Marillion Weekend 2007

Disclaimer: This is not an official Marillion web site. It has never been approved or probably even read by Marillion. Nothing said here is anything more than opinion. To visit the official Marillion site click on the logo to the left.

This part of the site is dedicated to the Marillion Weekend 2007. At the time of writing the event is only a few days away and there is quite some excitement in the Askew household. Both cameras are being tested and we are pretty well ready for the off.

The intention is that during the convention I'll be able to upload some of the shots. Of course rumours of wireless connectivitiy from the event may turn out not to be true but if it is possible then I'll try to upload a few pictures and write a few words here as the days go by. I probably won't be able to upload the vast amounts of pictures you might have come to expect during the convention but as soon as we are back I'll update the site with many more.

We are so fortunate that the event is being held quite near by in Zeeland (the South of the Netherlands). Loads of friends are joining us and no doubt we will meet up with loads more that we've spoken to over the years.

The first event that I've put on this page is the Gazpacho gig. Not technically part of the convention I realise but it's all part of the party atmosphere of the weekend. They will be supported by Lords of the backstage (a Marillion cover band).

Lords of the backstage and Gazpacho, Boerderij, 1 Feb 2007

Well what a fantastic way to start what I hope is going to be a fabulous weekend. As expected nearly everyone there was going off to the convention the next day so it could be considered a pre-party.

The two shows were excellent too and it was nice to be able to chat to the bands after the show. It was still going strong when we left at 12:30 or so. I'd never heard Lords of the Backstage before but somehow I was familiar with their work. The setlist was superb for anyone who is a fan of Fish era Marillion and included Incubus, Warm Wet Circles, Forgotten Sons, Jigsaw, Punch and Judy, The last straw, and, after a very long absence, Grendel.

Gazpacho were also excellent including a lot of material both old and very new including a medley of their latest album 'Night'. They even played 'Do you know what you are saying' and even without Steve it is an excellent song. They certainly left us wanting more and luckily we will get just that on Sunday.

By the way if you see any of this crowd of people at the convention you should be reasonably safe approaching them. After making me take their photo they eventually let me go with only minor trauma :-)
Group shot

Friday, Mr So and So, Marillion, and the Racket Rock Disco

I'm not going to have the time to be able to put all the pictures up on here that you might be used to. Instead I'll but a selection of the ones I've taken and put the rest up when I get back.

Finding the site was really simple and the organisation seems to have been well thought out. Loads of parking great challets and the facilities are really close by. One thing I remember from Butlins was the amount of walking. For us at least this is not the case. As I write this I have a view out over the harbour on a sunny day with a number of yachts moored for the winter. I'll try and get some shots today to set the scene.

The first day and what a party. We've met up with loads of old friends already. The concerts are being held in a very large tent. It feels so much more professional than Butlins and perhaps slightly less intimate for that reason.

Mr So and So began early so I missed a lot of the act, Steve Rothery joined them briefly. Marillion hit the stage just after nine and began with a number of the new tracks before getting into a set of the older material which included all of 'This Strange Engine'.

They did not actually play all of the encore listed here preferring to save themselves for Saturday and Sunday. They did play 'Most Toys', and 'The Other Half'. Crowd Shot

	Then later the party moved on to the Disco hosted by Colin and Lucy. I arrived as this was beginning to shut down but early enough to capture some of the action. You may see some faces you know in the crowd.

Saturday, Jason Hart, Steve Thorne, A Day's Work, Marillion, The Fabulous WannaBeatles

Firstly I have to say my head does hurt a little. I'm not trying to get your sympathy but just a little understanding if this does not all make complete sense and if my spelling is worse than usual. I left the party at about 2:00 AM but it was still going strong at 3:00 AM when I eventually went to bed so I'm fairly sure I'm going to see a number of people that look a lot worse than me today (Sunday).

Schedule We spent the first half of the day taking a look at the local facilities within and near the site including the harbour and the beach. It really is an improvement over Butlins although the two meals we've had have been dissapointing. The Butlins style 'school dinner' approach went down really well with us last year but this time they seem to be going for more elaborate food with more choice but don't manage to pull it off. But that said I'm not fussy about food just so long as there is some.

There was lots to do that was official too. The Marillion Quiz was well attended, I don't count myself as a Marillion expert to the level that would be necessary to enter this quiz. I think the level of knowledge required to get a winning score at this would be about the same as if you'd chosen Marillion as your specialist subject in Mastermind.

This years signing session was by invitation only which I suppose means they can keep the numbers down to a sensible size so that the band can have a life too. I believe last years signing session took up the complete day, this time it was scheduled to be around 3 hours and was held in the sports hall where we had checked in on the first day.

Impromptu I'm afraid I did not have time between photographing the museum (thanks Andy), Jason Hart, Steve Thorne, an impromtu gathering of talented fans out in the town square, and my needing some dinner before the main show to be able to listen to all the acts at the level they deserved but they were all well attended. Some of you may recognise the members of the 'talented fans' the singer is the lead out of Lords of the Backstage who had played during the pre convention party in Zoetermeer.

A Day's Work were due on stage at 8:00 according to the schedule but once again I must have missed the announcement that they were starting early but only by a few minutes. They went down really well with everyone that I met. Clearly they were enjoying the attention.

Pete The set list for Marillion was rarities and covers. The band were joined in 'conventional convention' style by some more tallented fans. This time a man with a bad leg and a woman with an incredible voice. In my current condition I'm recollecting that the man with the bad leg was a German called Ulf and had hurt himself playing football. He sang Deserve and played Harmonica too. The woman with an incredible voice was called Liz and sang Sympathy superbly (so much so that H announced she was being evicted from the site).

Mark We had another couple of guests, Asad and Olivia, who had a serious message about removing landmines in Cambodia. They are involved in a project to raise awareness and to fund the kids affected by landmines through college, if you have a moment please take a look at their site.

Then they had a happier announcement, on stage and in front of three thousand people Asad proposed to Olivia and Olivia accepted and we could all breath again. Later we had a guest appearance by a realy ugly woman singing Money, Money, Money. And then balloons, huge balloons filled with confetti bouncing around over the audience and the stage. Steve

Ugly woman Then it was back to the Adventure Factory for the Fabulous WannaBeatles. They were very impressive, I could tell the accents were a little put on but I really did not realise that they were Dutch. They performed a two hour set but with a break in the middle. During the second half they were joined by H for Helter Skelter. The final song was supposed to have been Hey Jude but as the audience completely refused to stop singing they came back and joined in with the audience and managed to wind us down.

No concentration camp style accomodation here.

The dunes, about a 10 minute walk away.

The Museum

Jason Hart

Steve Thorne

A Day's Work

Pete having a little lie down

The Fabulous WannaBeatles

A number of people approached me and asked about the shirt I was wearing. I bought it from a Dutch web site quite cheaply and it was delivered quickly. It certainly does get the attention of anyone passing by. The link to the stores web site is here.

"I want to make my country safe for my people."

Aki Ra Logo

Please take a moment to visit the web site of Aki Ra. It is a really moving story of a cause that deserves support.

Aki Ra's aim is to rid his country of the landmines that indiscriminately kill and maim both young and old alike. He is also building up a fund that will support children affected by landmines through college.

Clicking on the logo to the left will open up their site in a new window or tab so you can return here easily.

Sunday, The Sad Song Company, Gazpacho, Marillion

Tough one!!

The Sad Song Co.

They did not play TSE but did play Hocus Pocus again.

It's going to be another day when I ask for your understanding. I'm back at home having got to bed at around 3AM and then back up at 6AM to drive home. I'm going to put some pictures from Sunday here today and then I'll start working on presenting the galleries over the coming days.

Schedule

Given that Center Parks is famous for the pools we decided to go for a swim. Well actually the others went for a swim while I was uploading Saturdays update and I joined them later. It was a great pool with an outdoor section, Jacuzzi's, a wave machine, and slides. It was on the slide that I received my injury, I hit the water at such speed that I was propelled towards the bottom of the pool and stubbed my toes on the bottom of the pool. OK not a really serious injury but two of them have subsequently gone an interesting shade of purple. Now I have a photo of the injury and unless you go and visit the Aki Ra site mentioned above I'm tempted to post it here.

On Sunday we had the final of the Pub Quiz and yet again the cakey boys had won a place in the final against the band. This time there was a definite air of support for the band (who some may remember lost against them last time) spurred on by open bias from the compares Jim and Andy. The questions were really tough and there was no way I was going to get any of the answers. The final score came down to a decider as both teams had 13 points. The band answered the decider correctly and won the competition.

After the quiz there was the questions and answers from the audience to the band and then the prize draw for the charrity QAS.

The group The Sad Song company played in the Adventure factory but with the lack of time available I really could not stay for more than the first two songs.

Then it was time for Gazpacho. Recently Gazpacho has become another of the bands I have a lot of time for. It was a short set but still it included 'Do you know what you are saying' and once again Steve Rothery came to the stage to play the guitar solo of the song.

Mark

The Marillion set did not involve any guests but Steve did change outfits a couple of times but mercifully no er cross dressing. It was a real party atmosphere and included loads of songs that are amongst my favorites. It was a shame that the final Sunday evening came around so quickly.

Us by Steve

After the show we went off to the Adventure Factory to say goodbye to a number of people we had met up with. I managed to bump into Steve Rothery and have a quick chat and then this picture which will always be special to me because it was taken by Steve with my camera.

Anyway I'd like to say how well the whole event was managed. Everything ran so smoothly, the check in, the accomodation, the location, the stage, the lighting, the music (obviously). I've already mentioned my gripe with the food but that was one meal that I really did not enjoy. We were not happy with the very limited bar in the main tent, the choice was quite restricted for anyone that did not enjoy beer. But at least there were no rubber matresses this year and as we had the deluxe accomodation I was able to experience a sauna for the first time.

A big thanks to the band for allowing me to photograph again. I've now the task of looking at the results and deciding which ones are suitable for publishing.

Finally thanks to the friends who came along with us and sorry that I saw so little of you because I was always rushing off somewhere to photograph something. I got the impression that you had a good time anyway.

Cakey Boys

The Sad Song Co.

We're not worthy