Before the Dawn (Kate Bush concert series)

Overview

Before the Dawn was presented as a multi-media performance involving standard rock music performance, dancers, puppets, shadows, maskwork, conceptual staging, 3D animation and an illusionist. Bush spent three days in a flotation tank for filmed scenes that were played during the performance and featured dialogue written by novelist David Mitchell. Also involved with the production were Adrian Noble, former artistic director and chief executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company, lighting designer Mark Henderson and Italian Shadows Theatre company Controluce Teatro d'Ombre. The illusionist was Paul Kieve, the puppeteer Basil Twist, the movement director Sian Williams and the designer Dick Bird. The video and projection design was by Jon Driscoll.

The performance was centred on a band featuring the following musicians:

and the following actors:

Bush's son, Albert McIntosh, who performed in the show as a backing vocalist and actor, was also credited as creative advisor. Keyboard player Kevin McAlea is notable for also having played on Bush's previous tour "The Tour of Life" in 1979.

Parts of the show told stories based on two Bush song-suites – "The Ninth Wave" from Hounds of Love and "A Sky of Honey" from Aerial.

During "The Ninth Wave", Bush's character is lost at sea after her ship, the Celtic Deep, sinks. She fades in and out of consciousness, sometimes underwater and sometimes above, hoping to be rescued with only a flickering red light to make her seen in the darkness. She has an almost out-of-body experience, observing herself as though under ice, seeing her family without her, and imagining entering earth's atmosphere until she is found; survival has given her a new appreciation of love and life. Then, in "A Sky of Honey", Bush portrays a bird-like woman observing the actions of a 19th-century painter and a wooden puppet.

Reception

The news of the residency prompted a surge of interest in Bush, with a number of music websites, radio stations and newspapers running the story, as well as causing Bush's own website to crash due to the high web traffic. Bush was said to be 'completely overwhelmed by the response to the shows', adding she was 'looking forward to seeing you all later this year'. In the week before the show's debut, the New York Times ran an article documenting Kate Bush fans who were traveling from around the world to attend the show.

The show received widespread critical acclaim. The Evening Standard gave the opening show five stars out of five, commenting: "[an] extraordinary mix of magical ideas, stunning visuals, attention to detail and remarkable music..she was so obviously, so unambiguously brilliant, made last night something to tell the grandchildren about. " Alexis Petridis of The Guardian gave the show five stars out of five, calling the show "another remarkable achievement." Following the first week of performances, eight of Bush's albums charted within the UK Top 40, making her the first female artist in history to ever achieve this, with The Whole Story at No.6 and Hounds of Love at No.9 being the highest charting.

Production Credits

Before the Dawn – written by Kate Bush
Directed by – Kate Bush, Adrian Noble
Creative Advisor – Albert McIntosh
Lighting Designer – Mark Henderson
Set Designer – Dick Bird
Projection Designer – Jon Driscoll for Cinelumina
Creative Consultant – Robert Allsopp
Costume Designer – Brigitta Reiggenstuel
Movement Direction – Sian Williams
Oceanic Wave Design – Basil Twist
Illusionist – Paul Kieve
Shadow Theatre Scenes – Cora de Maria, Alberto Jona, Jenaro Meléndez for Controluce
Production Stage Manager - Richard "Wez" Wearing

Sound Credits

Sound Designer/FOH Engineer – Greg Walsh
Monitor Engineer – Ian Newton
Kate Vocal Navigator – Stephen W Tayler
FOH Sound Engineer/ Systems Engineer – Davide Lombardi
Stage Tech – Baz Tymms
Surround Systems Engineer – Davey Williamson
Sounds FX Consultant – James Drew
Record Archive – Ian Sylvester
Record Supervisor – Jim Jones

Backline Credits

Guitar and Bass Technician – Chris Lawson
Keyboard (and Guitar) Technician – Morten "Turbo" Thobro
Drums and Percussion Technician – Steve Grey

Set list

The set list comprised most of Hounds of Love featuring the entire The Ninth Wave suite, most of Aerial including the entire A Sky of Honey suite, two songs from The Red Shoes, and one song from 50 Words for Snow. Bush's first four albums and The Sensual World were noticeably excluded from the set list, though a recording of "Never Be Mine" (supposedly from initial rehearsals) is included on the CD and LP releases.

Act One

1. "Lily"
2. "Hounds of Love"
3. "Joanni"
4. "Top of the City"
5. "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) (Extended)
6. "King of the Mountain" (Extended)

The Ninth Wave

7. Video Interlude – "And Dream of Sheep"
8. "Under Ice"
9. "Waking the Witch"
10. "Watching You Without Me"
11. "Jig of Life"
12. "Hello Earth"
13. "The Morning Fog" (contains elements of "Cloudbusting")

Act Two
A Sky of Honey

14. "Prelude" (contains elements of "50 Words for Snow")
15. "Prologue" (extended, contains elements of "The Sensual World" and "A Coral Room")
16. "An Architect's Dream"
17. "The Painter's Link"
18. "Sunset"
19. "Aerial Tal"
20. "Somewhere in Between" (extended)
21. "Tawny Moon" (performed by Albert McIntosh)
22. "Nocturn" (contains elements of "Waking the Witch") (extended)
23. "Aerial"

Encore

24. "Among Angels"
25. "Cloudbusting"

Home release

On 25 November 2016, a three-disc live album of recordings from Before the Dawn was released by Bush's label, Fish People. Two performances were filmed for possible DVD release but this plan was later abandoned.