Initially, Newcastle University Students' Union seems like an odd choice of venue for this Aylesbury Progressive rock band. The majority of the band's fans in attendance tonight are not students; instead the crowd is made up primarily of middle-aged adults.
When you take a glance at the stage, the first thing that strikes you is the sheer amount of equipment Marillion have set up. The stage has been completely taken over with gear, leaving limited room for them to move around. As the lights go down, the band take to stage in turn, consequently receiving their own round of applause, but also leading to the inevitably predictable entrance of the lead singer after the rest of the band. Steve Hogarth finally bounds onto the stage, barefoot and dressed in a flamboyant Indian gown. The 5-piece launch straight into new song, 'Nothing Fills the Hole', to a widely positive reception. This was the first of many tracks played tonight from the band's new 'Happiness Is The Road' album. Another new track, 'Essence', demonstrates influence from modern bands such as Radiohead, whilst maintaining the Marillion trademark sound of epic, layered soundscapes.
Throughout the show, Hogarth really performs for the crowd, often seeming transfixed with the lyrics he is singing. At one point he plays a strange MIDI controller, constructed from a hollowed out cricket bat; another strange, in-joke for fans of the band. The penultimate song of the main set sees the band launch into a lengthy instrumental passage, leaving time for Hogarth to leave the stage and change, ready for his costumed entrance for the song 'The Invisible Man'; a good ending to the main set. However, even after the encore, there is still a feeling of disappointment at the lack of older, 'Fish-era' material in the set. Especially the lack of favourite 'Sugar Mice', which fans were calling out for throughout the gig.
Review by Michael Sherlock
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