Marillion - Birmingham Review

I have now been fortunate enough to see one of my favourite bands Marillion three times in as many years. In 2016, not many months after the release of their latest album Fuck Everyone and Run, I caught the band in London at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town. This was an excellent show, that featured much of the new album as well as plenty of older favourites, and really whetted my appetite for the show that was to follow last October which saw the band play a triumphant set to a sold out Royal Albert Hall. While the Forum show was great, this Albert Hall gig was one of the best concerts that I have ever been to, and it is one that I still think about regularly. It felt like a real career high for the band, and it will probably be the evening by which all their other shows are now judged. Before even getting to the Albert Hall however, I had already bought tickets to yesterdays show - a Saturday night in Birmingham at the Symphony Hall. The Symphony Hall is not a regular gig destination for me, as not that many rock bands often play there, but I had enjoyed Heart's gig there back in 2016. Marillion shows are always special occasions however and I had no doubt that, even from my seats high up in the Grand Circle, that the band would still mesmerise me as they always do. While the show was officially sold out, there were still a few empty seats around, but there was still a good amount of people packed into the tall venue. All-seated shows can often produce strange atmospheres for rock shows, but Marillion's dense, atmospheric music suits the seated halls. Marillion's is music that needs to be immersed in, which is best done sat back where the visuals, light show, and music can all be taken in perfectly. All-seated concerts do not work for all bands, but I think Marillion are one band that can make it work.

Before Marillion took to the stage, and while the crowd was slowly finding their seats, Riccardo Romano (vocals/keyboards) and Jennifer Rothery (vocals) entertained the punters with half an hour or so of atmospheric music that was based mainly around piano melodies and Rothery's smoky voice. While at times she definitely sung quite flat, there were other times where she sung wonderfully and displayed a considerable vocal talents. Some of the songs played where her compositions, and some were versions of songs found on Romano's album B612. Acts with limited instrumentation can often become dull fairly quickly, as everyone begins to roll into one after a few songs, but at half an hour their set was spared that. There are, of course, Marillion connections for both as Rothery is the daughter of Marillion's guitarist Steve and Romano plays keyboards in his solo band. Despite the fact that this sparse singer-songwriter type of music is not the sort of thing that I would usually listen to, Romano and Rothery's set passed half an hour pleasantly enough, but I cannot say that anything they played really took a firm grip.

Marillion took the stage at bang on 8:30pm and played right through to 10:45pm, delivering a career-spanning set to the large crowd of die-hard fans. Given that Fuck Everyone and Run is still relatively new, a large portion of it was played with older numbers - some of which relatively rarely-played - interspersed in an attempt to represent as much of the band's sonic tapestry as possible. The first of Fuck Everyone and Run's lengthy multi-part pieces El Dorado got things off to a dark start, with Steve Hogarth (vocals/guitar/keyboards/percussion) often remaining stationary to deliver the chilling lyrics, while the rest of the band formed a rich tapestry of sounds around him. What was evident from the off was just how good the live sound mix was. It was one of the clearest sounds that I have heard in a while, with every instrument really given space to breath. Pete Trewavas' (bass guitar/vocals) bass was quite high in the mix, and Hogarth's vocals were never buried under everything else. Even when he strapped on his guitar for one of his rare forays with the instrument it made an instant impact, often bulking out the sound in a meaningful way. El Dorado whizzed by, and it was followed by the equally dark Power and the slightly funky Quartz, which is a fairly erratic song by the band's standards and based around a big bass riff from Trewavas. One of the early highlights for me was the epic title track to 1989's Seasons End. I had not heard the band perform the atmospheric song live before, and Mark Kelly's (keyboards/vocals) keyboard textures instantly helped to create a powerful wall of sound for Hogarth to sing to. The song contains one of Rothery's finest guitar solos, and the entire mid-section of the song is taken up by it. While Rothery does not always solo as much in the newer material as he did on the older albums, it is always a treat when he launches into one of his trademark, emotional lead sections. His guitar tone is always spot on, and this show in Birmingham was no different.

Another highlight of the set was the emotionally-charged Real Tears for Sale, which saw Hogarth delivering the lyrics with real fiery passion. The Leavers is my least-favourite of the three longer pieces from the new album, but it works really well live. It contains some more excellent lead guitar playing from Rothery, and comes to an end with a joyous, rousing coda that saw much of the crowd singing the lyrics with Hogarth - being 'one tonight' as the lyrics state. A couple of sections from the lengthier Goodbye to All That acted as an extended intro to Afraid of Sunlight, a real crowd favourite that also had large sections of the crowd singing along. The song always has quite an uplifting feel to it, and is packed with a stadium-sized chorus for good measure. The darkness returned for the main set closer however, with The Great Escape taking the set to a powerful climax. Not one but two encore sections followed, which saw the band go back in time. Easter, with another huge guitar solo, was lapped up by the crowd before the energetic b-side The Release created something of a party atmosphere down in the stalls. Another quick run off stage was followed by howls for more, and the band came back and went right back to the early 1980s with the bouncy Garden Party and their first ever single Market Square Heroes. Songs from the early Fish-era of the band are not played live that often, so the crowd seemed to take the chance to rock out with the band gleefully. After a relatively downbeat set, with lots of longer, emotionally draining pieces featured, having a few party rock anthems at the end helped to give everyone something to dance to before heading out into the dark Birmingham night. 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
Power
Quartz
The Party
Seasons End
Living in F E A R
Real Tears for Sale
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
Wave
Mad
Afraid of Sunlight
The Great Escape
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Easter
The Release
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Garden Party
Market Square Heroes

Marillion shows are always special occasions, and this one was no different. While I am not sure that any show of theirs will ever top the masterful display at the Royal Albert Hall last year, this was a powerful evening of some of the band's densest, most emotional music - that ended with an upbeat bang. The UK has now been spoilt for Marillion shows over the past couple of years, so I would not be surprised if it was a while before they came around again, but I am already looking forward to their next tour.