Steve Rothery Band / Iamthemorning

Oran Mor, Glasgow

7 June 2024

Last year, I was lucky enough to see Iamthemorning seven times. But I thought I might not see them at all this year. For a while, I thought I might not ever see them again. So of course when they announced two consecutive nights in Glasgow, I'm here for both. And I'm at the front of the queue on the steps down to the basement under the impressive Oran Mor church (though sadly it's more of a modern basement than an ancient crypt, but still a nice venue, well laid out and a comfortable size for the large crowd).

When Iamthemorning come on stage, the place has barely begun to fill up. I know the crowd swells as they play, but as I've planted myself right against the stage, I can't really see how big it gets. Marjana tells us we're very quiet, but I can't tell how quiet because all I can hear is... drums.

Here's the downside of being right against the stage: you're never going to get the best sound mix. But I accept the risk of that, because sometimes you need the feeling of being right there with the band (even if the singer does embarrass you by name-checking you from the stage).

But tonight... honestly, it was probably a mistake. I'm directly in front of Evan Carson, and he's using the SRB drummer's kit, which makes it the biggest, loudest drum kit I've even seen at an Iamthemorning gig, and this is the loudest, most powerful set I've ever heard them play. Honestly, all I hear is drums. Drums and Marjana.

Even after seeing her multiple times, I still somehow forget how powerful Marjana is on stage. The words that usually come to mind when you listen to her recordings are "melodic", or "beautiful", or even "delicate". And then she screams cleanly over the loudest drums I've heard in good long time, and I remember, oh yes, "powerful" needs to be in there too.

I'm sorry that I'm not going to comment on Gleb (piano) or Liam (guitar), because they are buried in the sound tonight. Tomorrow I will stand in a better place (I'm thinking: in front of Liam) and give you a better report.

But half an hour of Iamthemorning songs has been worth the trip to Glasgow. Regardless of whether Marjana thinks I'm insane.

So, it's no secret that I'm here because of Iamthemorning, and probably wouldn't have made the trip without them on the bill, but I know I'm going to enjoy the Steve Rothery Band, because I've loved Marillion forever. It's a varied set from across his 45 (!) years in Marillion, though leans mostly towards the early years, which is fine for me. After a couple of instrumentals from his solo albums, he introduces singer Martin Jakubski (who is Glaswegian and of course instantly engages in some mutual heckling with the home-town crowd), and they run through a selection of classic-era Marillion. But not Grendel. ("Play Grendel!" "We're not playing Grendel!")

I had the idea they might play all of Misplaced Childhood, but they limit themselves to a selection of its hightlights, and it's the highlight of the night for me. I'm standing in the middle of a Friday-night Scottish crowd singing every word of Misplaced Childhood, and it's the best atmosphere I've ever felt at a concert. ("Grendel!" "We're not playing Grendel!")

I wouldn't have thought that Jakubski's voice was a good fit for Hogarth-era material, but he handles it with ease, sounds fantastic on Easter and astonishing on Afraid of Sunlight. ("Grendel!" "We're not playing Grendel!")

And of course there are some bloody good guitar solos.

I'll be back tomorrow night, for what should be a completely different set. I don't know about you, but I'm hoping they play Grendel.