http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is1oTQj5gRk&feature=related
This show of, "The Musical Box" (http://www.themusicalbox.net/) was a song-for-song playing of the 1976-77 tour of the "Trick of the Tail" album. The show had this amazing setlist:
DANCE ON A VOLCANO
THE LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY
FLY ON A WINDSHIELD
CARPET CRAWLERS
CINEMA SHOW
ROBBERY, ASSAULT AND BATTERY
WHITE MOUNTAIN
FIRTH OF FIFTH
ENTANGLED
SQUONK
SUPPER’S READY
I KNOW WHAT I LIKE
LOS ENDOS
IT/WATCHER OF THE SKIES
The Musical Box enacted the same set list Genesis did when they first toured this album...the album and tour that brought Phil Collins from behind the drum kit to the spotlight, where he has never left. Not wanting to alienate earlier Genesis fans, the band made sure (and MUCH to my and my concert-mates' delight) to include tracks from previous LPs...including the gem, "White Mountain" from Trespass (a pre-Collins album which included my daughter's favorite, "The Knife"). They did the "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", "Carpet Crawlers" and "It" from the Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The Musical Box also played 3 favorites from Selling England By The Pound, "Cinema Show", "I Know What I Like" and the very-well-done (WITH piano solo) "Firth of Fifth". These 3 were my introduction to Genesis from a friend in 1974.
Labeled, "A Trick of the Tail" tour is a little misleading since they managed 5 of the 8 songs off the album...Genesis themselves did not do "Ripples" until the 1977 tour. But 5 of 8 is 5 new songs to the fan. All were enjoyable, authentic re-creations....great stuff.
Many bands have that "one song" that people always ask for (think "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd) and Genesis' most requested song is the 23 minute epic, "Supper's Ready". Thanks to the Musical Box we were able to hear this done to a tee...including the laser light which debuted during this tour. Awesome.
Having said what great music it is and how much I and my companions liked it, there is one drawback I cannot ignore....due to (among other things) the halls the Musical Box chooses to play in, they generally serve alcohol and it appears that alcohol-serving and the crowds that attend these concerts, don't mix. Now that's me saying it...perhaps from some of thoses that partake to excess or simply partake and TALK INCESSANTLY, they think it's just great. I do not..it does nothing but detract from my enjoyment of a live performance. I would argue (and yes, a little bit of snobery) that this would not happen in England. I have been to >10 concerts there and one of the strange things for an American (of the rock and roll era) to witness is the British youth's willingness to sit quietly through soft or low-volume songs or parts of songs. There, I said it. Enough.
So here is my modest (naw, simply terrible) attempt at a little video of the real thing...I was there.
A shout out to Steve and Dawn....you would have loved this show.
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Coming up is the All Saints Coffeehouse this Friday, January 23 from 7:30 to 9:30 pm. This is an opportunity to play and/or sing live. You can do sing alongs, poetry, skits...we are not choosy and are quite an appreciative audience. This week we are doing our prelude to "RAIN - The Beatles Experience" which many of us will attend on Feb 15 at the Wharton Center in East Lansing. Much of the docket will be Beatles music....and what could be better than that. So come along and join us.
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It's Chanticleer at the Wharton on Sunday the 25th and the Ann Arbor Folk Festival on Jan 30 and 31 at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor. Busy times for live music in the Mid Michigan area.
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I'll see you at a show.
Steve
