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8 August 2012


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!