Marillion Live in Oslo and Bergen 2012
When Marillion have played in Norway recently, things have
always gone wrong, mostly equipment issues that make it hard for the band to
perform at their best. This time we heard that H had lost his voice two days
earlier at the concert in Stockholm. So I was concerned as to how H would
perform. I need not have worried. The opening song in Oslo was The Invisible
man, H’s voice might not have been in top form, but he made up for it with an
amazing amount of energy in his performance. He was so intense, like a 5 year
old that had just drunk 2 cans of Red Bull and been given a puppy… Completely
hyperactive!
On top of that we were given possibly one of the best
setlists ever! After The Invisible Man came Cover My Eyes, Slange, Fantastic
Place, King and then the show stopper… Ocean Cloud.. During this track I was
arm with some of my Norwegian friends soaking it in; I had never heard it live
before. When it finished and the applause had died down, I was so wrapped in
the whole event of the last 18 minutes and simply shouted “We Love You
Marillion”. Which Steve Rothery acknowledged
with a smile and a nod in my direction. Power followed, offering promises that
Sounds that Can’t Be Made could well be the best album they have released in
many a year.
I was delighted that some tracks from the first four albums
had been played too. Sugar Mice,(which I think H has made his own in some way,
he performs it so well) and Kayleigh. At the end of a fantastic gig H asked the
crowd to choose a song (No shouts of Grendel please). The result was “Between
You and Me”, so we ended the evening jumping up and down. After the gig we
joined up with friends for a drink or two before heading off to bed, we had a
long drive to Bergen in front of us the following morning.
After almost 8 hours driving on narrow lanes through some of
the most beautiful landscapes of mountains, lakes and waterfalls I’d ever seen,
we arrived in Bergen. Surrounded by 7 mountains, Bergen is one of the most dramatic
places I’ve ever been to. This was the
first time that Marillion had played there. Two friends of mine wrote a letter
to Lucy some time ago stating reasons why Marillion should come to Bergen. On
the day of the gig, Bergen’s newspaper did a full page feature about it entitled “With
Marillion in the family.” We had a meet and greet in an Irish pub around the
corner from Rick’s where a fair few fans attended. During our discussions we
raised our glasses when we discovered that Marillion’s first gig in Bergen had
sold out, a fantastic result.
We were once again standing up front, this time slightly
left of center between H and Pete. Rother’s and Pete have switched sides on the
stage and Mark now faces the crowd, it’s better for Mark with regard to his
recent hearing problem. H kindly played up directly into my wife’s camera, she
got some amazing pictures that evening.
The setlist was only slightly different from the one in Oslo, Between
You and Me added mid set; Easter as an Encore and surprise closer for the
evening was This Strange Engine. H was clearly annoyed at his sore throat; not
being able to give 100% was irritating him, but once again he was filled with
energy.
Afterwards In the pub, the discussions of “which gig was
best” went on until the early hours of the morning. I think the Oslo gig had
the edge for me, getting to finally see Airbag live was an amazing bonus. The
fun didn’t end there, several of us stayed on in Bergen for a couple of days.
We had a get together at a friend’s place, playing “Popular Music” DVD,
chatting and discussing all things Marillion. Four great days in the company of
our Norwegian Marillion family and the band came to play our favourite music to
us…It dosen’t get better than that, does it? Thank you Marillion and thank you
Norway!
