Date: Saturday, February 7, 2015
Mestre (Venice) / Teatro Corso / Italy
The Venetian hall Teatro Corso played host to a gig by the still fascinatingly charismatic Scottish singer Derek William Dick, better known by his stage name Fish, one of the most colorful musicians of the second wave of progressive rock, who first found worldwide fame as a member of the legendary band Marillion. It promised to be a show of majestic emotional and atmospheric proportions for every prog rock lover with a heart.
This time the neo-prog vocal heavyweight, who is presenting his latest studio album, »A Feast Of Consequences« (2013), on the current tour, played the closest he’s come to our border, so after almost eight years since Fish’s show in Bologna, we could catch him a bit closer to home than usual. Luckily, there was no superfluous local support act in the nicely appointed theater hall that night, while for some ‘stimulating’ music before he hit the stage, Fish picked early songs by The Who.
His band has gone through a few changes since we last saw him, but they didn’t really affect the sound, which was truly top-notch that night, in the middle of a technically and atmospherically superb performance. After Fish stopped working with longtime guitarist Frank Usher, his spot was taken by longtime collaborator and returnee Robin Boult, who was no less convincing than his predecessor on Fish’s solo material and the Marillion classics. Boult has been working with Fish since 1991, even though there were a few albums in between where he didn’t lend his guitar services. Of the ‘old acquaintances’, longtime bassist Steve Vantsis stayed in Fish’s band, while Gavin Griffiths (ex-Karnataka) sat behind the drums. The best-known member of Fish’s backing band is without a doubt John Beck, otherwise the keyboardist of the art rock band It Bites.
Every one of them deserves congratulations for what they delivered that night, in a show with few moments for any solo ‘showing off’. But of course the charismatic vocal ‘big fish’ was in the spotlight the whole time, and he didn’t disappoint this time either. Fish’s vocal cords still obey him relatively well, even though he’s long been steering clear of the higher vocal ranges. Apart from a few barely audible ‘hiccups’, when he had to catch a bit more breath and take a couple of sips of water, he sang both the classics and the newer material very well and without any major slip-ups. The Scottish tough guy has also changed physically since we last saw him: his ever more weathered face is now framed by a thick gray beard, which suits this countryman of the unforgettable film actor Sean Connery perfectly and, if anything, only adds to his already huge stage charisma.
At the start of the show, when he played two new songs with the band, the epic »Perfume River« and the title track »Feast of Consequences«, he wore glasses to help him read the lyrics to some of the songs from the latest solo album, since he obviously doesn’t know them all by heart yet, though later he didn’t need them anymore. He also had his almost trademark Palestinian scarf hanging around his neck, while his stage mimicry is still a chapter of its own. Besides the band, of course, the great atmosphere that Fish’s stage presence alone conjured up was helped along by the interesting stage projections that told the ‘story’ of the individual songs. So we got an eyeful of tragic scenes from World War I that night, since »A Feast of Consequences« is a concept album whose songs call attention to one of the greatest slaughters in human history.
After a brilliant rendition of the punchy »Manchmal« and the romantic »Arc of the Curve«, two songs from the excellent previous album »13th Star« (2007), came the epic high point of the night as far as Fish’s solo work goes, with a medley of interconnected songs from his latest studio effort. From »High Wood« to the grand finale with »The Leaving«, the band took us on an epic musical journey through some of the most tragic chapters of World War I, which means the whole epic also carried a strong pacifist message.
So Fish played almost the entire »A Feast of Consequences« that night, which was certainly no small feat, and earned him a storm of applause from a somewhat too laid-back and quiet local crowd. During one of the breaks he asked for a bit more light so he could see the darkened faces in the audience and make sure they were enjoying his show, but lo and behold, English is still Greek to most Italians, so it was only after the first four songs that the lightbulb finally went on for the stage tech and the light at last spilled over the crowd, which included five Slovenian die-hard fans.
In the second part of the show it was time for some older favorites too, both from the early solo era and from the glory days with Marillion. First, Fish and his crew surprised us with a »Clutching At Straws« (1987) classic, »Slainte Mhath«, in which Fish looked back on probably the stormiest period of his professional music career, when excessive use of intoxicating substances and the pressure of unexpected fame nearly did him in. Fish did shake his head several times during this Marillion standard, as if something was wrong, but that’s probably down to his stage mimicry tied to the lyrics rather than dissatisfaction with the performance itself.
This was followed by an excellent rendition of the epic evergreen »Vigil In a Wilderness of Mirrors« from his solo debut of the same name, where the ‘big fish’ coped quite well with the parts that needed higher vocal ranges in the original version. During »Big Wedge«, an entertaining parody of the ‘American dream’, bassist Vantsis came to his aid on the multi-voice chorus, where singers Carol Kenyon and Tessa Niles guest on the original. At that moment the Scottish giant also showed off his rarely displayed but always highly effective comic side. To close out the main set, Fish picked the unforgettable »Heart of Lothian« from his rich Marillion treasure chest, a »Misplaced Childhood« (1985) classic that in many ways defines this Scottish patriot as a person and as a musician. Just as Fish had sent the crowd into a huge frenzy, it was time to say goodbye, but after a storm of applause the band came back out and played one more treat from the ‘olden days’.
Most people expected Fish to close the show with one of the most beloved Marillion standards, say the mega hit »Kayleigh«, the smaller hit »Lavender«, the rowdy, slapstick »Incomunicado« or the fighting »Market Square Heroes«. Nothing of the sort. The Scottish highlander pulled the surprise of the night and played the phantasmagorical »Incubus«, a lesser-known but excellent song from the album »Fugazi« (1984), during which we also watched clips from the cult black-and-white vampire horror film Nosferatu. Just as Count Orlok vanished into dust when the sun shone through the window, Fish’s set suddenly came to an end, and it didn’t help one bit that the crowd kept calling him back to the stage for a long time.
Even live, Fish remains indestructible and rock-solid when it comes to delivering his gut-wrenching messages, and he’s still a top-notch entertainer too, so we didn’t mind at all that the set list that night leaned mostly on his newer work. Special praise also goes to his backing crew, who sounded incredibly tight all the way through, as if they’d been playing in the same band for years. The only ‘criticism’ of Fish’s concert triumph at Teatro Corso is that it was over way too soon. Especially since so much solo and Marillion material was left ‘in the bank’ that we didn’t get a chance to hear ‘live’ this time. Considering that this year marks the 30th anniversary of »Misplaced Childhood«, it would be wonderful if Fish played that Marillion concept masterpiece in full on the rest of the current tour, but he still deserves special recognition for his firm faith in the quality of his newer material, given that most musicians in his position would much rather rest on their old laurels, because that’s of course a lot easier when you want the crowd ‘eating out of your hand’.
author: Peter Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist:
1. Perfume River
2. Feast of Consequences
3. Manchmal
4. Arc of the Curve
5. High Wood
6. Crucifix Corner
7. The Gathering
8. Thistle Alley
9. The Leaving
10. Slàinte Mhath
11. Vigil
12. Big Wedge
13. Windswept Thumb / Heart of Lothian
—encore—
14. Incubus
