I've been very fortunate to see the remarkable Genesis tribute band "The Musical Box" for years now; they play mostly Gabriel-era material note-for-note, tour by tour, using some of Genesis' actual costumes and slides. Astonishing.
This Saturday, for the first time I will check out another Genesis tribute band called "The Genesis Show." They focus on tours from 1976-1982; they did the "Seconds Out" tour last year and are now doing the 1981 "Abacab" tour. They don't do costumes, but apparently they have a great light show and are monster musicians.
While the Genesis albums kept moving in a poppier / more contemporary direction from 1979 onwards, they always had some interesting stuff in there, and their shows always had great playing and some old tunes to keep the Gabriel-era fans happy. Here is what this band will be drawing from:
Songs Played on the '81 Abacab Tour
Abacab
Behind The Lines
Dance On A Volcano
Dodo/Lurker
Drum Duet
Duchess
Firth of Fifth
I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
Like It Or Not
Los Endos
Man On The Corner
Me And Sarah Jane
Me And Virgil
Medley:
In The Cage
The Cinema Show
The Colony of Slippermen
Afterglow
Misunderstanding
No Reply At All
The Carpet Crawlers
The Knife
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Turn It On Again
Who Dunnit?
I would actually enjoy a Genesis set list from from a 1976-1982 tour more than Gabriel years.......probably Duke tour the most (my favorite Genesis album). Abacab wasn't as complete of an album but had great stuff on it too I'd enjoy hearing along with older stuff: title track, Man on the Corner, Dodo Lurker, No Reply All.
That Abacab setlist would make for a great show.
Wow! What a show! The band "The Genesis Show" are really stunning.
I mean, to be honest, any band that plays professional venues as a Genesis tribute band is going to have great sound and great chops, but these guys were better than I could have guessed. It was a wonderful drum show for sure, and the singer had a huge voice and just a great friendly stage presence - as much of a fan of the music as a performer, and you could feel it. The crowd was so into it, and the room really had that great feeling that you get when you are in a room where the music soars, and the crowd is fully on board, and the band gets that energy and feeds it back, and with every song, everyone in the room gets happier. That is how it was.
What was cool for me is that I'm very much a fan of older Genesis, 1970-1977, so I didn't jump on tickets for a "1981 tour" right away by any means. I like but don't necessarily love Duke and Abacab. Admittedly, I have never given them the time of day, certainly not like I have with the older stuff. But, I also got burned out on Genesis in the Phil years. However, I did get a VHS of the Genesis 1984 "Mama" tour at one point, and I ended up practically wearing it out, I liked it so much. So, I decided to risk a few bucks and see these guys. They KILLED. What was nice was that when you hear some of the newer (lol - "newer" - from 1981! I'm old) stuff live, they give it some big balls and play terrific lines that don't jump out at you on the studio versions, and suddenly, songs like "Duchess" or "Dodo / Lurker" sound like they deserve to be next to "The Carpet Crawlers" or "Dance on a Volcano." No kidding. It was that good.
Those Abacab and Duke songs have cool angular elements and really punchy sound. Great rhythmic pulse. To hear it live, I appreciated that "No Reply At All" is actually not that far off from "The Lamb Lies Down on BRoadway," which they also played. The singer had a big voice. He had 1981 Phil down to a T, and that Phil had some real range and punch. This guy might have had a little more timbre. Big fat drum sound too, Taurus bass pedals pounding through my chest.
The Ridgefield Playhouse - Ridgefield, CT 1/4/2020
Behind the Lines
Duchess
The Lamb
Dodo/Lurker
Abacab
The Carpet Crawlers
Me and Sarah Jane
Misunderstanding
No Reply at All
Firth of Fifth
Man on the Corner
Who Dunnit
In The Cage Medley
Afterglow
Turn it on Again
Dance on a Volcano
Drum Duet
Los Endos
Encores:
Follow You Follow Me
I Know What I Like
Bottom line, if you can see "The Genesis Show," see 'em. I got converted.
Sounds like a great show. I'd be up for that if it came to Atlanta!
