Troy
12-06-2004, 08:21 AM
I am pretty much stunned.
What a band! What a show!
For those not in the know, "The Musical Box" is a touring French-Canadian Genesis tribute band. But unlike other tribute bands, TMB has all the props, costumes, lighting and staging from Genesis and Peter Gabriel. They are fully sanctioned and blessed by the original band. They play the exact shows as they were played on tour back in the day. This tour was a 100% exact representation of "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" show. They played the entire double album plus "The Musical Box" and "Watcher of the Skies" as the encore.
The drummer was uncanny in his representation of the Phil Collins swing and swagger. The guy was all over the kit (identical to the Collins 70s unit near as I remember) and was even a southpaw like PC. His vocal parts were absolutely perfect. This guy was the centerpiece of the show as far as I'm concerned.
I was struck by the hokey, "High School Pageant" quality of the theatrics. The lighting, props and costumes were very low tech and crude . . . just as they were in 1974, I guess. In comparison to the later Genesis or modern rock shows, pretty unsophisiticated. I didn't expect that, but I liked it, it felt very earnest. The "time capsule" effect was really cool. The Slippermen costume with the inflatable genitalia was hilarious and the rear projection during "The Waiting Room" was spine tingling..
I have new apperciation of some tracks. I totally get partially improvised "The Waiting Room" now. Man, the end section of that was probably the show's highlight for me. Also, "The Chamber of 32 Doors" was exceptionally powerfull in a live setting. "Riding the Scree" too. OTOH, "The Lamia" and the instrumentals bracketing "Slippermen" were too long to me (and they have always felt that way to me).
It was really interesting to see who played what. I was surprised by the lack of bass guitar through large sections. The synth bass pedals were huge. So much of this music was all guitars. Rutherford worked real hard and Hackett had very little to do (I can see why he was so displeased with this tour now). But I keep coming back to the drummer. What a monster.
I can see why this band has legendary status among some members here. Glad they finally came out this way. They are heading out towards New York and the northeast the rest of the month and then off to Europe until May. See them!
What a band! What a show!
For those not in the know, "The Musical Box" is a touring French-Canadian Genesis tribute band. But unlike other tribute bands, TMB has all the props, costumes, lighting and staging from Genesis and Peter Gabriel. They are fully sanctioned and blessed by the original band. They play the exact shows as they were played on tour back in the day. This tour was a 100% exact representation of "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" show. They played the entire double album plus "The Musical Box" and "Watcher of the Skies" as the encore.
The drummer was uncanny in his representation of the Phil Collins swing and swagger. The guy was all over the kit (identical to the Collins 70s unit near as I remember) and was even a southpaw like PC. His vocal parts were absolutely perfect. This guy was the centerpiece of the show as far as I'm concerned.
I was struck by the hokey, "High School Pageant" quality of the theatrics. The lighting, props and costumes were very low tech and crude . . . just as they were in 1974, I guess. In comparison to the later Genesis or modern rock shows, pretty unsophisiticated. I didn't expect that, but I liked it, it felt very earnest. The "time capsule" effect was really cool. The Slippermen costume with the inflatable genitalia was hilarious and the rear projection during "The Waiting Room" was spine tingling..
I have new apperciation of some tracks. I totally get partially improvised "The Waiting Room" now. Man, the end section of that was probably the show's highlight for me. Also, "The Chamber of 32 Doors" was exceptionally powerfull in a live setting. "Riding the Scree" too. OTOH, "The Lamia" and the instrumentals bracketing "Slippermen" were too long to me (and they have always felt that way to me).
It was really interesting to see who played what. I was surprised by the lack of bass guitar through large sections. The synth bass pedals were huge. So much of this music was all guitars. Rutherford worked real hard and Hackett had very little to do (I can see why he was so displeased with this tour now). But I keep coming back to the drummer. What a monster.
I can see why this band has legendary status among some members here. Glad they finally came out this way. They are heading out towards New York and the northeast the rest of the month and then off to Europe until May. See them!