Marillion Under the Stars

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Diana

It was quite an announcement to hear Marillion are going to play in the ancient Pompei amphitheater. Obvious decision: I was going to be there because Italy, Marillion and history make for an unmissable combination. Add to that Vesuvio and the Amalfi coast and take me there. So I planned my Summer holiday around this event.

A short stop in Roma, a train ride to Napoli, and my first surprise was seeing Vesuvio as the train was drawing close to Napoli Centrale. Seeing it outside the accommodation balcony was even better. Climbing it and looking into the crater was a dream come true. Thank you to history and to Tom and Jerry for making me curious. But while sightseeing was a bonus in this trip, the main event was drawing closer and closer. But not before spending a few hours in the ruins of Pompei and photographing all cats in the compound. Finally, the Italian Summer warmth calmed down and it was time to head to the venue for the concert. I only attended the first night because we were asked to allow others to join the second one, and because I am not as rich nor as excited to see the same setlist twice in a row. The noticeable difference between the two nights was the addition of Wave, Mad and The Great Escape to the encore, and the removal of Afraid of Sunlight from the body of the concert, as well as the replacement of Kayleigh with Sugar Mice. 

As a first impression I have to say that it still is a lovely feeling to be in the same place as so many other Marillion fans. However, we did underestimate the organisers and had to battle a long queue for entering the venue and the only restrooms available for all of us. So the show started with a small delay, as all of us were allowed to enter and take our seats. The excitement was in the air, and not long after 21:20 the gig started with the first notes of Splintering Heart. What I like about this song is the clear and strong voice h has, and the explosion of sound when the band join in. What I didn’t like this time was the somehow too long intro and people filming it. The Moon, the stars and the magic of the place gave me goosebumps.

Fantastic Place is one of my favourite songs from Marillion but somehow live I do not enjoy it as much. But yes, we were in a fantastic place so maybe its presence in the setlist was justified. You’re Gone, another favorite of mine, a joy when played live and a sing-along gem sounded in my head as a cacophony of percussion. After, we were introduced to a song from the long awaited new album: Ribbons and Lace. The excitement of listening to a new piece was in the air. 

I got into singing along to Kayleigh, as it is almost impossible for any Marillion fan not to know the lyrics to this one. One after the other, the songs kept coming the same way the darkness crawled over our heads, turning the stars in the sky brighter and brighter. 

I was certain the band would have The Flowing Chords with them, so I was waiting for some real gems. And they delivered. Easter, Living in Fear and Go! were my favorites. Hearing Living in Fear (F.E.A.R. is one of my favorite albums from Marillion) was such a joy. Go! was wonderful and so was Man of a Thousand Faces at the encore. Lucky Man I could have done without but since I am not the one making the setlist, I just went along with it. Though I know it is a band and fan favorite, l’ve heard The Crow and the Nightingale too many times. With the choir I have to say it makes a different impression but, for me, it’s time to have it replaced in the setlist. 

The encore seemed rushed though but by now the Moon and the stars were fully visible, and the location seemed to have reached its full potential. I’ve never seen an open-air Marillion concert before, and I understood that even for the band and crew, such a location is quite a challenge – see Steve R’s issues with his guitar gadgets, probably caused by the heat during the day. Mark had some issues with the keys too. Don’t know the reason why, but the encore seemed to be cut short and the band didn’t even say goodbye to the audience properly on the first night. I can understand their disappointment with the tech glitches and venue restrictions but they are a band that sold out two gigs in a row, and that must not be forgotten. I’ve seen them live quite a few times and I know that they want to deliver only the best. I’ve seen flawless gigs that peaked perfection and went beyond it but this was not one of them. Was it the emotion of playing in such an amazing place? Was it the outdoor environment or the heat? Maybe the crew missed something? I cannot answer that but as a member of the audience who breathes their live gigs like air I can only say that it did seem to me a bit overproduced. I don’t understand the presence of the percussionist, I have 0 comprehension on the technicality of the music but for the first time it seemed too much of everything. H has a beautiful, warm voice. It strikes chords in listeners and live, either on solo gigs or with the band, it makes a statement. He is a wonderful frontman. Steve R. is a magician. Mark Kelly is a music nerd, technical and focused on buttons and perfection. Pete is such a lovely presence on stage, a piece of the band’s soul maintaining rhythm and contact with all other members. The least visible, Mr President, Ian Mosley, we all know he’s there though we barely see him. I, like many others, travel far and wide to see them live and I would do that again and again as much as my schedule and bank account allow me to do so. 

Walking back to the accommodation got me thinking that the intensity of the holiday would now decrease, as the focus point of the trip has passed. But there was still so much to be seen, from the beautiful coast to more history and another gig in the beautiful ruins of Pompei. For me the Marillion Summer story was over, but I was still listing in my head the songs I’d like to, one day, hear live.

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Linkin Park @ 3Arena, Stockholm

Posted on May 31, 2026 by Diana

This one was going to hurt. I bought the ticket halfhearted and more out of curiosity rather than excitement. 14 years ago I saw Linkin Park live in Bucharest, fronted by the wonderful Chester Bennington, the one who voiced my teenage anger. After Chester’s tragic passing, the emptiness left in my playlist by no more Linkin Park material was never replaced. Surprisingly, it was continued. Because years after, Linkin Park resurrected with a new singer. And I don’t see this as a replacement but as a continuation. You cannot replace something that doesn’t exist anymore, nor someone, but you can continue, you can build on top, or at least this is what I think Mike Shinoda & co did. Emily Armstrong, the band’s new female lead, helped them do that.

Now, back to the Stockholm show. I got bored during the opening acts but as the countdown was reaching its end, I started to feel nervous, excited and eager. Of course I had listened to the band’s new album, From Zero. Hearing them open to a sold out arena with The Emptiness Machine was an eye opener. They were really there, in front of us, playing live again. 9 years ago all my hopes of seeing LP live again were lost.

Emily was welcomed by the Stockholm crowd. Our reaction when she stepped on stage and started singing was warm and loud. The songs that the band wrote for her as lead vocals sound amazing. As for the ones that were written in Chester’s time… This was the painful part. Knowing every lyric I was singing along every song but I was hearing Chester’s voice in my head. For each and every one of them. It is impossible to hear them in a different way. The echo of his voice will live in me forever, even though now I am lucky enough to hear them live again sung by Emily. Mike Shinoda’s presence feels familiar and is the same as years ago. So are most of the other guys. Linkin Park was not only Chester’s project. Picking it up and taking it forward is a joy, especially when they didn’t look to find a similar voice as Chester’s but for someone who would do justice to the old songs and help form a new sound for the new ones. 

In Bucharest they didn’t play Crawling. My biggest regret when it comes to them is not having heard Chester sing that song live. They played it here. It gave me goosebumps. I finally heard it live. The crowd went wild. We screamed and sang along to old songs and new ones. We carried with us a memory and made new ones. We will never say goodbye to Chester but I am confident that more and more of us will say welcome to Emily. Or I hope more people will, because it would be a pity to silence the old songs forever. And it would also be a pity not to have new ones anymore.

Emily slays on the new songs. The musical chemistry the band has with her is tangible, and so is the respect between them. I like and appreciate the fact that she sings the old songs her way. She has such a powerful voice that she would probably learn to imitate Chester’s tone, but she doesn’t. What I’ve Done and One Step Closer got us screaming loudly again but not as loud as Numb nor as Heavy is the Crown. This one made me think that Emily really has a heavy crown to bear, yet she does that without bowing her head. 

The final part of the concert brought us Papercut, In the End and Faint, a set of three classics and a powerful closing to two hours of good music. It was pure energy, warmth and sparkles. It made it even harder to accept the fact that the concert was over. And it made me realise that my halfheartedness from when buying the ticket was long gone and replaced with the eagerness of seeing them again. I think this is the logical consequence of a good live gig and good music. And in the end the music is all that matters. 

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Happy New 2026!

Posted on January 4, 2026 by Diana

2025 seems to have been a long year, yet it went by in the blink of an eye. Many things have happened, some that I wrote about here, others that I’ve already forgotten. I’ve spent the holidays trying to stay away from work and my social media is still set to only cat videos and bands I like. My 2025 was full of great concerts by Marillion, James Bay, The Cult and The Mono Jacks, traveling, time spent with family, old and new friends, and cats. It was full of focus to snap out of the vicious circle of back pain and avoiding falling even more into the depths of fatigue. As much as I like my job, I had to learn to remind myself that work is just work and it ends at 6 pm the latest. 

For 2026 I’ll continue the tradition of not setting up any New Year resolutions. I don’t need to tell myself that I have to go to the gym and eat healthy, I know that already. Wishing you all peace, love, health and good music!

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Marillion @ TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Diana

There was a certain silence in the breakfast room at the hotel on Wednesday morning. The usual plans of what to do on that day were replaced with conversations of the train schedule to Amsterdam Schiphol airport, hugs and promises to meet again in Pompeii. Yet there was so much warmth and friendship still. 

Most people arrived in Utrecht with a certain delay. As Friday morning unfolded, many started to post details about flights, trains, useful info and photos of the venue: Grote Zaal in TivoliVredenburg.

Saturday morning the city was buzzing. Christmas shoppers, youngsters enjoying coffee, decorations and the usual question: I wonder who is here for the same reason as me? The hotel was full of familiar faces, people you meet in other hotels and see at other concerts or those who are actively posting in FaceBook groups. You don’t know their names but you know them. No way of clearly identifying each-other until we all receive the event bracelet. That’s if you don’t see the t-shirts. As the daylight and some weak traces of the sun sunk into a cloudy misty evening, the excitement grew. There was a long queue going around the buildings near the venue. The event on FaceBook was buzzing with posts. It was time.

I made my way to the venue quite late. By the time I spotted an empty seat on the last row, the opening act (Tom Waters) had already started. The place is absolutely amazing. As it was free seating, and as I got there quite late, I was worried that I wouldn’t get a good view. I got a great view. I could see the whole stage, the light show and the reaction of the people. The audience was amazing: not too many phones up, not too much moving around to get drinks. The setlist: Marbles (for the 4th time this year). The good thing about hearing this album live is that it’s a very good record. It also has some of my favourite songs on it, so hearing You’re Gone and Neverland again and again is a bliss. The band usually diversifies things a bit by playing some tracks from other albums, on this evening those being Cannibal Surf Babe (which Steve R. stopped because something didn’t sound right, creating a lot of room for puns), Man of a Thousand Faces, King and Sugar Mice (which as always was mostly sung by the crowd). And the evening ended with Marbles IV and the beautiful transition to Neverland. It was not easy going back to the hotel after such an evening but I knew that we had 3 more evenings of magic, plus I was exhausted from walking around Utrecht and visiting the railway museum. 

Sunday was the second day when we’d get a similar setlist as at all of the other 2025 weekends. I managed to get to the venue earlier and, by luck, I ended finding a front seat and even find great company. Haunt the Woods was the opening act and they captured us with their music and the last number that they performed from the middle of the crowd. The guys’ performance was impressive and they left us in the right mood for more good music. What followed though was out of this world. Though having heard most songs in almost the same order in Paris, Padova and Oslo, the evening unfolded to the best Marillion live performance I’ve ever witnessed. There is not much more to say because there are no other words which would do justice to that evening. It all just fell into place in such a way… no tech issues, amazing coordination and communication between the band and crew, a wonderful and natural flow. Wait, I know: I don’t think I’ve ever heard The Great Escape sounding better. From the emotion in h’s voice to the moaning guitar. Many standing ovations and a lot of content from the band as well, who also realised that they were simply on fire. The evening ended with Three Minute Boy and a lot of us who would have loved the evening to go on and on. But this time, again, the thought of two more evenings with the amazing Marillion would make it easier to get back to the hotel.

The whole trip caught me very tired, so tired that I made a habit out of going down to breakfast, and even though I had coffee, right after I’d go back to my room and sleep a few more hours. I also discovered a great coffee place (Coffeecompany) so right after lunch I’d walk the streets and go and enjoy a creamy and delicious cappuccino, either on the spot or takeaway. I also explored the shopping mall the hotel was located in and got nerdly excited by seeing the lego version of the Enterprise D, Picard’s Enterprise. Out of all the places in the food court I noticed a gyros place (The Gyros Bar) that always had a queue, and trusted it every evening for dinner. And it was delicious! I was also happy I got a hotel so close to the venue. Their breakfast was varied, tasty and the feeling of coming down to breakfast in a room full of people who were there for the same reason gave a very pleasant sensation of community and similar interests.

Monday was a break day for the band, so instead of playing for us they took the time to do an ”audience with the band”. But before this audience, I went and hanged out a bit with a bunch of cool people from all over the world (even Australia) and Mark Kelly, who was kind enough to gather his Patreon subscribers for a short chat, answered our questions and took photos with us. And the place we chose even had a cat who came to us to inspect, supurrvise but not socialise, yet it managed to draw our attention for a few moments. The event itself, besides the excitement of meeting Mark, also offered me the chance to talk to other fans and share our Marillion experience. It was short but very pleasant. And riding the positive energy of such a happening I went on to watch the audience with the band.

This is the evening when all the countries represented at the event get a shoutout. Lucy (manager and master of events) made it clear that we are cheering for the people, not the politicians. Yay for Romania, I was not the only one. People that travelled from far away got a lot of cheers, everyone cheered for everyone and Ukraine got a long and respectful cheer. Then we spent 40-45 minutes hearing the band talk about their new album, seeing them open presents, hearing answers to questions that Lucy collected from fans in advance, and other fun things like the band signing balls and throwing them into the crowd or fans being  rewarded with a photo with the band for whatever reasons: from traveling from Australia to their Marillion story. The evening ended with a concert by French band Lazuli.

The last night was the one when I actually queued before the doors opened. People had already became frustrated with the attitude of some in the queue. I don’t really understand why, as the venue had great visibility from all rows but I can understand that everyone wanted to be as close to the stage as possible. The opening act was none other than Marillion’s own tech Euan Hammond. Though a bit too poppy for my taste, he made me think of a combination of James Bay and Ed Sheeran. His stage presence was fun and his excitement was contagious. I believe he really made people get into the mood of the evening and proved to be quite an entertainer. 

Marillion started with Splintering Heart. But while the band were on stage and we could hear mr h from in front of us, we were surprised and amused to see him hanging on one of the venue’s balconies, to the delight of those closer to the spot. And to make things even better, the second song was El Dorado, which was perfect. This Town, The Rake’s Progress and 100 Nights got us out of the loom and gloom and depth of El Dorado just to be thrown in an ice cold bath by Gaza (with tech spoiler from Mark’s side). Like The New Kings, Gaza is a song that is incredibly actual, though released on an album from 2012 (and what an album). It’s full of energy and melancholy and proof that Marillion can easily flirt with heavier stuff. I mean that image of h rocking his guitar was mind-blowing, but again the whole performance was. And then, to everyone’s delight, the first last song of the evening was This Strange Engine, which is a storytelling masterpiece and a fabulous musical piece. 

Before the weekend started it was made known to us from different sides that the last evening will bring something totally different than the previous Dutch weekend from Port Zélande. The anticipation was deafening. On the previous evening, when we met Mark, he teased us with the topic but offered no spoilers. And though they didn’t play a song I wanted to hear, right about after TSE I just couldn’t believe that I got to hear all of these songs.

The encore started with the whole Care, another song full of meaning and emotions, and then we got to hear The Leavers, sprinkled with forgotten lyrics and tech issues, but the best finale for the last weekend of the year. Since the events are only scheduled to happen every other year, and knowing the meaning of The Leavers, the song fell right into place, and drowned the hall, audience and band, in confetti. But since the evening could not end on a heartfelt tone, the last encore brought to us Garden Party, the band’s most played live song. I am a fan of the video more than of the song itself, but the band seem to enjoy playing it and it is a crowd pleaser. Everyone was singing along, dancing and clapping. If I were to use one word to describe this evening that word would be ”intense”. 

And just like that, even though one by one there were 21 pieces, taken all together on narrative and composition, Marillion entertained us for a whole evening, a bit over two hours, as always, with only 8 songs. But the end of this last evening hit us all with the reality of the end of the event. A short walk to the hotel, packing, an attempt to enjoy the adrenaline of the moment but ignore the empty space in your stomach led me to the breakfast room goodbyes of the morning after. A weekend, a convention, a gathering of people, call it what you will, the music brought us together. I am sure that on the spot I noticed way more details than what I managed to capture in this post but I don’t have the space and capacity to remember everything. Some things will remain in that concert hall. It took me almost a week after the event to put this post together anyway. I had to sleep on it, metaphorically and literally as the tiredness of the trip, gloomy December and vacation feeling left a mark on me. I am sure that whatever I’ve forgotten will eventually surface and make me smile.

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The Cult @ Gröna Lund

Posted on June 22, 2025 by Diana

When the announcement came out last year that The Cult are scheduled to play Gröna Lund I immediately marked the date in my calendar. I had seen them live once before in Bucharest in 2012 at a festival on a day where Guns & Roses were headliners. All I remember from that day, way before I had a phone to take photos, is that I was revolted that they were an opening act, when, in fact, they were better from every aspect. Unfortunately, I somehow didn’t write a note about that gig, so all I have are my memories.

The Cult was brought to me by VH1 and their late night Friday Rocks programmes. I can’t even remember which song I saw first, but I remember that from them all Edie (Ciao Baby) stuck the closest. I could spend 3 hours glued to the tv on Friday nights, if one of their songs was played, the night would be considered a success. I think I even have an old VCR tape back at home on which I recorded the end credentials of Gone in 60 Seconds that run on their single Painted on My Heart. Across the years I’ve blended my musical taste and mixed genres and bands, but some of their songs were constants in my playlists. But for this concert I didn’t know what to expect when it came to my reaction to their music. I spent the recent train journey back from Oslo listening to some of their recent live gigs just to get familiar with their sound. And one day after arriving home, on a beautiful Summer evening, I went to Stockholm’s amusement park Gröna Lund to see them play live.

I didn’t get there too early, yet there weren’t so many people in front of the stage. This allowed me to find a good spot. I was slowly surrounded by people of all ages and I was surprised to see in the crowd goths, punks, a guy wearing a The Cult t-shirt from 1987 and a lot of very happy people. I felt a bit young in the audience, but I definitely wasn’t the youngest. Once the band stepped on stage I think they had us in the palm of their hands from the first note. The concert opening was In the Clouds. From my spot I had a very clear view of Ian Astbury, The Cult’s charismatic lead singer, and I was right in front of Billy Duffy. The two are the band’s founding and constant members, having been in the line-up across more than 40 years. Ian’s presence on stage is absolutely hypnotising, he engages the audience, makes eye contact and throws them tambourines. In Gröna Lund he spotted a kid on the terrace of the restaurant next to the stage and executed a perfect throw of such a tambourine. The kid, maybe around 12-13 years old and wearing a metal band t-shirt, couldn’t be more than excited to catch it. He also spotted a little child in the audience and gave the parents a pair of earplugs. It is really hard to take your eyes off him, it’s like he was meant to be the lead of a rock band. The aura and charisma he brings on stage are mind-blowing and complete his role as a singer. He still wears a bandana and sunglasses. It left me wondering what it would have been like to see him play live in the prime of The Cult’s years in the 80s and early 90s. When he allows his voice to take off, there is a real satisfaction in hearing them live.

The second song that they played was Rise which was released and aired a lot on tv when I was in high school. I had forgotten this song even existed and I was surprised to see that I still know the lyrics by heart. They took us on a journey through their music, and each song had us dancing. Wild Flower was well received by the audience, but then of course everybody was waiting for the classics. I wish I didn’t have to see Edie through the phone screen of the guy who snuck in front of me. Though I am all pro filming snaps of a concert and taking photos (as I mentioned above, I have no pics of their first gig that I saw), sometimes filming a whole song is a bit too much, especially when it is a crowd favorite. They played the song mostly on guitar and voice. This took away parts of its 80s hard rock spirit, but it allowed one to hear the raw music in its composition. The lyrics are beautiful and the guitar part is very catchy. Rain got us all dancing and we kept on dancing into Spiritwalker. She Sells Sanctuary was a bliss, and probably the best-sounding song of the gig. The band came back for an encore of Fire Woman and Love Removal Machine. Billy Duffy showed-off his guitar skills during the first song, while the upbeat ending of the last song placed the finale of the concert on a high podium. Ian thanked us and encouraged us all to be kind. While he took a few moments to express his gratitude, at the end he also wanted to share something more with us, but the tech crew already cut off the microphone, which was unfortunate. I don’t think any of us would have liked to go home, as, even though they went through 16 songs, the concert itself lasted only about one hour and fifteen minutes.

Irrelevant to say that ever since then I am stuck on listening to The Cult. It’s like I’ve rediscovered the band. I had forgotten how much I like them. But I also discovered many songs that I wasn’t aware of, some older, some newer, and, while watching their videos, I’ve identified a few that I know now for sure that I’ve seen as a kid on MTV or VH1. I’ve also had time to dig into their musical history and re-watch their VH1 Behind the Music documentary, interviews and whatever else YouTube threw at me, because I’ve been stranded inside the house with a cold for 3 days now… And what better way to get myself to feel better than to immerse in the music of a band I like. And though their promo clips are fun to watch, I somehow went for full recordings of old and new live gigs. I’ve added them now quite high on the list of artists that I want to see live again. Soon. Please.

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