Turn it on Again: the show
Before I begin, the title of this post is another Genesis song, and it fits in two ways: one, I'm going to describe (in great detail) the Genesis concert of yore (i.e., two weeks ago); two, today is exactly the one-year anniversary of Niky and my relationship, and we've decided to "turn it on again" for at least another year. Yikes, bad one eh? Okay, onto the review...
Okay, so some of you have expressed a bit of confusion at my very open-to-interpretation description of being "entertained, to say the least" by the Genesis concert two Wednesdays ago. Here I will elaborate for you:
I've been waiting 15 years for the concert. In 1993, during their last (real) tour, my Mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I said "Genesis tickets". That was all I wanted. Keep in mind, I was 13 years old at the time -- everybody else my age was listening to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice and Chains, and any other band from Seattle that featured a distorted guitar. My Mom's reply was "Oh, I'm not getting you Genesis tickets. You won't even like Genesis in two years." Well, I proved her wrong. Very, very wrong. However, I still love ya Mom, and I'll never forget the Blue Jays game that you took me to that year instead (Pat Tabler had a homerun).
Therefore, 15 years later, there was no way I was going to miss this Genesis concert. The show was originally scheduled for Budapest on June 20th, but for some strange reason, to my great fortune (and the ill fortune of many many others who already had their hotels and flights to Budapest booked), Genesis changed the show to Prague. Perfect.
To be honest, the concert really snuck up on me. Bob had been visiting, and I had been pretty busy and excited by my new job -- I couldn't believe it when I was able to say to Niky, "tomorrow's the concert!"
Before I begin my synopsis/analysis for all of those who care, I'll produce the setlist:
Setlist ("/" indicates portions of songs that were played as medleys; "..." indicates where the songs were played in continuity, but at least one of the songs was also in its entirety)
Now to the setlist. If I had to describe it in one word, I'm afraid to say it's a disappointing word: safe. The official statement from the band was that they were really in this for the fans and fun, not for money. However, I just can't imagine that either Phil, Mike, or Tony sat in the room on the first day of rehearsals and said, "okay guys, I REALLY want to play Invisible Touch on this tour! The fans really want to hear this one again!" That's just wrong on all levels. This tour was a great chance for Genesis to play a lot of the old tunes again (and they did), but I think that Land of Confusion, Hold on my Heart, Throwing it All Away, Tonight Tonight Tonight, and Invisible Touch could have been put to bed for this tour. I don't even mind the inclusion of I Can't Dance; lots of people make fun of it, but I don't mind it -- it's a fun song, and a great satire of those old blue jeans commercials that used to be on TV.
Even the medleys were safe. Genesis are master musicians one and all, and I was really crossing my fingers for some new medley mixtures. Nothing doing. They recycled all of their old medleys: Behind the Lines/Duke's End from the Duke tour; Firth of Fifth from the We Can't Dance tour; and Drum Duet/Los Endos from the Invisible Touch tour. In the Cage/Cinema Show/Duke's Travels/Afterglow is a classic medley as well, from the Abacab tour, except that in 1984 they played a section of the Colony of Slippermen instead of Duke's Travels (to better effect in my opinion).
However, there were some great high points. I wanted to be totally surprised by everything, so I disciplinedly hadn't checked any news or setlist rumours/reports regarding this tour, though I've been playing super catch up ever since. Behind the Lines to open was totally unexpected, and a great energizer, though I was a bit disappointed that they didn't include the vocal part as well and play it in its whole. I Know What I Like is Genesis' oldest hit (back to 1974 and the Peter Gabriel years), so it's been a bit overplayed over the years; however, this version had great life in it (with Phil Collins renovating his comedic tamourine routine a bit), and the screen behind the stage flashed over some great quality photos of the band members (including Gabriel and Steve Hackett) in their younger years....nice touch! Home By the Sea and Second Home by the Sea didn't fail to impress me live. Follow You, Follow Me is by far one of my least favourite Genesis songs ever, but this was nicely done too, with Collins playing singer and drummer at the same time -- no easy feat. Ripples, Los Endos, and Carpet Crawlers were the absolute highlights for me -- the Genesis men in all of their former glory! During the Drum Duet between Chester Thompson and Phil Collins, when the rest of the band came out with instruments, I knew Los Endos would be next. WOW! Collins really threw his aging shoulders behind this one, and the song was a clear highlight...as it always is in any Genesis show. Carpet Crawlers was a great way to end the night; a nod back to 1975's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway: Peter Gabriel's final album before he left Genesis.
Musically, despite the safe and mostly predictable setlist, the show gets a B+. It has to be said, but Phil Collins is now in his mid- to late-50's: he can't hit the high notes any more, and the songs had to be tuned down a key or two to be played. No Son of Mine sounded sooooo slow because of its detuning. Also, let's not forget that he's half deaf in one ear. Additionally, they must not make synths like they used to: Tony Banks's keyboard sounded supremely weird at times. It could have been the setup guy though: I think I caught Tony and Mike Rutherford looking at each other with a funny look as if to say, "what the hell is that sound coming out of my/your keyboard?"
Performance-wise, the show gets an A. Phil is a superior stageman: charming, and funny, and always attempting the local dialect. The Czechs went crazy with cheers when he popped out a few "Díky"s ("Thanks") and the final "Dobrou noc!" ("Good night!"). For the first few songs, the band seemed as if they were just going through motions, but they settled in nicely and relaxed. Mike Rutherford in particular looks like he's having a ton of fun on this tour.
Sound quality was incredible. A+. Usually at rock concerts I have a ringing in my ear afterward, and I have trouble hearing particular instruments or vocals during the show. This show was so well mixed I could pick out all of the proper instruments at the right time. No ringing after at all. Top notch sound crew. Well done. Great guitar sounds on Daryl's and Mike's guitars too.
Lights: A++. Nothing more to say really. Even the disappointment of having to listen to Invisible Touch was heightened by the great light display, full with synchronized fireworks at the end!
Crowd: Wonderful. A+. Imagine going to the front of the stage and not having people pushing to get past you all the time. Imagine not even being nudged once! Imagine that!? (Special shoutout to the security, first aid crew, and overall concert organization for the frequent distribution of ice cold water to the standing room crowd -- muchos gracias!).
Overall effect, the show gets an A, of course! Hey, these guys could've gotten up on the stage and farted into the mic for an hour and I probably would've been happy. Fifteen years of waiting?...it was gonna take a lot to disappoint me!
Special F goes to the Czech railway transportation system for having the last train to Hradec Kralove leave at 10:22pm (the concert ended at 10:45pm). Boo to you Český Drahy.
Now, the pictures:
Okay, so some of you have expressed a bit of confusion at my very open-to-interpretation description of being "entertained, to say the least" by the Genesis concert two Wednesdays ago. Here I will elaborate for you:
I've been waiting 15 years for the concert. In 1993, during their last (real) tour, my Mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I said "Genesis tickets". That was all I wanted. Keep in mind, I was 13 years old at the time -- everybody else my age was listening to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice and Chains, and any other band from Seattle that featured a distorted guitar. My Mom's reply was "Oh, I'm not getting you Genesis tickets. You won't even like Genesis in two years." Well, I proved her wrong. Very, very wrong. However, I still love ya Mom, and I'll never forget the Blue Jays game that you took me to that year instead (Pat Tabler had a homerun).
Therefore, 15 years later, there was no way I was going to miss this Genesis concert. The show was originally scheduled for Budapest on June 20th, but for some strange reason, to my great fortune (and the ill fortune of many many others who already had their hotels and flights to Budapest booked), Genesis changed the show to Prague. Perfect.
To be honest, the concert really snuck up on me. Bob had been visiting, and I had been pretty busy and excited by my new job -- I couldn't believe it when I was able to say to Niky, "tomorrow's the concert!"
Before I begin my synopsis/analysis for all of those who care, I'll produce the setlist:
Setlist ("/" indicates portions of songs that were played as medleys; "..." indicates where the songs were played in continuity, but at least one of the songs was also in its entirety)
- Behind The Lines / Duke’s End
- Turn It On Again
- No Son Of Mine
- Land Of Confusion
- In The Cage / The Cinema Show / Duke’s Travels...
- ...Afterglow
- Hold On My Heart
- Home By The Sea...
- ...Second Home By The Sea
- Follow You Follow Me
- Firth Of Fifth / I Know What I Like (in Your Wardrobe)
- Mama
- Ripples
- Throwing It All Away
- Domino
- Drum Duet...
- ...Los Endos
- Tonight Tonight Tonight...
- ...Invisible Touch
- I Can't Dance
- The Carpet Crawlers
Now to the setlist. If I had to describe it in one word, I'm afraid to say it's a disappointing word: safe. The official statement from the band was that they were really in this for the fans and fun, not for money. However, I just can't imagine that either Phil, Mike, or Tony sat in the room on the first day of rehearsals and said, "okay guys, I REALLY want to play Invisible Touch on this tour! The fans really want to hear this one again!" That's just wrong on all levels. This tour was a great chance for Genesis to play a lot of the old tunes again (and they did), but I think that Land of Confusion, Hold on my Heart, Throwing it All Away, Tonight Tonight Tonight, and Invisible Touch could have been put to bed for this tour. I don't even mind the inclusion of I Can't Dance; lots of people make fun of it, but I don't mind it -- it's a fun song, and a great satire of those old blue jeans commercials that used to be on TV.
Even the medleys were safe. Genesis are master musicians one and all, and I was really crossing my fingers for some new medley mixtures. Nothing doing. They recycled all of their old medleys: Behind the Lines/Duke's End from the Duke tour; Firth of Fifth from the We Can't Dance tour; and Drum Duet/Los Endos from the Invisible Touch tour. In the Cage/Cinema Show/Duke's Travels/Afterglow is a classic medley as well, from the Abacab tour, except that in 1984 they played a section of the Colony of Slippermen instead of Duke's Travels (to better effect in my opinion).
However, there were some great high points. I wanted to be totally surprised by everything, so I disciplinedly hadn't checked any news or setlist rumours/reports regarding this tour, though I've been playing super catch up ever since. Behind the Lines to open was totally unexpected, and a great energizer, though I was a bit disappointed that they didn't include the vocal part as well and play it in its whole. I Know What I Like is Genesis' oldest hit (back to 1974 and the Peter Gabriel years), so it's been a bit overplayed over the years; however, this version had great life in it (with Phil Collins renovating his comedic tamourine routine a bit), and the screen behind the stage flashed over some great quality photos of the band members (including Gabriel and Steve Hackett) in their younger years....nice touch! Home By the Sea and Second Home by the Sea didn't fail to impress me live. Follow You, Follow Me is by far one of my least favourite Genesis songs ever, but this was nicely done too, with Collins playing singer and drummer at the same time -- no easy feat. Ripples, Los Endos, and Carpet Crawlers were the absolute highlights for me -- the Genesis men in all of their former glory! During the Drum Duet between Chester Thompson and Phil Collins, when the rest of the band came out with instruments, I knew Los Endos would be next. WOW! Collins really threw his aging shoulders behind this one, and the song was a clear highlight...as it always is in any Genesis show. Carpet Crawlers was a great way to end the night; a nod back to 1975's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway: Peter Gabriel's final album before he left Genesis.
Musically, despite the safe and mostly predictable setlist, the show gets a B+. It has to be said, but Phil Collins is now in his mid- to late-50's: he can't hit the high notes any more, and the songs had to be tuned down a key or two to be played. No Son of Mine sounded sooooo slow because of its detuning. Also, let's not forget that he's half deaf in one ear. Additionally, they must not make synths like they used to: Tony Banks's keyboard sounded supremely weird at times. It could have been the setup guy though: I think I caught Tony and Mike Rutherford looking at each other with a funny look as if to say, "what the hell is that sound coming out of my/your keyboard?"
Performance-wise, the show gets an A. Phil is a superior stageman: charming, and funny, and always attempting the local dialect. The Czechs went crazy with cheers when he popped out a few "Díky"s ("Thanks") and the final "Dobrou noc!" ("Good night!"). For the first few songs, the band seemed as if they were just going through motions, but they settled in nicely and relaxed. Mike Rutherford in particular looks like he's having a ton of fun on this tour.
Sound quality was incredible. A+. Usually at rock concerts I have a ringing in my ear afterward, and I have trouble hearing particular instruments or vocals during the show. This show was so well mixed I could pick out all of the proper instruments at the right time. No ringing after at all. Top notch sound crew. Well done. Great guitar sounds on Daryl's and Mike's guitars too.
Lights: A++. Nothing more to say really. Even the disappointment of having to listen to Invisible Touch was heightened by the great light display, full with synchronized fireworks at the end!
Crowd: Wonderful. A+. Imagine going to the front of the stage and not having people pushing to get past you all the time. Imagine not even being nudged once! Imagine that!? (Special shoutout to the security, first aid crew, and overall concert organization for the frequent distribution of ice cold water to the standing room crowd -- muchos gracias!).
Overall effect, the show gets an A, of course! Hey, these guys could've gotten up on the stage and farted into the mic for an hour and I probably would've been happy. Fifteen years of waiting?...it was gonna take a lot to disappoint me!
Special F goes to the Czech railway transportation system for having the last train to Hradec Kralove leave at 10:22pm (the concert ended at 10:45pm). Boo to you Český Drahy.
Now, the pictures:
Niky pre-concert with tickets...
...and me.
The stage just before the band came out.
"Turn it on, on, turn it on, turn it on again..."
Daryl wailing away on the Firth of Fifth solo.
Phil doing the tambourine routine during I Know What I Like
Possibly during Throwing it All Away.
The Czechs demonstrate the "Domino Principle".
"...and sometimes it happens to those people over there".
Chester and Phil duel on the drums.
Phil, Mike, and Daryl showing us how they can't dance...
...the only thing about them is the way they walk.
Carpet Crawlers sent us crawling home: "you've gotta get in to get out".
Thanks for sticking with me.
Till Next Post...
Thanks for sticking with me.
Till Next Post...
posted by gulldogg at 11:44 a.m.
4 Comments:
Glad you finally got to see 'em--and don't worry, you'll eventually forget about the mixed feelings re. the setlist and really start to appreciate the experience. For me, as you know, seeing PJ in Thunder Bay was my ultimate concert, so it was inevitably going to be a letdown at the time. I've only recently begun to fully grasp what it meant, and that's allowed me to overlook the setlist quibbles or issues re. length of the show. So what if it wasn't a perfect concert? It was *my* perfect concert, ya know? Eventually, that's exactly how you'll feel I would imagine.
Now in all fairness to Jeff's Mom, she and Larry introduced Jeff and his sister to Genesis and Phil Collins at a relatively young age. No better music to listen to while sailing on Georgian Bay.....or, so we thought. Genesis/Phil Collins kind of got a bad rap as everytime we plugged a tape in, the response was always...."Do we have to listen to that crap?" So you can see why as a mother, I was very reluctant to spend money for tickets to a concert given by a band who had five years previous been considered crap! I was pretty sure that the love affair with the band would be over by the time the tickets arrived. Anyway, my mistake! I'm glad Genesis all lived long enough to fulfill your teenage dreams!! God knows, they are all now in thier 50's.
Great pictures,though. Sounds like you also lucked out with the concert moving from Budapest to Prague.
Looking forward to having you home soon!
Love,
Jeff's Mom
The naked face has returned! Haha. Glad you had such an awesome time. Glad to hear all about it and great pics! See you in a few weeks! :)
Goosebumps all the way through!
miss ya!
Love Aunt Mo
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