Marillion at the Fillmore
Marillion @ the Fillmore [SF]
In 1991 I was acting the tourist in Lisbon and happened into a music store which had the latest Marillion album, which I wanted but could not afford at the time(although I had known about Marillion since their lone US hit in 1985, Kayleigh, it would be a few years later when the Hogarth-fronted version would be played on KOME on their late Sunday night slot with uber-DJ Greg Stone). When I arrived back in
the US I could not find it. Then a year later it receives US release and even a small tour to support it. I was too young to go to the FIllmore then but I did get to see 3 of the 5 lads play a semi-acoustic promo gig at the CD Warehouse in Sunnyvale the next day, where I promptly picked up the new cd, and even broke my general rule about getting signatures (as punishment for this, I lost the cd insert shortly thereafter).
After that I was hooked. I purchased every album, some great, some only good. I always hoped they would play in the Bay Area again, but every tour that came -- came nowhere near here. This year it changed; once again they would play the Fillmore, and this time I would be there. It was worth the wait.
As someone who has seen over 500 shows, this ranks in the top 10.
As a band with a long history and a rabid fanbase that has not likely caught them in over a decade, they made up for lost time...by playing a full show with two encores, leading to a solid 3 hours of performance that did not get dull.
Since this is to support their opus work, Marbles (a brilliant work in its 2cd import form), the entire first set consisted of works culled from the new album, including the brilliant The Invisible Man as an opener. Live this 13 minute mini-suite takes on an expansive fullness that really makes it appear like some bastard songwriting foray from Thom Yorke and Dave Gilmour. They also perfomed many of the more radio friendly tracks like Don't Hurt Yourself and the UK hit Your're Gone. While I am sure this appealed to many of their newly found fans, us long timers would have liked to hear the more daring avant-pop of Drilling Holes and especially the completely brilliant narrative Ocean Cloud, which I still maintain is one of the best slabs of art-rock in the history of the genre.
The second set was pretty much a cross-section of material from the entire h period of the group*, including a soaring medley from Brave (an album I maintain as the greatest concept album of the entire 1990s), and a bombastic extended version of Cover My Eyes as well as guarenteed crowd pleasers like Estonia and the epic yet intimate pendulum sweep of Afraid of Sunlight. To close they broke out their possibly most well known h-era track, Easter and after that second encore...they were gone.
Frontman Steve Hogarth (a.k.a. h) leans toward a small amount of the dramatic, with minor costuming and props (a pair of glasses, a tea cup, etc) but never goes overboard. The result is he gives an air of exuberance you rarely see in rockers his age, and it helps to deflate the pretentious image often associated with art-rock outfits. Mark Kelly generates layers of great keyboard structures, and his sporadic solos are welcome bursts of precise imagination. Pete Trewavas (who is also doubling in the prog supergroup Transatlantic with Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater these days) is the weird looking bouncy bass boy who lives in a weird post-punk meets Chris Squire low-end frenzy. Guitarist Rothery knows how to play tastefully and seems to instinctively know how to not overplay. His apreggiated chords, ebowed segues, and anthemic soloing always fit.
This was a band that could be in their adolescence, not a 2+ decade "dinosaur". Definately worth buying some tickets and taking a friend (or four) to.
* Marillion started in the early 80s with frontman Fish, who left in 1987. He has
maintained his own active solo career since (as well as the occasional guest spot
on albums by folks like Tony Banks of Genesis).
In 1991 I was acting the tourist in Lisbon and happened into a music store which had the latest Marillion album, which I wanted but could not afford at the time(although I had known about Marillion since their lone US hit in 1985, Kayleigh, it would be a few years later when the Hogarth-fronted version would be played on KOME on their late Sunday night slot with uber-DJ Greg Stone). When I arrived back in
the US I could not find it. Then a year later it receives US release and even a small tour to support it. I was too young to go to the FIllmore then but I did get to see 3 of the 5 lads play a semi-acoustic promo gig at the CD Warehouse in Sunnyvale the next day, where I promptly picked up the new cd, and even broke my general rule about getting signatures (as punishment for this, I lost the cd insert shortly thereafter).
After that I was hooked. I purchased every album, some great, some only good. I always hoped they would play in the Bay Area again, but every tour that came -- came nowhere near here. This year it changed; once again they would play the Fillmore, and this time I would be there. It was worth the wait.
As someone who has seen over 500 shows, this ranks in the top 10.
As a band with a long history and a rabid fanbase that has not likely caught them in over a decade, they made up for lost time...by playing a full show with two encores, leading to a solid 3 hours of performance that did not get dull.
Since this is to support their opus work, Marbles (a brilliant work in its 2cd import form), the entire first set consisted of works culled from the new album, including the brilliant The Invisible Man as an opener. Live this 13 minute mini-suite takes on an expansive fullness that really makes it appear like some bastard songwriting foray from Thom Yorke and Dave Gilmour. They also perfomed many of the more radio friendly tracks like Don't Hurt Yourself and the UK hit Your're Gone. While I am sure this appealed to many of their newly found fans, us long timers would have liked to hear the more daring avant-pop of Drilling Holes and especially the completely brilliant narrative Ocean Cloud, which I still maintain is one of the best slabs of art-rock in the history of the genre.
The second set was pretty much a cross-section of material from the entire h period of the group*, including a soaring medley from Brave (an album I maintain as the greatest concept album of the entire 1990s), and a bombastic extended version of Cover My Eyes as well as guarenteed crowd pleasers like Estonia and the epic yet intimate pendulum sweep of Afraid of Sunlight. To close they broke out their possibly most well known h-era track, Easter and after that second encore...they were gone.
Frontman Steve Hogarth (a.k.a. h) leans toward a small amount of the dramatic, with minor costuming and props (a pair of glasses, a tea cup, etc) but never goes overboard. The result is he gives an air of exuberance you rarely see in rockers his age, and it helps to deflate the pretentious image often associated with art-rock outfits. Mark Kelly generates layers of great keyboard structures, and his sporadic solos are welcome bursts of precise imagination. Pete Trewavas (who is also doubling in the prog supergroup Transatlantic with Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater these days) is the weird looking bouncy bass boy who lives in a weird post-punk meets Chris Squire low-end frenzy. Guitarist Rothery knows how to play tastefully and seems to instinctively know how to not overplay. His apreggiated chords, ebowed segues, and anthemic soloing always fit.
This was a band that could be in their adolescence, not a 2+ decade "dinosaur". Definately worth buying some tickets and taking a friend (or four) to.
* Marillion started in the early 80s with frontman Fish, who left in 1987. He has
maintained his own active solo career since (as well as the occasional guest spot
on albums by folks like Tony Banks of Genesis).
posted by theloniusfunk at 1:50 AM
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