2007年 Jul 4日 Wednesday, 18:35

The highlight of the last few weeks was definitely seeing Marillion play in Cambridge, on June 13th. Twice in one day!

The first time was an in-store thing at HMV. Having pottered lazily around the city centre for an hour or two, we headed over to HMV early to see what was going on - and were surprised to find a queue already forming outside! At 5pm they let us in, and having been towards the front of the queue we got a good spot only about six feet away from where the band would be playing. After a short wait, Steve Hogarth (looking a bit disreputable in shades and a purple hoodie!), Pete Trewavas and Steve Rothery walked down the stairs to much applause and played a short, informal acoustic set. It was really cool - I've seen them play acoustic sets before, but never so close up. Steve H kept fluffing lyrics, which is unusual - Steve R's reactions were quite amusing ;)

In-store acoustic setlist:
See It Like a Baby
80 Days
The Answering Machine

Afterwards they were signing stuff, but we dashed off to get dinner before the proper gig instead.

The second time was the proper full-band gig at The Junction. It was the first time I've seen them play there, and it was rammed - we were packed in like sardines, and it was really hot. That makes for a good atmosphere for a gig though!

The support band were King Rat, who I'd not heard of before. They played a kind of cross of prog and classic rock, but with a modern edge too, so it didn't sound dated. It was a really strong performance. I hadn't been expecting a lot from them - maybe just down to the name, I don't know - but I really enjoyed their set, and we picked up their CD from the merch desk afterwards.

Marillion were, as ever, awesome. Definitely one of my favourite live bands! This is the first tour they've done where they've been changing the setlist every night, so we had no idea what they would play - I was pleased that we got a set with the perfect opener (Splintering Heart), heavy on the new album Somewhere Else (especially The Other Half, The Wound and the title track), and with a few surprises (the full Ocean Cloud, which was wonderful and so powerful). The band were clearly enjoying themselves too - I can only imagine the changing setlists keep it more interesting for them. And we got 'Garden Party' as a surprising encore, because it was Cambridge!

Main setlist:
Splintering Heart
The Other Half
You're Gone
Thankyou Whoever You Are
Ocean Cloud
Fantastic Place
The Wound
The Last Century For Man
Somewhere Else
Between You and Me
King
Easter
Garden Party
Neverland