Marillion - Birmingham Review

Marillion have been one of my favourite bands since 2008, when I saw both the band and their former frontman Fish live within a few months of each other. Over the next few years I slowly amassed the band's extensive back catalogue; and they soon rose to the top of my list of favourite bands. Since that first gig in 2008, which was at the Cambridge rock Festival, I have managed to see the band live a further seven times - which included an all-time gig highlight at the Royal Albert Hall in 2017. As of last night, however, my Marillion gig count now stands at nine - as I travelled up to Birmingham to catch the band at the Symphony Hall. I saw the band at the same venue back in 2018 and it was a great night, so I was really looking forward see them there again. Marillion's current tour is their first run of shows since their 2019 tour, which saw the band augmented by a group of classical musicians, and also their first tour since the COVID-19 lockdowns. Thankfully, Marillion's touring activity was not significantly impacted by the pandemic. Their 2019 tour had concluded by the time any lockdown was announced, and I believe that the band had already decided to spend much of 2020 away from the road to concentrate on writing and recording a new album. Late last year, however, the band announced a UK tour for November 2021. At the time the prospect of any live music was looking pretty remote, but the band were optimistic and it paid off. The UK has largely been open for business again when it comes to live music since the summer - and all being well that will remain the case. For Marillion's dedicated fanbase, the prospect of a new tour is always an exciting one. In the run up to any tour there is always a lot of discussion online regarding the setlist; and with this tour there was also the prospect of new music. It was announced by the band a month or so ago that new material would be being debuted on the tour - and it was also recently announced that the band's new album, titled An Hour Before It's Dark, will be released in March next year. This certainly made the tour an extra special one, but in truth all of Marillion's recent tours have been special. The band are back to being in a position where they can fill some pretty good-sized venues, and seeing the band in somewhere like Birmingham's Symphony Hall is a much better experience than seeing them in somewhere like Sheffield's Corporation (as I did in 2012). Theatre-type venues are made for Marillion's music, so it is great that their fanbase has grown to such a level again.

Before Marillion took to the stage, and while the large crowd was gathering, those who turned up early were treated to half a hour or so of atmospheric music from Antimatter. While they are usually a full band, on this tour founder Mick Moss (vocals/guitar/percussion) and guitarist David Hall made up something of a stripped back Antimatter; and they performed a number of the band's songs in a more acoustic format. I was familiar with Antimatter in name only, largely due to a historic Anathema connection, but the duo's six-song set impressed. I am generally not a fan of stripped down acoustic sets, especially if I am not familiar with the material, but I liked what Antimatter were doing - and it helped that their set was not purely acoustic. Both Moss and Hall made use of looping throughout to add textures and depth; while Hall's electric guitar leads gave life to what would have otherwise been pretty typical acoustic arrangements of songs that usually sound much fuller. The band's set definitely reminded me of some of those Anathema acoustic sets from a few years ago, and I am not saying that because there are links between the two bands. The approach to Antimatter's acoustic arrangements were similar, and the songs were similarly layered. It is hard to gauge what the band usually sound like fully-fledged, but I have heard enough to want to explore the band's work further - so I will be picking up an Antimatter album or two in due course.

Half an hour or so following Antimatter's set the lights went down again and Marillion took to the stage. Unlike on recent tours, the overall set-up this time was relatively minimalist. The lightshow was a little restrained than in previous years, and the big screen that has been a feature for a while now was absent. The band also took to the stage with very little fanfare. They just walked on stage, soaked up the applause for a moment, and then immediately launched into Sounds That Can't Be Made. This relatively low key start, and setting, suited the vibe of the night however. The band are clearly really happy to be back on the road, and this was a show where the music was truly allowed to speak for itself - without all of the bells and whistles of recent tours. It helped that the setlist, which has been changing somewhat throughout the tour, was packed full of crowd pleasers. This was not an evening for deep cuts, and instead it was a celebration of what Marillion are best at - with the Symphony Hall crowd singing along throughout. Sounds That Can't Be Made worked well as intro, with its slower, percussive early section introducing the band - before the song took a big turn towards the end with Steve Rothery's (guitar) soaring solo and frontman Steve Hogarth's powerful ending vocal refrain. What followed was essentially two hours of greatest hits which, despite the triumphant nature of the set, still contained plenty of sombre moments. Both King and Fantastic Place proved early on that the band are still one of the most moving, while the jaunty acoustic-led Easter mixed heartfelt lyrics with a somewhat folky attitude - although again everything changed when Rothery launched into one of his trademark solos. A real treat for me was hearing a suite of songs from 1994's Brave however. I have sadly not had the opportunity to see the band perform the album in full, but hearing the opening three songs played as a little suite was a treat. Living With the Big Lie was one of the evening's most powerful moments for me, with drummer Ian Mosley powering through the crystal clear mix, but it was perhaps the poignant Runaway that was the overall highlight. Hogarth really nailed the vocal, while keyboardist Mark Kelly's soundscapes filled the venue. It was another Rothery solo, however, that made the song the highlight that it was - and it brought to the suite to an emotional close.

It was then time for something new, with the three-part Be Hard on Yourself wowing the crowd. Sound wise, the song sounds quite similar to the overall style that the band opted for on their last album, 2016's Fuck Everyone and Run. As Fuck Everyone and Run is one of my favourite recent Marillion albums, this continuation in sound is certainly welcome. Whether the rest of the album carries on in the same mould remains to be seen, but Be Hard on Yourself is certainly a good taster for what is to come next March - and the Birmingham crowd enjoyed hearing it. By this point there were only three songs left of the main set - but each brought a different vibe to the evening. The piano-led Afraid of Sunlight is always a live favourite, and its big chorus once again got the crowd going. It is a great representation of Marillion's core sound, and it led perfectly into the old-school pop rock bounce of The Release - with Hogarth attacking his guitar with venom throughout. It was left to the lengthy Neverland to bring the main set to a close, and it was great to hear the song back in the set after being rested for a couple of tours. It always works well as a set-closer, and the version in Birmingham was particularly powerful thanks to Hogarth's impassioned performance and some more excellent guitar playing. Even Kelly's keyboards temporarily cutting out could not ruin the performance, and the band left the stage to a standing ovation. Two encores followed: one that was lengthy and epic, and one that was low key and reflective. The first encore started with the pulsing Splintering Heart, which saw Hogarth alone on stage to sing the opening section before the rest of the band joined him when the song really kicked in - again with some excellent soloing. I had not seen the band play the song live since that Cambridge Rock Festival gig back in 2008, so it was great to hear it again now that I am a fully fledged Marillion fan. The lengthy The Leavers followed, and the multi-part Fuck Everyone and Run cut was warmly received. Given that the song is about being on tour, it seemed fitting for the band to play it again considering that they were celebrating being back on the road. The song's closing One Tonight section was particularly powerful, with the band and the crowd singing the lyrics as one. A brief step off the stage ended with bassist Pete Trewavas coming back armed with an acoustic guitar, which led into some flamenco-inspired silliness before the band rattled trough the Brave closer Made Again - which felt like a lovely little coda after all of the soaring rock that had preceded it. It was a great way to end a powerful evening of live music. The setlist was:

Sounds That Can't Be Made

King

Fantastic Place

Easter

Bridge

Living With the Big Lie

Runaway

Be Hard on Yourself - Part I: The Tear in the Big Picture

Be Hard on Yourself - Part II: Lust for Luxury

Be Hard on Yourself - Part III: You Can Learn

Afraid of Sunlight

The Release

Neverland

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Splintering Heart

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

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Made Again

The band left the stage to another standing ovation, and it was clear that everyone in the venue had had a great time. Some Marillion fans can be hard to please, and seek to find fault with everything that the band does, but I think even the most pessimistic and entitled fan would struggle to find a fault in last night's performance. Even the technical hitch with the keyboards did not stop the band from giving it their all, and a well behaved crowd lapped up every moment of it. With the new album due out in a few months, I hope that we will be able to look forward to another UK tour in the not too distant future - and given the band's recent track record of regular UK tours I imagine that they will be as keen as I am for them to get back out there.