Date of Performance: September 27, 2004
Venue: House Of Blues - Los Angeles, West Hollywood, CA, US
Scratching A Seven Year Itch - Marillion Returns To The US
It seems that Marillion hits these shores every seven years ... at least of late. I first saw the band live in 1990, on the Seasons End tour, then again in 1997, on the This Strange Engine tour and now again in 2004 on the Marbles tour. And, as with the past two concerts, this was another great performance.
The House Of Blues in West Hollywood is a rather small venue - at least the concert area is - so each "seat" provides a close view. It's an all standing venue, however, so there are no seats, per se (there are some on the upper level dining area and a few on at the wings either side of the main floor). This does mean, theoretically, one could move about for better views of each performer ... but there was big enough of a crowd that even the waitresses taking drink orders had to part us like we were the Red Sea.
Marillion opened with material from Marbles, including "An Invisible Man," "Angelina," "The Damage," "Fantastic Place," and "The Only Unforgivable Thing." And, of course, several interludes of "Marbles." The second part of the set, after a brief intermission, featured material from past albums, but nothing older than "Easter." Included in the second half were "Living With The Big Lie," "Cover My Eyes," "Quartz," and "This Is The 21st Century." I was surprised that there wasn't anything older than Season's End in the set - that's right, no "Kayleigh" (and yes, there were a few calls for "Grendel"). I think that signaled really that there are two Marillions, and that this Marillion's history goes back to 1988. Of course, because there are 13 studio albums to pull material from, one has to be selective ... and the Fish departure/Hogarth arrival mark makes a good dividing point.
The band was tight, but having just come off dates in the UK, Europe and Mexico, they'd already had time to work out the kinks. H was personable, talking to the audience. An intimate setting like this makes that kind approach easy. What was evident was the band were enjoying themselves and enjoying playing together. The enthusiastic applause from the crowd I think illustrated just how appreciated by US fans they are - probably something they already know about their European audiences, but as a trip over here is rare, there can be that disconnect.
H started the set dressed like a business man -- a decidedly European businessman -- in a dark suit, white shirt, a glasses... but by the end of the first part of the set, he was down to just the shirt... well, he kept his pants and shoes on, of course. No near-nude performances (or costume malfunctions, either). On the other hand, I couldn't see his feet... so maybe he had no shoes on (Alan Reed of Pallas performs barefoot, as does, it seems Steven Wilson, so...).
Anyway, the point is, other than that, all the drama and "acting" to underscore the songs was done without the aid of props ... oh, there was a tea cup at one point. H did play keyboards on a few songs, mainly the "Marbles" interludes, maracas, acoustic and electric guitar on a few tracks... From my vantage point, Ian Mosley was, visually, just the drum kit. Ah, but there was no doubt that he was there, playing wonderfully as usual. 
As was Pete Trewavas on the bass ... sometimes his isn't the most prominent element in the mix on record, but live? Well, it adds extra punch to the music. Finally, of course, there's Mark Kelly on keyboards -- magnificent. Of course, I'm biased. I love this band ... and love them again with Marbles, a return to the Marillion of old (well, 1988 on) mixed with the Marillion of new to create the kind of mix that they've been threatening all along... ah, but my CD review is a separate thing.
I created new fans with this concert, inviting Tom Karr and his wife E along, neither of whom had been fans before. My sister (I'll make a prog head out of her yet, you'll see!) and her friend Tom Corton came as well. Now, my sister has not liked them before, and most of what she had heard was the Fish years (and Misplaced Childhood mostly)... but she did come out of the HOB Monday night saying, "they're really good. I liked them." So, a small if not a total victory there. Tom C was quite impressed with the band, too, I'll add, appreciating the meaningful lyrics.
For me, seeing them live after so many years was such a thrill ... to watch Steve Rothery play those guitar solos, to hear those notes live.... Well, you who have been following my story since day one know how much I love a Rothery guitar solo.
Marillion gave a 5/5 star performance... I hope it doesn't take them another seven years to the play the US again (or North America in general).
