MOSTLY AUTUMN LEAMINGTON ASSEMBLY

by Andrew Lock, 16 Oct 2016 An epic Assembly show by one of my two favourite bands (luckily for me the other Marillion playing the same venue 3 days later) and Mostly Autumn with their distinct blend of classic and progressive rock with now and again a sprinkle of folk rock performed for an amazing 4 hours or so (split over 3 sets).

I have followed this band for around 14 years and have never heard such a selection of their classic numbers at one show, all this and the addition of a cracking covers set.

The original material covered them at their rock-out best on belters like ‘Answer the Question' and ‘Deep In Borrowdale', featured their beautiful ballad side on the likes of ‘The House on the Hill' and ‘Passengers' and the epic side of the band was also well on show including ‘Mother Nature', and ‘The Last Climb'.

The first set gave us different takes (including acoustic) of well known band numbers and also gave individual band members a chance to shine, while the 2nd set billed as "songs which have inspired them" included plenty of surprises as well as the expected Pink Floyd numbers with versions of songs made famous by the likes of Neil Young, Fairport Convention and Radiohead.

The final set was a mammoth one filled with band classics from their extensive back catalogue and the spectacular back screen presentations were put to fabulous use.

This band have plenty of diverse material, one of the countries best rock lead guitarists in Bryan Josh and lead singer Olivia Sparneen-Josh has the voice of an angel, her vocals on the brace of Eric Carmen's ‘All By Myself' and Floyd's ‘The Great Gig in the Sky' during the covers set had to be heard to be believed.

They have a dynamic, rich sound embellished with plenty of keyboard layers and at times the addition of exquisite flute work and at this gig we also had Anne Phoebe adding her wonderful violin to a few numbers as well as a fab saxophone player.

The support set was an all instrumental affair by the two-piece Papillon which consists of spectacular violin player Anna Phoebe who at times raced around the stage like a whirling dervish while playing the most wonderful/magical music on her instrument along side talented guitarist Nicolas Rizzi.

The music was a wonderful blend of gypsy, classical and rock music and this was a spellbinding aural and visual performance.

What a special show and they guys came out for nearly an hour in the interval to chat to fans and sign, if you have still not checked them out highly recommend that you do and catch them next time they are in town.