FISH (Live)

at The Gala Theatre, Durham, U.K., September 29, 2014

With 2014 marking the centenary of the start of The Great War it was fitting that the centre piece of Fish’s set was dedicated to telling the story of The Somme, a battle in which both of his grandfathers fought, in the 30 minute epic “High Wood Suite”.

Fish’s adept ability to conjure vivid images from his finely crafted lyrics combined with some stunning visual projections with stark images of the battlefields created a deeply moving and superbly portrayed account of a tragic event in history.

A couple of years ago Fish was at something of a crossroads in his career. A serious throat condition which necessitated two major operations almost called time on a three decade career yet an extensive low key acoustic tour re-energised the genial Scotsman giving him a surge in confidence that resulted in his latest Feast of Consequences album hailed by many as his best in years.

Fish

While most of the new album was played throughout the evening on his first ever appearance in Durham City, Fish dipped occasionally into his back catalogue with “Big Wedge”, an ode to corporate greed seeming more appropriate now than ever. His time as frontman in Marillion was not overlooked either and less obvious album cuts including “Incubus”, “Slainte Mhath” and a stirring “Heart of Lothian” were enthusiastically welcomed.

As an expert raconteur Fish had a fine line in banter and sharp witted anecdotes that suggest that a career on the comedy club circuit could be on the cards if he ever called a day on his musical life, yet on current form that alternative calling can be put on hold for some time yet.

Author

  • Mick Burgess

    Mick is a reviewer and photographer here at Metal Express Radio, based in the North-East of England. He first fell in love with music after hearing Jeff Wayne's spectacular The War of the Worlds in the cold winter of 1978. Then in the summer of '79 he discovered a copy of Kiss Alive II amongst his sister’s record collection, which literally blew him away! He then quickly found Van Halen I and Rainbow's Down To Earth, and he was well on the way to being rescued from Top 40 radio hell!   Over the ensuing years, he's enjoyed the Classic Rock music of Rush, Blue Oyster Cult, and Deep Purple; the AOR of Journey and Foreigner; the Pomp of Styx and Kansas; the Progressive Metal of Dream Theater, Queensrÿche, and Symphony X; the Goth Metal of Nightwish, Within Temptation, and Epica, and a whole host of other great bands that are too numerous to mention. When he's not listening to music, he watches Sunderland lose more football (soccer) matches than they win, and occasionally, if he has to, he goes to work as a property lawyer.

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