The Waterboys turn Valencia arena into their perfect pub with Celtic folk and rock

The Waterboys’ idea of a perfect pub arrived in Valencia with Irish folk, Celtic grandeur, country influences and a great deal of classic rock. More than 4,000 people filled the central floor of the Roig Arena for a concert that lasted almost three hours.

Led by 67-year-old Mike Scott, the British band made Valencia its only Spanish stop of the year. The city has become a regular venue for the group when it tours Spain, and the occasion carried an additional attraction: a fresh look at “Fisherman’s Blues,” expanded with more previously unreleased material.

American singer-songwriter, writer and political activist Steve Earle joined the band for half the show. His presence added the country and folk colors that Scott has long embraced. The set carried the audience from the band’s early-1980s songs, including “A Girl Called Johnny,” through its more epic period with “The Whole of the Moon,” “Don’t Bang the Drum” and “The Pan Within,” before reaching the Irish world of “Fisherman’s Blues.”

The 1988 album began as a critically and commercially successful record but grew into a vast archive of tapes, unreleased songs, alternate takes and covers. That material reflects the four years Scott and the band spent in Ireland, where they immersed themselves in its landscapes, traditions and Celtic imagination. The newly released triple album “Atlantic Rain” also featured in the concert through “Come Back to Galway,” highlighted by Steve Wickham’s violin.

The band also returned to songs from “Fisherman’s Blues” and the closely related “Room to Roam,” including “We Will Not Be Lovers,” “Strange Boat,” Van Morrison’s “Sweet Thing,” “When Will We Be Married?,” “How Long Will I Love You,” “The Raggle Taggle Gypsy” and “The Stolen Child.” The biggest collective eruptions came with “And a Band on the Ear” and “Fisherman’s Blues,” as the audience joined the band in a celebration of Celtic music and shared revelry.