Mostly Autumn Halloween Show, Burnley 31-Oct-2009
It’s the second year running I’ve been to a gig on Halloween - Last year it was Panic Room in Worcester, this time it was Mostly Autumn in Burnley, the eleventh time I’ve seen the band this year, and the 38th time I’ve seen them altogether.
The website invited people to come in Halloween costumes, although very few people did (I’m sorry to say I chickened out). The band, on the other hand, really went for it. For a few moments I didn’t even recognise Olivia Sparnenn and was wondering if they’d got a new backing singer!
Heather as The Evil Faerie
They replaced the normal intro tape something much spookier-sounding, before Iain Jennings played the opening bars of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in A Minor. Then the full band tore into their traditional set opener “Fading Colours“. Mostly Autumn have been a great live band all year, but tonight’s performance was as strong as I’ve seen them play all year; everyone on superb form. While they’re a very different band to the one I first saw in 2004, I’m of the opinion that the current incarnation of the band, with Iain Jennings on keys and Gavin Griffiths back on drums is the best live lineup of the band I’ve seen; the eight-piece band produce a huge multi-layered sound high on energy, atmosphere and emotional intensity.
Tonight’s two and a half hour show was very much a greatest hits set, seeing the welcome return of old favourites like “Shrinking Violet” and the epic “Mother Nature“, neither of which they’ve played for a while, along with “Winter Mountain” and “The Dark Before the Dawn” which they’d bought back earlier in the year. We were also treated to a rare appearance of “Ghost in Dreamland” from the “Storms Over Still Water” album. Probably the mark of a great setlist is there was nothing I’d really rather have heard at the expense of songs they played.
I’m very grateful to the band for allowing me to use my DSLR - I’ve uploaded many more pictures to my Fotopic.net photo site.
November 5th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Was it December 31st or October 31st?
November 6th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
You spotted my deliberate mistake.
November 8th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
What about the other deliberate mistake, Tim?
(Bach’s Toccata & Fugue is in D Minor, not A Minor).