My first Marillion Weekend was finally here. I heard so many stories about this event which made me feel even more excited about it, beyond the thrill I feel when I get to see a live performance by a band I like. And this time it wasn’t even one live performance, there were 3 in a row. 

Together with the reinforcements (my siblings), on whose passion for Marillion I tagged along ever since a copy of the Brave album made its way into our household, we went to Cirkus on Friday evening, on time to catch the opening act, Oak. A bit of listening, a bit of looking around, a bit of shopping from the merchandise stand and it was time for Marillion to enter the stage. They decided to start the event in full force with an evening with some of their most upbeat songs. And they were so upbeat and so unfamiliar to me that by the end of the evening I was more puzzled than enchanted. Was this because a guy fell head-first into the sound stand two minutes before the concert was supposed to start and ruined the settings? Was it because I am not a die-hard fan and got the impression any outsider would? A bit of both? No clue really, but the first evening was a lot of loud noise and a nice song every now and then. Even so, the band got a standing ovation when they chose to finish the evening with Cover My Eyes (Pain and Heaven).

The second evening was a totally different story. Again, road to Cirkus, opening act Dim Gray, and then Marillion in action. So much flawless action that you could hear that from the first note of the first song. The band chose to play their newest album, An Hour Befor It’s Dark, in its entirety. Another concept album with lots of meaning, smart lyrics, messages that cut deep and harmonious melodies. Each song is very well built, they have haunting chords that get to stick to the audience and the voice of mr h comes on top to glue everything together giving each tune a life of its own. The songs are built around topics such as environmentalism or the recent pandemic. After the opening track (Be Hard on Yourself, all 3 parts), the crowd gave the band a standing ovation… and we kept on doing that several times during the show. The live gig was so well received, I am uncertain which side of the concert hall were more pleased with what was happening: the band or the audience. In what Marillion are concerned, my approach to their concerts is simple: I first go to the concert, I listen to the music, then I come home and listen to whatever got stuck to me during the gig on repeat until it sinks in and it sticks well enough to sing-along at the next shows. This evening gave me enough reasons to have Marillion on repeat for a long time.

After going through the whole album, the encore gave us The Invisible Man, Power and Neverland. The Invisible Man was theatrical and captivating enough to make the whole performance a mini-show in itself. Neverland is a song I picked up at a previous live gig I attended and it’s absolutely beautiful. It was unfortunate that h lost his voice during the song and stepped off the stage, however, the track has an amazing guitar line that took the spotlight in the talented hands of Steve R who managed the moment blissfully, and rode the wave of excitement and support offered by the audience. H returned at the end of the song to give credit to everybody and thank the public. And we all showed gratitude and cheered for a fantastic evening which, besides the amazing music, also offered one of the prettiest light shows that went incredibly well with the vibe of the concert.

Day 3 opened with “An Audience With…”, 30 minutes of conversation and fun activities with the band (minus h who was resting) seated on two sofas in front of all of us, under the careful guidance of their manager, Lucy Jordache. The talk was super fun, with Q&As, games and happy fans. But then it was time for the concert to start and everybody was nervous about what was to come. I don’t think I ever laughed so much at a concert. Marillion chose to play the whole of Season’s End for this third evening. It was a combination between a concert, a sing-along and karaoke, but all in all it was a great evening with an amazing atmosphere and good music. It also was a long concert, with a long encore made out of Gaza (from Sounds that Can’t Be Made) and The Leavers (from F E A R), which are both two pieces that sound really good. I don’t think you need to be a die-hard fan to enjoy their concerts, you just need to like music, and we got plenty of that on the third evening, from ballads, to the upbeat Hooks in You, to jazz jams and hints that the lead singer should have rather rested in bed than sing in front of all of us. Yet he chose to do that, the band chose to go along with the concert and what a wonderful job they did out of it too. 

All in all, the weekend went by so fast and it felt too short. I wanted more of this beautiful music, even though we got 3 concerts in a row. Marillion is now one of the few bands that I’ve seen perform live 4 times, and I’ve also seen h live twice. And I hope I get to see them again. Soon.