There was a chill in the air and a cast of thousands seemed to await as we approached The Brook after a longed-for coffee stop. The future of this superb venue has been in doubt over recent months, which seemed unbelievable as we made our way to the door - to be pointed to the back of an impressive queue. The gig was sold out, the venue would be full to capacity. And we didn't actually make it inside until Stone Soul River had started their set!
The first thing that struck me about this prog rock three-piece was their incredibly professional playing. Much of the crowd was still milling around so may have missed the quality of the music on offer, but it was top-notch. Somewhat unfortunate then that the vocal/guitarist bore more than a passing resemblance to Neil from The Young Ones, and also that despite being beautifully performed their music was somewhat samey and easy to tune out, easy to converse over, and somewhat unmemorable. But on nights like that, no-one's there to see the support band, are they?
The Big Man hit the stage at 9.30, bang on schedule, to the familiar strains of “Slainthe Mhath”, from the 1987 Marillion album “Clutching at Straws”. Fish has entitled his latest tour “Clutching at Stars”, with more than a nod to the 20th anniversary of his final album with Marillion. This was a blinding set made up of new material from his “13th Star” album, and old favourites. Although the new cd doesn't hit stores in the UK until after Christmas, it's been available online since August, and from the reception of tracks such as “Circle Line” and “Manchmal” (Sometimes) it became obvious that many among the somewhat mature crowd had already had their hands in pocket – at times, Fish himself was drowned out entirely by the lyric contribution of over 500 voices.
13th Star is somewhat introspective, recorded on the back of some tough personal times for Fish, and very emotional. The material partnered beautifully with the expressive words from “Sugar Mice”, “Warm Wet Circles”, and of course the encores. The crowd were drawn in from the start. The Brook is an incredibly intimate venue, with small stage and balcony, allowing musicians to have eye contact with the audience. Certainly at times it felt very much like “An Evening with Fish” as his humorous banter showed everyone what a fabulous time he was having, and the size of the venue made his interaction with hecklers much more immediate.
As the lights flared for Incommunicado, there was burst of energy and much bouncing from the normally polite punters at the front and the whole band were totally rocking. “Cliche” was one of the numbers chosen from earlier solo works and provided a welcome respite before the finale “The Last Straw”. No backing singers needed, crowd provided! What a superb finish, the Big Guy and all his band, sweating, grinning and waving like crazy at the equally appreciative audience.
Whatever the setbacks in his personal life, Fish has shown he is still a minstrel of the highest order, the raw quality of his new material only proving his ability to take life experience and turn it into poetry for us all to share. He's bounced back with a vengeance, and loving and living every minute.
The first thing that struck me about this prog rock three-piece was their incredibly professional playing. Much of the crowd was still milling around so may have missed the quality of the music on offer, but it was top-notch. Somewhat unfortunate then that the vocal/guitarist bore more than a passing resemblance to Neil from The Young Ones, and also that despite being beautifully performed their music was somewhat samey and easy to tune out, easy to converse over, and somewhat unmemorable. But on nights like that, no-one's there to see the support band, are they?
The Big Man hit the stage at 9.30, bang on schedule, to the familiar strains of “Slainthe Mhath”, from the 1987 Marillion album “Clutching at Straws”. Fish has entitled his latest tour “Clutching at Stars”, with more than a nod to the 20th anniversary of his final album with Marillion. This was a blinding set made up of new material from his “13th Star” album, and old favourites. Although the new cd doesn't hit stores in the UK until after Christmas, it's been available online since August, and from the reception of tracks such as “Circle Line” and “Manchmal” (Sometimes) it became obvious that many among the somewhat mature crowd had already had their hands in pocket – at times, Fish himself was drowned out entirely by the lyric contribution of over 500 voices.
13th Star is somewhat introspective, recorded on the back of some tough personal times for Fish, and very emotional. The material partnered beautifully with the expressive words from “Sugar Mice”, “Warm Wet Circles”, and of course the encores. The crowd were drawn in from the start. The Brook is an incredibly intimate venue, with small stage and balcony, allowing musicians to have eye contact with the audience. Certainly at times it felt very much like “An Evening with Fish” as his humorous banter showed everyone what a fabulous time he was having, and the size of the venue made his interaction with hecklers much more immediate.
As the lights flared for Incommunicado, there was burst of energy and much bouncing from the normally polite punters at the front and the whole band were totally rocking. “Cliche” was one of the numbers chosen from earlier solo works and provided a welcome respite before the finale “The Last Straw”. No backing singers needed, crowd provided! What a superb finish, the Big Guy and all his band, sweating, grinning and waving like crazy at the equally appreciative audience.
Whatever the setbacks in his personal life, Fish has shown he is still a minstrel of the highest order, the raw quality of his new material only proving his ability to take life experience and turn it into poetry for us all to share. He's bounced back with a vengeance, and loving and living every minute.