Marillion Weekend - Days 2 & 3

Marillion Weekend – Day Two (20/05/2017)

I decided to have a somewhat lazy day on Saturday.  It was a little more hassle finding somewhere for breakfast on a weekend – the place from yesterday was shut and McDonalds didn’t deem to have any breakfast.  I found somewhere for some eggs, ham and toast, then returned to my room to write up the previous two days.  A protest or parade of some sort came down the road so I nipped down to take some photos.

At around 2pm cabin fever set in so I crossed the road to Centro Gabriela Mistral, otherwise known as GAM.  This is a huge art centre with galleries, performance and rehearsal spaces along with a bookshop and a wine shop.  I stopped for coffee and cake, then had a look at a couple of galleries, one showcasing Chilean cartoon illustration and another with handmade toys from around South America.  The most striking thing about the centre however was that there were teenage kids dancing EVERYWHERE!  I don’t know if this occurs every weekend or if there was something in particular happening but the courtyard was full of rehearsal and choreography.  There seemed to be one major piece being taught in the middle but all around were other small groups.  The majority were street / RnB style but there was also a duo of tap dancers.  Musically there was an unspoken democracy where no two groups would play at the same time.  I sat in the sunshine at a bar with a Piscola, watching these talented youngsters practising over and over.  It was inspiring and my kind of bliss!

I had to tear myself away to get ready for the evening.  We were meeting at a bar just south of my hotel.  It was a nice little place and  many of my new friends were in attendance.  I grabbed some (proper) food and probably made to leave 3 or 4 times before the last of us walked the mile to the venue.  Teatro Caupolican is a fine concert hall but it is in the middle of an area with no bars and few restaurants.  It’s not the nicest area and not somewhere you want to be hanging around too long.

The Marillion gig tonight comprised of an edited version of Clutching At Straws and a few other Fish-era classics before a full performance of the new album FEAR.  The seats again gave a slightly odd atmosphere although the crowd did stand and dance a little to Incommunicado and Market Square Heroes.  The first three (of five!) songs from the new album are terrific and The Leavers feels particularly poignant at these Weekends.  However for me White Paper is nice enough but has little impact and The New Kings leaves me cold – it’s a rather strange track to end the concert with and it almost felt as if we had to wait 22 hours for the encore.

Another quick run around the venue as the merchandise stalls shut to count and a late night at the Sheraton.  They have some gas fire pit / tables outside and we sat huddled around the flickering flames.  Steve Rothery held court and we chatted with a few people who had taken him and Pete to an observatory during the week.  One guy from the North East of England was particularly easy to talk to and I gratefully accepted some of the wine they had brought (especially given the prices at the bar in the Sheraton!)  The taxi returned me to my hotel around 3am.

Marillion Weekend – Day Three (21/05/2017)

As doors opened at 1pm on Sunday there as little to do beforehand.  I treated myself to the hotel breakfast, watched another protest make it’s way down Alameda and made my own way to the venue (given the area this is not something I would want to do alone after dark).  The afternoon show is always an informal affair.  There is a Q&A with questions submitted by fans beforehand, a photo session for entrants who had put their names in a box during the weekend and then Swap The Band where some musical fans get to perform with the band.  The photo session for me was a little eye-opening.  As someone who has met the band a few times and who gets to see them live very often I forget that for a lot of people that chance to just shake a hand or for a quick hug is priceless.  The reactions of the competition winners reminded me of how lucky I have been down the years and perhaps how much I’ve taken it for granted.

Swap The Band was great as always and I love the enthusiasm that the crowd has for it.  I’m also always a little jealous of the lucky people who get that chance!  The guitarist impressed everyone – he’s only 13 and gave a terrific performance of Sugar Mice.

Kicked out for the afternoon we had four hours to occupy ourselves before the evening show.  As I said before there is nothing in the vicinity of the venue so we (about 50 of us) traipsed back up to the main road, Alameda.  Compounded by it being a Sunday and many places being closed, the Italian restaurant we found looked rather worried at the sight of us all!  However the place was large and there was plenty of space, despite initial protests.  Much pisco was consumed and I had a fantastic stifado with alfredo sauce.

Gradually people made their way back to Caupolican and again I was one of the last to leave.  I’m not a particular fan of support bands but I did catch a little of Sunday night's.  Despite being completely not my sort of thing I rather enjoyed their jazz prog.  The set on Sunday at the UK convention had been, not just my favourite, but possibly one of my favourite Marillion gigs of all time (it was also my 80th!).  It was hard to know how Santiago would measure up.  This show had two points of note; it was a performance in full of 1999’s Marillion.com album and in a very rare departure for the band they had guest musicians on stage.  The string quartet arrangements added a beautiful new level of detail to an album that has many lovely songs but perhaps lacks a little in cohesion.
My most emotional moment of the weekend was Go!, a song that I’ve always held dear.  In the UK to a plan had been hatched fr the fans to surprise the band by lighting tiny LEDs at a specific point towards the end of the song.  The worked fantastically and was an amazing moment but I think the excitement of it perhaps led to me not immersing myself in the song so much.  This time it took me over completely and the strings made it soar.  “It only takes a fraction of a second to turn your life upside down”.

In response to the UK moment in Go! The Web In Spanish arranged for hundreds of glow-sticks to be dished out to fans as they entered and everyone was instructed to wave them during Enlightened.  This song was written in and about São Paulo so it holds a special place for South America.  It perhaps didn’t have the same impact as in the UK but it was still a beautiful sight (until people threw them at the stage at the end and boy, do they hurt when they hit you!

A saxophonist and trumpet player were also recruited to play parts of the album that are usually triggered samples.  The saxophonist was nowhere near as good as the UK but the song House featuring. Muted trumpet was a wonder to behold.  The interplay between trumpet and guitar in this gentle, unassuming song.  Some people find it dull but I could have listened to it for hours.  I really hope that comes across on the DVD.

The second half of the final night was a selection of songs, some of which utilised the additional musicians.  In particular it was so much nicer to here the saxophone solos from Berlin and This Strange Engine live.  One note on the evening that I will perhaps elaborate on more in my gig review is that the videos are becoming distracting.  King especially (this was noted in the UK too) – the scratch video of stars corrupted by fame, most of them dead, has become more of an obituary reel with the crowd cheering or applauding their favourites.  There’s a certain irony in it and I do wonder how many are actually listening to the song any more.

Post gig and post merch count I was allowed to sneak into the after-gig gathering (no beer though!)  I had lovely warm smiles from both bassist Pete and singer h along with the somewhat inevitable question, “what the bloody hell are you doing here?”  Me and Rita took an Uber back to the Sheraton – unfortunately the bar was shut but I still had good chats with Lucy, drummer Ian and various crew members.

There is a real feeling that this is an end of an era for me.  I will always be a fan of the band but I no longer feel the need to do these ridiculous trips.  My life has already taken a huge change in priorities.  It is possible to have too much of a good thing and having nearly lost it all (at one point I felt I would never see Marillion again) I can now appreciate just having enough.  The last hoorah was pretty special though, so many treasured memories of a wonderful weekend on the other side of the world.