Marillion Set Notoriously Cold Germans Ablaze with Untamed Fan Passion (2012)

Arhiv Arhiv Last updated 3 October 2026

Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Video: Jernej Vene

Location: Munich/Theaterfabrik/Germany
Concert date: November 24, 2012
Attendance: 850
Ticket price: €45.00

Live shows by ‘Britain’s most closely guarded musical secret’ are always a one-of-a-kind balm for body, soul and spirit, so it would be a great idea if seeing them live at least once became a mandatory part of the prescribed medical regimen for treating all the wounded Slovenian souls, of which there are sadly more and more these days. Whether those individuals could even feel their traditionally deep, deep music and messages is, of course, a big question. On the current tour Marillion were presenting their latest album »Sounds That Can’t Be Made«, but that was far from the only reason our reporting crew decided to take a closer look at their show at Munich’s Theaterfabrik. All four of us Rockline writers there that night count ourselves as devotees of the most thrilling British art rock band of the past two decades. After all, the interview with former Marillion singer Fish was the very first (international) interview in Rockline’s history, so our interest in the live shows of this legendary band, and of their former members too (besides Fish, that includes original Marillion drummer Mick Pointer, who earns his bread with Arena), has long since gone beyond the usual emotional bounds.

Marillion change up the setlist every night, which is more than commendable, and the practice also leaves the door open for plenty of surprises every time. Their show, accompanied throughout by magnificent lighting effects, led by special transparent tubes with lively colors constantly swirling through them, was nicely split between new material from »Sounds That Can’t Be Made« and surprises in the form of long-time classics. Hardly any band these days, even in progressive rock, dares to open a show with a track of more than 17 minutes, like the complex pacifist epic »Gaza« that night. But Marillion are rightly more than proud of their latest studio effort, which is undoubtedly their best since the masterpiece »Marbles« (2004), and with which they confidently kicked off a new artistic phase in their career.

Steve ‘H’ Hogarth, who started the show with a rhythm guitar around his neck and a white T-shirt with the traditional peace symbol, got so swept up in emotion while singing about the sad fate of the suffering Palestinian city, where genocide is still going on, that he couldn’t hold back the tears. It’s vivid proof of how deeply this legendary singer, who has managed to shed a few pounds since our last encounter, lives every performance from Marillion’s long and colorful history. On special occasions he parked the guitar in a corner and sat down at the electric piano, but he liked it even better when he stepped up to the mic with nothing in his hands at all. His longtime bandmates were in great spirits that night too. The versatile bass-playing merrymaker Pete Trewavas, with whom we did a really interesting interview before the show, was once again as bouncy as ever, while his bass lines, amid the excellent sound in the hall, were as audible as they’ve been in a long time.

Steve Rothery was his usual excellent self, just as you’d simply expect from such a master of guitar subtlety and worthy heir to the tradition of the most refined prog rock guitarists of the seventies. Mark Kelly, meanwhile, kept lively watch over his kingdom of keyboards the whole time, switching as needed between the traditional synth sounds of the eighties and more modern gear, led by a rich set of computer sequences with digital samples. As usual, drummer Ian Mosley was barely visible during the show, lost in the middle of his gigantic drum setup, so Mr. H joked that it was Ian’s twin brother there that night, while the cult drummer had traveled to political talks in Brussels, where he’s standing in (sadly only in imagination) for the ousted British Prime Minister Cameron.

With »Warm Wet Circles« and its linking companion piece »That Time Of The Night«, the first surprise of the evening arrived, as these were two pieces from the Fish era, specifically from the masterpiece »Clutching At Straws«. Whenever Marillion play a classic from that beloved ‘neo prog’ period, H simply doesn’t try to step into Fish’s traditional theatrical, confessional role, since he’s well aware of his vocal limitations in that area, and instead conjures up his own emotional magic. To the disappointment of a few and the indifference of most of us who had already heard that classic live, both with Marillion and with Fish solo, they didn’t play their biggest hit, »Kayleigh«, that night. They then returned to the current album with a superb rendition of the poignant ballad »Pour My Love«, which cooled the hot atmosphere a bit, until the energetic anthem »Power« pushed the temperature in the hall right back to boiling point.

The most pleasant surprise of the night, though, was the evergreen pacifist ballad »Easter«, which they’ve played live extremely rarely in recent years. The hall went especially wild when it was time for Rothery’s monumental solo in the closing section. The title track from the new album was an expected treat in this magical evening, during which the undersigned couldn’t get over the loudness of the traditionally rather passive and proverbially cold German crowd. The noisy response and the lengthy applause, which just wouldn’t die down between songs, surprised even the band themselves, so they duly praised the audience and rewarded them with the classic »Estonia«, a fairly frequent fixture in their live shows. With »King« they took us back to the album »Afraid Of Sunlight« for a short while, and at the end of the regular set they ‘landed’ on »This Strange Engine« once more, with a phenomenal version of the classic »Man of a Thousand Faces«, during which Rothery played a 12-string guitar.

The moment the band members returned to the stage for the first encore, you could hear all sorts of musical requests from the crowd. Most people wanted them to play the 18-minute »Marbles« magnum opus »Ocean Cloud«, which they’d played on most dates of this tour, but the band, probably also out of tiredness, had other plans. Still, nobody was overly disappointed when, instead of »Ocean Cloud«, they played the best possible ‘substitute’, another epic »Marbles« classic, »Neverland«.

The second encore was a much bigger surprise, as they chose two songs that rarely make it onto their setlist. The fascinating version of the evergreen »Holidays In Eden« power ballad »No One Can« most enchanted those who miss more songs from their brief ‘pop’ era, while for the closing number they picked »Three Minute Boy« from the quality but rather ‘unusual’ album »Radiation«, which was almost the last thing most people in the hall expected. This fairly interesting song, which generally has a rather complex structure and odd time changes, so it’s not for every taste, wasn’t exactly the most fitting choice for a convincing finale, since they have so many better songs in stock, even from that same album (say, »Under The Sun«). But in the end we were all, except the elder statesman of our music journalism, who was pining for »Kayleigh« and »Lavender« that night, more than satisfied with yet another superb show from the best British art rock band currently available.