The punningly-titled 'Snowhere Else' tour had no support act, so I nosed around the merchandising stall for a while picking up a copy of the new 'Somewhere In London' DVD and endured the nauseating Christmas muzak (The Wombles, Wham, Chris Rea, Cliff Richard...you know the drill!) as the crowds began to fill up. The band finally took to the stage around 8.30 pm to something of a hero's welcome, and the haunting opening keyboard motif of 'Bridge' was arguably the perfect start. I'd heard some grumbles about the choice of 'Brave' material to start the set but for me this track was a suitably atmospheric place to start.

 

After a powerhouse rendition of 'Living With The Big Lie', a soaring, superb 'Runaway' (delighted I got to hear Steve Rothery play that solo...one of my favourites) and a rollocking 'Mad' with occasional audience participation segueing into the airy jazziness of 'Fruit Of The Wild Rose', Steve Hogarth addressed the crowd, describing the format of the show, but as he put it "As most of our songs are about doom and gloom, we are perhaps not the best act to do a Christmas show!". He told us that the set was split into two parts, the first being that of 'Art' and the second being one of 'Fun'.

 

The descriptions were pretty accurate- the rest of the first half was rounded off with some of their moodier pieces and all of them were superbly performed, from the stunning 'Out Of This World' and the new track 'Real Tears For Sale' which sounded very promising indeed on first listen and boded well for their new album. The first half of the set was rounded off with the excellent 'Somewhere Else' (my favourite track from the latest album), which 'H' dedicated to 'Ken Bruce's mind' after a faux pas the DJ made on air after playing 'Thank You Whoever You Are' and saying the singer was Fish...'Season's End' was the perfect choice to finish the 'Art' section of the set, and most of the first verse and chorus were sang by the crowd.

 

After an amusing interval with various Christmas wishes from fans and the band's management, the band took to the stage again for the 'Fun' section. Indeed, the crowd and the band had a ball throughout, the material tending to be more uptempo. Such was the spirit on show from both band and audience that even some of the tracks I'm fairly lukewarm to on the albums, such as 'Hooks In You', 'Most Toys' and the oddball 'Cannibal Surf Babe', worked wonderfully well. 'The Other Half', another one of the best tracks from 'Somewhere Else', was superb too. Two lengthy pieces, the 'This Town' epic and the superb 'This Strange Engine', finished this part of the set. The latter in particular I was delighted to hear, as it features some of the band's best work, in my opinion- Mark Kelly got a great keyboard sortee, and Steve Hogarth's vocal performance is just extraordinary.

 

The crowd weren't letting them go that easily though! The encore featured two of my personal favourite tracks on their more recent albums- the sinewy 'Quartz' and the emotional powerhouse that is 'Neverland' with Steve Rothery performing some truly stunning guitar solos. Even that couldn't leave the masses fully satisfied, as the band came back to give us one more treat. This was a singalong version, with kazoos thrown out into the crowd for audience participation, of 'Let It Snow'; great fun was had by all, with Mark Kelly kicking an inflatable Santa Claus to comic boos from the crowd ('Mark Kelly, children's entertainer' as Steve H quipped...) and Steve Hogarth was resplendent in a Santa Claus outfit! How many other rock bands offer such a self-effacing spectacle? The 'snow' that fell from the lights was the perfect touch to what had been a wonderful performance, and ensured everybody left with a huge smile on their face. Indeed, my dad, who I went with, had never heard (let alone seen) the H-era Marillion before but came away very impressed indeed, particularly with both Steves Hogarth and Rothery. 

 

Credit must also be given for the light show- added an enormous amount to the drama that was already conveyed in the music. The sound mix was terrific throughout, too (my only reservation with the Fish gig I saw earlier in the year was the rather overbearing sound mix) And I haven't even mentioned the inflatable pumpkins that were flying around during 'Hooks In You' yet...But yes, this was a truly superb, first-class display that merits a full 5/5 from me. Can't wait for the next time I see them!

 

Bridge
Living With The Big Lie
Runaway
Mad
Fruit of the Wild Rose
Out of This World
Real Tears for Sale
Somewhere Else
Seasons End
--
Hooks In You
Most Toys
The Other Half
Cannibal Surf Babe
This Town / 100 Nights
This Strange Engine
--
Quartz
Neverland
--
Let It Snow