Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Saturday 13th of April

"It all began with a bright light"
Second night at the Marillion weekend in Wolverhampton.
I have seen Pink Floyd perform, I have seen U2 and Muse, I have seen Sting, I have seen Nirvana (among others), I have seen the best orchestra in the world, the Philharmonia in Royal Festival Hall, performing Bruckner's Fourth symphony brilliantly, I have seen John Nettles as the king in A Winter's Tale, I have witnessed some pretty weighty cultural performances during my life, even been performing some of them myself... and the gig on Saturday in Wolverhampton is the biggest most pivotal cultural experience I have ever been be a part of. To be in the audience this night was nothing short of the biggest honor bestowed upon me.

In the beginning, being at the front (yeah, I have to brag a bit about the fact that I managed front row three nights in a row...) we could see that things weren't all perfect. The hectic looks, the subtle glance...but it didn't matter, because like I said in the last entry, they are so professional and they sorted it out and got properly into it. And this gig was of such a magnitude that the first 10 songs were performed without talking in between. We could all feel the serene seriousness of it. And now, if you find yourself not knowing the Brave album, which was the album for the night, then I strongly suggest you buy it. Marillion fan or not, this is one of the best albums of the world. I can't go into detail of every song, because we would be here until next century... But I'll try to say a few words. The first five songs had me in awe... I was looking at the stage with wide eyes, completely enchanted...as if entering a Neverland where only music and brilliance existed.

1. Bridge
2. Living The Big Lie
3. Runaway
4. Goodbye To All That
5. Hard As Love
6. Hollow Man - If any of you have knowledge of T. S. Eliot, you will know that he wrote a poem called The Hollow Men. And though only the title is similar, I think both poets had an idea uniting them across time. One of the strongest lyrics Marillion have. And beautifully performed.
7. Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury
8. Paper Lies - h in a golden suit, reason enough to be at this gig ;) But the message was strong enough, paper...money, printed words, internet...lies and lies and lies...
9. Brave - This is a fantastic song, leading up to one of the biggest emotional highs of my entire life.
10. The Great Escape/ Falling From The Moon - "They shower you with flowers when they bury you" This song, sad though the lyrics are, represent positive and life altering change for me. And the song is so powerful that I can hardly hear the studio version without finding myself in tears. So imagine standing there, feeling all the emotions rushing through my body, watching sheer magic happening on stage, I stood no chance.

Five minute ovation...at least. Give this a big thought, the longest ovation you've ever been a part of, either as a performer or as a spectator. Have you got that in your mind? If it's more than one minute, it's amazing. We cheered for five minutes... And the band were humble in their cute bowing and smiling and trying to calm us down. H told us he had seen loads of band in the same venue as the one we were in, among them Genesis, and none of them ever got quite as big of a cheer as the one on Saturday!

11. Made Again - The mood in the room was elevated. I felt this was a cathartic experience.

12. Rich - "Reality, is something that we rise above, we don't see things as they are, we see them as we are..." what an absolute spot on take of reality. :)
13. The Damage - Another brilliant song from Marbles.
14. Trap The Spark
15. Warm Wet Circles - Well, an oldie, but a goodie. And among us at the front...a bit of a rude conversation followed, to be perfectly honest.
16. That Time Of The Night
17. Drilling Holes
18. Out Of This World.

19. Seasons End
20. Space - I am so happy they played the Space, from Seasons End. This song is so powerful, and not just the song and the music. But the lyrics. "Everyone is only everyone else" How true indeed.

And now we could breathe.
The biggest musical and cultural experience of my entire life is now a memory. A memory I will cherish and look back on with joy and a bit of sadness. Because something so grand is not only making us think of both the good and the bad of the world, it's also making the world "Made Again".

2 comments:

  1. Really love this review Silje. Brave is indeed one of the best albums in the world but seeing it played live in front of my eyes brought out a wirlwind of emotions between happiness and sadness which is a good thing

    A great night I will treasure

    Jeff :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Again: Great review! I am so happy I was there too and agree with every word of your review! I can say: It was that good it hurt!

    Still goosebumps when I think back....

    Vivi x

    ReplyDelete