Marillion - Bath Review

It is always great to have plenty of opportunities to see one of your favourite bands. I often manage to see bands like Mostly Autumn and The Quireboys multiple times a year but, until recently, Marillion shows were more scarce. Historically, it seemed that Marillion's UK shows were usually reserved to promoting a new album - but since 2016 the band has now toured the country three times as well as including a number of special one-off shows and a couple of their bi-annual conventions. As a result, UK fans has been in heaven - and I personally have managed to catch the band three times since 2016. Shows in London in both 2016 and 2017 (the latter being their special appearance at the Royal Albert Hall) were followed by one in Birmingham last year - and all three were excellent for different reasons. I am not exactly sure why the band have really upped their UK touring game of late, but it partly might be down to the success of 2016's Fuck Everyone and Run, an album that broke into the Official Album Charts and seems to generally have been well-received by the band's famously picky fanbase. I personally love Fuck Everyone and Run, and have really made the most of the band's multiple live outings since its release. Despite a fairly lengthy run of shows occurring last year, towards the end of 2018 Marillion announced their third of the above three tours - and it was to be the longest yet. It also promised to be a special tour, as they announced that they would be joined on all of the dates by a string quartet and a couple of other classically-trained musicians playing the French horn and the flute. The six musicians featured were the same that joined the band at a few shows throughout 2017, including at the Royal Albert Hall, but this time they would accompany the band throughout their entire set - with a setlist chosen specifically to make use of their talents. I thought that the additional musicians added a lot to the band's sound at the Royal Albert Hall, so was really looking forward to seeing their talents expanded and given a great role. As a memento/accompaniment to the tour, the band have also released a new album With Friends from the Orchestra which features a few songs from their back catalogue re-recorded with the additional musicians adding their embellishments. An opportunity to see Marillion live should never be passed up, and I opted for the Bath show as that was the most local. I had never seen a gig in Bath previously, although I used to visit the city a fair amount as a child. I had not been in a good number of years however, so it was good to return despite the city being extremely packed with Saturday shoppers and the prices of everything rivalling the poshest parts of London! The gig was at the Forum, which was a largish old-fashioned theatre-style venue which was well-suited to the show. Despite being sat towards the back of the stalls, I had a great view of the action throughout the evening, and the sound was largely crystal clear at all times.

Before Marillion's lengthy set, the gathering crowd was treated to a short set from acoustic singer-songwriter Harry Pane. He was joined on stage by a double bass player, but the songs were largely based around Pane's intricate guitar playing and his strong voice. I am not usually a fan of singer-songwriters such as Pane, but his performance and good humour made him stand out from the crowd. I often find that songwriters of his nature simply strum a few chords with some rather insipid lyrics atop them, but Pane's guitar playing was always interesting and his lyrics seemed extremely heartfelt and that made him interesting to listen to. I think it was wise of him to hit the crowd with an excellent rendition of Fleetwood Mac's Big Love early on in the set, as he showed he more than had the talents to tackle the notoriously tricky track. From then on the crowd were into what he was doing, and each of his following originals received a healthy amount of applause. I found myself enjoying much of what Pane was doing, which given my usual dislike of the acoustic singer-songwriter genre was surprising. That just goes to show that there are good examples of every type of music, and Pane deservedly received a big cheer as he finished his 30 minute set.

There was not much gear to clear after Pane's set, so it was not too long before the houselights went down and the eleven musicians that made up Marillion and their entourage for this tour trooped onto the stage and immediately launched into the epic Gaza with a swirling light show helping to set the scene early. In my opinion, Gaza is one of the band's best epics, and right from the off it was clear that it was going to really hit the spot. The string section played the opening melody while Steve Hogarth (vocals/guitar/keyboards/hammered dulcimer/percussion) sung the early lyrics lounged at the side of the stage. Parts of the song are heavy by the band's standards, and as Steve Rothery (guitar) launched into one of the early riffs the power of the band really hit and for the next fifteen or so minutes everyone was transfixed. The strings added real depth, and by the time Rothery launched into his lengthy solo towards the end of the song everyone was well and truly on board. What followed was another two or so hours of some of the band's best material, presented in a grander way than usual, that highlighted many of the band's strong albums. A few 'shorter' pieces followed, with poppier melodies of Afraid of Sunlight letting the band emerge from the darkness of Gaza, before Seasons End took us back to the beginning of the Hogarth-era of the band. It has always been a favourite of mine, and this live version with the strings was very special. The song started off slowly, with Hogarth singing accompanied by the strings, but it ramps up as it progresses with another soaring Rothery solo. Rothery was in particularly strong form throughout the evening, with many of the songs on containing moments where he could cut loose and showcase some of his trademark emotional playing. He was a little more restrained during Estonia and The Hollow Man however, which were more opportunities for Hogarth to shine vocally - especially during the former's heart-wrenching chorus which saw him also adding additional depth with some strummed guitar chords. Another epic in The New Kings followed, which is my favourite of the three lengthy multi-part pieces on Fuck Everyone and Run. It is a very rich track, so the string section really added to the song - and it made it the best live version of it I have heard yet. The darker mid-section in particular shone with their additions, and the strident ending rock section saw Hogarth in particularly potent form spitting out the lyrics with the venom required.

The song was one of the evening's highlights, as actually was the rarely-played The Sky Above the Rain which opened with Mark Kelly's (keyboards/vocals) delicate piano melodies and slowly built around him and Hogarth's subtle delivery. It has never been one of my favourite Marillion tracks, but it came over really well and the string section really added to it. Despite the song's length, it is a fairly simple song by the band's standards with Kelly's piano always dominating, while Rothery adds colour here and there with a few spacey leads. Despite the relatively low number of songs played by this point, the length of some of the meant that the main set was almost over. It was left to The Great Escape, a song that has been featured regularly over recent years, to finish things off. It is a dark, powerful number which again was greatly added to by the classical musicians, and saw Hogarth delivering the song with his usual emotional display - while Pete Trewavas (bass guitar/vocals) helped him out with some sublime harmonies. It proved to be a strong set closer, and the band left the stage to deafening cheers from all in attendance. There was of course going to be more, and a three-song encore followed - split into two sections. The first portion opened with Fantastic Place, with Hogarth sat behind his keyboard to add some additional piano melodies while Rothery's delicate leads really complimented his mumbled vocal lines perfectly. With the preceding handful of songs being fairly downbeat, the show was then given a bit of a kick up the backside with the uptempo rock of Separated Out - a rarely-played track from the Anoraknphobia album. It has a relatively punky edge, and Hogarth took the opportunity to jump around the stage belting out the lyrics while Trewavas' bass drove everything. Part way through the song the string section broke into a portion of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir which was fun, before returning to the script to finish off the brash rocker with aplomb. It would have been a great round off to the evening, but the band had one more ace up their sleeves with This Strange Engine. The song is another lengthy epic, and one that really brought the best out of everyone on the stage. Hogarth dominated the early portions, with the autobiographical lyrics flowing from him, before a lengthy instrumental section allowed some others to shine. Kelly laid down a lengthy keyboard part way through the song, which recalled some of his busy work on the band's very early albums, before the piece was essentially closed out by a lengthy and soaring guitar solo from Rothery. The song, and the band, unsurprisingly received a standing ovation as they took their bows and I think everyone in attendance was clear about the sheer scale of what they had just witnessed. The setlist was:

Gaza

Afraid of Sunlight

Seasons End

Estonia

The Hollow Man

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?

The Sky Above the Rain

The Great Escape

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Fantastic Place

Separated Out/Kashmir [Led Zeppelin cover]

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This Strange Engine

With this show in Bath I have now managed to see four excellent Marillion shows in as many years. The band are certainly on fire at the moment, and seem to be enjoying something of a resurgence in popularity which is allowing them to do this fairly lengthy tours again in theatre-type venues. All of the shows I have seen have been special for different reasons, and the Bath one was no different. I imagine that next year will see the band start to work on some new material to follow up Fuck Everyone and Run with, but I am already looking forward to the next tour - whenever that may be.