Last weekend The Dulcinea and I braved the flooding here in Southern Wisconsin and went to see Fish at Shank Hall. As he always does on his (extremely) infrequent U.S. tours, Onkel Fish pledged to meet up with fans before the show at a drinking establishment in each tour stop. For Milwaukee, the pre-gig festivities were held at The Hi Hat Lounge in the Garage. We arrived sometime between 5 and 5:30. The place was littered with many a fan and the big man's latest, 13th Star, was playing on the stereo.
Despite the horrendous service, we managed to grab a bite to eat and down a few brews as the clouds gathered and the rain fell. At one point we heard a roar and turned to see Fish stepping inside. He seated himself at the reserved tables next to us. Taking off his jacket, he began sipping what looked like a Guinness and immediately pulled out a cigarette. A line formed with fans eagerly waiting to meet him and have him place his John Hancock on album covers, DVD sleeves, and all manner of paraphernalia. Fish seemed in good spirits and willingly signed whatever was put in front of him and took all requests for pictures. And he graciously accepted a bag of fresh cheese curds from a fan from Wausau.
The D and I finished dinner and went to the back of the line. One gentleman in front of us had a couple photos of himself with Fish from back in 1987 when Marillion was in town for a gig at Billy's Old Mill. Fish had a lot more hair back then. When it was our turn, The D leaned over and asked him for a birthday kiss. I didn't have the camera ready but I did get a shot of him signing her arm. And I got my picture taken with him.
Sometime after 7 we hit the road for Shank Hall. It was fairly crowded and would eventually hold 300+ folks. The opening band for the night was Strange Land. They were progressive metal and, to my mind, pretty bland. Improbably, one song got stuck in The D's head. Before their last song, the singer told the audience that Milwaukee had a progressive rock scene and asked fans to support it by attending shows by the likes of them, Kopecky, Far Corner, and Dimension X.
A short wait later, the lights dimmed. Then the voice of Lisa Simpson came over the PA.
"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to the show! This is Lisa Simpson from the......Simpsons, huh! I don't usually practice this sort of debauchery! Are you ready to rock and roll!!? You are in for some treat tonight! Fish is such a wonderful guy and the keyboard player is so cute!!! And they don't call him Fish because he likes to take a long bath! He introduced me to a new soda pop called... eh... Guinness!!! Woo Hoo! Geezabun!!! I am the Lizard Queen!!!! Ladies and Gentlemen!! Fish!!"
Yeardley Smith, who does the voice of Lisa Simpson, is a big fan of Fish and recorded the intro back in 1997 or '98 when she found she was unable to attend a show of his. Now, when she said "Geezabun", I just cracked up, leaving The D a bit perplexed. Go here for the full explanation but know that it's the answer to a joke. Back in the Marillion days, Fish would tell the joke, "Q: How does an elephant tell you it's hungry? A: Geezabun!", with geezabun being "give us a bun" said quickly by a Scotsman. Then fans would throw buns onstage. OK, if you're a Fish/Marillion fan, it's funny.
Then came the La Gazza Ladra bit by Rossini followed by the opening piano of "Slainte Mhath" from Marillion's Clutching at Straws. I went hoarse from screaming "Waiting on the whistle to blow!" Indeed, I suspect I wasn't alone because nearly everyone was doing the same. It was a great way to start the proceedings. I wasn't able catch Marillion on the Clutching tour so it was wonderful to hear that material live. Next were "Circle Line" and "Square Go" from 13th Star. I didn't know every line like I did the older stuff but they were powerful performances both. Fish introduced the latter as being about being angry and he did a bit of shadow boxing at the end. The D remarked to me how she felt some kind of kinship with Fish through this song; it seemed to get across some of the same feelings of anger and frustration that she feels.
I hope that someone recorded this show because Fish had some great stories including a rant about how we put cheese on everything here in Wisconsin. For the intro to "So Fellini", I think he told the story of walking around and finding the statue of Robert Burns at Burns Commons (Knapp & Prospect Streets). He'd never seen the statue before and took it as a good sign. (Fish is a proud Scotsman.) The song came off well and, since I'd never seen him perform anything from Fellini Days, it was a treat.
I won't blather on about each individual song but let me say a few more words. The salvo of "Hotel Hobbies/Warm Wet Circles/That Time of the Night" was simply amazing. I nearly yelled out "Teenage war brides" but restrained myself. (Marillion fans understand this.) I hope I don't come across as some geezer who merely wants to wallow in nostalgia but these were the songs that helped me through a very unhappy time of my life. I was 15 and my family had moved from Chicago to rural Wisconsin. My parents' marriage was falling apart and I didn't have a friend within 300 miles. Marillion was the soundtrack of my life at that time.
The new song "Dark Star" had great dynamics as did the hard-hitting "Manchmal". New guitarist Chris Johnson looks likes he's barely able to drink yet his playing was fantastic. He makes a great foil for Frank Usher, Fish's long-time friend and guitarist. Johnson took most of the crushing leads but also stepped back at times so Usher could step forward. The last tune from 13th Star played that night was "Arc of the Curve" and it's quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite Fish songs. It's the "Kayleigh" of the 21st century as Fish wears his heart on his sleeve amidst sustained guitar notes and a catchy chorus. It's just beautiful.
I am loathe to say that one Fish album or the other is my favorite as each has certain songs, certain moods, and certain memories associated with it. But I will tell you that 13th Star ranks amongst his best. There are great melodies and some dark grooves and they all mix together perfectly with a very raw Fish who, in typical fashion, is lamenting the end of a relationship. It's an album full of anger, frustration, sadness, and regret but it all sounds perfectly natural, not forced. The D commented to me that one reason she loved Fish was that he was very open and passionate in his music. I think that those passions have found perfect musical foils on 13th Star - the best since Sunsets on Empire. There have been similar bursts since such as "Incomplete", parts of "Plague of Ghosts", "The Pilgrim's Address", and "The Field" but on this album everything just gels as they did on Sunsets. Kudos to bassist Steve Vantsis who co-wrote most of the 13th Star material.
The penultimate song of the set was The Sensational Alex Harvey Band's "Faith Healer" which saw Fish descend into the audience and lay hands. This was followed by "White Russian". Although a relic of the Cold War, the message is timeless and it really benefited from being played live as it gained the most muscle of all the Clutching material.
The encore break didn't last for long and they returned to the stage first with "Cliché", a song from Fish's first solo album, Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors. It's never been a favorite of mine but it always sounds great live. I loved it back in '97 and I did again in '08. Frank Usher really stepped out with his soloing here and having two guitarists this time round really filled it out. "Incommunicado" came next and I was jumping up and down, singing, and, in general, having a great time.
When it ended, the band walked off the stage which prompted the audience to starting chanting "Sugar Mice". "Sugar Mice" was written in Milwaukee back in 1986 and it starts out, "I was flicking through the channels on the TV/On a Sunday in Milwaukee in the rain". Soon enough they were back and Fish told us how it started raining just as they began the song at the soundcheck. He also noted that Father's Day was right around the corner in the UK (This also relates to the lyrics.) and he seemed to get a bit emotional during his intro. Then the gently plucked notes of the song started. I found my eyes tear-stained by the end. The guitar solo just aches and I remember all-too well listening to that song on a long drive with my father that I'd rather not have taken.
The night ended with "The Last Straw", the terminal tune on Clutching. Despite being the biggest downer song of Fish's career, it has a swagger to it which made it a fitting finale as the crowd sang, "We're clutching at straws, we're still drowning" at the top our collective lungs.
This was one of the best shows I've ever been to. 300+ fans were there for the music and I didn't have to deal with anyone carrying on a conversation next to me. The vibe was just incredible. At 6'5" and with lots of tales, Fish can work a crowd. The band was really tight and the new songs fit comfortably along side the classics. Again, Steve Vantsis really deserves credit for his contributions to the songs on 13th Star. They bring out the best in Fish. The D remarked to me after the show that one thing she loved about Fish was how passionate he was about his relationships and how that came through in his music. Indeed. Whenever he has problems with a relationship, he tends to turn out a classic album.
Hopefully he'll return to the States before another 11 long years are up.
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