Mostly Autumn - Tavistock Review

Given the sheer amount of music that I enjoy, it is hard to pin down my true favourite band. I tend to either say Mostly Autumn or Marillion if someone asks but, given that last night I saw them live for the 49th time, I think that the former really has to be the correct answer. They were the first proper band I saw live back in 2006 - and they essentially kick-started my true love of rock music and the gig-going lifestyle that I now lead. In more recent years I have not seen the band live as often as I used to, largely as they just do not play anywhere near as many shows as they once did, but I have still seen them live at least once a year since 2006 - with the exception, for obvious reasons, of 2020. I have always been lucky that one of the venues which they return to every year is The Wharf in Tavistock. This was the venue where I first saw them back in 2006 - and they have played there essentially every year ever since. Occasionally they used to play in Penzance and Exeter either instead of or as well as in Tavistock - but Tavistock has really become their South West venue of choice and they have generally been well-received there, with their crowds in recent years having swelled again following a few years where they seemed to drop off a little. Last night's show was also particularly interesting as it was the first time I had seen the band since they released their latest album Seawater (which I reviewed here) earlier in the year. It is always great to see which songs from a new album will make the setlist - and I was really hoping for quite a setlist shake up. Last year's shows featured a strong transitional set, bringing back a few old favourites which had not been played live for a number of years and seeing some of the newer ones which had featured regularly over the past few years given rests. In some ways, prior to last year, the band's set had not changed that significantly since White Rainbow (which I reviewed here) was released back in 2019. Many of the songs played from the 2019 album did not stay in the set for that long, particularly given that the band lost a whole year of touring, and by the time the 2021 dates rolled around Graveyard Star (which I reviewed here) was out. The Graveyard Star material suffered a similar fate, with early shows following the album's release featuring a healthy number of new songs before a number of them fell by the wayside. It is a shame that both White Rainbow and Graveyard Star suffered this fate - meaning that 2017's Sight of Day (which I reviewed here) was the band's last album that really seemed to feature heavily live. The 2017 album was even played in full at select shows - so it was a real shame that many of the great songs from both White Rainbow and Graveyard Star only featured live a handful of times or were never played live at all. Given that Seawater is another excellent album from the band, I was hoping that lots of the songs would feature live - and some of the setlists I had seen from shows earlier in the year gave me hope of such. I was really ready for a trip to Tavistock, then, which took place on a very hot evening. The venue was pretty warm throughout the show, then, particularly given the healthy turnout - and perhaps not helped by the admittedly excellent curry I had eaten beforehand.

Thankfully, once the lights went down and the sounds of nature filled the PA, it was clear that my wish was going to be granted. The band opted to open with the lengthy Let's Take a Walk, Seawater's opening track, and the joyous tune really set the tone for the night to follow. The slow-build of the song's opening was played over the PA as the band took to the stage, with Bryan Josh (vocals/guitar) singing the opening lyrics alone against this backing - with the rest of the band crashing in in a big way once a big drum fill heralded the change of pace. I really like how the song worked as an opener. The initial slow-burn helped to set a calm tone - and once the band launched into the folky hard rocker proper the typical Mostly Autumn sound was apparent, with frontwoman Olivia Sparnenn-Josh laying down plenty of vocal harmonies and multi-instrumentalist Angela Gordon adding some flute to a later section. What followed was a further 19 songs over the course of two sets which could well have made up my favourite Mostly Autumn setlist for a few years. In total, eight songs from Seawater were featured (seven from the main album and one from the special edition), a few old favourites were reinstated, and a handful of songs which needed a rest were dropped. It was a set which brought the best out of everyone, too, with Gordon in particular playing a lot of flute - and Josh seemed to sing more than usual which was welcome. My only real criticism of the night was that Sparnenn-Josh was quite low in the mix at times, which was apparent during second number Winter Dreaming, but this did improve somewhat as the set progressed. Regardless, the organic hard rock of Winter Dreaming sounded great live, with Iain Jennings (keyboards) laying down a big Hammond organ solo during it - before this harder rocking vibe was continued via Deep in Borrowdale. This was a song which had not featured for a few years, so it was great to hear it live again. It was one that used to feature a lot, so I was glad when it was dropped - but having not heard it much in recent times it was a treat to hear it again. Josh's driving riff and gritty vocals filled the room - whilst Sparnenn-Josh's big chorus shone, as did the folky mid-section with some playful flute melodies. Keeping the folky theme going, the plaintive intro to Western Skies also featured more flute, before Jennings' symphonic keyboards transformed the song into the cinematic rocker that it is. Gordon was also featured heavily during the folky Why Do We Remember All the Rain - a song which is a real hark back to the band's early days. Her whistle melodies and the acoustic guitar of Chris Johnson (vocals/guitar) set a warm tone throughout - with Sparnenn-Josh singing delicately as the song unfolded. The closing instrumental section was full of organic bombast, too, and this then gave way to the epic Future Is a Child - possibly my favourite song from the new album. The mix of the downbeat verses and the up-tempo chorus made for a spectacle - before Gordon once again added some gorgeous flute melodies to lead into one of Josh's best guitar solos of the night. It is the band's modern take on Evergreen, and it deserves to be in the set for years to come. Johnson's Silver Glass and a reinvigorated The Night Sky then brought the first set to a close - with the closing flute/guitar solo section of the Pink Floyd-esque latter being another overall highlight.

Following a break, during which it was good to get some fresh air, the band returned to the stage and the familiar drum machine and synths of Distant Train filled the venue. The classic instrumental piece had been absent from the set for quite a few years, so it was great to hear it live again, with more excellent flute and some symphonic keyboards from Jennings. Transitioning into Answer the Question then brought back memories of Mostly Autumn gigs past - with the chugging rocker seeing both Josh and Sparnenn-Josh singing before Jennings closed things out with an excellent piano-led section. This duo was an old-school opening to the show's second half, but the next four songs all came from Seawater - so it was great to be hit by so much new material at once. This suite of new songs covered a lot of ground, too, from the melancholic, atmospheric rock of My Home to the soaring power ballad If Only for a Day which was a real showcase for the vocal power of Sparnenn-Josh. Perhaps the overall highlight of this segment of the show, though, was the excellent When We Ran. Slightly shorter live than on the album, due to the opening section not being played, the synth-driven rocker worked really well - and it already feels like a piece which is at home in the set. Josh's reflective lyrics and the gorgeous vocal harmonies of Sparnenn-Josh brought the song to life - and it is one of the songs on the new album which continues to grow on me. It turned out to be a real barnstormer of a live track with lots more Josh soloing and another closing folky instrumental section. The rest of the set was largely made of regulars from the past few years - but they were all songs that I do not mind sticking around. The main songs which I thought needed a rest have generally been dropped - with some of my personal favourites remaining. The emotional Back in These Arms, Graveyard Star's only representative in the set, worked well following the ballad If Only for a Day - whilst the poppy rock of Into the Stars was a brief moment of upbeat respite following a number of quite emotionally-charged pieces. I will always enjoy hearing Johnson's excellent Changing Lives, too, with the alt-rocker giving the set a different flavour briefly - and the closing section featured a fair bit of singing from the crowd. As has often been the case in recent years, too, it was left to the gargantuan White Rainbow to close out the set - with the multi-part piece still impressing as a live number. From the swirling keyboards of the song's intro, Josh's organic initial vocal-led section, the more symphonic section which introduces Sparnenn-Josh, and finally the acoustic-led, upbeat closing section, the piece represents everything which is great about Mostly Autumn - and the band left the stage following it closing to large cheers. It was 11pm by this point, but a curfew at The Wharf has never been strictly enforced - so the band came back out for two further songs. The ever-present Heroes Never Die kicked off the encore section, with Josh's vocals and guitar solo as heartfelt as always, before Sparnenn-Josh took over for the big ballad Tonight - another song which has been welcomed back over the past year or so. Josh introduced the band during the song, too, and it brought another fantastic evening of live music in Tavistock to a close. The setlist was:

Let's Take a Walk

Winter Dreaming

Deep in Borrowdale

Western Skies

Why Do We Remember All the Rain

Future Is a Child

Silver Glass

The Night Sky

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Distant Train

Answer the Question

My Home

Be Something

When We Ran

If Only for a Day

Back in These Arms

Into the Stars

Changing Lives

White Rainbow

-

Heroes Never Die

Tonight

I was really hoping for a big setlist shake up at this show, and I got it. It was great to hear so many of the new songs live for the first time - and there were also a few old treats included again which I had not heard for a while. I always enjoy a Mostly Autumn show, whatever they choose to play, but the setlist felt really well-structured and fresh last night - with Seawater certainly an album ripe for plundering live. Despite the heat in the room I think that the band and the crowd had a great time - and I am already looking forward to seeing the band live again, which will be my 50th Mostly Autumn show.