Big Big Train / Stuckfish

Playhouse Theatre, Whitley Bay
Thursday, 19th September 2024

Big Big Train have a career that spans back over 34 years, since their formation in 1990. For a band with that kind of longevity, you would have expected them to have notched-up quite a few live shows under that name. Yet surprisingly, the grand total of shows performed during their existence is still only in double figures. Apart from a mere 4 gigs played during the ’92 – ’98 time period, the band would not perform live again until 2015. And even then from 2015 – 2019, Big Big Train would only play a total of 14 shows. I find that fact absolutely fascinating, that the main focus (especially within their first 25 years), was on the song-writing, recording, putting out regular albums, yet with little interest in playing their music live.

But a lot has changed over the last 4 or so years. Covid came along resulting in a cessation of all live activity, and the cancelling of a planned tour that would have seen the band playing in the US for the very first time. Then in November 2021 the band were hit with the incredibly sad news that their lead vocalist David Longdon had passed away unexpectedly. As you can imagine that was a huge blow to them all, losing their close friend, as well as him being a fellow band-member. There had also been a change in the roster of band personnel in recent times, with only Gregory Spawton, Nick D’Virgilio & Rikard Sjöblom remaining. Yet the passion for wanting to continue on with the band and the music has remained strong.

It also seems that the new blood entering into the band has also brought about an increased activity from the Big Big Train camp. Not only releasing 3 albums within a 15 month period (Ingenious Devices, The Likes of Us, A Flare On The Lens), but also performing 17 shows in 2023, and by the end of this current tour the band will have racked up another 23 shows for this year too. That may not sound a lot, but in comparison to their previous track record, BBT definitely appear to be on a roll. As well as their touring commitments for this year seeing them entering into Europe, and finally across to the US at long last.

Seven months ago I knew little of Big Big Train’s music. Yes, I was aware of them, I had heard a few songs here & there, but essentially I had been too lazy to make the effort to investigate them further. Then the 2024 UK tour dates get announced, a date is included in Whitley Bay (not too far from where I live), and my wife is showing great interest in attending the show. So she puts YouTube on the TV screen, finds a recently released song, and plays me Miramare. Needless to say I was instantly hooked. Tickets were bought, and for the next several months I delved into the BBT back catalogue to listen to finally discover their music. In particular the band’s last 15 years, since the release of their breakthrough album, The Underfall Yard. So at long last, the date arrived, and I got my first ever experience of seeing Big Big Train live in person.

STUCKFISH

The supporting act for the Whitley Bay show were a 5-piece band of local lads called Stuckfish. The band were formed by lead vocalist/lyricist Phil Stuckey and guitarist Ade Fisher back in 2017. Surprisingly I knew both of the guys prior to this band formation, through my involvement in the local pub-rock scene in the South Tyneside area. I also knew some of the past members that have played within the band, yet the core of Stuckey & Fisher has remained the same. And since 2018 they have released a 4 studio albums, with their latest, Stuckfish IV, just recently being issued. I’d never heard any music from the band previously, so for me, this was completely my very first introduction to Stuckfish.

The band were on stage for around 40 plus minutes, and during that time they played a selection of 6 songs. The opening tune, Calling, from their debut album of the same title. The Bridge, and The Watcher from their 2nd album, The Watcher. A couple of tracks from their 3rd release, Days Of Innocence, represented this evening with Age Of Renewal, and Yearn. And also a song from their latest album (released this very month) IV, with Shadows And Moonbeams. The band managed well with fitting their equipment in among the densely packed stage area, already filled with all the instruments & floor lighting for the Big Big Train show. Unfortunately from my position in the audience, I couldn’t see their drummer or keyboardist, who were both situated on the very far left of the stage, hidden behind a PA speaker stack. It’s the burden that a band often have to bare when taking on support slots, but at least audio-wise they were given a very decent sound-mix.

I’ve heard Phil sing before, and he has a highly distinctive voice. Hey, I’ve seen this guy sing lead vocals in a Judas Priest tribute band, and he did phenomenally well then. Obviously there were no Rob Halford screams required for this kind of music, but I’m aware that Phil has a very broad set of musical tastes, and I enjoyed hearing him sing something a lot less frantic. Ade’s guitar playing has always been very tasty, and although he can capably shred with the best of them, his slower melodic lines featured in this music really shone through. Paul McNally on keys, I’m convinced I’ve seen him play before back in the 90’s, as that name certainly rings a bell. The rhythm section of Adam Sayers on drums & Phil Morey on bass completed the line-up, and all of them did extremely well fitting on to that stage, and also performing to a very high standard. All the songs featured in this set were around the 7 minutes mark, no extended 20 minute epics, and with Shadows & Moonbeams standing out as my favourite song from their set. Stuckfish were received very warmly by the audience, who I’m sure included a few of their own fans in amongst this local crowd.

BIG BIG TRAIN

This was Big Big Train’s first ever show in Whitley Bay, although they have previously played in the North East of England , when then performed in Newcastle as part of their first UK tour, back in 2019. Of course this is now a very different line-up from back then, with the core trio of Gregory Spawton, Nick D’Virgilio & Rikard Sjöblom, now being joined by Alberto Bravin, Oskar Holldorff & Claire Lindley as full-time members of the group. As well as bringing along trumpeter Paul Mitchell to flesh out the brass sections of the music. This is a slightly more stripped-back incarnation of BBT than those that have performed at previous shows throughout recent years, which on occasion had sometimes seen the ranks swell to as many as thirteen players on stage. Yet as this current line-up features so many talented multi-instrumentalists, these musicians covered all the bases and main musical melodies magnificently.

Alberto has officially been in the band around two and a half years now, and has also been playing shows with them since September 2022. As such he’s hardly the ‘new boy’, especially when he has (at this particular time) clocked up over 30 gigs with the band previously, which was more than double that had ever been played during the David Longdon era of BBT. So I was very pleased indeed that this tour would feature a lot of material taken from his debut studio album with Big Big Train, The Likes Of Us. In fact the first opening 4 songs of this show are the exact same 4 tracks from The Like Of Us, and in album order too. The very opening number is Light Left In The Day, which is a beautifully written song that starts out in a ballad-like fashion, but slowly builds into something far more majestic, incorporating some of the musical themes from other songs on the same album, to almost feel like an overture of sorts, for what is to come.

This is followed by Oblivion, which is a far more straight-ahead rock tune, yet still has that BBT stamp on it, and I particular like the section where all the instruments drop out and you are just left with Rikard playing that big catchy guitar riff. This song is probably one of the most obviously commercial tunes that the band have written, yet unapologetically so. Not everything has to be full-on retro prog all of the time, and I really enjoyed the different flavours of the music presented here tonight. Next up was the band’s epic tune, and longest in length from their last album, Beneath The Masts. I’ve got to honest here and say that once the main verses got underway with Alberto singing, I properly choked-up with emotions. I personally think that this song is a masterpiece, and does what all the very best epic prog songs do, and that’s take you on an emotional journey. The audience reaction to this at the end was probably the loudest cheer of the night, and I hope that this number remains in their live sets for some time to come.

The following song, and the last of this current batch of new material, was Skates On. Another well-crafted song that lyrically has a lot more personal & emotional involvement from its writers, which seems to be band’s approach in recent years. I think that they will always have a vested interest in history, places. and the characters that lived in those times. Yet this more ‘universal’ outlook to song-writing, both lyrically & musically, can only be a good thing if it sees this marvellous band attract a larger fan-base. It’s now that BBT throw a little curve-ball out there, with a reworked imagining of The Last English King. Which is a old song from their third album Bard, of which only Greg remains as being involved with that album from that time. I have no real comparison to work with as I’ve never heard the original, but it’s inclusion worked extremely well, and harkened back to the days when BBT were exclusively a ‘studio’ band.

The next song featured was The Transit Of Venus Across The Sun, which surely must win the award for the most proggy song title of the evening. The opening melody was provided by guest trumpeter Paul Mitchell, with him filling in for the sections where there were a 4-piece brass band on the albums, yet with him now doing an admirable job of covering those parts as solo musician. This was also the song in which the mirror-ball got used fantastically to spread a starry sky across their huge backdrop. The lighting for this show was superb. 8 spot lighting units across the floor at the rear of the stage, casting rotating gobo patterns across a highly reflective large back-cloth. As well as 16 illuminating pole units, that changed colour, pulsed, and provided gorgeous 2-tone effects to perfectly suit the atmosphere of whatever song was being performed at that time. Hats off to the lighting engineer/designer, who made the very best of what he had at hand, and provided a beautiful visual show to complement the high quality sound & musical performances.

By now we’ve hit the mid-point of the show, and the next song is probably my personal favourite of the evening. Miramare is played perfectly, and recreated so well & respectfully to its original studio version. The song opens up with a vocal harmony introduction, which immediately sets me off with more emotional overload. By the time the band kick in with the main verses, that’s it, I’m lip-trembling once again, pretending to scratch the side of my face while discreetly attempting to wipe the tear away from the corner of my eye. And while I think this can’t get any better, suddenly the chorus kicks in with the luscious 5-part harmony vocals, which sound absolutely immaculate, and then all the hairs stand up on the backs of arms. And just when you think the emotional build-up cannot get any more intense than this, that is followed by huge stabs of mellotron keys and bass pedals. Needless to say by the end of the song … I was spent. It’s my favourite ever BBT song, and this rendition of the number merely cemented that fact even more firmly. What a tune!

I have to give a huge shout out to Rob Aubrey. He’s a known member of the team, to the many hardcore Big Big Train fans, as he’s been working with them since their early years . He’s not only their live sound engineer, but also their studio engineer too. And as such, he’s been involved with the production of so many classic BBT albums. So if anyone should know how the band sound … it’s this man. He did an outstanding job with the sound mix in this venue on this night. I know the venue well, have seen a few acts play here, and have even operated front of house sound myself in this room. Yet the quality of sound on this occasion was absolutely top notch. The band brought with them a fabulous PA system, had it set up marvellously, and it was operated perfectly by the very capable hands of Rob Aubery. And the excellent sound mix he provided truly did enhance the band’s performance, taking the overall show up to another level yet again.

Now followed a change of mood with many of the band members departing the stage. leaving drummer Nick and guitarist Rickard centre stage, yet with Rikard playing piano and Nick now playing an acoustic guitar, and providing lead vocals on this particular song. Nick introduces Telling The Bees and dedicates it to their much-missed former band-mate, David Longdon. It’s a great version, which starts off as stripped back, but during the course of the tune they are joined by the rest of the band, who eventually break in to playing along to the chorus reprises at the end (including Alberto now playing drums). After this, the band picked the pace up with Black With Ink, which featured all the band (with the exception of Greg) handling a lead vocal line or 2. They really are a ridiculously talented bunch of people, capable of providing superb vocals, and covering so many various instruments individually. Even violinist Claire sings, plays acoustic guitar, and covers on keyboards too when required. And trumpeter Paul even gets to play a bit percussion. No hands are left idle.

The set changes direction once again with the closing song from The Likes Of Us album, Last Eleven. It’s a killer song, with its Genesis inspired opening chords, complete with 12-string guitar and bass pedals. This number saw Alberto take to the stage carrying a customised cricket bat, delivering an animated performance. It’s such a good song, complete with its closing reprised melody from Beneath The Masts. I love the pace & dynamics of this tune, which also features some fabulous bass lines from Greg. Once again it sounded absolutely magnificent, and with the most amazing supporting vocals from both Nick & Claire. The closing number of this set was the instrumental Apollo, from the Common Ground album. An unusual choice for a song to close the show with, but it’s a great musical work-out for all involved. And as Alberto has way more strings to his bow than just purely being a lead vocalist, he also got to play too.

Big Big Train were loudly applauded by this incredibly entertained Whitley Bay audience, and then they returned to the stage to play one final number, Love Is The Light. A slower-paced tune with such a great chorus hook-line, and even includes some woah-oh, woah-oh, woah, moments too. It has quickly become a set favourite by the band & their fans, even though it’s from their last album, and therefore making a total of 7 out of the 8 songs from The Likes Of Us being performed on this section of the tour. I certainly had no complaints, as this remains my favourite BBT album. The time absolutely flew by. The band must have been on stage around an hour and forty minutes, yet it seemed to pass so quickly. Which is credit to all those involved in this show, as I was so invested in watching & enjoying it all, that my track of time went completely out of the window. What a brilliant gig, and what a fantastic evening all round. I cannot speak more highly of the talent that I watched on the stage this evening.

This was my first ever experience of watching Big Big Train live, and I guarantee you that it will not be my last, even if I have to travel out of my home area to see them next time. Hopefully next time, there won’t be a 5 year gap between UK tours. I see this present incarnation of BBT as ‘Phase 3’ of their career. Phase 1 being their early years, when the focus seemed to be purely on the studio side of things, and Phase 2, the David Longdon years. This new phase comes across so well, and feels incredibly positive. Also this line-up really does feel like it has a very strong ‘band’ dynamic going on, which translates perfectly to live situations. In the past it may have been Greg Spawton, Andy Poole … and guests, being a studio-based ‘project’ band. Yet now in 2024, Big Big Train have come of age, and they are as equally as good a live act as anything they can collectively produce in a studio environment. I look forward to watching this band grow even more, and hopefully see them tour the UK again in the not too distant future.

Prior to the concert Alberto Bravin spoke with Colin Smoult – you can read the interview HERE.

SETLIST
Light Left In The Day
Oblivion
Beneath The Masts
Skates On
The Last English King
The Transit Of Venus Across The Sun
Miramare
Telling The Bees
Black With Ink
Last Eleven
Apollo
~ Encore:
Love Is The Light

MUSICIANS
Gregory Spawton – Bass, 12-String Electric, Bass Pedals, 12-String Acoustic
Nick D’Virgilio – Drums, Vocals
Rickard Sjöblom – Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Alberto Bravin – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards, Electric Guitar
Claire Lindley – Violin, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards
Oskar Holldorff – Keyboards, Vocals
Paul Mitchell – Trumpet, Percussion

LINKS
Big Big Train – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | X