Huge thanks to all who attended our US and Canadian dates. The US government made us jump through hoops to come and play to you, and at one stage, I'm slightly ashamed to say I was wondering if it was worth the humiliation and aggravation. I say I'm slightly ashamed because the reaction from the fans there was right up there with the best vibrations we've had, and I include the conventions in that! So many people shook us by the hand and thanked us for coming as if we'd actually rowed the Atlantic to get there! (but that's another song..).
The reaction at NYC show 1 remains an enduring memory, although it's churlish to single any one show out as they were all true heartfelt celebrations and to call them "gigs" would be an insult and to understate the atmosphere each and every night.
Thank you again America. Thank you as always, Canada.
Love from Mr h
After a slightly difficult start in front of a great audience in Washington (due to equipment problems and Steve suffering with what became the tour plague) I thought the band really started to play well at the second show of the tour in New York. The first night there along with the first night in Chicago, the second night in LA and the final show at the Fillmore in San Francisco are some of the best concerts I think we've ever played. It was an incredibly passionate and enthusiastic audience throughout the tour.
Although traveling on a tour bus was exhausting at times, the audiences more than made up for it. It felt more like playing a series of conventions than a standard tour. I really hope we can convince Lucy that the year of work setting up the tour and arguing with the IRS was worth it. It would be a crime not to return for another eight years. Europe has a hard act to follow.
Steve
I can honestly say that this North American tour was the most enjoyable tour we have done over there EVER! So thank you to everyone who made it such a buzz and made us feel so welcome and appreciated. It was great to see so many old friends and to make some new ones too. I really hope we can do it again soon.
Mark
Well what can I say about our USA/Canadian tour? It was fantastic!!
The reaction to every gig was just astounding. A huge thank you to everyone that attended. Hope it's not too long before we see you again.
Now back home for a week or two in a rather gloomy England...was it all a dream?
Ian
This was by far the most enjoyable US and Canadian tour I can remember Marillion having! Apart from getting a bug in New York which lingered for a bit, I had a great time. The fans were terrific and I have lots of great memories to keep with me. It was really nice to play more than one show in some of the cities and I think we should do more of this in the future. My son Callum happened to be out in Chicago and my wife Fiona came over to L.A. So I felt like I had my family around me as well. A huge thanks to all who supported us and came along to the shows. You really made the start of the world tour special
for us all.
Pete.
In Other News:
We were lucky enough to have our very own official photographer following the band around on the North American Tour. Make sure you check out Andy Wright's truly amazing shots from the road on his photography blog at http://pointandshootimagery.wordpress.com/
Two of the shows from North America are available to download from marillion.com more info can be found at http://www.marillion.com/news/newsitem.htm?id=279. More North American Tour downloads will follow as soon as we can make them available.
Marillion have been nominated in the Live Event category for the 2012 Progressive Music Awards for their recent US tour and last year's Christmas shows. You can vote for the band via the following link. http://awards.progrockmag.com/awards/live-event