You have to go back to April 2015 since the last time Marillion performed at Wolverhampton Civic Hall, a venue they have now played 18 times, their first appearance being way back in 1989 when Steve Hogarth was still the new kid on the block. Since then, the Civic crowd have witnessed some remarkable evenings; the Radiation tour in 1998 included the live debut of the rarely played ‘Born to Run’, the Marbles tour in 2004 found Hogarth balancing precariously on the speakers during ‘Cover My Eyes’, and 2013 saw a stunning performance of the complete Brave album. Tonight, both band and audience rose to the occasion for another show that will live long in the memory.
With its opening line of “The world’s gone mad”, ‘The Invisible Man’ was a timely opener, Professor Hogarth ominously looking down upon us from the rear video screen for several minutes before joining the rest of the band on stage. The evergreen ‘Easter’ and luscious ‘Fantastic Place’ are always welcome in any Marillion show, songs held in such high regard by the faithful that they were welcomed tonight with deep reverence. 2022’s An Hour Before It’s Dark, in terms of chart position their most successful album since 1987, was well represented across the two hour set with three selections. The hard edged ‘Reprogram the Gene’ was driven along by Pete Trewavas’ insistent bass line, a delicate and wistful ‘The Crow and the Nightingale’ showed Hogarth remains in fine voice and the epic ‘Care’ has surely now risen in stature to be considered one of the finest songs of their long and illustrious career, rounding out the main set with a sense of hope and optimism.
For the encore it was back to Holidays In Eden and ‘Splintering Heart’, complete with some dazzling light effects, followed by ‘Neverland’, the moment in any Marillion show when both band and every single member of the audience truly seem to be united as one. They ended with ‘King’, its cacophonous climax providing an exhilarating end to the evening. If this tour can be seen as Marillion bringing down the curtain on the AHBID chapter then it will be intriguing to see where they go next. There was nothing in tonight’s set from Brave, an album that celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2024…..time to revisit the album in full for the next tour? But whatever they choose to do next, they can be sure the devoted faithful will be right their alongside them.
Setlist:-
The Invisible Man
Easter
Sounds That Can’t Be Made
Fantastic Place
Reprogram the Gene (I) Invincible
Reprogram the Gene (II) Trouble-Free Life
Reprogram the Gene (III) A Cure for Us?
Lucky Man
Quartz
The Crow and the Nightingale
Care (I) Maintenance Drugs
Care (II) An Hour Before It’s Dark
Care (III) Every Cell
Care (IV) Angels on Earth
Encore:-
Splintering Heart
Neverland
Encore 2:-
King
