Mostly Autumn - Bilston Review

I could probably write a review of a Mostly Autumn concert in my sleep at this point. As of last night, I have now seen the band live 48 times and, whilst not every show of theirs I have been to is documented here, many of them have been written about on this blog. I am now approaching the big 5-0 when it comes to Mostly Autumn concerts, which I could well hit next year, but I never tire of seeing the York-based progressive rock act live. I first saw them back in 2006 and, with the exception of 2020 for obvious reasons, I have seen them live at least once in each year which has followed. My last Mostly Autumn concert came back in May, when the band made their seemingly annual trip down to The Wharf in Tavistock for another memorable night of live music. It was a notable show in so far as the band pulled a few songs out of the vault which had been out of the setlist for a few years. In recent years, the band have generally focused on newer material, which is great, but it was fun to hear a few oldies make a return after quite a while - and the show capped off what had been a very busy month of live music. Yesterday, though, I made the trip up to the West Midlands, something which I seem to do quite a lot these days, to catch the band again - at their regular stomping ground of The Robin 2 in Bilson, just outside Wolverhampton. The Robin 2 is a great venue, and one that I have been to a few times over the years. Most of my trips there in the past have been to see Mostly Autumn, but I have also seen other bands there over the years such as Uriah Heep and Vega. It is a venue that bands seem to love playing despite it not being in a big city - and Mostly Autumn tend to play two shows a year there: one in the summer and one around Christmas time. I last saw the band there in November 2021, which was my first Mostly Autumn show since 2019 due to the pandemic, and I remember it being a real standout. Whilst it was not the band's first show back, they did not play too many in 2021 - so it felt like a real release, and a big crowd enjoyed a lengthy set which included much of 2021's Graveyard Star (which I reviewed here) during the first half of the night. As the show was in November, though, it was not a traditional Mostly Autumn Christmas concert. Shows in December tend to include additional Christmas cheer - and the band are often in particularly red hot form during them. I last saw the band do a Christmas show back in 2018, also in Bilston, so I was looking forward to some Christmas cheer after six years. As I was staying at the venue's hotel, I did not have to worry about getting 'home' afterwards from Bilston - and the show was an early one, too. The doors opened at 4pm and the band got underway at 5pm - so everything was all wrapped up by just after 8pm. This all felt very civilised for a Sunday, but it did mean that I had to rush around quite a bit to get to the venue as my train up from Devon was heavily delayed. I did have time for a brief rest in the hotel before the music, though, and I was more than ready for the lengthy set which was to follow by the time the band hit the stage.

The setlist was different from the show I saw in May. Some of the older songs which have recently been brought out of their slumber were retained, whilst other recent regulars which were absent from May's show returned. It was a good mix of old and new as a result - and with a new album due for release early next year it may be the last time for a while that some of these songs are played live. As is often the case with the band's shows, the main set was split into two. The first hour or so of music, before the traditional beer break, was filled with nine excellent songs - many of which set a wintery tone. As has often been the case in recent times, the show got underway with a big barrage from Henry Rogers (drums) which heralded the snaking guitar riff intro of In for the Bite. The gothic rocker has worked well as an on-and-off opener in recent times, and it always provides a dramatic entrance for frontwoman Olivia Sparnenn-Josh - who sung the track with her usual power. Bands always sound good at The Robin 2, and last night's show was generally no different. It took perhaps a couple of songs for the sound to truly level out, but once this had happened all the nuances of the band's sound were easily discernible - with the pop hooks of the sleek Into the Stars and the harder rock of Winter Mountain setting an early up-tempo vibe. The latter was a particular highlight, with a pulsing intro from Andy Smith (bass guitar) and a later synth solo from Iain Jennings (keyboards). It was also the first of a number of songs which seemed to evoke winter somewhat, with the following keyboard-heavy Western Skies also having a chilly undertone - despite the warmth of Angela Gordon's (flute/keyboards/whistles/recorder/vocals) flute intro. It has become a real live favourite in recent years, with the slow-burn of the first half and the symphonic rock of what follows providing a real contrast. Speaking of Gordon, she had a couple of big showcase moments during the first set, with The Last Climb being the first of them. The folk/blues track has been a semi-regular inclusion in the set during the past decade or so, having previously been absent for quite a while, and it always adds an air of melancholy to any show. Gordon's flute solo was full of character and all of her folk talents - and it preceded the first massive guitar solo of the evening from Bryan Josh (vocals/guitar), who was in primal form. The wintery feel abated for a bit following The Last Climb, though, with the warmth of Passengers providing a big sing-a-long as it often does, before the more cinematic Back in These Arms added some initial darkness before its folk rock explosion later on. Songs from Graveyard Star have perhaps not featured live as much as they could have, but Back in These Arms feels like a real regular now - and it gave way to a soaring version of Silver Glass, sung fantastically as always by Chris Johnson (vocals/guitar/keyboards). The first set then came to a close with one of the best songs of the night, The Night Sky. The wintery vibes were back in force during this one, and I am glad that the band have pulled it out again this year. Gordon's second big flute solo came here, and of course the set was rounded out by a fantastic Josh guitar solo as the song came to a powerful close.

Following a break, the band came back for another eight-song set which was filled with a good mix of epic-length pieces and more bite-sized rockers. The synth-heavy Tomorrow Dies falls somewhere in the middle, though, with the up-tempo rocker always feeling at home in the set - with Sparnenn-Josh unleashing some siren-like vocals during the chorus, before the twin guitar leads of Josh and Johnson saw the track transition into the much earthier Nowhere to Hide (Close My Eyes). A sing-a-long favourite from the first album, which was actually the album featured in the set the most, the folk rocker always goes down well live - and the big chorus was latched onto by the crowd as it always is. Another relatively compact piece then came in the form of the bass-heavy Broken Glass - one of the tracks reintroduced to the set earlier this year. It is a track which has perhaps never quite sounded like a Mostly Autumn song, but it always gives a live set it is part of a bit of a kick - and it is always good hearing bands do something a bit different. Not many songs feature Smith in such an obvious way, either, and it is always nice to see him come to the front of the stage and rock out a bit. The spotlight was then turned back over to Johnson for his alt-rock classic Changing Lives - and the closing wordless vocal section was actually sung pretty loudly by the crowd. The healthy-sized crowd were certainly up for the show and the atmosphere throughout was excellent as always - as was particularly apparent during the later encore. Two big showcase pieces for Sparnenn-Josh followed, with her soaring ballad This Endless War featuring some of her best vocals of the night, alongside another emotional Josh guitar solo, before the sparser Heart, Body and Soul saw her singing in a more fragile manner - with Gordon providing plenty of gorgeous harmonies whilst backed by Jennings and Johnson on keyboards. Two epics finished off the main set, with Mother Nature back again after being left out earlier in the year. The song is arguably the one which showcases the band's older sound the best, with folk and rock elements sitting side-by-side - including a big sing-a-long chorus and a fantastic Pink Floyd-esque keyboard solo from Jennings. The mammoth White Rainbow closed out the main set, though, and the lengthy song always comes across well live. Josh always sings the track with such conviction, and when Sparnenn-Josh joins in part way through the piece always comes alive. Rogers laid down a lot of powerful drumming during the heavier mid-section of the piece - and the acoustic-led closing section always feels like a great way to end a show. Of course, though, it was not the end - and the band came back for a four-song encore. Heroes Never Die, as always, was up first - but what followed was some feel-good Christmas cheer, with three classic covers. Josh sung the prog classic I Believe in Father Christmas with his usual from-the-heart delivery, before Johnson delivered a great rendition of personal favourite A Spaceman Came Travelling. The night then came to a close with Josh and Sparnenn-Josh duetting on the evergreen Fairytale of New York - with Gordon adding lots of excellent flute melodies as the show came to a close. The setlist was:

In for the Bite [Bryan Josh solo material]

Into the Stars

Winter Mountain

Western Skies

The Last Climb

Passengers

Back in These Arms

Silver Glass

The Night Sky

-

Tomorrow Dies

Nowhere to Hide (Close My Eyes)

Broken Glass

Changing Lives

This Endless War

Heart, Body and Soul

Mother Nature

White Rainbow

-

Heroes Never Die

I Believe in Father Christmas [Greg Lake cover]

A Spaceman Came Travelling [Chris de Burgh cover]

Fairytale of New York [The Pogues cover]

Mostly Autumn shows are always special, and they always seem to really deliver in Bilston. They really rocked the house, with Josh's soloing feeling particularly inspired, and there was a lot of Christmas cheer in the room at the end. It was a great way to end 2024 as a gigging year and I now feel very much in the mood for Christmas later this week. With the band's latest album Seawater due out soon, too, it is very much an exciting time to be a Mostly Autumn fan - and I am looking forward to hearing it next year and seeing some of the songs played live.