Genesis Concert
Last night I went to the Genesis reunion concert. The last - and only other - time I saw them was back in 1987. My seat was way up on the mezzanine level, facing the stage at about the 7 o'clock position, so although I wasn't close to the stage, I had a nice view.
The show started off with an instrumental version of Behind the Lines, and then segued into Turn It On Again. My first thought was damn, they got old. I still saw them in my mind as they were 20 years ago, when they were my age. I also have to admit, I was a little bummed at first: their playing just felt kind of low-energy. I was particularly disappointed by "Turn It On Again," which is one of my favorite songs. Back in the day, this song had energy and a bit of an edge:
Now, it just sounds kind of watered down and weak:
I was also somewhat disappointed out by their performance of In The Cage. That's my favorite live performance, and maybe my favorite song, period. I've listened to this song literally hundreds, if not thousands of times, and I never get tired of hearing it. It gets me going every time.
Last night's performance just didn't live up to my expectations. It sounds like they performed it in a lower key, and slower. It didn't have that same energy.
I chalked it up to the fact that they had grown older, and so of course, things wouldn't be quite the same. However, as the concert went on, they started to pick up steam. IMO, where things really came to life was about halfway through, when they performed a medley of "Firth of Fifth" and "I Know What I Like." Darryl Stuermer's solo was just incredible:
While they were performing the medley, the screen behind them showed scrolling photographs of them from throughout their history, which just added to the performance. They ended up playing for close to three hours, and although they skewed a bit toward their more recent albums (and by "recent" I mean 15-20 years old!), they covered songs from most of their history, though they were a bit light on the Gabriel-era stuff. I think my favorite moment might have been near the end, when Phil and Chester performed their drum duet, and then the band segued into "Los Endos." The drum duet was an amazing display of virtuosity, and although Los Endos has never been one of my favorite songs, their performance of it was simply incredible. I'd post a clip, but it really wouldn't do it justice.
For an encore they did "I Can't Dance," and then finished with "The Carpet Crawlers," a strange choice because it's a soft, moody song, not a rousing finale sort of piece. Before the show they announced that an "official bootleg" recording of the show (and every other on the tour) would be available on the web. Unfortunately, they want $30 for it, and that's too much.
On the way out I bought a t-shirt from a bootlegger for fifteen bucks. I asked for a large, they gave me a medium, and it's really the size of a small. *Sigh* I suppose I can try selling it on Ebay.
The show started off with an instrumental version of Behind the Lines, and then segued into Turn It On Again. My first thought was damn, they got old. I still saw them in my mind as they were 20 years ago, when they were my age. I also have to admit, I was a little bummed at first: their playing just felt kind of low-energy. I was particularly disappointed by "Turn It On Again," which is one of my favorite songs. Back in the day, this song had energy and a bit of an edge:
Click to viewNow, it just sounds kind of watered down and weak:
I was also somewhat disappointed out by their performance of In The Cage. That's my favorite live performance, and maybe my favorite song, period. I've listened to this song literally hundreds, if not thousands of times, and I never get tired of hearing it. It gets me going every time.
Last night's performance just didn't live up to my expectations. It sounds like they performed it in a lower key, and slower. It didn't have that same energy.
I chalked it up to the fact that they had grown older, and so of course, things wouldn't be quite the same. However, as the concert went on, they started to pick up steam. IMO, where things really came to life was about halfway through, when they performed a medley of "Firth of Fifth" and "I Know What I Like." Darryl Stuermer's solo was just incredible:
While they were performing the medley, the screen behind them showed scrolling photographs of them from throughout their history, which just added to the performance. They ended up playing for close to three hours, and although they skewed a bit toward their more recent albums (and by "recent" I mean 15-20 years old!), they covered songs from most of their history, though they were a bit light on the Gabriel-era stuff. I think my favorite moment might have been near the end, when Phil and Chester performed their drum duet, and then the band segued into "Los Endos." The drum duet was an amazing display of virtuosity, and although Los Endos has never been one of my favorite songs, their performance of it was simply incredible. I'd post a clip, but it really wouldn't do it justice.
For an encore they did "I Can't Dance," and then finished with "The Carpet Crawlers," a strange choice because it's a soft, moody song, not a rousing finale sort of piece. Before the show they announced that an "official bootleg" recording of the show (and every other on the tour) would be available on the web. Unfortunately, they want $30 for it, and that's too much.
On the way out I bought a t-shirt from a bootlegger for fifteen bucks. I asked for a large, they gave me a medium, and it's really the size of a small. *Sigh* I suppose I can try selling it on Ebay.