Marillion
‘Marillion Weekends Convention XXII.’ (Day One)
May 9, 2025, 9:15 PM – 11:15 PM
Padua / Gran Teatro Geox / Italy
Hard to believe it’s already been two years since the first encounter with Marillion at the Marillion Weekend convention in Padua, Italy — and here they are, the legendary progressive rock band from Great Britain, returning to the scene of the crime. The surprise was all the greater because nobody saw it coming: Marillion repeating this year’s convention at the same venue, and again this close to Slovenia. Usually you had to board a plane to catch one of their conventions, which since 2023 have been held only every two years rather than annually, as had been the practice up to that point.
Marillion were clearly, very, very happy with the hospitality of our western neighbours and with Gran Teatro Geox itself, a venue renowned for its outstanding acoustic properties. Progressive rock devotees are hardly thick on the ground in our little country. Most rockers are perfectly content with a selfie of Peter Lovšin. You can count Slovenia’s prog rock fans on the fingers of one hand. But there are a few of us. A handful of people who simply weren’t about to let this exclusive two-day event — dedicated strictly to the band and their most ardent followers, with zero press credentials, where the band plays two completely different two-hour set-lists on consecutive nights — slip through our fingers. For a fan of this truly eclectic, one-of-a-kind band, missing something like this would frankly be a cardinal sin!
This year’s Marillion convention in Padua — the 22nd in the series — sold even better than the first one two years ago. By mid-November you could barely get a ticket, and even then only the seats furthest from the stage. The price? €60.00 for four hours with the band — two sets of two hours per day. Official merch prices also stayed pleasantly wallet-friendly, though the selection was noticeably slimmer than two years ago. Back then they were selling vinyl albums, among other things.
This event genuinely promised to be something special — for anyone who knows and loves the band, absolutely. For the first night Marillion had decided to play almost the entire 2004 album “Marbles” — the double-CD version, naturally! Leading with the fantastic, fifteen-plus-minute epic Ocean Cloud! Only two tracks from the album were missing from the set list (Angelina, Drilling Holes).
A Marillion concert is an exercise in pure pleasure. With a good 3,000 seats packed to the last corner, there was nothing left to do but sink deep into the chair some 400 metres from the stage and let the sound and the performance wash over you.
The quintet has a reputation for perfectionism — and rightly so. Spending time with Marillion always brings out the very best. The standards they set years ago — standards that have thoroughly spoiled their fans — are genuinely high, bordering on the flawless when it comes to live delivery. And this time was no different.
Waves of thunderous applause kept coming as the audience rewarded the sheer excellence on stage — and the near-flawless execution, which owed plenty to the outstanding acoustics of the hall. The set was also full of tracks the band hadn’t played in ages, if ever. Don’t Hurt Yourself, for instance, had last been performed on the 2005 tour promoting “Marbles” — a track that’s essentially a deserving radio hit, yet somehow overlooked in the band’s catalogue, finally alive on stage again. The band didn’t play the “Marbles” material in the same order as on the studio album, but no matter. The opening and the closing belonged to this absolute masterpiece — which many of the band’s followers still claim represents the artistic peak of this incredibly revered band’s entire catalogue.
Towards the end Pete Trewavas got a proper workout on his bass guitar as the band unexpectedly launched into the “Afraid Of Sunlight” classic Cannibal Surf Babe — another track that rarely makes the regular set list. The close of the main set went to that same album with the emotional King, which had every single person in the hall on their feet.
The emotions and energy at events like this are things you can barely put into words. You simply have to be there. Fans had made the pilgrimage to Padua from all over the world — Canada, even Australia. The encore was equally substantial. It opened with the rarely performed “Holidays in Eden” track Waiting To Happen, which instantly gave everyone goosebumps. Marbles IV hinted that the evening was drawing to a close — with the bravura “Marbles” epic Neverland, which we’d all been waiting for with barely contained excitement. What a night, what a one-of-a-kind night with Marillion. A genuine fever dream for any passionate fan of this truly magnificent band that simply cannot and will not hold back when it comes to live spectacle. The lavish backdrop and extraordinary stage lighting amplified the full reach of that all-consuming atmosphere, pulling us into the unique aesthetic world of Marillion’s artistry. But hold on — there was still one more night to go. And it would bring something completely different.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Edita Klemen & Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist:
1. The Invisible Man
2. Marbles I
3. Genie
4. Fantastic Place
5. The Only Unforgivable Thing
6. Marbles II
7. Ocean Cloud
8. Marbles III
9. The Damage
10. Don’t Hurt Yourself
11. Cannibal Surf Babe
12. You’re Gone
13. King
—encore—
14. Waiting to Happen
15. Marbles IV
16. Neverland
