Sushi

Sushi, another concert CD in the long line of live Fish recordings, sees the ex-Marillion vocalist taking up residency in Utrecht's Vredenburg Hall for a pair of spirited shows. Sushi captures night number two. Touring in support of his covers album, Songs From the Mirror, the evening's set is peppered with a slew of cover versions, including the Pink Floyd opener "Fearless," Argent's "Hold Your Head Up," T-Rex's "Jeepster," Alex Harvey's "Boston Tea Party," and the David Bowie classic "Five Years." Sprinkled in between are potent readings of Marillion's classic drug anthem "He Knows You Know," replete with massive Dutch crowd-chorus participation. Sounding like his old self, Fish leads the band headfirst into a medley of old favorites that include Script for Jester's Tear's "She Chameleon," the classic "Kayleigh," and a dark, menacing read through Clutching at Straws' centerpiece, "White Russian." As the claustrophobic, anti-neo-Nazi hymn comes to its end, the band puts disc one to bed when Fish introduces "The Company" to massive cheering. If anything, the Vigil classic has only gotten better with age, as each incarnation of Fish's bands have stamped their own identity over it. The glorious chorus of, "Oh boys, would you drink to me now/Here on the hill, halfway up halfway down," is chanted in unison like a long-lost, drunken bar song. Disc two isn't as impressive, with the undeniable highlights being "Lucky," "Internal Exile," the passionate "Cliché," and the surprise to end all surprises, a seven-minute rendition of Clutching at Straws' massive, fame-is-a-bitch rant "The Last Straw (the final Marillion album track to feature Fish on voice). Unfortunately, Steven Rothery's soaring guitar solo is nowhere to be found as the song's main sequence comes to an end. The audience hauntingly reprises the "we're still drowning" bit as the singer brings the main set to an end by declaring the gig "f*cking brilliant." Encores include "Poets Moon," a B-side from the Credo single, and a mellow version of the aforementioned "Five Years" bringing the show to its finale as Fish sends out the parting shot, "Stay alive, it's a sh*tty world." A quick note about the recording, according to the album's liners, the set was recorded on a DAT two-track from the mixing board with ambience mics to capture the audience. The recording also features a few studio reinforcements here and there, but otherwise, everything sounds authentic and top-notch. ~ John Franck|