Marillion weekend in Montreal – April 3-5, 2009
Songs played:
46
Approximate playing time: 7 hours over three evenings
Obviously, this trip has nothing to do with the Canadian Rockies. However, the entire experience was so unbelievably outstanding, I could not resist writing about it.
For those who don’t know, Marillion is an English rock band. They are enormously popular in Europe, but have had a difficult time attracting a significant North American following, especially in Canada. However, those who are Marillion fans are loyal in the strongest sense of the word and more often than not are extremely knowledgeable about the band and its music. I had seen Marillion live only once, on their “Misplaced Childhood” tour in 1986. Mark had managed to catch the act several times in Europe over the years.
Marillion had decided to perform a three-evening concert series in only two locations: The Netherlands and Montreal. Holland was a little too far, but Montreal is only a four hour plane ride away and off we went.
Day 1
The Friday evening concert started off with “The King of Sunset Town”, after which, lead singer Steve Hogarth announced the bands intention to perform the CD “Season’s End” in its entirety. The performance that followed was truly phenomenal – easily the best concert performance we’ve ever seen (and Mark and I have been to our fair share of concerts over the years!)
Mark had raved about Hogarth’s strong vocal abilities when performing live, but even his claim that Hogarth was “the best live singer” didn’t prepare me for how good he really was. The man has outstanding control of his voice and uses it to communicate the emotional and intellectual content of his lyrics in a way that I can only describe as “freakishly poignant”! On CD, Hogarth is fantastic……live, he is truly unbelievable.
The often understated deliver of the lyrics is wonderfully consistent with Marillion’s overall style. In combination with Rothery’s incredible melodic gifts on guitar; Mark Kelly’s subtle keyboard landscapes, Peter Trewavas’ intricate, but never showy bass-lines, and Ian Mosley’s "compliment, but never stand out" drum style, Marillion has forged an incomparable balance of sound and texture, that draws the listener in, keeping them riveted for the entire length of each song. Though this is quite evident when listening to their CD’s, it was infinitely more pronounced and effective in the live performance.
Upon completing the “Season’s End” CD (highlights of which were “Easter” and “The Space”), the band launched into a set of songs from their latest double CD, “Happiness is the Road”. Performances of “Essence”, “Whatever is Wrong with You”, and the title track were incredible. Perhaps the whimsical, but poignant rendition of “The Man from the Planet Marzipan” was the show-stopper, earning an ear-shattering applause. I can’t imagine there was a single person who left the concert hall without swearing that was the best concert they had ever seen. That certainly was the case for Mark and me.
Day 2
We both agreed that there was no humanly way possible for the second concert to be as good as the first. Marillion had different ideas, however, and started Show 2 with one of their strongest songs ever, “This Train is My Life”. Good choice – the crowd went absolutely wild and that was a mere shadow of what was to come.
The theme for the night was a song from every year since Hogarth had joined the band in 1989. The popular and more obscure songs alike had the audience in a state of rapture throughout. They played Mark’s Marillion favourite song “Fantastic Place” and a soulful version of “Estonia”. It seems, however, that “Afraid of Sunlight” was the crowd favourite. Upon finishing the song, the hall erupted in a state of frenzy and applause that we’ve never experienced. It was astonishing. Even the band, who are very much used to loud and long ovations, seemed to be taken aback by the sheer volume and almost manic behaviour of the audience (manic in a good way!). The ovation lasted forever and was truly a magical moment (a very, very, long moment) for all. Four encore songs ended the concert. Older Marillion fans (unfortunately, "older" means Mark and me) were delighted to hear a couple of pre-Hogarth songs: Slainte Mhath and Garden Party.
Marillion had succeeded in what I thought was impossible – bettering Friday’s performance – it was unfreakinbelievable!!
Day 3
The third and final day was a real treat. First, while walking the streets of Old Montreal, we fortuitously bumped into Marillion’s guitar player, Steve Rothery. We chatted with him for a few moments – he was very pleasant and humble; a quiet and unassuming man with incredible musical talent.
Next we managed to get invited to watch the sound-check. This was another very cool and unique experience and happily we walked away with a few autographs from the band. Actually, we didn’t walk away at all. We stayed in the concert hall and planted ourselves right at the stage in between where Steve Hogarth and Steve Rothery would be standing.
The big topic of conversation before the last concert was what could the theme be for the evening. As expected, the set-list was totally unexpected. The theme was 10 of their longer songs. At an average of 15 minutes per song, the performance took over 2.5 hours – that’s for 10 songs! There are very few bands in the world that can pull something like this off and Marillion did far more than just pull it off. The crowd was even more engaged and elated than the previous two evenings. The 18 minute long rendition of one of my favourite songs, “Ocean Cloud” yielded a thunderous applause as strong as the previous night’s “Afraid of Sunlight”. Throughout, a huge number of the fans were singing every word of every song. Equally well received was the “Kayleigh/Lavender/Heart of Lothian” medley from “Misplaced Childhood”. Hogarth turned the singing duties over to the crowd for “Lavender” and some of “Heart of Lothian” and all 1500 eager fans gladly obliged him, belting out the songs as loud as each could sing. All too soon the performance and weekend was over.
These three concerts were by leaps and bounds the best three concerts we've ever heard and seen. Even while writing this, four days after the event, I’m on a tremendous high from experiencing the event and in sheer amazement of Marillion’s ability to communicate and connect with their audience on a very deep and profound level. Unbelievable musicianship and a loyal and incredibly knowledgeable, appreciative audience – two ingredients that went into making this one of the most enjoyable and memorable weekends of our lives.
Mark and Steve Rothery (left) on St. Paul Street in Old
Montreal
Montreal staples: beer and poutine
Peter Trewavas (left) and Steve Hogarth practice during the
sound-check
Same as above
Mark in front of the stage, with Marillion on stage
Lights
Different coloured lights
Mark taking photos
More of the sound-check
Between the opening act and
Marillion, they displayed all the photos from the "Win a backstage pass contest".
This was the one Mark entered, taken on Little
Galatea in January of this year.
The photo didn't win, but it was cool to see it on the big screen
Show 2, from way back
Same as above
Steve Hogarth photos
Other random scenes
Rothery's
guitar playing throughout was absolutely sensational;
he is possibly the most under-rated guitarist out there
The Set Lists
Show 1
The King of Sunset Town
Easter
The Uninvited Guest
Seasons End
Holloway Girl
Berlin
After Me
Hooks in You
The Space
The Bell in The Sea
The Release
The Man From The Planet Marzipan
Essence
Asylum Satellite #1
Whatever is Wrong With You
Happiness Is The Road
Show 2
This Train Is My Life - 2008
Somewhere Else - 2007
Real Tears For Sale - 2006
State of Mind - 2005
The Damage - 2004
Genie - 2003
Fantastic Place - 2002
When I Meet God - 2001
Map of The World - 2000
A Legacy - 1999
Cathedral Wall - 1998
Estonia - 1997
Afraid of Sunlight - 1996
Out of This World - 1995
The Great Escape - 1994
No One Can - 1992
The Party - 1991
Cover My Eyes - 1990
Slainte Mhath - 1987
Garden Party – 1981
Show 3
A Few Words For The
Dead
This Town / The Rakes Progress / 100 Nights
This Is The 21 Century
Ocean Cloud
If My Heart Were a Ball It Would Roll Uphill
Interior Lulu
Kayleigh/Lavender/Heart Of Lothian
The Invisible Man
This Strange Engine
Neverland
A few Marillion links:
Live version of "Fantastic Place"
Acoustic version of This Train