Marillion - London Review

Considering that it was only until as recently as 2016 that Marillion's London venue of choice was the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, it is amazing how much the band's stock has risen since then. The Forum was the band's go-to London venue for years, throughout much of the 2000s, but following two excellent albums and the general rise in popularity again of rock music more generally they can now call the Eventim Apollo (better known as the Hammersmith Odeon) home again. Following their triumphant 2017 and 2019 shows at the Royal Albert Hall, not a venue that the band realistically expect to book every tour, last year saw Marillion return to the Odeon. They played at the venue a number of times throughout the 1980s and 1990s, but a big drop-off in popularity kept them away for quite some time. It has been great to see the band's recent resurgence of late, then, and it was clear that last year's Odeon shows went down so well that they decided to return again this year - as the closing night of the UK leg of their tour supporting the excellent An Hour Before It's Dark album, which was released back in March. I caught the band in Birmingham last year, which was an excellent show as always, but this time it made sense to go to London. The Odeon is always a great place to go, too, and seeing Marillion play in another prestigious venue was certainly not one to miss. It is great that the band have been playing so many UK shows of late, and one of their tours never seems too far away. Having not seen them for a few years before 2016, I have now seen them live every year since 2016 (inclusive) - with the exception of 2020 for obvious reasons. Considering that Marillion are one of my favourite bands, this has been a real treat. The band generally do a good job of shaking up the setlist between tours, meaning that I have seen them play quite a few different songs over the years, and with An Hour Before It's Dark fresh this promised to be the case this time, too. One of the songs was debuted on last year's tour as a taster for what was to come, but considering how well the album had been received I was expecting them to play quite a few of the new songs live. Following the first night of the tour, though, it was clear that they were going to play the whole thing night after night. I do not think that this had been announced before the tour started, but in my opinion the decision was a wise one. Marillion's albums are generally complete works, and An Hour Before It's Dark has a flow to it that makes it work when played live in full. As regular readers of this blog will know, too, I like it when bands stand behind their new material. I always like hearing a lot of new songs live, so knowing that I was going to hear the album played in full only raised my excitement for the Odeon show. The Odeon is a venue where I usually stand downstairs, but this time I opted to sit in the Circle. The seat that I ended up with was a good one, too, that was fairly central and had quite a bit of legroom as it was behind one of the main walkways across. This did mean that I had to suffer those who wanted to spend the whole evening going back and forth to the bar - but this was only a minor distraction, and the view of the stage overall was good.

Following a brief, but decent, support slot from singer-songwriter Luke Jackson, the lights went down and the band slowly trooped onto the stage - launching into the dynamic Be Hard On Yourself. This was the song debuted on last year's tour, but the album opener also worked well as a concert opener. It is very typical of the modern Marillion sound, but the lushness of Mark Kelly's keyboards really elevates it - and the song's core message was perfect for frontman Steve Hogarth to prowl around the stage to. Hogarth has always been a great frontman, but he seemed more animated than usual this time - and he made use of every inch of the Odeon's wide stage, as well as the occasional costume change! One big change from previous tours, though, was that the band were also joined by percussionist Luís Jardim, who contributed to the latest album. Jardim is probably one of the best-known rock percussionists, and he has hundreds of credits to his name, but I have to say that his presence did not really do all that much for me. I am not known for my love of percussionists, although this has softened of late following deep dives into the catalogues of The Allman Brothers Band and The Doobie Brothers, but Marillion's music is not all that rhythmic. He seemed to spend much of his time shaking a shaker or a tambourine, which Hogarth is known to do on occasion anyway, so he added little to the overall sound in my opinion. It is clearly something that the band wanted to try, but for me it was a bit of a strange choice. Jardim's presence was not a negative, though, and the overall show was a typically excellent display from Marillion. Much of the main set was taken up by the performance of An Hour Before It's Dark - and following Be Hard On Yourself the rockier Reprogram the Gene impressed the crowd. I like the song but it has never been one of my favourites on the album thanks to some clunky lyrics, but live it worked really well. Marillion's recent work is rarely upbeat, and Reprogram the Gene is a rare track that could be described as being a bit of a rocker. Ian Mosley's driving drum beat kept it going, whilst Hogarth enjoyed bouncing along to the groove. One of the main highlights of this part of the show for me, though, was a stunning rendition of The Crow and the Nightingale. The song is a favourite of mine on the album thanks to the choral additions and the slow-burning beauty of the arrangement, but live it was something else. Hogarth put in one of his best vocal performances during the song, and the guitar solo from Steve Rothery soared. He might not include as many solos on the band's newer albums as he used to, but when he does choose to solo he really cuts loose. This was one such moment, and it made the song a real highlight. The floating Sierra Leone was another track that really worked live, particularly the stunning More Than Treasure closing section, but perhaps the best part of the An Hour Before It's Dark showcase was Care. The song is a real fan-favourite already, and the lengthy, varied song came across really well live. The somewhat funky opening section, led by Pete Trewavas' bass guitar, was another fairly upbeat moment - but again it was Rothery's solo that stole the show.

The rest of the main set, and two encores, was then made up of older songs. Hogarth said that they were going to play some songs that do not usually play - although in my opinion this was not really the case. Considering that the band had just played their new album in full, though, pulling out a few old favourites was probably a wise move. The first song played following the album, though, was a bit of a rarity - with the title track of 2007's Somewhere Else getting an airing. I had not seen the band play the song live before, so I really enjoyed hearing it. The album might not be one of the band's best, but that song has always been great - and it is another representation of the band's modern sound. Hogarth's falsetto chorus vocals sounded great, and the section where he sang through a loudspeaker made for an interesting effect. A couple of bouncy sections from the lengthy Goodbye to All That were then played, and in fact the closing four songs were the same four that were played at the Birmingham show that I saw in 2018. The Goodbye to All That excepts added some harder rocking vibes to the latter part of the set, before the evergreen Afraid of Sunlight brought a huge cheer from the crowd. The song is played at most of the band's shows, and it is easy to see why as it always receives such a strong reaction. It has a great chorus, and the overall melodic nature of the track makes it very easy to latch onto. It showcased Kelly's piano playing, too, which is always nice to see given his general love of soundscapes and all-encompassing synths. The main set then came to a close with a powerful rendition of The Great Escape, which is another track that always goes down well live. Again, Hogarth's vocals throughout the song were especially excellent - and the hard-hitting track proved to a powerful set-closer, with the band leaving the stage to huge cheers. Two encores followed, with the first being the lengthy The New Kings from 2016's Fuck Everyone and Run. I always like hearing the longer-form pieces from that album live, and The New Kings has always been my favourite of the three. It has always hit hard live, and the song's message is one that we can sadly all relate to currently. Whilst it might not really be the best encore material, I just enjoyed hearing the song again regardless. The closing section was another rousing moment, too, and the crowd helped Hogarth to sing parts of it - which made for a fun bit of interaction. The second encore was Sugar Mice, with the band taking a relatively rare trip back to the 1980s and the Fish era. The epic ballad always works well live, though, and Hogarth encouraged the crowd to sing the song loudly with them - which they did with relish. The highlight of the song, though, was Rothery's excellent solo. The Sugar Mice solo is often regarded as one of his best, and it was great seeing him play it live again. He even stepped out from behind his pedal board and ventured forward to the front of the stage for it - where the crowd really welcomed him. It was a great end to a powerful show, and there was unsurprisingly a standing ovation when things came to a close. The setlist was:

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

Reprogram the Gene - Part I: Invincible

Reprogram the Gene - Part II: Trouble-Free Life

Reprogram the Gene - Part III: A Cure for Us?

Only a Kiss

Murder Machines

The Crow and the Nightingale

Sierra Leone - Part I: Chance in a Million

Sierra Leone - Part II: The White Sand

Sierra Leone - Part III: The Diamond

Sierra Leone - Part IV: The Blue Warm Air

Sierra Leone - Part V: More Than Treasure

Care - Part I: Maintenance Drugs

Care - Part II: An Hour Before It's Dark

Care - Part III: Every Cell

Care - Part IV: Angels on Earth

Somewhere Else

Mad

Wave

Afraid of Sunlight

The Great Escape

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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?

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Sugar Mice

It is always a treat to see Marillion live, and according to my list this was my tenth time seeing them. They are one of those bands that I always make the effort to see when they tour, as their shows are always something special. Last Friday in London was no different, and the full performance of An Hour Before It's Dark in particular was great to see. It was also great seeing the band pack out the Odeon, too, and it seems that they are there to stay. The rise again over the past decade or so has been great to watch, and the band really seemed at home playing at the venue again - with such a supportive crowd cheering them on at every stage.