Mostly Autumn, London and Crewe

Sunday 16th December at the Astoria Theater in London was my 14 year old nephew’s very first gig. I can’t think of a better band for anyone’s first experience of live music, but then as readers of this blog ought to have realised by now, I’m biased. To his credit, my nephew managed to persuade his dad not to wear a t-shirt older than the youngest member of the band, and that a Marillion “Script” shirt from 1983 was singularly inappropriate

I’m more used to seeing Mostly Autumn in clubs and small provincial theatres, often with seven people and piles of equipment crammed into tiny stages. It’s quite different seeing them perform in a big venue with an impressive lightshow, and an equally impressive major venue style PA and good acoustics, proving that despite being off the mainstream’s radar screen they are more than equals to many major headline acts. They were pretty loud, but with a good mix; everything was clear with decent separation.

Heather Findlay

And the band put on a great show; a lot tighter than when I last I saw them in York a month ago. Although it’s strange to see them perform without Angie Gordon, who’s on maternity leave, I challenge anyone to say that Anne Marie Helder isn’t an acceptable understudy; her performances on flute and keyboards were flawless and enthusiastic. Heather’s singing and Bryan’s guitar playing were as great as ever.

Anne Marie Helder

This one was billed as an ‘audio-visual show’, with back projection on a screen. But quite frankly they don’t need it; they’re visually exciting enough not to need it; a decent lightshow is quite enough.

Although the setlist was very similar that of York, there were a few changes. It was lovely to hear ‘Shrinking Violet’ again in a concert venue setting, and they played a great version. The version of the traditional carol ‘Silent Night’ was beautiful too, and the epic ‘Mother Nature’ was far stronger than the rather rusty version they played a month ago. There was even a guest appearance from Liam Davidson for one of the Christmas covers they played during the encores.

Crewe Limelight on the 19th was a very different kind of gig; in a small club with a capacity of about 400, with high proportion of hardcore fans, it’s always about atmosphere rather than technical perfection. And if you get their early enough and can make the front row you’re just feet away from the band; it’s like having them play in your living room.

Unfortunately the early part of the gig was spoiled by one of the worst sound mixes I’ve ever heard at any MA show. Now I know you shouldn’t expect a perfect sound from the front row, where you’re basically getting stage sound rather than the PA, but I’ve been at the front in this venue before, and previous ones have been far better than this. Andy Jennings’ drumming overpowered everything else, with Bryan’s lead guitar and Anne Marie Helder’s flute barely audible on the first few numbers. It did get a lot better in the second set, after they turned the backline up a bit.

The setlist for the main set was identical to The Astoria, although the encores were completely different; playing ‘Spirit of Christmas Past’, ‘Shindig’ and a full band version of ‘White Christmas’.

As is usual for the Christmas gigs, the band let their hair down during the encores. Heather wore reindeer antlers borrowed from an audience member for at least one song, and things ended with the front rows being sprayed with snow.

So ends my gigging for 2007, the year when live music ate my life. 31 gigs in places as widely separated as Swansea, London, Edinburgh and Bournemouth, with several artists I first saw a quarter of a century ago, and others that weren’t even born that long in the past. Who knows what 2008 has in store? It will probably start with The Reasoning and Breathing Space in January