afraid of Sunlight
The Great Escape
Easter
Go!
Man of a Thousand Faces
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Waiting to Happen
Neverland
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The Leavers - Part V: One Tonight

In a world where everything is 'the best ever', '5 stars', '10/10' etc. to the point rendering those descriptions meaningless, I can honestly say that this show is up there with the very best things I have witnessed. It was up there with Bruce Springsteen at Wembley, up there with Guns N' Roses at Nottingham Arena and the London Stadium, and up there with Twisted Sister at Bloodstock. Hearing the whole of Fuck Everyone and Run live was truly special, as was the second set with the classical musicians. A truly wonderful experience that will no doubt be a watermark in the band's career, and will make a fabulous concert film when the filmed show is released next year.