Concert Review
Marillion
Hard Rocksino
Northfield, OH
Saturday October 29, 2016
Review/Photos: Joseph Suto
Marillion returned for their first tour of North America in over four years Saturday evening. It marked the first time the band played the Hard Rocksino in Northfield, OH just southeast of Cleveland. For Clevelanders this was the band’s first area show since the Marbles tour touched down at the Odeon Concert Club in 2004. The band is currently touring in support of their recent critically acclaimed album F.E.A.R.
The show opened with the thirteen minute plus epic “The Invisible Man”. “Power” off Sounds That Can’t Be Made followed. The band chose to focus on their lengthier songs for the most part. It wasn’t until the familiar chords of “Afraid Of Sunlight” where the show really took off. The band played three songs off F.E.A.R. including the complete version of track “New Kings” which should become a staple of the band’s set lists for many years to come.
Another highlight followed with the gem “Neverland” from Marbles which ended the main set. This song has become the “Stairway To Heaven” of the Hogarth era so to speak. No matter how often you hear this song it always delivers.
The band quickly returned to the stage as guitarist Steven Rothery started the chords to the lone track from the Fish era “Sugar Mice”. As h introduced “Easter” the crowd erupted with glee. To cap off the encore and the evening h sat at his keyboard and started “Three Minute Boy”. The song ended with h telling the crowd to sing softly
Marillion has the some of the most passionate fans and that was quite evident Saturday evening. The ovations after some of the notable songs such as “Afraid Of Sunlight” and the first encore “Sugar Mice” were unbelievably loud, long and well deserved. When Marillion plays the States it is more a gathering because fans come from all over. I met fans as far as Indiana and Canada. As it turns out many fans from Buffalo also made the trek. The point is this band has fans that are not afraid to travel far distances to see them especially when circumstances prevent the band from playing in their own town. Many even take in multiple shows.
Following the first night of the tour in San Francisco, there was some backlash by a very minute minority of fans regarding the set list. One thing with Marillion, they are a forward thinking band and try not to relegate to the past. If you look back five years from now, I believe you will have very fond memories of this wonderful tour. This band does not play here often so live, breathe and enjoy each moment. You’ll be glad you did in the end.
Opening the show with a blistering set was John Wesley. Wes as he is known by his fans, has opened for Marillion several times over the years. He is touring in support of his recent album A Way You’ll Never Be.
Wesley chose to play his solo set electric and threw in “Thirteen Days” from his debut Under The Red and White Sky for his longtime fans.
Marillion
The Invisible Man
Power
Living in F E A R
Wave
Mad
Afraid of Sunlight
The New Kings: I. Fuck Everyone and Run
The New Kings: II. Russia’s Locked Doors
The New Kings: III. A Scary Sky
The New Kings: IV. Why Is Nothing Ever True?
Neverland
El Dorado: I. Long-Shadowed Sun
El Dorado: II. The Gold
El Dorado: III. Demolished Lives
El Dorado: IV. F E A R
El Dorado: V. The Grandchildren of Apes
Encore
Sugar Mice
Easter
Three Minute Boy
John Wesley
By The Light Of A Sun
To Outrun The Light
13 Days
Epic
Mary Will
A Way You’ll Never Be
For a better way of life check out Marillion at www.marillion.com
For more on John Wesley check out www.john-wesley.com
Also stay tuned soon for an interview we conducted with John Wesley prior to this show.
