In 2014, almost ten years ago now, master guitarist Steve Rothery (Marillion), released The Ghosts Of Pripyat (see review), his first solo album, and since then I have been waiting for a new one, sad but true

Steve Rothery

it still is not recorded.... But tonight, we can enjoy a great evening of Rothery's sublime guitar, so here we go; The Steve Rothery Band live in Weert on a hot September evening.

The set opens with three tracks from The Ghosts Of Pripyat, being: Morpheus, Old Man Of The Sea and Summer's End, all three songs of course are tracks which are packed with awesome guitar melodies and solos, especially the breathtaking solo in Old Man Of The Sea gives me real goosebumps and that one also makes me emotional and longing for more of that Rothery solo material; as it turns out that - sad but o so true - these are the only three songs from the Pripyat album this evening. Then singer Martin Jakubski (lead singer of Stillmarillion and Maiden Scotland) is introduced, and we are off on a Marillion

Martin Jakubski and Steve Rothery

rollercoaster ride consisting of old Marillion classics indeed. Remarkable, at least for me, is the fact that all the songs with vocalist Jakubski are from the Fish era, starting with a sort of Misplaced Childhood medley, featuring songs like Kayleigh, Lavender and Heart Of Lothian. Jakubski's voice sounds excellent indeed and furthermore the guy is an excellent frontman indeed, however Steve's guitar is again extraordinaire, transporting me back to the eighties indeed. But the best is yet to come, as Steve chose to play a couple of 'rare' old Marillion beauties like e.g., Incubus, Cinderella Search and Three Boats Down From The Candy, which are packed with beautiful, melodic guitar passages and solos like only Steve can deliver: impressive indeed! But the absolute highlight, at least for me, is Sugar Mice, beautifully sung and of course with one of Steve's most melodic and dramatic guitar solos ever; goosebumps all over me!! Script For A Jester's Tear is also one of my long term Marillion favs, so this evening really turns into a blast for fans of the 'old' Marillion material.

This setlist was in fact quite a surprise -a nice surprise by the way- for me as I expected that Steve would play the Pripyat album in its entirety, but maybe next time... Hopefully, Steve will come up with a new solo album soon, but this evening showed that these 'old' Marillion songs still stand the test of time without a shadow of a doubt and that Rothery is one of the best guitar pickers on this planet. Enough said and for those who missed this incredible gig, eat your heart out with this dazzling review; just joking here of course, just like Steve did the whole evening with his witty English remarks indeed!

Text & pictures Martien Koolen (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen)

Line Up Steve Rothery: guitars Yadim Halimi: bass guitar Lein Parr: drums Dave Foster: guitar Riccardo Romano: keyboards Martin Jakubski: vocals

Setlist: Morpheus Old Man Of The Sea Summer's End Kayleigh Lavender Heart Of Lothian Cinderella Search Incubus Sugar Mice Script For A Jester's Tear Three Boats Down From The Candy Fugazi Encores: Afraid Of Sunlight Garden Party Market Square Heroes