Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Peter Podbrežnik
Location: Live Club / Trezzo (Milan) / Italy
Concert date: 04.02.2009
Attendance: 2000
Ticket price: 25,00€
Trezzo, a small town near Milan, got the honor of hosting Britain’s most carefully guarded musical secret as the only Italian stop on the current “Happiness On The Road” tour. For those of you who haven’t come across this tongue-in-cheek but very fitting media tag yet, I should explain that we’re talking about Marillion, the legendary pioneers of the new wave of British progressive rock, who, at least musically, left that genre label behind long ago and keep looking exclusively to the future in everything they create. Every visit from this great band is a celebration for all prog rock fans. Even outside their extremely loyal following, they command deep respect as one of the biggest live attractions around, they pull out a pile of stage surprises every single night, and they’re known for an outstanding relationship with their audience.
The “Happiness On The Road” tour coincides with the band’s thirtieth anniversary, and it’s also been an enviable twenty years since they started playing in the same lineup, something very few of their contemporaries can boast. They’re celebrating both milestones with an excellent new album, “Happiness Is The Road” (2008), and an extensive European tour, which is about the best thing a fan could wish for. For a long time now, in fact for almost twenty years, Marillion have been a band cut from a completely different cloth than the one that carved its name into rock history with the radio hit “Kayleigh”. It’s honestly sad that most casual listeners still know Marillion best for that hit, which they now play live only on very rare occasions, because since then they’ve moved on to new and tremendously exciting phases of musical development and left neo prog behind for good. In the twenty years since the gradual but dramatic break with neo prog, which coincided with the arrival of the charismatic singer Steve Hogarth, they’ve gone through several different evolutionary stages. Today they’re one of the few, if not the only, second-wave progressive rock bands that is still developing and maturing musically, and their latest album proves it.
After an unforgettable first encounter in Bologna on the “Somewhere Else” tour in 2007, we got the chance to see them at their only show in our western neighbor’s backyard. Live Club turned out to be a very hospitable and spacious venue, and a huge crowd slowly filled it up before showtime. They packed every corner of the hall, and it was a real joy to watch the proof that Marillion are still a highly respected live name in Italy too, and one that draws far more than just graying, thinning middle-aged men, which is still a pretty common stereotype about prog rock gigs. As a slightly provocative comparison, when we last saw their former singer Fish in Bologna, there was quite a bit of empty space.
After an impatient, way-too-long wait, during which the band warmed up the room with some hits by David Bowie and The Beatles, the stage suddenly came alive. Euphoria took over the hall right away and didn’t let up until the end of the show. Marillion started somewhat unexpectedly with the calm, melancholic “Dreamy Street”, the first track from the new album, which, despite its gentle nature, turned out to be a very smart opener. It set the stage for a vivid presentation of the new record, which, as expected, supplied most of the songs that night. Hogarth, better known to fans of the band as Mr. H’, is still a fantastic singer and the central man on stage, and with his boundless charisma, expressive gestures and enormous heart he delivers an unforgettable audio-visual show. This time he didn’t skip his traditional theatrical approach either, appearing on stage dressed as an Indian guru. During an energetic “This Train Is My Life” he stuck a heart-shaped guitar pick on his sweaty forehead, probably to stand in for the third eye typical of Eastern religion. That dramatic look fit perfectly with the very deep messages of most songs on the new album, which, besides a strong spiritual awareness, also serve up a healthy critique of modern society. So it was no surprise that the excellent projections, which I missed in Bologna, included some less cheerful images alongside the stunningly beautiful ones.
During the preachy, melancholic epic “Esscence”, Hogarth also pulled out that odd instrument of his, a wooden board with metal keys and a neck shaped like a wind pipe, which sounded closest to a zither. Marillion know very well how good the new album is, so they built the setlist around it. Of course a few older songs found their way in too, reaching back as far as the conceptual masterpiece “Brave” (1994). Anyone who was hoping for something from the first two albums with Mr. H, or even from the Fish era, forgot that Marillion only very rarely go back that far. So the excellent performance of “The Other Half” from the very solid previous album “Somewhere Else” (2007) already felt like an old classic. Longtime fans were licking their lips at “Fantastic Plastic” from “Marbles” (2004), which, alongside “Brave”, enjoys the status of their greatest masterpiece of the H era. Then they went back to the new album and played the excellent, slightly psychedelic “Thunder Fly”, which surely warmed up the older prog rockers in Genesis and Fish-era Marillion shirts too. Somebody nearby, while waiting for the next song, shouted “Grendel” at the top of their lungs.
For the next one, Marillion of course didn’t go back to the start of their career, just to the not-so-distant past, with the album “Afraid Of Sunlight” (1995). It was followed by a deeply felt rendition of the classic “Out Of This World”, for which they once again remembered their tragically deceased countryman Donald Campbell, who tried to set a water speed record. The dramatic performance was backed by gripping projections showing glimpses of Campbell’s record runs all the way to the tragic crash. That was followed by two superb songs from the masterpiece “Brave”, “Mad” and “The Great Escape”, which brought the cult concept about the suicidal girl back to life. During an outstanding “The Great Escape”, H’ didn’t forget to play the female role in a vivid way too, helped along by some hilarious gesturing. Then they returned to the new album with a phenomenal version of the many-sided epic “Real Tears For Sale”, with H’ slinging an acoustic guitar over his shoulder and Kelly offering some truly fine orchestral arrangements.
One of the highlights of the show was without doubt the progressive rock fairytale “Asylum Satellite #1”, during which an excellent projection brought the story of a lost space satellite to life. The satellite beamed back images of the world’s various follies, including three mostly retired British and American political bigwigs who have caused an enormous amount of grief around the world in recent years. They closed the main set with the still hugely popular epic classic “The Invisible Man”, during which Hogarth once again dressed up as the “bleary-eyed professor” and played the tragic character the song is about in great style.
Thunderous ovations were followed by a quick return to the stage with “Neverland”, another “Marbles” classic, which brought the mood in the hall to a boil. Any “Marbles” song would have been welcomed with open arms, but thanks to its musical structure “Neverland” was an almost ideal closer. For the grand finale of the night, they treated us to a superb take on the new album’s title track, “Happiness Is The Road”. H’ got the crowd to roar along with the dramatic but ultra-positive main chorus, just for fun. And then it was over in a flash. I can say I haven’t remembered a gig going by this fast in a long time, which only speaks further to the exceptional quality of this show, which exceeded absolutely every expectation. The atmosphere was truly soul-binding, and on that ethereal side, also through their increasingly frequent use of ambient curtains, Marillion are getting closer and closer to the elite of those rare bands who can send a concertgoer’s soul straight to seventh heaven.
Every single member of the band deserves top marks. H’ didn’t forget his signature “blessing” of the audience with some colorful percussion work and his joking one-liners. He didn’t skimp on magic tricks either, including a sudden shower of confetti from his sleeves. Most importantly, he delivered a phenomenal vocal performance from start to finish, proving once again that he’s still one of the finest and most recognizable singers in progressive rock. His colorful show was further boosted by excellent animations in the background, which kept changing from song to song and conveyed the central message of each one.
Of course, we mustn’t forget to mention how tight H’s instrumental comrades were, even a bit tighter than at the last meeting in Bologna, delivering a practically flawless show in terms of playing and technique. Steve Rothery, who hasn’t lost a single kilo since we last saw him, remains one of the most refined guitarists in progressive rock, a must-see for anyone with a special love for slide guitar and stylistically related guitar greats like David Gilmour, Andy Latimer and Mark Knopfler. The burly guitarist, who is currently working on a new chapter of his solo project The Wishing Tree, thrilled us with his distinctive, “weeping” solos and a full bag of assorted riffs. Through those riffs, as the only original member, he preserves the band’s primal essence and ties their past to their future. Bassist Pete Trewavas, who didn’t hold back on melodic, thick bass lines, is still the most bouncy member of the band, apart from H. Mark Kelly, behind his rich array of keyboards loaded with digitally programmed sound samples, still looks the youngest, while the elder statesman Ian Mosley, the most experienced member of the lineup, was once again tucked behind his mighty drum kit with the obligatory drumhead showing the cover of the new album. Mosley may be the oldest in the band, but he can still swing at those drums with the power of a man carrying half as many years on his shoulders.
Besides an exceptional performance, Marillion once again confirmed their status as eternal live perfectionists, because this time too they delivered phenomenal sound, which brought most of the songs astonishingly close to their studio versions. The only negative note on this fantastic evening is that, compared with their earlier shows on this tour, they played the fewest songs in Trezzo. The reason is anyone’s guess, considering they’ve usually been warmly received in Italy and this was their last show in the country until the next tour. During the set Hogarth even apologized to everyone who, thanks to an organizers’ mistake, got the wrong information that the show would start at eleven in the evening and so missed the beginning of the concert. He also stressed that he’d gladly play longer for everyone who was late, but they had to get ready for the trip to Strasbourg, where the next stop of the tour was. His promise that on the next visit to Trezzo they’d make up for it with an hour-longer show sounded rather bitter. Well, the noticeable stalling before the official start surely contributed to the shorter set too. Even though the show could have been a bit longer, we got an outstanding concert and filled up to the brim with the kind of hugely positive energy that only the old tomcats of British prog rock can conjure. The unusually spiritual Marillion (once again) exceeded all expectations and made us happy with an unforgettable concert fairytale that we’ll treasure for a long time to come. For anyone looking for progressive rock concert heaven for the soul and heart, catching their show is a must.
photos: Alan Pepelko
Setlist
01. Dreamy Street 02. This Train Is My Life 03. The Other Half 04. Essence 05. Fantastic Place 06. Thunder Fly 07. Out Of This World 08. Mad 09. The Great Escape 10. Real Tears For Sale 11. Asylum Satellite #1 12. The Invisible Man —encore 13. Neverland 14. Happiness Is The Road
Photo gallery
