Location: Linz / Gugl Stadion / Austria
Date: Sunday, 06/17/2007
If someone had told me just a year ago that I’d one day see Genesis, one of the fathers of progressive rock (alongside King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd and ELP, regular members of the “big six”) and at the same time one of the biggest pop rock attractions of the 80s, and a band that plays a pretty important role in my life, I would have just smiled cynically and told them it was a pretty lousy joke. Back then, the simple fact that the band hadn’t been active for a full eight years, and that their last studio album came out all the way back in “ancient” 1997, would have made my case for me. Well, in the meantime the speculation about a revival of the legendary name got more and more frequent, and this year the long-awaited reunion finally happened, though not quite the way all the fans wanted, because two key members of their “golden” lineup (1971-1975) didn’t join: original singer Peter Gabriel, who preferred to focus on this year’s solo concert tour, and guitarist Steve Hackett, who still holds some old grudges over his exit from the band. So in the end Genesis reunited as a trio of Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, three old buddies from their most commercially successful incarnation, the one that made its name with some of the most beloved hits in pop rock history to this day.
Just Collins coming back, the great darling of all romantic hearts and enterprising star of the entertainment industry (the fact that he’s one of the best drummers of his generation usually gets forgotten), after the commercially unsuccessful adventure with the Scot Ray Wilson (Stiltskin, solo), meant that the guys were dead serious this time and that a massive world tour starting in Europe was in the works. Before that they held a lengthy press conference, where they announced the “Turn It On Again” tour and answered a few burning questions, mostly about the selection of material they planned to play. Many fans of their progressive era (which, from a strictly artistic standpoint, is also far better) were pretty badly disappointed to hear the lineup wouldn’t include Gabriel and Hackett, while those with a bigger dose of rationality accepted that this might be one of the last chances to ever see the legends live. And quite a few quietly figure this is only the overture to the much-wished-for reunion with Gabriel and Hackett. Time will tell on that one. As so many times before, the replacements for the two absent darlings of progressive rock were American masters of their craft: Daryl Stuermer (ex-Jean-Luc Ponty, Phil Collins) on guitar/bass and jazz rock fusion legend Chester Thompson (ex-Weather Report, Frank Zappa) behind the drums. The latter again successfully filled in for Collins during his many trips to the mic, while the two of them as a drum duo made up one of the main attractions of the night.
After a relatively long and tiring drive to Linz, shortened mostly by the witty quips of our fine Mr. Jernej and the fascinating tales of Croatian fan Robert Medvedec, who first saw Genesis back in 1986, we arrived at the “scene of the crime,” where people were swarming like ants in the scorching heat. It was hilarious to watch them rush forward like a headless herd the moment the doormen opened the gates to the giant stadium, which normally hosts football matches. All just to get to the front rows. The view of the gigantic stage surrounded by huge jumbotron screens, mountains of lights and cameras was downright stunning, because I got to see the most magnificent stage setup I can remember. Next to it, my memory of the last time I saw Yes in a hall (just as a comparison) felt like a memory of some bar gig. The commercially far more successful Genesis (with Collins, of course) still don’t skimp on cash in any respect and have been a hugely successful business for years, as the huge selection of “souvenirs” showed, including glasses with the band’s logo. Meanwhile, just one look around the stadium, packed almost to the brim from the floor to the seats on both sides, was proof enough of how Genesis, in one lineup or another, can still fill a stadium to almost the last corner of the pitch without a problem, while many of their peers today play (if they still exist) little better than dive bars.
Like proper English family gentlemen, Genesis usually stick to the agreed hours when it comes to start time (it’s also worth mentioning that, luckily, they don’t put up with support acts). They strode onto the stage at twenty past eight, as soon as it got dark enough, which was more or less in line with the original announcements. The stadium shook with excitement as the well-known cheerful little fella, with a few days of stubble on his chin and a big bump in the middle of his bare scalp, walked out with his comrades and waved to the crowd very quickly. Then he threw himself behind his own custom-modified drum kit. The rest of his entourage also took up their instruments with determined strides and hit us with an energetic “Behind The Lines,” a great opening track that usually pleases prog and pop fans alike. And I’d say Genesis followed this recipe very well all evening, nicely distributing and balancing their program. They tailored the setlist from their extensive tour so that those of us hoping for as much as possible from the progressive era were satisfied in the end too, even though some of those pieces were noticeably shortened. Most of them were combined into various “medleys,” which has been their established practice for years as a way of covering as much material as possible from their huge career. This time, though, with an important difference: some pop songs made up the medleys too. The stage was that classic concert scene from their commercially most successful days. Collins and Thompson each behind their own palette of drums, which buckled under the hail of their blows. Rutherford and Stuermer swapped between guitar and bass several times, with master Stuermer usually covering the original Hackett parts, meaning he used the guitar on most of the more complex songs from the progressive era and also played most of the solos. Rutherford is a solid guitarist, but you could tell he’s always been much more at home on bass. Especially on his famous 12-string Rickenbacker double-neck. Behind the keyboards sat, of course, the man who, in my opinion, is most responsible for keeping the Genesis flame alive for so long in turbulent and unpredictable musical waters. Tony Banks, with his eternally serious expression of a neat English gentleman, just as you’d expect from such a master, delivered some of the most magnificent and also most moving moments of the night with his fast-fingered playing.
With “Behind The Lines,” which they cut off right before the vocal part, they moved via “Duke’s End” to the hit “Turn It On Again,” the song the tour is named after, whose main riff is handy for warming up the crowd at the start. Collins left his drum stool several times here and headed to the mic, where from start to finish, with some funny gestures too, he proved why he’s one of the most charismatic frontmen, with stagecraft in his blood since birth. His “star” presence was without a doubt the connecting thread of the evening, even though most of us know that Genesis once had an even more charismatic singer behind the mic, whom I only rarely thought of during this show. The medley of pieces from the album “Duke” (1980) was tied together by the unforgettable instrumental “Duke’s End,” which finished where “Behind The Lines” began. Having satisfied the widest circle of the audience right from the start, they moved on to “No Son Of Mine,” the big hit from the super successful album “We Can’t Dance” (1991). On the giant screens, where even those in the back rows could see enlarged images of all the musicians on stage, the first of many video projections began, which only boosted the musical magic. Rutherford and Stuermer swapped guitar and bass duties for the first time here, and this was also the moment Collins as a singer first really came into his own, since this is one of those pop pieces that truly suit him, and he performed it with real authority. Between songs he kept trying to address the crowd in German, but despite the help of a cheat sheet it gave him quite some trouble, which is a bit surprising for someone with so much international concert pedigree behind him.
Suddenly the screen drew three faces of the grotesque, heavily caricatured puppets of Phil, Mike and Tony from one of the most notorious videos of all time. Time for the unforgettable “Land Of Confusion,” probably their best-known hit ever, and the song through which, thanks to its massive exposure on MTV, most of the younger generations first heard of Genesis at all. By this point all the members had loosened up properly and delivered an excellent version of this pop rock classic. We prog heads then got our first real treat with an excellent medley of some of the “hottest” pieces of their career, overtured by the claustrophobic “In The Cage,” the first of the masterpieces from Gabriel’s era on the program that night. Besides a consistent and very convincing performance, we also got a nice computer animation of a runner behind bars. The mysterious and unpredictable journey continued with a slice of “The Cinema Show,” including Banks’s excellent solo, which grew into that famous cosmic solo I absolutely adore, which makes up “Duke’s Travels.” Right there, the newly risen Genesis finally convinced me that I was witnessing the continuation of a never-forgotten legend. My excitement had barely settled when they switched to the atmospheric-romantic “Afterglow,” which always makes for a superb ending. With “Hold On My Heart,” the first of five ballads that night, they reined things in a bit again. Collins sat down on a stool and sang, in his famous way, one of their most beautiful ballads, which doesn’t differ all that much from his solo work.
That was followed by one of the highlights of the evening, because Mr. Collins invited us into a mysterious house by the edge of the sea, where frightening apparitions roam at night and won’t let its inhabitants sleep. When I realized it was time for the prog/pop epic “Home By The Sea/Second Home By The Sea,” built on atmospheric pentatonic scales, I was no less overjoyed than if a piece from Gabriel’s era had come up, since it’s one of my favorite pieces from their pop period. The song, which contains so many refined pop finesses as well as excellent instrumental sections, came alive amid witty animations of ghosts and vampires that only heightened the esoteric mood. The waning crescent moon surely added its bit too, fitting even better with the superb performance of their best-known ballad, “Follow You Follow Me,” which marked the start of their departure into a world of pop soaked in romantic love. Besides the extremely heartfelt approach (Thompson swapped his extensive drum arsenal for a simple African drum here, which created a special effect), the performance had probably the best animation of the night, in which we got to see some of the main “heroes” of their album covers (the swaying main character from the album “Duke” made an especially strong impression). The most moving moment of the night, though, was without a doubt the end of the song and the scene where the father and son from the “We Can’t Dance” cover met again on screen. The whole thing even reminded me a little of that cult Italian cartoon that was translated here as Črta.
Then came a moment when most of those present were briefly seized by a heavy wave of nostalgia for the Gabriel era, to which the trio, with both guests, paid tribute with two classics from “Selling England By The Pound” (1973), in the opinion of most fans their best album. First they played the central part of the legendary “Firth Of Fifth,” where Stuermer and Banks shone with their monumental solos, and then they launched into the best-known hit of the Gabriel era, “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe),” in my opinion the only Gabriel song that Collins sings better than the lovable lanky uncle himself. Projections of moments from their past added to the nostalgia, especially from the days with Gabriel and Hackett, who thus at least symbolically joined the rest of the band on stage. After reviving fond memories of their best times, Phil invited us for a visit to the red-light district, where our old acquaintance “Mama” was waiting, and even after all these years she sounded mighty convincing and was even one of the atmospheric peaks of the concert. It was played as it should be, in full and with all the instrumental expansions offered by its perfect mix of prog and pop, with an extra animation featuring a certain honorable lady. The grotesquely obscure highlight of the show was without a doubt Phil’s famous mocking sneers of “eh-heh-he” straight into the camera, with his face lit in yellow light so he looked like some mischievous devil, surely scaring a few of the possible grandchildren of the fans standing in the front rows. Collins then returned to his patchy German and announced a song that would carry us from the red-light district to paradise, or rather to a world ruled by fairies and gnomes. The eternal joker Collins doesn’t even have to dress up as a goblin for that, although it’s been a long time since he shaved his beard and gave up on the idea that his hair would ever be a source of pride again (in the middle of his smooth scalp bulged a big bump he picked up who knows where). But let’s leave such quips at the artist’s expense for another time, because next up was “Ripples,” to me even their most beautiful ballad, which perhaps carried me off into that special state more than any other song at the concert, a state I felt most strongly years ago at Yes in Budapest, a telling proof that even these “old farts” are still in great shape when it comes to creating emotional astral dimensions. Banks’s gorgeous piano arrangements and Collins’s deeply lived-in singing really did sweep me away for a moment into a heavenly world of myths and legends. The performance of the lovely but missable ballad “Throwing It All Away” is one proof that their commercially most successful album, “Invisible Touch” (1986), still makes up a fair share of the live performances.
Collins again got the laughs when he introduced the next song as an illustration of the domino syndrome, with different sections of the stands and floor responding to his call, demonstrating how strongly every corner of the stadium was breathing with the band. Many guessed it was time for “Domino,” one of the more complex pieces from the pop era, where Collins pulled off a series of those trademark stage antics that made him famous as a solo artist too. Among other things, he juggled a tambourine and threw in a series of gestures and glances at the audience that are specific to him, and which didn’t need any extra encouragement to sing and chant along. Along with the closing “dance,” this was the peak of his physical activity as a singer (behind the drums he did well by comparison), since the man has long since stopped being among the youngest in his trade. At one point some of us could even see ourselves on the screens, as the cameras turned to the crowd, which then truly came alive as one big happy family.
And then came the moment for the big highlight of the concert, a moment I’d been waiting for with great interest long before the show started. It was the drum duet, or rather the showdown, between Collins and Thompson. The two first stood and pounded away at astonishing speed, each on his own standing set of percussion. Then they gradually moved to their own drum kits and a real epic battle between “good” and “evil” began (who represented which side everyone could of course decide for themselves). It would be very hard to pick a winner here, but still it seemed to me that old Chester, whose services Zappa once put to such good use on the excellent album “Studio Tan” (1978), set his tempo ever so slightly faster. But you have to keep in mind that Phil had to play a double role as singer and drummer the whole time. When I watched a drum duel at a Spock’s Beard show years ago, I never dreamed I’d one day witness the two inventors of this kind of duel, who still outplay most of their younger peers on this instrument. All of this, though, was just the overture, merely the appetizer for a much tastier slice of cake, which they cut when the rest of the band joined both drummers on stage and went into the magnificent “Los Endos,” perhaps even their best progressive instrumental and the closest they ever came to jazz rock fusion. What followed was a real feast for the ears and eyes, especially for all fans of live “jamming,” and at that moment I realized I was probably witnessing even the best concert I’d ever seen (at least as far as atmosphere goes). It was one of my finest concert moments, one I’ll remember for a long time.So that fans of radio melodies wouldn’t be shortchanged of romantic tunes in any way, they then briskly and somewhat unexpectedly tackled the hit ballad “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight,” from which they moved on to the ultra hit “Invisible Touch,” a song I’m not exactly a huge fan of, while most of the audience went completely nuts (since most of them were of mature age, they were still very well-behaved when it came to ethically following the show). Phil undoubtedly had his star moment of the evening here and, with the help of his comrades, took us back with an energetic approach to the 80s and the golden age of pop rock. At the end of the performance, rockets shot up and cracked for a short fireworks display to close out the regular set.
An entirely expected encore followed with “I Can’t Dance,” which, even though I’m sick and tired of this song because of its massive exposure on every possible medium to this day, was one of the highlights when it comes to combining music and stage show. As expected, Phil, Mike and Daryl staged that famous dance from the video and previous tours, one after another in a line. On the screens they were accompanied by their doubles in all sorts of color palettes. No surprise at all that they saved both of their biggest hits for the end. Still, they didn’t finish the concert as a pop band but as the kind of group most of us will remember them as. Time for goodbye came and Phil announced “Carpet Crawlers,” the last song of the night, which means a great deal to them as a band, regardless of lineup, and represents the soul of the group (in 1999 they even re-recorded it as a Gabriel-Collins vocal duet). When people learned it was the last song of the night, they protested loudly, but it was no use, since Phil admitted that at their age they’re usually in bed by eleven. A very good and moving performance of this classic from their most ambitious project, “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway” (1974), was also a symbolic gesture that the door is wide open to both of its co-creators, who weren’t on stage that night. If Gabriel returns, we can rightfully expect him and Collins to sing it as a duet. And with that the night was over, one I’ll be telling my descendants about for a long time. I’ve finally seen Genesis, and besides them only a very small handful of bands are left that I’d go to the other end of the world to see.
After such a good concert, which knocked me off my feet from head to toe for several days, it’s usually extremely hard to pull your impressions together, so it took me quite a bit longer than I usually need when writing reports. The show by the “depleted” Genesis, whose lineup shortfall of two progressive heavyweights barely showed in the setlist (honestly, it’s almost impossible to compare two completely different bands), turned out to be one of the most magical gigs I’ve ever seen from them. Asked whether I saw progressive or pop Genesis, I’d answer that I saw universal Genesis, who, with excellent sound, successfully captured some of the best moments of their career. The only things I could “blame” them for are the shortening of some classics and the absence of “The Musical Box,” which Collins should relearn how to play, since it’s an indispensable piece. But in that case the concert would have lasted at least four hours, which at their age is anything but an easy feat (they played almost three hours without any longer break in between). Even though they don’t hide their age, they powered through the show as if they were 30 years younger and without any trace of routine. It shone on their faces the whole time that they were playing together again purely for their own enjoyment, since they’ll never run out of money even without Collins’s famous entrepreneurship. Then came the realization that I’d have made a big mistake if, out of my favoritism for the classic incarnation, I’d missed it. That mystical atmosphere they can conjure only in the classic lineup and through Gabriel’s performances has long been clear to be gone for good, even with his possible return. But Genesis proved more than successfully to be a truly universal band, bringing together many generations of all kinds of music lovers (it was nice to see I was far from the youngest in the crowd). Still, I can’t shake the damn thought of what it would have been like with Gabriel and Hackett on stage too. I reckon my spirit wouldn’t have returned from the heavenly plains to my body for a long time after the show, and the report would have read more like a poetic ode to joy. Phil, Mike, Tony, Daryl and Chester – thanks once more for one of the most beautiful evenings of my life.
author: Peter Podbrežnik
photos: Jernej Vene
Setlist:
1. Behind the Lines / Duke’s End / Turn It On Again
2. No Son Of Mine
3. Land of Confusion
4. In The Cage / The Cinema Show / Duke’s Travels / Afterglow
5. Hold on My Heart
6. Home by the Sea / Second Home By The Sea
7. Follow You Follow Me
8. Firth of Fifth / I Know What I Like
9. Mama
10. Ripples
11. Throwing It All Away
12. Domino
13. Drum Duet / Los Endos
14. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight / Invisible Touch
15. I Can’t Dance
16. Carpet Crawlers
