Before Marillion took to the stage, the crowd was treated to half an hour of music from the Cornish band Haunt the Woods. Due to them being local to me, as well as forming at the same musical-based youth club that I used to attend, they are a band that I have been somewhat familiar with for years - but I had never had the chance to see them live until now. I do own their latest album, although it has never really grabbed me, but I went into their set with an open mind - as I have had been wanting to check them out properly for years. Whilst I am not sure that the band are 100% for me, as there is a bit too much of an earnest, singer-songwriter quality to their music, which is generally not a vibe I gel with, I nevertheless enjoyed their set - and half an hour passed pretty quickly. There are certainly some similarities between Haunt the Woods' sound and Marillion's, largely in their emotive depth and the way that the arrangements can be layered, but Haunt the Woods are less proggy overall - focusing more on the vocals of frontman Jonathan Stafford, with bigger musical moments a relatively rarity. That is not to say that such were totally absent, with Phoenix Elleschild (guitar/vocals) taking a couple of solos and including a few quite emotive leads into the overall arrangements - but largely there was a more organic, stripped back vibe to the band's sound, with songs usually growing from an acoustic guitar base and ending sounding much fuller. Haunt the Woods have a bit of history with Marillion, having opened for the band before at some of their famed 'weekends' - and Stafford was one of the team behind the ill-fated Kernowfornia. As such, and due to the band's growing presence in and of itself, there were certainly a few fans in attendance - and Haunt the Woods received a pretty warm reception from the off, not having to do too much to generate an atmosphere. This was nice to see, as Marillion do not always have strong support acts in my opinion - with many often feeling like something of an afterthought. The pairing this time, then, was much stronger overall and I enjoyed the band's set even if I am still not 100% sure that what they do is wholly for me. I will certainly give the album of theirs that I have another listen in due course, though, with this set still fresh in my mind.
As always seems to be the case at the Beacon, the night was well-organised and ran to time - so it was pretty much bang on 8:30pm when the lights went down and Marillion took to the stage. Distant Eastern melodies and helicopter sounds, alongside searchlights, heralded the opening number Gaza - with the mammoth political number back in the set after a few years away. I have always loved the song, and from the off the band sounded excellent. The sound mix was very clear without being too loud, so the nuances of the band's complex, layered sound were able to shine through. Marillion have never been afraid of kicking off with a long song, and for the next 15 or so minutes the large crowd was captured by some of the heaviest riffing of the night, delicate synths, Steve Rothery's (guitar) first big solo of the night, and frontman Steve Hogarth delivering emotive, powerful vocals. Unlike some of his peers, his voice remains excellent. He may have lost some of the control over his highest notes, but his power remains - and he was in rude form throughout the band's two-plus hours on stage. He also had quite a bit to say to the crowd. Some of this was enforced, as Rothery was having issues with his pedal board all night. The show was derailed slightly after Gaza whilst it was fixed for the first time, during which Hogarth and Pete Trewavas (bass guitar/vocals) treated the crowd to a partial, stripped back version of the old B-side The Bell in the Sea - but once Rothery was ready the band powered through Seasons End, with Hogarth showcasing his power and Rothery laying down one of the best solos of the night. Overall, the setlist was a good mix of songs that have dominated shows in recent years and some surprises. You're Gone and a new number Ribbons and Lace were rare upbeat moments in what was quite an emotive set. The new song certainly showcased the band's whimsical side, with more soloing from Rothery, whilst a truncated, largely instrumental take on Hotel Hobbies was the only look back to the Fish era. It worked surprisingly well as an intro to Afraid of Sunlight - a song which the band seem to never tire of playing. Treats for the die-hards later came in the form of Enlightened and Built-In Bastard Radar - two rarely-played numbers from the recently reissued marillion.com. The latter was particularly fun, as a rare, bluesy slab of hard rock - something pretty different when compared to the band's core sound. The second half of the main set really upped the levels of emotion, though, with the lengthy, multi-part Care wowing the crowd. The pandemic-inspired song has become a live favourite over the past few years - and the band nailed it, from its fairly funky, industrial bass-driven beginning to its soaring closing section. The piano-led section about three-quarters of the way through is always special, with Mark Kelly (keyboards/vocals) laying down some understated melodies. The Crow and the Nightingale which followed kept a similar vibe going - and the song has become one of my favourites from the band of late. Rothery's guitar playing throughout is always a highlight of any recent Marillion show. A couple of bigger numbers were then left to round things out, with Hogarth letting the crowd sing much of Easter. A medley of pieces from 1994's Brave rounded out the main set - culminating in a powerful version of The Great Escape, a song made for drawing concerts to a close with its soaring crescendo. Even with the various breaks to fix Rothery's pedal board, there was still time for more - and a two-song encore took the crowd back to the past. Both of the songs played dated from the very early days of Hogarth's time in the band, and he strapped on a guitar for the up-tempo pop rock of The Release, another old B-side that the band wheels out during encores on occasion, whilst the dense and soaring The Space... acted as the band's final statement. The Space... is not played live all that often, so it was good to hear it again on Friday - with Kelly's various keyboard melodies and Hogarth delivering one last time. It was a triumphant end to a powerful night of music - and the large Bristol crowd lapped it all up. The setlist was:
Gaza
The Bell in the Sea
Seasons End
You're Gone
Ribbons and Lace
Hotel Hobbies
Afraid of Sunlight
Enlightened
Built-In Bastard Radar
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
The Crow and the Nightingale
Easter
Wave
Mad
The Great Escape
-
The Release
The Space...
Being one of my very favourite bands, Marillion never disappoint - but, given that I had not seen a proper headline show from them since 2023, Friday night in Bristol hit harder than it may otherwise had. A great sound mix and being in a great venue helped, but so did an excellent setlist that included plenty of favourites as well as a few songs I had not seen the band do live before despite having seen them live many times. With work on their new album still progressing, too, I would imagine there is another pretty lengthy UK tour planned around its release - neither of which can come soon enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment