Almost three years since they last graced the stage of Symphony Hall, Marillion were greeted by another full house. Pretty impressive when you consider that twenty odd years ago they had fallen so far under the radar that they couldn’t sell out Dudley JB’s. Nights in prestigious venues certainly seemed a long way off back then. And yet, somewhere along the way, Marillion became more than just a well kept secret and became a band that everybody seemed to like again. And with performances like this, you can understand why.
With no new album to promote (albeit one is due in the near future), this time around it was a night of dropping the needle at various places across the vast back catalogue. Interestingly, this resulted in omitting some of their finest songs (‘Neverland’, ‘Fantastic Place) and their most dramatic (‘King’), including some of their less celebrated moments (‘Go’, ‘Enlightened’) and still somehow crafting a set list that left no one disappointed. The opening twenty minutes were given over to ‘Gaza’, with Steve Hogarth at his most animated and wringing every last drop of emotion out of the humanitarian cry for help of the lyrics. After such a powerful and moving start, ‘Seasons End’, which itself deals with the weighty subject matter of climate change, came across as light relief. A low-key new number, ‘Ribbons and Lace’, gave little away about the forthcoming album, and you suspect they are holding back the bigger moments.
Although it is often hard to take your eyes off Hogarth, the way in which Mark Kelly, Ian Mosley, Pete Trewavas and Steve Rothery gel together as musicians makes it all look so effortless. When the singer briefly left the stage, this was the cue for a largely instrumental version of 1987’s ‘Hotel Hobbies’ and you could only sit back and admire the individual talents of this most unique of bands. ‘Afraid of Sunlight’, from the album of the same name that should have been huge, was another powerful reminder of just how many tremendous songs they have at their disposal. Touching on their recent past, the cinematic epic ‘Care’, with Hogarth at his most compelling, saw a well deserved standing ovation. It would been the highlight of the night were it not for the vocalist then taking to the speaker stacks to perform ‘Easter’, and closing the main set by revisiting the Brave album for the segue of ‘Wave’ and ‘Mad’ into an emotionally charged ‘The Great Escape’. Pretty much ten minutes of pure sonic perfection.
In a recent interview, Steve Rothery intimated that Marillion may only be around for another six years or so. All the more reason then, that nights like this are to be cherished.
Set list:-
Gaza
Seasons End
Ribbons and Lace
Out of This World
Go!
Hotel Hobbies
Afraid of Sunlight
Enlightened
Care (I) Maintenance Drugs
Care (II) An Hour Before It’s Dark
Care (III) Every Cell
Care (IV) Angels on Earth
The Crow and the Nightingale
Easter
Wave
Mad
The Great Escape
The Release
The Space…
